Willis, Matthew/Swiatlon, Janusz (Illustr.)/Hector, Gareth (Illustr.) Swordfish Units of World War 2

In the 1930s, the Royal Navy's flying squadron was looking for an aircraft that could combine the functions of torpedo attack, reconnaissance and target acquisition. This goal was finally achieved with the Swordfish biplane. Despite competition from more modern types such as the Blackburn Shark and the Barracuda, the Swordfish made a crucial contribution to some of the British Navy's greatest successes in the Second World War, helping to tip the balance in operations such as the attack on the Italian battle fleet at Taranto in November 1940 and the attacks on the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941. Elsewhere, she took on an anti-submarine role in both the Battle of the Atlantic and escorting convoys in the Arctic, and was used by the RAF to engage ships during the D-Day landings and in the final stages of the war in Europe. In this fascinating study, historian Matthew Willis draws on Admiralty records, operational reports and interviews with Fleet Air Arm crew members to compile a comprehensive history of one of the Royal Navy's most important aircraft. Archive photographs and 22 newly commissioned colour profiles help to document the Swordfish's development and illustrate the aircraft's resilience and adaptability through both its many victories and its equally eventful defeats.