American Legation Cairo, Egypt, November 14, 1940SECRETFrom: Lieutenant Commander John N. Opie, 3rd, U.S.N., Assistant Naval Attache, London To : Chief of Naval Operations Office of Naval Intelligence, Navy Department, Washington. Subject: British Attack on Taranto on the Night of 11/12 November 1940. Enclosures: A - Sketch B - ILLUSTRIOUS Report of Attack The following observations supplement the enclosed report: 1. Previous Training: Night attacks were made on Rhodes, Leros and Tobruk as well as a torpedo and bombing attack on Benghazi. The pilots were therefore reasonably experienced in night flying. In addition several practice torpedo attacks were made on the British Fleet while at sea. A study was made of excellent air photos of ships, nets, defenses and harbor of Taranto. 2. Material: The torpedoes were set to a depth of 33 feet with a run of about 3,000 yards at 27 knots. The duplex pistol, instead of arming itself after 400 yards of run, was set to arm itself at 260 yards. Each torpedo plane carried one 18-inch 1600-lb. torpedo and one flare. Each bomber carried six 250-lb. SAP bombs and one flare. Each flare dropper carried four 250-lb. SAP bombs and 16 flares. 3. Instructions