Upon his arrival in the Mediterranean, Lyster proposed a carrier airstrike on the Italian fleet at its base in Taranto, as the Royal Navy had been planning since the Abyssinia Crisis of 1935, and Admiral Andrew Cunningham, commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, approved the idea by 22 September 1940. The attack, with both available carriers, was originally planned for 21 October, the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, but a hangar fire aboard "Illustrious" on 18 October forced its postponement until 11 November when the next favourable phase of the moon occurred. The fire destroyed three Swordfish and heavily damaged two others, but they were replaced by aircraft from "Eagle", whose contaminated fuel tanks prevented her from participating in the attack.