I was just watching a doco on the History Channel about the famous Swordfish raid on the Italian Navy at Taranto, during WWII, & I got to wondering what if the raid was a disaster? What if most of the planes were shot down & none of the Italian ships suffered much damaged let alone none were sunk.
So what effect would this have on Allied operations in the Mediterranean Theatre?
And, maybe more to the point, what effect, if any, could such a defeat for the RN have on Japanese plans for Pearl Harbor?
Anything else?
Discuss...