Ship-Busters; British Torpedo-Bombers in WWII

Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2009. Reprint edition in paperback by different publisher. First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. Very good. [4], 272, [16] pages. Footnotes. Illustrations. Map. Index. This is one of the Stackpole Military History Series. Ralph Baker served with the Royal Air Force in World War II and wrote for the London Sunday Express for more than thirty years. Epic story of low-level strikes on Axis navies in World War II. One of the most dangerous forms of air attack used during the war. Written by a participant. This stirring book recounts how British torpedo-bombers took the war to enemy naval fleets and shipping vessels during World War II. Episodes covered include the attack by a single plane on a German battleship, the torpedoing of the Gneisenau in Brest harbor, and the vital blows against the supply lines of Rommel's Afrika Korps in the Mediterranean. A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carrying the weight of a torpedo, and remained an important aircraft type until they were rendered obsolete by anti-ship missiles. They were an important element in many famous Second World War battles, notably the British attack at Taranto, the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Even before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Royal Navy had studied the threat in the Mediterranean posed by the Italian fleet, which had its advance base in the new port of Taranto in the "heel" of Italy. Captain Lumley Lyster of the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious proposed that his Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers could launch a night attack against Taranto. At that time, the Royal Navy was the only force in the world with this capability. The Swordfish, a three-seat biplane, looked outmoded, but its low stall speed made it an ideal platform for launching torpedoes into the shallow waters of Taranto. The torpedoes were adapted with wire cables attached to their nose and wooden fins at their tail to slow their fall and make a shallow impact with the water, which was only 39 ft deep. On the night of 11 November 1940, 21 Swordfish left the new aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. Some carried bombs and flares, but the main force carried torpedoes. British decoy maneuvers and the Italians' lack of radar allowed the British to surprise the ill-prepared Italian fleet at anchor in Taranto. Three battleships were put out of action, half of the Italian fleet, for the loss of two Swordfish. Two airmen were killed and two others captured. The next day, the remaining Italian battleships withdrew to Naples, ceding control of the Mediterranean to the British. On 6 April 1941, a single Bristol Beaufort piloted by Flying Officer Kenneth Campbell attacked the German battleship Gneisenau in Brest harbor in Brittany, where she and her sister ship, Scharnhorst, were sheltering beneath a massive array of anti-aircraft guns. The other five Beauforts on the mission failed to rendezvous due to bad weather. Campbell received a posthumous Victoria Cross for launching his solo torpedo attack, which put Gneisenau out of action for six months. At 1900 hours on 26 May 1941, fifteen Fairey Swordfish were launched from the Royal Navy's carrier HMS Ark Royal to attack the German battleship Bismarck. Their formation was badly disrupted by heavy clouds and driving rain which resulted in a series of piecemeal attacks. However, two torpedoes hit the Bismarck, one of which jammed the rudder leaving the ship without proper directional control. The next day the Bismarck was sunk by British battleships and cruisers.