Desc: History's Raiders: Royal Swordfish Take Taranto: Directed by Jonathan Martin. With Stan Bernard. Early in World War II, the Fleet Air Arm of the British Royal Navy destroyed the Italian Navy in a decisive battle with outdated biplanes, thus guaranteeing the Royal Navy effective control of the Mediterranean Sea. This documentary traces the planning and execution of this famous 1940 raid, which had the unfortunate consequence of demonstrating to the Japanese how naval aviation could destroy a Fleet in harbour.