The original Cuckoo plan targeted Wilhelmshaven, whose harbour was narrower and more confined than Taranto. Its channel also deepened more sharply, while Taranto had a flatter shallow bottom. That combination made the German base both easier to trap and harder to penetrate, and planners even considered disabling dock gates. Comparing the two harbours shows that Taranto inherited a concept whose aircraft, torpedoes, and target geometry had been studied for decades.
Notable Point · 1:05:16-1:08:53
From Wilhelmshaven's channels to Taranto's shallows
The First World War Cuckoo plan confronted a narrower but deeper harbour, showing how target geometry shaped the later Taranto method.