TARANTO – Royal Navy sailors aboard the carrier HMS Illustrious were breaking out the rum Sunday to celebrate Taranto Day, anniversary of the 1940 destruction of Italy's fleet, Navy sources said.

 The Illustrious, a helicopter carrying vessel now that the UK Government destroyed its Harrier Jump Jets in cost cutting measures, was cruising close to the Apulian port of Taranto. Swordfish biplanes from the earlier HMS Illustrious firing torpedoes crippled Benito Mussolini’s Regia Marina fleet in a daring raid on the night of Nov.11-12, 1940.

 One of the Royal Navy’s greatest Second World War victories, it is celebrated traditionally each year by the Fleet Air Arm and Navy although in general discreetly so as not to offend Italian sensibilities.

 The 21 Swordfish left the battleship Conte di Cavour sunk and the battleships Littorio and Caio Duilio heavily damaged. They also badly damaged a heavy cruiser. British losses were only two Swordfish. In one night, the Royal Navy had succeeded in halving the Italian battleship fleet and had gained a tremendous advantage in the Mediterranean. As a result of the strike, the Italians withdrew the bulk of their fleet farther north to Naples.

 jp