The Most Unexpected Plane That Made Nazi Fleets Freak Out

At first glance, the aircraft climbing away from the Norwegian coast looked like a visitor from another time. Double wings stretched from its sides, fabric skin rippling in the Arctic wind. Yet this was no relic - this was the Fairey Albacore, the Royal Navy's newest torpedo bomber.

From his rear gunner's position, Telegraphist Air Gunner Dickie Sweet had a perfect view of the absurdity of his situation. In the summer of 1941, his fabric-covered biplane banked and turned through Nazi-occupied skies while modern all-metal fighters tangled in furious combat around him. Inside the heated cockpit, his fingers found the controls of his powered turret - one of many innovations that contrasted this aircraft's appearance.

The Royal Navy's most controversial design choice was now face-to-face with a diving Junkers 87. But first, Sweet would need to survive the next thirty seconds aboard the world’s last multirole biplane.


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