WHEN it comes to celebrating the aircraft that turned the tide of World War II, everybody's attention automatically turns to the elegant Spitfire and the RAF's sterling work in the Battle of Britain.

But the iconic fighter plane had a less-attractive cousin, which shouldn't be overlooked.

The Swordfish may have looked a bit gawky in comparison and it's true that the biplane was pretty much obsolete even when the war broke out, but in the service of the Fleet Air Arm – the Royal Naval air force – it played a crucial part in the war.

The plucky little plane's role in crippling the Italian battlefleet lying at anchor in Taranto Harbour in November 1940, and its crucial part in the Battle of the Atlantic, leading thousands of anti-U-boat sorties, make it a real contender for one of the bravest little planes in the war.

These days there are only four flying Swordfish left in the world.

But the Bristol branch of the Fleet Air Arm has launched a campaign to bring one of the few survivors back to Filton, to take part in the celebrations to mark the centenary of the Bristol Aeroplane Company (BAC) next year. The plane, with its Bristol-made Pegasus engine, would fly into Filton and park up next to the city's other iconic aircraft, Concorde.

Eric Pitt, chairman of the Bristol branch of the Fleet Air Arm Association, says he would then like to see the plane renamed "City of Bristol."

It would follow on from two of the other surviving Swordfish planes, which have already been named City of Liverpool and City of Leeds.

The 83-year-old, who served as a mechanic with the Fleet Air Arm for nine years from the age of 18 in 1944, says the Swordfish is a "wonderful old aircraft". "It's true they were always a bit flimsy," he says as we discuss the planes over a cup of tea in the front room of his Bishopston home.

"That's how they became to be known as 'stringbags'. They were actually built with a metal frame covered with unbleached Irish linen. They really did look like something from a bygone generation, even at the beginning of the war.

"But the Filton-made Pegasus was an excellent engine and the Swordfish's record of success in battle speaks for itself. It was the Swordfish, of course, which attacked and sank the great German battleship, the Bismarck. In fact, the actual Swordfish that we hope to bring down from Yorkshire where it is currently kept, LS326, though it was only built in 1943, was used in the filming of the 1960 movie Sink The Bismarck!"

During the war LS326 flew numerous anti-submarine sorties, protecting the trans-Atlantic convoys. Following her active wartime service, LS326 was used for training and communication duties, firstly at RNAS Culham, and later at Worthy Down.

In recent years her flimsy frame has been looking its age, and so the people at British Aerospace in Brough, Yorkshire, have been devoting their time and expertise, free of charge, to get the plane air-worthy again.

"From what I've heard, it sounds like the plane should be back in working order by next year, so our long-held dream of bringing her to Filton for the BAC centenary could still stand," Eric says.

"After spending a few days here, she would then go on to Yeovilton, where she would be permanently stored together with the rest of the Royal Navy Historic Flight."

The Bristol association of the Fleet Air Arm, which has 70 members who meet on the second Monday of each month at the Royal British Legion in Patchway, has been lobbying the Royal Navy Historic Flight to bring the Swordfish to Filton next year since the year 2000.

"It was the long-standing dream of our late secretary Reg Veale, who sadly passed away last January," Eric explains. He says all the members of the local branch are keen to make sure that the historic visit happens in his memory. "It will mean a lot to us all," he says. "We should celebrate the remarkable work that the Swordfishes did during World War II, and the fact that their engine was built right here in Bristol."

After leaving the senior service in 1953, Eric went on to work for BOAC, eventually working on Concorde in the 1970s before his retirement. He's now a volunteer tour guide on Filton's Concorde.

"It would mean so much for me to see the Swordfish parked up near Concorde at Filton," he says. "That would really be quite a sight."