Swordfish: The Sensational True Story of the Daring British Raid that Changed Naval Aviation Forever
David Wragg
Nov 2026 · Weidenfeld & Nicolson · Narrated by Chris Courtenay
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Audiobook
10 hr 47 min
Unabridged
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Eligible
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infoThis book will become available on November 5, 2026. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this audiobook
In November 1940 Britain was isolated in its stand against the Axis powers. The country could not afford to lose control of the Mediterranean, but the Royal Navy was already overstretched by the U-boat war and the threat of invasion. On the night of 11 November, 42 members of the Fleet Air Arm took off in 21 obsolete 'Swordfish' biplanes, launched from HMS Illustrious. Their target: the Italian fleet anchorage at Taranto.
Pressing home their attack in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire and searchlights, they torpedoed and sank three battleships. Incredibly, all but two of the biplanes survived. The Italian fleet was crippled and the world took note that Britain was far from defeated. No-one was more impressed than the Japanese, who noted how a fleet in harbour could be demolished by air attack.
In this spellbinding account of the Royal Navy's most daring operation of the Second World War, David Wragg draws on British and Italian records as well as interviews with the aircrew to tell the full story of a night that changed the course of the war.
Pressing home their attack in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire and searchlights, they torpedoed and sank three battleships. Incredibly, all but two of the biplanes survived. The Italian fleet was crippled and the world took note that Britain was far from defeated. No-one was more impressed than the Japanese, who noted how a fleet in harbour could be demolished by air attack.
In this spellbinding account of the Royal Navy's most daring operation of the Second World War, David Wragg draws on British and Italian records as well as interviews with the aircrew to tell the full story of a night that changed the course of the war.
In November 1940 Britain was isolated in its stand against the Axis powers. The country could not afford to lose control of the Mediterranean, but the Royal Navy was already overstretched by the U-boat war and the threat of invasion. On the night of 11 November, 42 members of the Fleet Air Arm to...
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About the author
A former contributor to THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH and THE SPECTATOR, David Wragg is the author of some twenty books on aviation and naval history, of which eight have been published abroad. His books include JANE'S AIR FORCES OF THE WORLD (2003), THE FLEET AIR ARM HANDBOOK 1939-45 (Sutton, 2001 and 2003), described by one magazine 'As good a single volume on the subject as your reviewer has located'; CARRIER COMBAT (Sutton, 1997 and The Naval Institute Press, USA); and WINGS OVER THE SEA (David & Charles, 1979 and ARCO, USA).
A former contributor to THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH and THE SPECTATOR, David Wragg is the author of some twenty books on aviation and naval history, of which eight have been published abroad. His books include JANE'S AIR FORCES OF THE WORLD (2003), THE FLEET AIR ARM HANDBOOK 1939-45 (Sutton, 2001 and 20...
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