A few more than a dozen Fairey Swordfish flew off into a North Atlantic gale on May 26, 1941. No other aircraft was capable of carrying a torpedo to a target in that kind of weather. But the open cockpit biplane "Stringbags" had been designed to do exactly that.
Here the pilots and crew of the Swordfish that conducted the crippling attack recall that fateful day. As do those aboard HMS Ark Royal and HMS Sheffield, both of which were to play central roles in bringing Bismark to bay.
But the victory was not sweet. An enraged Admiralty wanted to avenge the devastating loss of HMS Hood by naval gunfire. But the guns of HMS King George V and Rodney weren't employed at optimum range. And the point-blank pounding they delivered to Bismarck's superstructure would not sink the ship.
As Ark Royal's Swordfish circled above, the ship's command staff were aghast when they heard HMS Devonshire had been ordered to deliver the coup-de-grace - and not the aircraft responsible for crippling the terror of the North Atlantic.