A limited strike with a disproportionate deterrent effect

Taranto was less decisive in material terms than a full carrier strike might have been, yet twenty aircraft achieved a disproportionate result under wartime constraints. Cunningham did not get the complete destruction he might have wanted, but he secured enough success to steady British political confidence and unsettle the Italian command. The Regia Marina continued to operate, as later actions such as Matapan demonstrate, so the raid should not be described as having driven it permanently from the sea. The raid also forced Italian planners to confront a Royal Navy capable of attacking their fleet at home without Ark Royal or the full Mediterranean carrier force. Removing torpedo nets because they impeded ship movements left a gap that an alert opponent could exploit.