Video
Four Random Books 3: Naval Aviation in a Swordfish
Study Four Random Books 3: Naval Aviation in a Swordfish, a Dr. Alex Clarke video from 20 Sept 2020, with 7 time notes. Topics include Battle Of Taranto, Book Reviews, Fairey Swordfish.
Time notes
- 0:35Sea Flight and the Fleet Air Arm's global warChapter
Sea Flight uses one pilot's wartime recollections to show how Fleet Air Arm squadrons escorted convoys and fought from carriers around the world.
- 2:01Hurricanes, HMS Anthony and Royal Marines in MadagascarNotable Point
A Sea Flight combat passage shows Hurricanes, HMS Anthony, HMS Diamond and Royal Marines overcoming a defended harbour during the Madagascar fighting.
- 5:55Ark Royal's career, design debate and wreck photographsNotable Point
Mike Rossiter's history follows HMS Ark Royal from development to loss while leaving room to question parts of its design narrative.
- 8:00Swordfish, Taranto and carrier-landing cultureNotable Point
A Swordfish history of the Taranto raid brings carrier aviation's operational effect together with the humour and hazards of wartime deck landings.
- 10:49Naval Wings: a Swordfish pilot's wider warChapter
Naval Wings follows a Fleet Air Arm Swordfish pilot from Mediterranean strikes to the Atlantic and the war against Japan.
- 12:26How Naval Wings checks memory against official recordsNotable Point
John Wellham explains how taped recollections, flying logbooks, photographs and official records were combined to create Naval Wings without hiding their disagreements.
- 14:26Flying through Red Sea mirage conditionsNotable Point
A Naval Wings passage shows how black-painted petrol drums marked a desert runway when continuous mirage obscured the pilots' sense of height.