Aerial attacks could damage battleships and shape an operation, though they still faced limits against a moving, defended target. At Taranto, Swordfish knocked out three Italian battleships, with some of the damage later repaired. The stationary harbour targets and the number of aircraft required complicate any simple claim of instant carrier supremacy. A deliberately risky alternative would have used flare-dropping spotters to direct a night bombardment by British capital ships against vessels unable to manoeuvre. The comparison shows that aviation could multiply the effect of naval gunfire as well as deliver torpedoes itself.
Notable Point · 25:15-30:00
Taranto, damage, and the alternative use of aircraft
Taranto shows both the growing power of aerial torpedo attack and aircraft's value in directing surface gunfire.