Then came Taranto. Three battleships, three cruisers and two small ships were severely damaged during a night when the moon was full. Tmormous destruction was inflicted on the Italian navy to make up for the loss of two Swordfish and four men. Later an Italian battleship and cruiser were damaged in the Mediterranean and then from the Battle of Cape Matapan the torpedo-bomber showed its real worth in major action. The Italian ships were faster than the British. There was little doubt that they would have slipped away in the darkness had they not been attacked and slowed
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.