Date:	Friday 12 April 1940
Time:	morning
Type:	Fairey Swordfish Mk 1
Owner/operator:	818 Sqn FAA RN
Registration:	????? U3-L
MSN:	-
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Ofotfjorden to the west of Narvik, -   Norway
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	HMS Furious
Destination airport:	HMS Furious

Narrative:
Fairey Swordfish, Code "U3-L", from 818 Sqn. Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy, was shot down by anti-aircraft fire when on a bombing mission to Narvik, with eight other Swordfish from the aircraft carrier HMS Furious. The aircraft was ditched in Ofotfjorden to the west of Narvik. The two aircrew Pilot, Sub- Lieutenant, Sidney George John Appleby and Air Gunner, Leading Airman, Ernest Tapping were picked up by destroyer HMS Grenade.

The Dawn of Carrier Strike: The World of Lieutenant W P Lucy DSO RN - David Hobbs - Google Books
Norwegian Campaign, Battles of Narvik, April 1940 (naval-history.net)
HMS Furious, British aircraft carrier, WW2 (naval-history.net)
Fleet Air Arm Squadron Battle Honours (fleetairarmoa.org)

Other occurrences involving this aircraft

13 April 1940	????? U4-G	816 Sqn FAA RN	0	Narvik Harbour,		sub
25 April 1940	????? A4-A	820 Sqn FAA RN	0	North Sea, off the Central Norwegian coast,		w/o
16 May 1940	????? H3-G	814 Sqn FAA RN	2	Atlantic Ocean, 25 miles west of Freetown, Sierra Leone,		w/o
18 May 1940	?????	823 Sqn FAA RN	2	North Sea, off the Norwegian coast		w/o
18 May 1940	?????	823 Sqn FAA RN	0	North Sea off the Isle of Eday, Orkney Islands, Scotland		w/o
21 June 1940	????? G4-?	823 Sqn FAA RN	2	Trondheim Harbour,		w/o
21 June 1940	L???? G4-?	823 Sqn FAA RN	2	Trondheim Harbour,		w/o
21 July 1940	?????	813 Sqn FAA RN	1	Mediterranean Sea		w/o
27 August 1940	?????	824 Sqn FAA RN	1	Dekheila Airfield (RNAS Grebe from September 1940) Alexandria		w/o
31 August 1940	G3-B	812 Sqn FAA RN	0	English Channel		w/o
1 September 1940	?????	813 Sqn FAA RN	0	Mediterranean Sea		w/o
4 September 1940	????? 'E4-?'	813 Sqn FAA RN	0	Mediterranean Sea, off Rhodes Island, Greece.		w/o
Ditching
24 September 1940	'A2-?'	810 Sqn FAA RN	0	at Sea, off West Africa,		w/o
6 October 1940	F4-?	826 Sqn FAA RN	1	North Sea, off Clacton-on-Sea, Essex,		w/o
20 February 1942	????? 'E4-?'	813 Sqn FAA RN	0	North Atlantic,		w/o
14 April 1943	DK750	818 Sqn FAA RN	0	'HMS Unicorn', the Irish Sea,		sub
28 April 1943	HS226	824 Sqn FAA RN	0	'HMS Unicorn', the Irish Sea,		sub
8 June 1943	HS346	818 Sqn FAA RN	0	'HMS Unicorn', the Irish Sea,		sub
8 June 1943	HS543	818 Sqn FAA RN	0	'HMS Unicorn', the Irish Sea,		w/o
16 June 1943	HS549	818 Sqn FAA RN	0	'HMS Unicorn', the Irish Sea,		sub
4 May 1945	NS134	705 Sqn FAA RN	2	Irish Sea, off the Isle of Man,		w/o

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
26-Dec-2020 18:42	Peter Clarke	Added
29-Dec-2020 00:34	Peter Clarke	Updated [Registration, Source, Narrative]
08-Jan-2021 18:57	Peter Clarke	Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative]