Read The Whale Has Wings Vol 2 - Taranto to Singapore for Free Online

crew and also destroying most of her forward superstructure. The second hit her well aft, almost blowing off her stern and wrecking her shafts. Luckily for her an alert officer flooded her after magazines, or it would have been likely that they would have exploded as well. The Pola was less fortunate. For some reason he fire was ineffective - it was thought later than the flares being used to illuminate the ships was confusing and blinding the gunners against the dive bombing attacks - and she was hit by no less than three bombs. Her engine rooms, X turret and much of her superstructure in ruins, and water pouring in, as well as serious fires, she would be later abandoned by her crew - with no power for pumps or firefighting, her fires would burn her to a hulk.
    The remaining nineteen planes were attacking the line of destroyers and submarines moored in an appealingly even line across the harbour. No-one was quite sure why the Italian navy had lined them up in such a neat, tidy, and inviting manner, but none of the pilots were complaining. For the loss of one dive bomber, the remainder dropped their explosive presents along the line. A 1,000lb bomb doesn't leave much of a destroyer or a submarine when it hits. As they left, five destroyers and four submarines were sinking rapidly.
    *
    23rd October, the Mediterranean fleet.
    The last of the planes from Taranto were struck below at 0400, and the fleet had already turned southwest at 25 knots, heading for a rendezvous with the covering force. CAP fighters had already been spotted on deck - they and the A/S flight would be flown off at first light.
    The losses on the second raid had been lighter than anticipated - no-one had considered that the AA fire would be so light this time. The carriers had lost two SeaLance shot down over Taranto, and two more failed to return (one crashed in Italy). Four Cormorants had been shot down, and one more never made it home. Added to the losses from the first night, they had lost 15 SeaLance and 14 Cormorants. Given what they had done to the Italian fleet, it was considered an acceptable loss. In addition some 20 planes were unserviceable; most of these would be written off for parts once they got back to Alexandria.
    Morning found the fleet steaming fast on what was looking to be unseasonably good weather (despite the travel brochures, the Mediterranean in October is often quite unpleasant). This was both good and bad news - the good news that it meant interception of Italian planes would be easier, the bad that it would also be easier for the Italians to find them. The first Italian reconnaissance plane was detected on radar at 1000, and although chased off by a pair of Goshawks it was clear from the radio monitoring that the fleet had been detected and reported.
    It was not until three hours later that the main attack appeared. The air defence officers had been wondering why it was taking so long for the Italians to respond, and when they saw the size of the blip on their radar sets they realised why. 'It looked like every Italian plane in southern Italy was heading for us' was the comment of the air defence officer on HMS Implacable. The carriers already had 18 fighters on CAP, and as soon as the huge contact was seen they started getting the ready planes airborne. There was then the agonising decision of should they try and get more planes in the air and risk fuelled and armed planes being hit by enemy attack, or hold them back for later use. In the event the Implacable was the only carrier to get another flight of fighters (six planes in this case) airborne; she had been preparing to replace her CAP and the planes were already being prepared. They would not be able to gain any useful height before the attackers arrived. The first of the Goshawks were closing on the raid at about 40 miles from the fleet when they made the first estimate of the size. Judging by the fact it was in two parts, the estimate was 30 torpedo planes and around 60