One of the most incredible events of World War II occurred on June 12, 1943, when an army surrendered to an RAF Swordfish pilot
One of the most amazing events of World War II occurred on June 12, 1943, when an army surrendered to Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot.
As told on The Royal Air Force Museum, London, Facebook Page, Pilot Sydney Cohen, navigator Peter Tait, and gunner Les Wright had taken off from Malta in search of survivors of a German aircraft that had been shot down in the Mediterranean. They found the pilot, dropped emergency packs, radioed his location, and made their way back home.
Pilot Sydney Cohen, navigator Peter Tait, and gunner Les Wright took off from Malta in search of survivors of a German plane that had been shot down in the Mediterranean, according to a post on The Royal Air Force Museum, London, Facebook page. They tracked down the pilot, left their emergency supplies, radioed his location, and then headed back to their house.
Cohen and his crew were piloting a Fairey Swordfish, an open-cockpit biplane torpedo bomber that had a striking resemblance to the aircraft used in World War I. The Fairey Swordfish made its first flight in 1934 and entered full service in 1936. A superb naval aircraft’s fighting career came to an end in 1945 after a total of 2391(2) were constructed. The Swordfish is remembered by pilots as a dependable but unpleasant aircraft. It was used in the Battle of the Atlantic, against Soviet convoys, and across the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans. It was known as the “Stringbag.”
The attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto harbor on the evening of November 11, 1940, is often regarded as the Swordfish’s greatest success. The balance of naval power in the Mediterranean was altered that evening by 21 Swordfish operating out of HMS Illustrious.
The Fairey Swordfish’s flight instruments began to malfunction on June 12, 1943. The team lost all sense of direction due to poor sight and a malfunctioning compass. They observed an island below, but soon realized it was an Italian island rather than Malta. They were forced to land and take their chances as prisoners of war because their fuel supply was getting low.
They were greeted by Italian officers as soon as they touched down. Curiously, the Italians were the ones who wanted to surrender when Cohen and his men raised their arms in surrender. It must be said that many Allied airstrikes have been made against the island of Lampedusa. The approximately 4,300-man Italian garrison, which was completely cut off from the mainland, requested and was given permission to surrender by the Italian authorities.
They believed Cohen and his two companions had arrived to receive the surrender when they saw the Swordfish fly in. The news immediately spread, earning Cohen the moniker “King of Lampedusa” and making him a hero among the Jewish community of his East End. The narrative was adapted into a Yiddish drama that ran for more than 200 continuous performances in London. The drama was televised on the BBC, and it was also performed in other nations. When Cohen was stationed in Haifa in 1944, there were rumors that he attended a performance of the play.
On August 26, 1946, Cohen’s plane crashed in the Straits of Dover while it was returning home to be demobbed; the wreckage was never located.
Photo by Crown Copyright and The Jews of the RAF website