ABSTRACT

The Royal Navy’s primary carrier planes in 1939 were the Swordfish torpedo bomber/spotting aircraft and the dual-purpose Roc and Skua fighter/dive bombers. Although sturdy and reli­ able, none of these aircraft were a match for the modern land-based aircraft of the day. The Sword­ fish, a biplane, was too slow for modern aerial operations, but it could stay in the air despite ab­ sorbing horrendous punishment. It was also the most stable torpedo plane used by any of the war’s antagonists. It achieved some successes, particu­ larly in the Mediterranean, where it was feared intensely by Italian ship commanders. The same could not be said for the RN’s other aircraft, the Roc and Skua fighter/dive bombers. They were too slow and unwieldy to be effective fighters and lacked the range and bombload to be efficient dive

bombers. Still, the Skuas at least achieved distinc­ tion as the first carrier-launched aircraft to sink a warship in World War II, the German light cruiser Konigsbergy in Bergen harbor during the Norway campaign (q.v.). These fighters’ shortcomings were nonetheless apparent and the RN desperately sought a replacement. Interestingly, the Rocs never served in an active carrier air wing.