Continue reading]]> John “Jock” Moffat, the Swordfish pilot who crippled the German battleship Bismarck on 26 May 1941, has died at the age of 97. On the day of the attack, it is believed that Moffat and his crew were able to launch a torpedo that struck and jammed Bismarck’s rudder, preventing it from escaping from the Royal Navy task force pursuing it. It was scuttled the following day by its crew while under attack by Royal Navy ships.

“Jock” Moffat, who was born in 1919, returned to civilian life after the war but always kept an interest in aviation and started flying again in his 60s.

Source: Royal Navy

Continue reading]]>

W5856 in 1993 (Photo Andrew Thomas (CC BY-SA 2.0))

The oldest surviving Fairey Swordfish Mk I, W5856, has returned to the skies after twelve years of absence. The aircraft was mostly restored by the team of engineers on the Royal Navy Historic Flight based at RNAS Yeovilton.

The aircraft, which made its maiden flight in 1941, has been repainted in the colour scheme of 820 Naval Air Squadron on HMS Ark Royal during the attack on the Bismarck in the Northern Atlantic in the same year.

Sources (with photos):

• Western Daily Press
• Royal Navy