The discussion challenges the assumption that a Swordfish was completely helpless when attacked by a modern fighter. In Norway, German losses attributed to nonexistent nearby Spitfires or Hurricanes were more plausibly caused by Blackburn Skuas or Swordfish operating in the area. A Bf 109 diving on a Swordfish could badly misjudge the biplane's low speed, overshoot, or enter a high-speed stall while trying to follow its manoeuvre. In another account, a Swordfish pitched steeply upward so the fighter passed beneath it and exposed itself to the observer's rear gun. These were desperate defensive opportunities rather than evidence of fighter parity, though they show how extreme handling differences could disrupt a textbook attack.
Notable Point · 2:28:32-2:35:19
Swordfish crews turn extreme low speed against Bf 109 attackers
Norway anecdotes show how a Swordfish could force a fast fighter to overshoot, then use its rear gun or the attacker's stall against it.