Early Wartime Career
At the start of the Second World War, he returned to the Fleet Air Arm with the rank of lieutenant commander. His first sea posting was to HMS Courageous, which was sunk in September 1939. He returned to sea duty onboard HMS Victorious after a series of postings to shore-based stations.
On the night of 24 May 1941, Esmonde led No. 825 Naval Air Squadron's nine Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers in an attack against the German battleship Bismarck. This attack took place after the Battle of the Denmark Strait, in which HMS Hood was sunk by the Bismarck. The biplanes flying from Victorious made a 120-mile flight in foul North Atlantic weather and hit the Bismarck amidships. However, the attack that disabled the ship's rudder and doomed the German battleship was caused by a separate Swordfish torpedo strike from HMS Ark Royal some days later. Nonetheless, as a result of his leadership and actions in the hunt for the Bismarck, Esmonde was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order on 11 February 1942 (the award was actually announced on 16 September 1941).
His squadron was serving on HMS Ark Royal when she was torpedoed in November 1941. Attempts to tow her to Gibraltar were abandoned, and on 14 November 1941 she sank. The Swordfish of the squadron ferried some of the ship's crew off the doomed ship prior to her eventual sinking, and Esmonde was Mentioned in Despatches for his actions on this occasion.
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