[DF9sLGSU]

metro.co.uk | 27th May, 2012

An iconic Royal Navy plane that helped to sink the Bismarck battleship during World War II
will perform a flypast during the finale of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee pageant.



The Fairey Swordfish biplane will reportedly fly at the head of a diamond-shaped formation of helicopters
above the Thames as the royal family look on from HMS President. The biplane, set to star at the end of
the 1,000-boat flotilla, is the only one of its kind still flying.

'The Swordfish was deemed a fitting finale for the pageant, being the Navy’s most iconic aircraft because
of its crucial role in important military campaigns,' a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

The torpedo bomber was outdated by the start of hostilities in 1939 but flying as part of the Fleet Air
Arm of the Royal Navy still went on to take part in operations in the Battle of Taranto and the crippling
of the Bismarck.


German battleship Bismarck