Page 22 - Cormorant 2019

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ACSC22 Taranto Dinner
Lt Cdr Marty van Duin
FOR THE FLEET AIR Arm, the aviation fighting arm of the Royal Navy, the Battle
of Taranto in 1940 was the crowning moment of aircraft carrier
power projection. This capability is something which has been reinvigorated in the modern Royal Navy with the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carriers, designed around the strike capability of the F35 Lightning
jet. The 2018 Battle of Taranto dinner, hosted by the Fleet Air Arm and Italian members of ACSC 22, was held in memory of the brave aircrews of the Fleet Air Arm. On the night of 11 November 1940, they launched from Royal Navy carriers in the Mediterranean, overcoming challenging weather and formidable enemy defences to fly over the bay of Taranto and immobilise the Italian naval fleet. This had a significant impact throughout the remainder of World War 2.
The evening’s revelries
started with an impressive
display by The Band of HM
Royal Marines, where the guest of
honour, Cdre Nick Tindall (Commanding Officer of Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton), took the salute. An excellent dinner was served, interspersed with
a progressive narrative of the events
of 1940 delivered to the guests by the Acting Mess President Cdr Barry Issitt and Lt Cdrs Caroline Dix and Marty van