World War II air raid in Mediterranean in 1940 was courageous but it failed to sink battleships

In his article on Operation Judgement, the Taranto raid of November 11/12 1940, Gordon Lucy fails to mention that none of the Regia Marina battleships was sunk, although the Royal Navy claimed that to be the case.
By Alex Kane
Published 23rd Nov 2020, 11:48 BST
Updated 23rd Nov 2020, 12:43 BST
A Swordfish plane, which is the type Michael Torrens Spence had flown in the 1940 Fleet Air Arm raidA Swordfish plane, which is the type Michael Torrens Spence had flown in the 1940 Fleet Air Arm raid
A Swordfish plane, which is the type Michael Torrens Spence had flown in the 1940 Fleet Air Arm raid

(Gordon Lucy’s article was: ‘Daring WWII air raid that restored UK’s naval supremacy in Mediterranean,’ November 16).

The battleship Littorio was grounded by its captain and returned to service in March 1941 after repairs.

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Of the other two claimed ‘sunk’ by the Royal Navy, Caio Duilio was also grounded and then repaired, returning to service seven months later.

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

Only Conte di Cavour, an old ship dating from before the First World War, wasn’t returned to service and was still under repair when the Bodoglio government declared war on Germany in 1943. At that stage, Littorio was renamed Italia.

Fleet Air Arm aircraft had earlier carried out a similar operation in Norway, sinking the German cruiser Konigsberg in Bergen harbour, although on that occasion the aircraft, Skua dive-bombers, had flown from Scotland.

Incidentally, it is wrong to describe the Fairey Swordfish as having been obsolete on the outbreak of war as it was to remain in service throughout the war, playing a critical role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

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It was designed to fly off an aircraft carrier with a crew of two or three carrying an aerial torpedo but was adapted later for the anti-submarine role. By the end of the war the Swordfish had destroyed more enemy shipping than any other carrier-borne aircraft.

In December 1941 Italian naval special forces, the Decima MAS, the first special forces of the war and from whom Stirling ‘borrowed’ the SAS motto, ‘sank’ two British battleships, HMSs Queen Elizabeth and Valiant, in Alexandria harbour in Egypt.

The Italians never claimed the ships to have been sunk since they didn’t believe that the raid had succeeded. Both ships had settled on the harbour bed and were later temporarily repaired before going to the USA for full repairs.

Thus the Italians reversed the effects of the Taranto raid.

Originally planned for 21 October, Trafalgar Day, Op. Judgement remains the major date in the Fleet Air Arm calendar and there is no doubt whatever of the skill and courage of those who took part, not least Michael Torrens Spence.

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Richard Doherty, Co Londonderry (Author ‘In The Ranks of Death’, Pen & Sword Books, 2010, which includes an account of Op Judgement)

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Related topics:Royal Navy