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Fleet Air Arm Legends: Fairey Swordfish
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When it was finally superseded in its main role with the Fleet, the Swordfish fulfilled vital roles protecting convoys from the U-boat menace.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 theaters in WWII, 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.
When it was finally superseded in its main role with the Fleet, the Swordfish fulfilled vital roles protecting convoys from the U-boat menace.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 theaters in WWII, 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.
116 pages, Paperback
Published January 19, 2022
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About the author
Matthew Willis
28 books20 followersMatthew Willis is a writer of historical and speculative fiction, and non-fiction. He is the author of the 'Fortress of Malta' series of novellas from Sharpe Books (2019-21) and co-author of the 'Oath and Crown' novels of the Norman Conquest (2017). In 2015 his story Energy was shortlisted for the Bridport short story award.
'Mustang: The Untold Story', a major history of the early variants of the immortal P-51 Mustang fighter, was published in 2021 by Key Books.
Matthew studied Literature and History of Science at the University of Kent, where he wrote an MA thesis on Joseph Conrad and sailed for the University in national competitions. He subsequently worked as a journalist for Autosport and F1 Racing magazines, before switching to a career with the National Health Service.
His first non-fiction book, a history of the Blackburn Skua WW2 naval dive bomber, was published in 2007. He now has nine non fiction books published including the first biography of test pilot Duncan Menzies. He currently lives in Southampton and writes both fiction and non-fiction for a living.
'Mustang: The Untold Story', a major history of the early variants of the immortal P-51 Mustang fighter, was published in 2021 by Key Books.
Matthew studied Literature and History of Science at the University of Kent, where he wrote an MA thesis on Joseph Conrad and sailed for the University in national competitions. He subsequently worked as a journalist for Autosport and F1 Racing magazines, before switching to a career with the National Health Service.
His first non-fiction book, a history of the Blackburn Skua WW2 naval dive bomber, was published in 2007. He now has nine non fiction books published including the first biography of test pilot Duncan Menzies. He currently lives in Southampton and writes both fiction and non-fiction for a living.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 22, 2022
Fairey Swordfish, the second in Tempest Book’s Fleet Air Arm Legends Series, tells the story of the biplane torpedo bomber that served throughout the Second World War, despite it being initially planned for replacement well before 1945. As with the first in the series, the book is excellently written, with a huge amount of information packed into the book’s 130 pages (plus 16 extra pages of colour profiles). The author brings what is clearly a deep knowledge of, and interest in, the subject to tell a compelling story about a compelling aircraft.
The research and attention-to-detail is excellent, and I particularly liked that the names of many of the pilots were referenced when discussing actions - and that discussions of actions took into account sources from both sides. Unlike no small number of British and American works on actions in the Mediterranean theatre, this book presents a balanced view, treading a well-judged path between British wartime propaganda (and its impact on works since) and more recent overcompensating revisionism in relation to the Regia Marina. It is also worth noting that the book contains information from the author’s original research, when interviewing or corresponding with former FAA pilots.
The standard of editing was very high, with only a very small number of typos noticed, none of which present any difficulty to understanding what’s being said. Editing for fact was equally well-done, with only one tiny slip that I noticed (the timing given for Operation Result being that when the force left port, rather than the date of the bombardment/air strike). The writing is generally very accessible, although there are a few aviation-specific terms that may need a quick Google. There are notes containing source information, and an index with well fleshed-out sections on ships, operations and sections.
With numerous carefully-selected photographs, and 16 pages of high-quality colour profiles showing Swordfish in a range of configurations and paintwork, the book is well-illustrated throughout. The captions on the images and profiles show off the author’s trademark attention-to-detail, and contain much interesting information.
All up, an easy recommend for anyone interested in this iconic aircraft, or the Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War more broadly.
The research and attention-to-detail is excellent, and I particularly liked that the names of many of the pilots were referenced when discussing actions - and that discussions of actions took into account sources from both sides. Unlike no small number of British and American works on actions in the Mediterranean theatre, this book presents a balanced view, treading a well-judged path between British wartime propaganda (and its impact on works since) and more recent overcompensating revisionism in relation to the Regia Marina. It is also worth noting that the book contains information from the author’s original research, when interviewing or corresponding with former FAA pilots.
The standard of editing was very high, with only a very small number of typos noticed, none of which present any difficulty to understanding what’s being said. Editing for fact was equally well-done, with only one tiny slip that I noticed (the timing given for Operation Result being that when the force left port, rather than the date of the bombardment/air strike). The writing is generally very accessible, although there are a few aviation-specific terms that may need a quick Google. There are notes containing source information, and an index with well fleshed-out sections on ships, operations and sections.
With numerous carefully-selected photographs, and 16 pages of high-quality colour profiles showing Swordfish in a range of configurations and paintwork, the book is well-illustrated throughout. The captions on the images and profiles show off the author’s trademark attention-to-detail, and contain much interesting information.
All up, an easy recommend for anyone interested in this iconic aircraft, or the Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War more broadly.
February 2, 2023
As an American politician once said" You fight with the army you have"- and few bits of kit exemplify this more than the Fleet Air Arm and its Swordfish Torpedo Bombers. An aircraft that was clearly obsolete when WWII began ended up making huge contributions to the war effort- right up to the end. Matthew Willis- a Fleet Air Arm and Royal Navy writer of some note gives us a pretty good up close look at the type and its war history- in this Number 2 of the Fleet Air Arm Legends series from Tempest Books- development and combat history, lots of b/w pics and some great colour plates for the gamers and modelers. It is a very compelling package on the little plane that could- as Swordfish played part on just about every front the Royal Navy appeared- and made this little relic an iconic airframe of the conflict. I have chatted with the author on Naval topics on Social Media- was great to see him strut his stuff in his element. It's a good book, especially for such a small format(130 pages).
The trick, with these slow and ungainly aircraft, was avoiding enemy fighters and Anti Aircraft Artillery. Thus many of their best successes were flying at night or far out to sea. They participated in the sinking of the Bismarck, the attack on Taranto (that presaged Pearl Harbor), and, as Willis shows a ton of Sub and small ship sinkings. This was one of the key aircraft in the Battle of the Atlantic- finally solving the "air Gap" by flying off jeep/escort carriers to protect convoys all the way. We get these- and some of the more hi-tech uses the planes were put to- as well as seldom discussed Pacific War uses and paint schemes. When you are done- you really understand how this "Stringbag" (its real RN Nickname) came to be a beloved iconic aircraft in the same war that gave us our first Jet fighters.
There are few adult themes and little graphic injury description, so this is a fine book for the Junior Reader over 10/11 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast- this is a clear win. The gamer gets a lot of mission/sortie/scenario ideas- as well as those great silhouette schemes. the modeler gets a lot of build/diorama ideas- and a real appreciation for those Silhouette Schemes- I think they have covered all the fronts- although individual airframes may have a few other schemes. The Military Enthusiast has a handy reference with top level short history and a good curated photo collection for a really iconic aircraft type. It's a good book, by a strong author, on an interesting topic- hard to beat that.
The trick, with these slow and ungainly aircraft, was avoiding enemy fighters and Anti Aircraft Artillery. Thus many of their best successes were flying at night or far out to sea. They participated in the sinking of the Bismarck, the attack on Taranto (that presaged Pearl Harbor), and, as Willis shows a ton of Sub and small ship sinkings. This was one of the key aircraft in the Battle of the Atlantic- finally solving the "air Gap" by flying off jeep/escort carriers to protect convoys all the way. We get these- and some of the more hi-tech uses the planes were put to- as well as seldom discussed Pacific War uses and paint schemes. When you are done- you really understand how this "Stringbag" (its real RN Nickname) came to be a beloved iconic aircraft in the same war that gave us our first Jet fighters.
There are few adult themes and little graphic injury description, so this is a fine book for the Junior Reader over 10/11 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast- this is a clear win. The gamer gets a lot of mission/sortie/scenario ideas- as well as those great silhouette schemes. the modeler gets a lot of build/diorama ideas- and a real appreciation for those Silhouette Schemes- I think they have covered all the fronts- although individual airframes may have a few other schemes. The Military Enthusiast has a handy reference with top level short history and a good curated photo collection for a really iconic aircraft type. It's a good book, by a strong author, on an interesting topic- hard to beat that.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews