The Fairey Swordfish – Antiquated, yet devastatingly effective

Fairey Swordfish Mk 1 W5856, here in the markings of an 810 Squadron aircraft from HMS Ark Royal, is the oldest surviving airworthy Swordfish in the world. Built by Blackburn Aircraft at Sherburn-in-Elmet, it first flew on October 20, 1941, and served with the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet during WW II. This “Stringbag” is now operated by Navy Wings, a naval aviation charity in the UK. (Photo by John Dibbs/Facebook.com/theplanepicturecompany)

Seemingly already obsolescent when the first one landed on an aircraft carrier, the Swordfish, or “Stringbag” as it was affectionately known, was incredibly versatile and achieved some spectacular successes during the war, outlasting some of the aircraft intended to replace it and defying all expectations. Despite looking like an aircraft that should not have seen service during WW II, amazingly this ugly duckling biplane was responsible for sinking a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than...

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