The First World War roots of a harbour strike

The concept grew from Royal Navy frustration with the German High Seas Fleet remaining behind defended waters. Minefields and shore fortifications had made a direct Copenhagen-style attack prohibitively costly. The Sopwith Cuckoo was conceived as an aerial torpedo boat: even a missed attack could make an enemy feel unsafe in harbour and pressure it to come out. British, American, and Japanese navies knew of the wider concept during the First World War, placing Taranto within more than two decades of development.