Inspired by the no Hurricane thread.
Some context
The Fairey Swordfish
Nov 10, 2010 Articles, Weapons Technology, WWII 2
Obsolete it may have been, but the Fairey Swordfish remained in front-line service throughout the Second World War, distinguishing itself as the last biplane in the world to see active service.
Although Taranto was arguably its finest hour, Swordfish scored many other notable successes, notably damaging the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941, helping sink 23 U-boats in the North Atlantic (including the first ever sunk by an aircraft at night), and stalking Axis merchant shipping off Norway and in the Mediterranean.
The Swordfish was an anomaly in WW 2 a fabric covered biplane which served to 'VE day and out lived some of its intended successors . It only had 4 variants none of which were major modifications or engine upgrades.
It started life as a speculative design so what if it was never designed . What other aircraft might have taken its place, how differently might events turned out if the Greeks hadn't expressed an interest in replacing their Fairey III with another fairey product and what became the swordfish never developed.