Swordfish and Martlets over Diego Suarez

Illustrious launched eighteen of her twenty-one Swordfish before dawn alongside eight Martlets, a strong serviceability showing for the biplanes. The single-seat fighters were told to follow the navigator-equipped Swordfish home if they had trouble finding the moving carrier. Swordfish flights carried torpedoes, depth charges, bombs, and leaflets, attacking shipping, two submarines, artillery, and other defences around Diego Suarez. Another Swordfish spotted for naval bombardment, helping the surface ships achieve accurate fire. Radar guidance and the Martlet's better climb rate let controllers exploit interception methods developed with the slower-climbing Fulmar. Martlets intercepted French reconnaissance aircraft and fighters, while Swordfish dropped dummy parachutists as a diversion. The 209 sorties were accompanied by three operational aircraft losses and six deck-landing crashes.