The Fairey Swordfish story is one of an aircraft initially frowned upon when it entered service in 1936, respected by the beginning of the Second World War and deemed legendary by the time peace was declared. The world must have looked on in awe at our powerful Royal Navy and its large carriers and with equal bemusement at the seemingly fragile biplanes, with their single torpedo and light armament upon their decks. However, the Swordfish was the only torpedo bomber we had in significant numbers at the beginning of the war and it would prove to be so much more. Designed with one role in mind, the Swordfish evolved into one of the most versatile of Naval aircraft. Its slow speed, which was criticised from the outset, proved to be one of its strengths, especially when it came to anti-submarine work, in which it claimed 21 U-boats sunk between April 1940 and December 1944. The later combination of RPs and ASV radar made the Swordfish particularly effective against U-boats and shipping, of which it claimed over 300,000 tons sunk.
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