We Have Ways of Making You Talk – SWORDISH ARCTIC PATROL: STRINGBAGS (Part 4)

Podcast: We Have Ways of Making You Talk
Hosts: Al Murray & James Holland
Release Date: December 18, 2025
Focus: The legendary Fairey Swordfish’s role in the Arctic Convoys, with stories of endurance, ingenuity, peril, and the unsung heroics behind World War II’s “Stringbag” aircrews.

Main Theme

This episode explores the post-Taranto fate of the Fairey Swordfish biplane, focusing on its repurposed and pivotal anti-submarine role in protecting vital Arctic convoys to the Soviet Union. Drawing on the memoirs of Robert LePage, an observer in Swordfish 816 Naval Air Squadron, Al and James illuminate the brutal conditions, ingenious adaptations, operational routines, and everyday heroism of the men who flew and maintained these aging yet indispensable aircraft in some of WWII’s harshest theaters.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Swordfish Beyond Torpedoes (04:38–06:45)

• Transition in Role: After its moment of glory at Taranto, the Swordfish becomes “perhaps obsolete as a torpedo aircraft,” but gains a crucial new life as an anti-submarine platform—owing to its low-speed loitering and capacity for depth charges and rockets.

  “It’s as crucial as anything else. And so we’re going to look at Arctic Convoy JW57…Stringbag Patrol we’re calling this episode.” – Al (05:13)

• Why No Helicopters? Before the advent of helicopters, the Swordfish was the best tool available for anti-submarine warfare from small escort carriers.

2. Robert LePage: An Unlikely Observer (06:45–09:31)

• Biography: LePage, from humble beginnings, becomes an observer in Swordfish and later a luminary in linguistics, credited with major contributions to the study of Jamaican Creole.

  “He wants to join the Fleet Air Arm and ends up, you know, an incredibly important professor…” – Al (07:09)

• Training Realities: Naval aircrew had to first qualify as sailors. LePage is assigned as an observer because of his eyesight – which he wryly questions!

  “If my eyes are no good, right, why do you want me to observe?” – LePage via Al (08:28)

3. The Escort Carrier HMS Chaser (09:19–12:18)

• American-built for the Royal Navy: HMS Chaser, originally constructed as a merchantman, is fitted with state-of-the-art radar and adapted for convoy escort.
• Hazardous Service: Chaser avoids early loss, but the specter of disaster looms large, referencing the tragic fate and cover-up of HMS Dasher.

  “Dasher is one of the great Royal Navy cover-ups of the Second World War.” – Al (11:09)

• Design Oddities: The small starboard bridge is a solution to balance and docking hazards.

4. The Arctic Convoy JW57 (12:37–16:10)

• Convoy Composition: 45 merchant ships, guarded by destroyers, corvettes, and backed by cruisers. The air group includes Swordfish and newly introduced Wildcats.
• Perpetual Threat: The convoy’s route pressed along the Norwegian coast, exposed to Luftwaffe aircraft and U-boat wolfpacks, constrained by sea ice.

  “You’re basically in a sandwich. You’re trapped.” – Al (16:36)

5. Operations & Patrol Patterns (22:01–25:16)

• Codename Patrols: The crew use vivid, animal-themed patrol names (e.g., Cobra, Adder, Python, Frog, Crocodile) to coordinate complex search grids and anti-submarine coverage.
  • Cobra Y: Orbit convoy at Y miles.
  • Adder: Patrol ahead 8–12 miles out.
  • Python: Search on a bearing at set distance.
  • Frog: Astern patrol to prevent trailing.
  • Crocodile: Ahead patrol, “half-Cobra.”
• Communication Simplicity: These names facilitate unambiguous commands over the noise and stress of the flight deck.

6. The Human and Physical Toll (27:30–31:35)

• Clothing & Cold: Crew describe the absurdity of flying open-cockpit biplanes at -40°C in the Arctic, despite layers of wool, down, and leather.

  “Bottom line, though, it doesn’t matter how much you wear, you’re never going to be warm enough, are you?” – James (28:54)

• Hygiene Horrors: Without usable toilet facilities, urinating in flightsuits is standard, leading to “steaming” underwear draped to dry on the ship’s piping post-flight.

  “He said there’d be a pleasant warmth for a couple of minutes, then a growing chill, then an acid chafing that left them all with red, sore, red groins…” – Al (30:22)

• Equipment Limitations: Newer but enclosed Albacore aircraft are not deployed here, despite their heated, protected cockpits—an enduring mystery.

7. Combat and Adaption Under Fire (19:02–23:16; 34:45–37:01)

• Freezing Fails: Even modern weapons freeze—in one incident, a Wildcat’s guns freeze at altitude, firing accidentally upon landing (19:15).
• Constant Peril: Descriptions of sighting U-boats, rocket attacks, and the strain of finding carriers to land on in whiteout conditions.

  “The Swordfish attacks. The submarine dives as the Swordfish fires its rocket then snow whites out the scene. So they have no idea if they hit it or not.” – Al (35:48)

• Inter-Service Rivalry & Invisibility: Swordfish contribution is seldom mentioned in destroyer captain memoirs, highlighting different cultures and perspectives aboard.

8. Outcome: Victory in the Fringes (37:19–41:23)

• Convoy Successes: Despite high drama and hardship, most convoys get through; the U-boats are increasingly outmatched and decimated by this late-war stage.

  “By this stage of the war…the navy have got all these traps set for them. They figured it out.” – Al (37:39)

• Recognition Lag: Soviet cooperation is practical, not ideological; yet, the “fringe” victories like the Arctic convoys were long unsung and undervalued (the Arctic Star medal awarded only recently).
• Swordfish Endures: The battered aircraft and their crews are saluted for “imperturbability and indefatigability”—qualities that defined the Arctic campaign.

Notable Quotes & Moments

On Swordfish Obsolescence and Adaptation

“Swordfish…is perhaps, I’m going to say it, obsolete in that role, but goes on to be incredibly important in the Atlantic war because of its ability to loiter…”
— Al Murray (04:38)

On Human Cost and Hygiene

“...there’d be a pleasant warmth for a couple of minutes, then a growing chill, then an acid chafing that left them all with red, sore, red groins…”
— Al (30:22)

On the Realities of Open-Cockpit Patrols

“How can you do it? How can this possibly be in an open cockpit? It's absolutely insane.”
— James (27:30)

On the Understated Heroism

“This is like a corner of the war where imperturbability and indefatigability and all those values, virtues we've talked about…absolutely center stage and no one knows about it.”
— Al (40:21)

On the Fringes Being Central to Victory

“It's war of the fringes, isn't it?... The war of the fringes, which is incredibly important.”
— James Holland (40:26)

Important Timestamps

• 04:38–06:45: The Swordfish’s new anti-submarine role explained.
• 09:19–12:18: HMS Chaser: history, tragedy, innovations.
• 16:12–17:03: The perils and route of the convoy trapped by ice.
• 19:02–20:16: First aerial encounters; Wildcat’s frozen guns mishap.
• 22:01–25:16: Detailed breakdown of animal-named patrols and their roles.
• 27:30–31:35: Vivid descriptions of clothing, hypothermia, hygiene struggles.
• 34:45–37:01: Combat patrol, U-Boat engagement at -40°C, communications.
• 37:19–40:26: Swordfish effectiveness, heavy losses for U-boats, recognition for the Arctic effort.

Closing Thoughts

Wrap-up:
The episode is a tribute to the Swordfish and the resilient, inventive crews that pushed this “obsolete” biplane to its limits. The Arctic Convoys, often treated as peripheral to “main events,” emerge as crucibles of grit, service, and quiet victory. The stories—both harrowing and hilarious—breathe life into the larger history, making these “fringes” central to understanding WWII’s full cost and character.

Recommended Reading:

• Luck of the Devil by Robert LePage
• Stringbag: The Fairey Swordfish at War by David Wragg

Morals of the Story

• Don’t pee in your flightsuit—if you can help it.
• “Imperturbability and indefatigability” are perhaps war’s most important virtues—especially in a Swordfish.
• History’s “fringes” often hold its best unsung heroes.

Next up: The Bismarck episodes, where the Swordfish again becomes legendary. Stay tuned!