Operation Fender

'Fender' was a British naval undertaking to transfer aircraft between the fleet carriers Ark Royal and Furious at sea in the Atlantic Ocean to the west of Gibraltar (5 April 1941).

The transfer involved four Fairey Swordfish single-engined biplane aircraft, fitted with air-to-surface radar, of No. 825 Squadron and 10 Fairey Fulmar II single-engined monoplane fighters of No. 807 Squadron from the elderly Furious to the more modern Ark Royal, four Swordfish aircraft and nine Blackburn Skua single-engined dive-bomber/fighters of No. 800 Squadron from Ark Royal to Furious. Ark Royal retained three Skua warplanes on board.

Once transferred to Ark Royal, three of the ASV-equipped Swordfish aircraft were allocated to Nos 810, 818 and 820 Squadrons, and one was retained as a spare.