The Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11–12 November 1940 during the Second World War between British naval forces, under Admiral Andrew Cunningham, and Italian naval forces, under Admiral Inigo Campioni. The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft ship-to-ship naval attack in history, employing 21 obsolete Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea. The attack struck the battle fleet of the "Regia Marina" at anchor in the harbour of Taranto, using aerial torpedoes despite the shallowness of the water.