Peter C. Smith - Torpedo Bombers

Select Bibliography

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Bowyer, Chaz, Eugene Esmonde , VC, DSO, William Kimber, London, 1983.

Brown, Eric, Wings of the Navy: Flying Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War II , Janes, London, 1980.

Davies, Richard Bell, Sailor in the Air: the Memoirs of Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies , Davies, London, 1967.

Gibbs, R. P. M., Not Peace but a Sword , Cassell, London, 1943.

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Halley, James J., Famous Maritime Squadrons of the RAF , Hylton Lacy, Windsor, 1972.

Harrison, W. A., Swordfish Special , Ian Allan, Shepperton, 1977.

Hurren, B. J., The Swordfish Saga: Story of the Fairey Swordfish Torpedo Bomber and a History of Torpedo Plane Development in the Royal Navy , Fairey Aviation, Hayes, 1946.

Hyde, H. Montgomery, British Air Policy between the Wars , Heinemann, London, 1976.

Jackson, Robert, Strike from the Sea: a Survey of British Naval Air Operations 190969 , Barker, London, 1970.

Joubert de La Ferte, Philip, Birds and Fishes; the Story of Coastal Command , Hutchinson, London, 1960.

Judd, Donald, Avenger from the Sky , William Kimber, London, 1985.

Malizia, Nicola, LAeronautica Militare Italiana , Edizioni dellAteneo & Bizzarri, Roma, 1979.

Melhorn, C. M., Two-Block Fox: The Rise of the Aircraft Carrier 191129 , Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1974.

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By the same author:

Naval

Action Imminent

Arctic Victory

Battle of Midway

Battles of the Malta Striking Forces

Battleship Royal Sovereign

British Battle Cruisers

Cruisers in Action

Destroyer Action

Destroyer Leader

Eagle s War

Fighting Flotilla

Hard Lying

Heritage of the Sea

Hit First, Hit Hard

Hold the Narrow Sea

H.M.S. Wild Swan

Into the Minefields

Midway; Dauntless Victory

Pedestal ; the convoy that saved Malta

Royal Navy Ships Badges

Task Force 57

The Great Ships Pass

War in the Aegean

Aviation

Close Air Support

Douglas AD Skyraider

Fairchild-Republic A10A Thunderbolt

North American T-6, SNJ, Harvard & Wirraway

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

Ship Strike

RAF Squadron Badges

T-6; the Harvard, Texan and Wirraway

The Sea Eagles

Military

Massacre at Tobruk

The Royal Marines: A Pictorial History

Per Mare, Per Terram

Victorias Victories

Dive Bombers

Aichi D3A1/2 Val

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver

Dive Bomber!

Dive Bombers in Action

Douglas SBD Dauntless

Fist from the Sky

The History of Dive Bombing

Into the Assault

Jungle Dive Bombers at War

Junkers Ju.87 Stuka

Luftwaffe Colours Stukas 1

Luftwaffe Colours Stukas 2

Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshka

Straight Down!

Skua; The Royal Navys Dive Bomber

Straight Down!

Stuka at War

Stukas over the Mediterranean

Stukas over the Steppe

Stuka Spearhead

Stuka Squadron

Vengeance!

First published in Great Britain in 2007 by

Pen & Sword Aviation

An imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Ltd

47 Church Street

Barnsley

South Yorkshire

S70 2AS

Copyright Peter C. Smith, 2007

ISBN 978 1 84415 607 8

eISBN 978 1 78303 873 2

The right of Peter C. Smith to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Printed and bound in England
By CPI UK

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See all previous books by Peter C. Smith at the Authors Website: www.dive-bombers.co.uk

Dedication

Franz Selinger and Hanfried Schliephake
With thanks and appreciation over many decades.

Foreword

T he story of the torpedo bomber has long needed recording. This book may be looked upon as a pictorial outline of an involved story but one that presents the basic facts and details of many of the great actions, supplemented by a comprehensive series of photographs.

The torpedo bomber had a long and slow development from before the Great War and reached maturity from 1940 to 1942, when spectacular achievements brought it to the forefront of naval warfare. The development of effective antiaircraft defence and the declining number of suitable targets eventually caused its eclipse during the latter war years. Its final development took place in the early 1950s.

It is now only the anti-submarine torpedo that is taken to sea in aircraft, a development outside the scope of this book but one that has assured the use of the aerial torpedo in a new form at sea for many decades.

For this new edition of the book, Pen & Sword has adopted a format designed for modern readers. I am delighted; for too long our naval heritage has been ignored and neglected, indeed, almost treated as shameful. What was achieved by brave men fighting for their nation and families should be honoured and the men who flew the torpedo bombers at Taranto and against the Bismarck should never be forgotten.

Acknowledgements

T he author and publishers wish to thank the following organisations and individuals for their kindness in allowing them to reproduce the photographs featured in this book: Ufficio Storico , Roma ; Archiv Schliephake; Crown Copyright Office; French Navy; Imperial War Museum, London; JMSDF Historical Office, Tokyo; Real Photos, Southport; Franz Selinger, United States Navy Historical Center, Navy Yard, Washington DC; Aeronautical Italia , Roma: and the personal collections of friends and enthusiasts.