In November 1940, the Italian navy had six battleships and several heavy cruisers at its large base at Taranto, Italy. HMS "Eagle" had been too badly damaged in recent operations to participate in a raid on Taranto, but the HMS "Illustrious" had recently arrived in the Mediterranean. She was screened by four cruisers and four destroyers. Photos of the shallow harbor taken by reconnaissance planes based on Malta were flown to the "Illustrious" and specific warship targets identified. That same day, two waves of Fairey Swordfish, variously carrying bombs, torpedoes, and flares, were launched from "Illustrious" and flew the 170 miles to Taranto. Ultimately, a total of about 21 aircraft, eleven with torpedoes, navigated through a balloon barrage and dodged anti-aircraft fire to sink three battleships and damage a cruiser. The cost to the British was two aircraft downed and pilots killed. More Italian ships would have been damaged except that some bombs failed to explode. In any event, half of Italy's capital ship navy was rendered unusable, which went a long way toward equalizing the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean. It also demonstrated the extraordinary potential for carrier-launched aircraft.