Floatplane on HMS Fidelity (D-57)

[Bruce Dennis]

The book 'HMS Fidelity' by Marcel Jullian is no help. It says merely that two Kingfishers were given to the ship as part of a refit at Portsmouth in early November 1942, but earlier says that only one (unspecified) seaplane was to be attached. A few years ago I was allowed to see a privately printed memoir of someone who had an earlier association with Fidelity and there was no mention of aircraft aboard.
However, it is worth noting that some sources say the ship was carrying two French aircraft, namely the Besson MB.411 floatplanes built for use aboard submarines. This cannot be the case as there were, I believe, only two of the 411s built, and one went down with the Surcouf earlier in 1942 while the other stayed in service somewhere, I believe still operating with the French Navy.

HTH,
Bruce