In repeated Taranto exercises, torpedo bombers alone fail to sink Giulio Cesare. Success appears only when Ark Royal brings Blackburn Skuas and the dive bombers concentrate on that battleship. The results belong to the exercise, not the historical attack. Adding another carrier changes the available methods of attack as well as the total number of aircraft.
Notable Point · 2:22:01-2:22:42
A Taranto exercise shows why dive bombers mattered
In repeated Taranto exercises, torpedo bombers alone do not sink Giulio Cesare; adding Ark Royal's Skuas works only when the dive bombers concentrate on her.