The Night 21 Planes Sank a Fleet — Taranto Taught Japan How to Attack Pearl Harbor

On the night of 11 November 1940, twenty-one slow, obsolete biplanes flew 170 miles through the dark and attacked the most powerful fleet Italy had ever put to sea — at anchor, in its own harbour, under its own guns. By morning, half of Italy's battleships were on the bottom or beached and broken, and the whole world had learned in a single night that the battleship was no longer safe anywhere. This is the story of Taranto — the night 21 planes sank a fleet, and the lesson Japan studied before Pearl Harbor. CHAPTERS 00:00 The Night the Biplanes Came 00:57 Six Battleships at Taranto 02:29 Operation Judgement 04:17 The Stringbag 05:33 The Shallow-Water Problem 06:49 Illustrious Sails 08:20 Flares Over the Harbour 09:29 Littorio Is Hit 10:35 The Second Wave 12:01 Morning After 13:02 The Butcher's Bill in Months 13:55 The Fleet Leaves Taranto 14:38 Why Taranto Matters 15:53 The Student in Tokyo 17:06 The Carrier's Own Fate 18:04 Four Men, Two Aeroplanes 19:07 The Crown Passes SOURCES Wikipedia, "Battle of Taranto"; GOV.UK, "Navy commemorates 70th anniversary of Battle of Taranto"; National WWII Museum, "Forgotten Fights: Strike on Taranto, November 1940". Full source notes in attributions.txt. This video was created with the assistance of AI tools for narration, imagery and editing. All historical facts were verified against the sources above. If you love untold WWII naval stories, subscribe to Iron Tide History — new documentaries every day. This is Iron Tide History, and the sea never forgets. Subscribe to Iron Tide History: https://www.youtube.com/@IronTideHistory #Taranto #WWII #NavalHistory #Swordfish #PearlHarbor #IronTideHistory #RoyalNavy #WorldWar2 #History #Mediterranean