The Man Who Built the Swordfish

`British business biographies are few and far and for this reason alone this brilliant account of the life of Sir Richard Fairey will be welcome. Yet it is much more than this - it gives us a unique insight into the history of the aircraft industry and the Air Force, but also the temper of the British political right wing, transatlantic relations in the Second World War, and the private and leisure world of a British tycoon. It gives an astonishing, and exceedingly rare, insight into the nature of the British elite.' - David Edgerton, Hans Rausing Professor of the History of Science and Technology and Professor of Modern British History, King's College London, `Adrian Smith's spectacular biography breaks the myth of British industrial decline in the twentieth century, highlighting the contribution of a larger than life individual to the development of cutting edge industries. Richard Fairey created aircraft that pushed the limits of range, speed and durability, and helped mobilise American industry to support the British war effort. The durable, war-winning Swordfish, and the fabulous FD2, test bed for Concorde, are his legacy.' - Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History, King's College London and author of Crusoe's Island.

Adrian Smith is Emeritus Professor of Modern History at the University of Southampton, and previously taught at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the University of Kent. An established author, broadcaster and journalist in the fields of modern British political, social and cultural history, his books include Mountbatten Apprentice War Lord and The City of Coventry: A Twentieth Century Icon (both I.B. Tauris), Mick Mannock, Fighter Pilot: Myth, Life and Politics and The New Statesman: Portrait of a Political Weekly, 1913-1931. In researching and writing The Man Who Built The Swordfish he worked closely with the family of Sir Richard Fairey and the National Museum of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm Museum.

Foreword and acknowledgements Chapter 1 Early life Chapter 2 Aviation apprenticeship Chapter 3 The First World War and the founding of Fairey Aviation Chapter 4 Great War and great expectations Chapter 5 Twenties bust and boom Chapter 6 Into the Thirties, 'this age of crooners and Safety First' Chapter 7 Through the Thirties, that 'low dishonest decade' Chapter 8 Wartime in Washington - the British Air Commission Chapter 9 Charging to an end, at supersonic speed, 1946-56 Chapter 10 Conclusion Appendix: My father, Sir Richard Fairey by Jane Tennant, nee Fairey