Taranto 1940

The Fleet Air Arm’s precursor to Pearl Harbor

Taranto 1940 cover

Description

The Royal Navy's stunning attack on Taranto in 1940 heralded a new age of warfare. It was the decisive moment in a struggle for dominance of the Mediterranean that had gone on for months, as the British and Italian navies both looked to secure maritime supply routes for their colonies. With the enormous demands of a global war beginning to tell, the British capital ships were simply too thinly spread for a large fleet action against Taranto, where the bulk of the Italian fleet lay menacingly. How was the Royal Navy to eliminate the threat of the Regia Marina?

This is the story of one of World War II's most devastating raids, recounting how a handful of obsolete Fairy Swordfish biplanes swooped in on the harbour, destroyed an Italian battleship and badly damaged two more. With expert analysis, detailed colour illustrations and a gripping narrative, this book explains the origins of the attack, how it was planned and executed, and what happened in the aftermath. Uncover the details of a strike that reverberated around the world and changed war at sea forever.

Table of Contents

Origins of the campaign
Chronology

Opposing commanders
Opposing armies
Orders of battle
Opposing plans
The operation

Aftermath
The battlefields today
Further reading
Index

Product details

Published Nov 17 2015
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 96
ISBN 9781472808967
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 60 b/w; 22 col
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Campaign
Short code CAM 288
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Angus Konstam

Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical…

Illustrator

Peter Dennis

Peter Dennis was inspired by contemporary magazine…

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