Another note on this operation: Excellent inter-service cooperation between Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. Lots of credit for this goes to the new "General" of Fighters, Adolph Galland.
I'm very pleased that this thread has re-emerged, because here is that Swordfish - a photo I took at last months' Duxford air display....
Correct Harolds - Raeder himself claimed this was a tactical victory but a strategic defeat. Still would have been better to sink them.
OK - last one, I promise, otherwise I'm hijacking this thread too much....... The Swordfish has been missing from the UK airshow scene for a couple of years due to maintenance. The RNHF are very careful about the conditions in which it can fly, so it is often 'winded off'. To me, it's a wonderful living tribute to the wartime Swordfish crews and their exploits.
" Operation Fuller " condemned the men manning the Swordfish torpedo bombers to almost certain death - all six of the attacking Swordfish were shot down, having to the misfortune to reach the convoy and launch their attack in the precise sector where JG 26 and JG 2's fighter coverage coincided. Banks of cloud and fog could offer little protection when setting up for a straight run-in against the ships. Out of the ensuing hail of withering fire and the confusion of battle that blasted all six Swordfish out of the air, II./ JG 2 eventually claimed and was credited with no fewer than 8 Swordfish, while III./ JG 26 claimed three and the ships' anti-aircraft batteries were credited with a further four! here's one of mine and another view of the memorial on the sea front at Dover instituted by the Channel Dash Memorial Trust