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| Extra Details : Bismarck and Swordfish by Jason Askew. (P) | ||
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| Signatures on this item | |
| *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | |
| Name | Info |
  Maschinenobergefreiter Otto Peters (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Born 8th May 1919, Otto Peters joined the Kriegsmarine in April 1939. Posted to Bismarck, he was one of the first to join the crew at the Blohm and Voss shipyard in his hometown of Hamburg. As a leading stoker, Otto was on fire-watch when he heard over the tannoy that the Royal Navy had 'undertaken all necessary efforts to sink the Bismarck', and recalls that he knew at once their days were numbered. Otto was picked up after the sinking by the Cruiser HMS Dorsetshire, there were just 115 survivors from the crew of over 2000. Otto Peters died in December 2013. |
 Walter Weintz (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | A signature rarely found on art prints, Walter Weintz is a survivor of the sinking of German battleship Bismarck. Walter Weintz was born on the 21st of February1922. Walter Weintz joined the Kriegsmarine in 1940, after his basic naval training he did staff duty in Warnemünde and Copenhagen, Denmark, transferring to the Bismarck in April 1941 in Gotenhafen as a radio operator and encoder / decoder and was given the action station in radio room A. Walter was at his battle station during the final engagement on the 27th May 1941. He survived the sinking of the Bismarck and was one of the 85 survivors to be picked up by the British cruiser HMS Dorsetshire. Walter Weintz became a POW and stayed in England for 6 months before being transported to Canada. After the war Walter returned to Germany on the 13th of March 1947, and went to work at his fathers company in Hassloch before taking employment with BASF chemical company in Ludwigsburg until he retired. In May 2002, Walter along with another Bismarck survivor Karl Kuhn went with James Cameron's filming team on the filming expidition to the wreck of the Bismarck. Sadly, Walter Weintz died on 8th January 2009 in Hassloch near Mannheim at the age of 86. |
| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Swordfish | Torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane, crewed by three, with a top speed of 154mph, reduced to 136mph as a float plane. Maximum ceiling 19,000 feet, reduced as a float plane. Armed with a .303 Vickers machine gun fixed forward and one in the rear cockpit. One 1610lb torpedo or up to 1500lb bomb load. At the outbreak of world war two the fleet air arm had 13 operational squadrons. The Fairey Swordfish has earned its place in history for major contributions to naval warfare, during the Norwegian campaign, and especially during the raid on Taranto. In November1940, twenty Swordfish took off from HMS Illustrious to attack the Italian fleet in their Harbour of Taranto. At Least nine torpedoes hit their targets. Seven Italian ships were badly damaged including the battleships, Caio Duillio, Littorio and Conte De Cavour. This was followed in February 1942, by a heroic but suicidal attack on German battlecruisers in the English Channel by six Swordfish of 825 squadron from RAF Manston. All aircraft and crews were lost. This resulted in a Victoria Cross for the leader Lieutenant Commander E Esmonde. The next major event was the torpedo attack on the Bismarck by Swordfish from HMS Ark Royal, which badly damaged the steering gear of the Bismarck which helped in the final destruction of the German battleship by Royal Navy battleships. The Fairey Swordfish was also used in anti-submarine and anti-shipping roles. The Swordfish sunk more enemy ships (by tonnage) than any other aircraft acting in the same role. By the end of the war the Fleet Air Arm still had nine active squadrons, but these were finally disbanded in May 1945. A total of 2399 Swordfish were built. |
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Weintz, Walter 
