AIRCRAFT CARRIERS IN PROFILE AN ILLUSTRIOUS HISTORY
In the final moonlit hours of 11 November 1940 the Royal Navy aircraft carrier Illustrious turned into the wind and began launching the first of two waves of Swordfish torpedo bombers. The target of their mission – codenamed Operation Judgement – was the Italian naval base at Taranto. By the time the raid was over, three of Italy’s six battleships rested on the harbour bed. At the cost of just two lost aircraft, a major strategic victory had been achieved.
The outcome of Operation Judgement was just one of a reputation second only to that enjoyed by among wartime British aircraft carriers. It was therefore of little surprise that her name was earmarked for one of the Invincible class ‘through-deck cruisers’ when the time came to build a new generation of aviation-capable ships. While missing out on some of the higher-profile accomplishments of her predecessor, this later also earned a distinguished record that deserves to be remembered.
