Taranto should not be treated as the single inspiration for Pearl Harbor, since several navies had already explored carrier attacks on fleet bases. Mers-el-Kébir provides an imperfect wartime precursor: it brought a fleet attack against ships in harbour but used daylight gunfire instead of Taranto's night torpedo strike. Taranto proved that a plan rehearsed in exercises could work against a defended harbour during war. Interwar Britain often had more carriers and available ships than the underfunded U.S. Navy maintained against its authorised strength, giving the Fleet Air Arm unusually broad practical experience. Japanese staff therefore wanted offensive lessons for their own plans and defensive insight into what British carriers might do to Japanese bases. Taranto offered tested doctrine rather than a ready-made blueprint.
Chapter · 30:26-33:34
Taranto becomes a lesson for Pacific navies
Taranto mattered to Pacific navies because Britain had converted years of carrier exercises and attack theory into a successful wartime operation.