Wellham describes starting the Pegasus engine with an inertia starter, checking its instruments, and testing each magneto before launch. Aircraft handlers work around turning propellers to remove the chocks and spread the Swordfish's wings on the centre line. Illustrious turns into the wind and reaches about 30 knots before each aircraft accelerates down the deck. The second wave then circles the carrier while waiting for its ninth aircraft. That final Swordfish quickly returns when its additional fuel tank comes loose, showing how deck discipline and mechanical serviceability shaped the force that actually continued to Taranto.
Notable Point · 9:53-12:20
How Illustrious launched Taranto's second wave
John Wellham's account follows a Swordfish from cockpit checks and wing spreading to a 30-knot deck run and formation above Illustrious.