Fairey Swordfish 3D model

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The Fairey Swordfish was a 1930s torpedo bomber biplane that served as a frontline attack aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy. Hardly faster than the old WW I SPADs and Nieuports, it was already obsolete by the time it entered service in 1936. Despite being antiquated, it sank more tonnage than any other Allied plane during the World War II and served from the beginning of the war until the end. Of its most famous missions, it played a role in the attack of the strategic Italian port of Taranto and it made a critical strike that led to the sinking of the most famous of all German battleships, the Bismarck. The Swordfish also had the capability to serve as a dive-bomber, perform night missions, and pioneered the use of Air to Surface Vessel (ASV) radar. It was nicknamed “Stringbag” as it was compared to a housewife's string shopping bag, common at the time, due to its ability to carry an unlikely combination of loads. The nickname was meant as a compliment.