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Thomas P. Lowry

Attack on Taranto (Stackpole Classics) Paperback – September 15, 2017

by Thomas P. Lowry (Author), John Wellham (Author)

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On November 11, 1940, 21 slow, canvas-covered British warplanes, launched from the carrier Illustrious, attacked the harbor at the Italian port of Taranto and put most of the Italian navy out of commission. This all-but-forgotten operation, the authors argue, deserves historical recognition as an inspirational precedent for the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor 13 months later. Taranto demonstrated that battleships in a shallow, heavily defended harbor could be sunk by a handful of torpedo-bombers. That lesson Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, commander-in-chief of the Japanese fleet, learned well-while the American military virtually ignored it.

“By this single stroke the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean was decisively altered.” –Winston S. Churchill

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"...immenesly readable, compelling and convincing account." From FLY NAVY, the publication of the Fleet Air Arm Officers Association.

"This is a very well written book by two well-qualified authors in possesion of the facts." THE GLOBE & LAUREL.

From the Author

A great joy in my life was meeting and working with the late John Wellham, a true hero of the Second World War. In his canvas-covered Fairey Swordfish biplane he help sink two Italian submarines and several battleships. His collaboration gave the the book a true "You are there" flavor, because he really was there! To attempt a British description, John was "a splendid chap," and I am honored to have known him.

Publisher : Stackpole Books; 1st Printing edition (September 15, 2017)
Language : English
Paperback : 174 pages
ISBN-10 : 0811726614
ISBN-13 : 978-0811726610
Item Weight : 9.4 ounces
Dimensions : 5.94 x 0.47 x 9.06 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,119,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,657 in Naval Military History
- #10,883 in World War II History (Books)
- #39,216 in Engineering (Books)

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19 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Neal A. Wellons

The attack is only a small part of the book

Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2007

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The other reviews give a good overview but I will add a little. The 143 page book (including appendix, notes, bibliography and index but not including 16 pages of pictures) includes about nine pages on planning, 15 on the attack, and three pages on the post-attack. The rest of the book is more general with a good bit of coverage on Pearl Harbor and some minor actions. Appendix includes British Naval Aviation, Flight Crews at Taranto, Italian Naval Ships at Taranto and more. Because of the lack of maps and aerial photos, it is interesting to use a web aerial photo program like Google Earth to aid in following the action.

Another book with a major section on Taranto is "To War in a Stringbag," a Bantam War Book that covers many actions involving Swordfish airplanes. To me it was a better read.

6 people found this helpful

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Ranto

Interesting, but not for everyone

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2020

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The book was boring matter of fact history. But the raid on Taranto’s importance is clearly laid out. The connection to Pearl Harbor is made. The failures by Americans that allowed the attack are laid out. For the first time, I realized why Japan felt they should attack, despite the seemingly foolishness of bringing the US into the war.

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Neil N.

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2014

Verified Purchase

Outstanding

Helpful

Decisive Attack in Obsolete Biplanes...

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2011

"The Attack on Taranto" describes in tactical and exciting detail the British Royal Navy's dramatic raid on the Italian Naval Base at Taranto in November 1940, using carrier-based Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers. The raid at least temporarily crippled the Italian surface fleet at a crucial moment in the Second World War in the Mediterranean theater.

Authors Lowry and Wellham spend considerable time explaining both the planning and the execution of the mission, including its multi-faceted deception plan. As the authors repeatedly remark, the British fliers courageously made the attack at night in obsolete open-cockpit biplanes into the teeth of a heavily defended target. In fact, the Swordfish biplanes, nicknamed "stringbags", would provide good service at sea throughout the war.

Lowry and Wellham emphasize the parallels to the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, including the intense Japanese interest in Italian and German after-action reports and an inspection of the base at Taranto. Their further speculation on Pearl Harbor is perhaps less well-founded. "The Attack on Taranto" is well-recommended to student of naval aviation, as a solid account of a lesser-known but important event in the development of carrier aviation.

3 people found this helpful

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Brasidas

Who dares wins

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2006

Thomas Lowry and John Wellham have written a splendid concise study of one of the great tactical breakthroughs in modern warfare. While many talked about what the capabilities, roles and missions of sea based attack aviation could be in the 1930s and 1940s, Britain simply went out and did it. They identified a significant threat against their ability to project, sustain and protect power in the Mediterranean. They carefully studied the threat, identified key vulnerabilities, made a candid risk assessment, and then attacked.

The authors cover the attack phase of the operation very well. The attack itself was in peril from liftoff of the first heavily laden aircraft, but with good planning and a refusal to give up, the Brits pulled off a stunning surprise attack and victory over much stronger forces. Using speed (relative to the ability of the Italians to react, not necessarily the planes themselves) shock and surprise, the hammered the Italian forces.

The book would benefit from more maps, and more post mortem study of the operational and strategic effects of this defeat. As much as Mersa Matruh, this battle changed and shaped the way that the rest of the campaign in the Med would be fought.

A more detailed study of the weaponeering would also be of interest, on both the land defense side and the naval aviation. Specifically guns, bombs and torpedoes, there differences and different advantages and disadvantages would be of great interest. Further study of the different staff procedures and command structures that enabled the British to induce such chaos and destruction would be of interest. Lastly, a final third of the book could be devoted to comparing the Doolittle Raid, Pearl Harbor and Taranto, and then looking at the differences at Rabul, Coral Sea and Leyte Gulf over the subsequent years in the naval focused war in the Pacific.

3 people found this helpful

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Kevin M Quigg

The British put three Italian battleships out of action.

Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2003

As the authors quite rightly put, this was the prelude to Pearl Harbor. The Italian Navy was stationed at this harbor and posed a threat to British sea routes to Egypt, India, Singapore, and Australia. A daring attack by 21 aircraft from a British aircraft carrier damaged three Italian battleships and put them out of action for six to nine months. Since they were in a heavily protected shallow harbor, it was indeed a daring attack, which the Japanese copied to place the American Pacific fleet out of action. The Japanese attack was on a much larger scale.
One of the authors was a member of the attack group, and he gives his own account in the battle.
This is a nice little read. The book is short and has plenty of photos. A determined reader could finish this book in two to three hours. Taranto was indeed the prelude the Pearl Harbor, but now few people realize this. With Lowry's perspective, this is good book about the Second World War.

8 people found this helpful

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Jeffrey T. Munson

Japan was watching

Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2002

This is the story of how a small force of obsolete British Swordfish torpedo planes flew into Taranto harbor, surprised the Italian fleet, and sank three battleships. The attack force consisted of about twenty torpedo bombers which flew from a single British carrier in the Mediterranian sea. Although this book is short, the author does a good job of explaining the events leading up to the attack, and how this small force managed to take the Italians complelely by surprise. Furthermore, the Japanese used this attack as a model for their Pearl Harbor operation. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Pearl Harbor. The similarities between the two attacks are uncanny.

5 people found this helpful

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Rik Galle

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

interesting book

Claudio53

The Attack on Taranto: Blueprint for Pearl Harbor

Reviewed in Italy on January 16, 2014

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Libro ben fatto che riporta fedelmente i dettagli operativi dell'azione su Taranto. I raconti di informazzioni personali arricchiscono il racconto.

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