Advertisement A fascinating photo album that highlights the perilous nature of landing fighter planes on aircraft carriers at the start of the Second World War has been unearthed. The black and white snaps were taken in 1939 and show Royal Naval biplanes coming a cropper while practising take-offs and landings on HMS Courageous, a converted battlecruiser. Commodore Edwin Whittle, the owner of the album, photographed the dramatic moment a Fairey Swordfish biplane crashed during take-off and plummeted into the sea. The wreckage of the aircraft can then be seen being lifted out of the water with a crane. A fascinating photo album that highlights the perilous nature of landing fighter planes on aircraft carriers at the start of the Second World War has been unearthed