Italian ships were already at war and kept half of their anti-aircraft weapons manned around the clock. Manning rose to full strength around dawn and dusk, even though fatigue could erode alertness during a long watch. Pearl Harbor's peacetime Sunday conditions provide a very different comparison. Taranto succeeded against a fleet organized for short-notice operations and active defence.
Notable Point · 1:53:57-1:55:07
An alert wartime fleet, not a peacetime surprise
Italian ships maintained continuous anti-aircraft watches, making Taranto a strike against prepared wartime crews.