Fleet Air Arm Legends
Fleet Air Arm Legends

Author: Matthew Willis

Publisher:

Published: 2021-07-19

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781911658498

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Few aircraft encompass as many contradictions as the Fairey Swordfish - the legendary 'Stringbag' naval torpedo bomber was approaching antiquation at the start of the war yet struck mortal blows against some of the most powerful battleships in the Axis fleets. Naval Aviation historian Matthew Willis explores how modern technology such as radar kept the Swordfish effective in the early years of the war and enabled it to find and hit the Italian fleet at Taranto, and the Bismarck in the Atlantic, in circumstances where no other aircraft could have succeeded.When it was finally superseded in its main role with the Fleet, the Swordfish fulfilled vital roles protecting convoys from the U-boat menace. The story of the Swordfish's service across the majority of theatres in WW2, from the hunt for the Graf Spee to the beaches of Normandy, is told here with never-before-published accounts from veteran aircrews. Includes 100+ historic photographs and unique images of the Royal Navy Historic Flight's preserved aircraft.

Fleet Air Arm Legends
Fleet Air Arm Legends

Author: Matthew Willis

Publisher: HarperTempest

Published: 2024-11-20

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781911704270

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Reliable and rugged with enough firepower to get the job done, Fairey's Fulmar fighter and reconnaissance aircraft was an essential weapon in the Fleet Air Arm's arsenal during the Second World War. The long-range Merlin-powered type carrier-borne type entered service in May 1940 and was well liked by pilots - its broad-track undercarriage offered good handling on deck, its fuel tanks were capacious and its armament of eight Browning machine guns was effective. Most Fleet Air Arm aces scored at least some of their victories while flying a Fulmar and there were at least two Fulmar aces. Fulmars served with distinction during the pursuit of the Bismarck, the North Africa campaign and over Malta before finally meeting their match in the Far East against the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Even then, with its fighter role inherited by Seafires and Marlets, the Fulmar continued to serve as a trainer and reconnaissance type. Today there is only one known surviving example of this remarkable aircraft - N1854, housed at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton. In this fully illustrated third volume of the Fleet Air Arm Legends series, naval aviation specialist Matthew Willis details the Fulmar's development, its entry into service and its operational history from start to finish.

Fairey Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish

Author: W. A. Harrison

Publisher:

Published: 19??

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13:

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Beskriver det engelske jager-, jagerbombe- og torpedofly, som blev udviklet før 2. verdenskrig til Fleet Air Arm.

Fleet Air Arm Legends: Supermarine Seafire
Fleet Air Arm Legends: Supermarine Seafire

Author: Matthew Willis

Publisher: Tempest

Published: 2020-06-17

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 1911658824

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Renowned naval aviation author Matthew Willis tells the story of the Supermarine Seafire – a navalized version of the famous Spitfire adapted for use on aircraft carriers. Some 2646 examples were built and saw action with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm from November 1942 until after the Korean War in the early 1950s. It was involved in combat during the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch), the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy, the D-Day landings, and Operation Dragoon in southern France. With the Pacific fleet, the Seafire proved capable of intercepting and destroying the feared Japanese kamikaze attack aircraft.

The Swordfish Story
The Swordfish Story

Author: Ray Sturtivant

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 9780304357116

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The most unlikely star of the air defense of England against the Nazis was an obsolete biplane known as the "Stringbag"--a version of the Fairey Swordfish that earned legendary battle honors. Endearing to its pilots for its maneuverability and simplicity, this torpedo-spotting aircraft was the standard carrier-borne torpedo bomber, and participated in such crucial operations as the "Bismarck" attack, Norway, and Channel Dash. Along with its battle record, fully illustrated details are given for its variants, squadrons, and a history of all individual aircraft.

The Stringbags
The Stringbags

Author: Garth Ennis

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2020-05-20

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1682475239

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If you do the incredible often enough, they'll want you to do the impossible. Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy began World War II with aircraft that could devastate enemy warships and merchantmen at will. Britain's Royal Navy squadrons went to war equipped with the Fairey Swordfish. A biplane torpedo bomber in an age of monoplanes, the Swordfish was underpowered and undergunned; an obsolete museum piece, an embarrassment. Its crews fully expected to be shot from the skies. Instead, they flew the ancient "Stringbag" into legend. Writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys, War Stories) and artist PJ Holden (Battlefields, World of Tanks: Citadel) present the story of the men who crewed the Swordfish: from their triumphs against the Italian Fleet at Taranto and the mighty German battleship Bismarck in the Atlantic, to the deadly challenge of the Channel Dash in the bleak winter waters of their homeland. They lived as they flew, without a second to lose--and the greatest tributes to their courage would come from the enemy who strove to kill them. Based on the true story of the Royal Navy's Swordfish crews, The Stringbags is an epic tale of young men facing death in an aircraft almost out of time.

Fairey Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish

Author: John H. Batchelor

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781906589028

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This volume covers the famed Fairey Swordfish carrier-borne torpedo bomber and general reconnaissance biplane, the important role it played in World War II for Britain's fleet arm and its combat operations worldwide.

Swordfish at War
Swordfish at War

Author: William Alfred Harrison

Publisher:

Published: 1987-01-01

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 9780711016767

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Beskriver det engelske marinefly Swordfish, der ved begyndelsen af 2. verdenskrig allerede var ved at være forældet. Alligevel opnåede flytypen vigtige resultater for Fleet Air Arm og Royal Navy som torpedo- og rekognosceringsfly.

The Fairey Barracuda
The Fairey Barracuda

Author: Matthew Willis

Publisher: MMP

Published: 2017-01-05

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788365281241

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The Fairey Barracuda was the first monoplane torpedo bomber operated by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. The Barracuda experienced a difficult birth and development during the Second World War, and this, added to a number of fatal crashes, led to a poor reputation which the aircraft would never truly shake. Despite this, the Barracuda proved highly successful in service, carrying out raids against the Tirpitz, and against Japanese forces in the East Indies that contributed greatly to the war effort. It also undertook a variety of less well known roles, and remained in Fleet Air Arm service into the 1950s. This new book by naval aviation historian Matthew Willis contains an extensive history and technical description of the Barracuda, drawing from a wide range of archive materials and accounts from the men who flew and operated the aircraft in service, together with over 100 photographs, many never before published. Scale plans and color profiles also included.

Swordfish
Swordfish

Author: Donald Payne

Publisher:

Published: 2008-12-12

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780946958689

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Beretter om udviklingen og anvendelsen af det britiske hangarskibsbaserede torpedofly fra 2. verdenskrig, Fairey Swordfish.