Q&A · 1:05:11-1:05:36

Did a Swordfish from the Bismarck attack survive?

A cautious answer separates the survival of the Fairey Swordfish type from the harder question of whether a specific Bismarck-attack aircraft is preserved.

Question

Are any of the Fairey Swordfish that attacked Bismarck still preserved in museums?

Short answer

One may survive in a museum, but the identification is uncertain and the airworthy Naval Heritage Flight examples were not identified as Bismarck attackers.

Notes

Some Fairey Swordfish survive in museums, and one is tentatively associated here with the attack on Bismarck. None of the airworthy Naval Heritage Flight examples is positively identified as an aircraft from that attack. Those flying examples have distinguished individual histories, but the exact connection remains unresolved. Preservation of the type and verification of a specific airframe's wartime service are separate questions.