A follow-up separates the aircraft from the proficiency of the people flying it. Royal Navy Swordfish crews could conduct night attacks because their service invested in the necessary training. Comparing airframes fairly therefore requires an assumption of equally trained pilots. Night flying in this period also caused fatal peacetime accidents, so proficiency carried a human cost as well as a financial one. Other services directed their resources elsewhere, which makes the historical crews a different comparison from interchangeable pilots in a technical scenario.
Notable Point · 1:03:36-1:04:54
Swordfish night attacks and the price of training
Specialized night training explains a capability that aircraft specifications alone cannot establish.