In the dark of night, a fleet of 21 biplane Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers, launched from the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, descended upon the Italian naval base at Taranto, dropping their deadly payload and sending the slumbering Italian battleships to the seafloor. The surprise attack, code-named Operation Judgment, crippled the Italian Navy, sinking three battleships, including the flagship Littorio, and damaging several other ships. This daring feat, executed with precision and stealth, would later inspire the Japanese to launch a similar attack on Pearl Harbor, and rewrite the rules of naval warfare.