Fairey Swordfish

The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during World War II. Affectionately known as the Stringbag by its crews, it was outdated by 1939, but achieved some spectacular successes during the war, such as the destruction of the Regia Marina (the Italian Navy) in Taranto and the famous crippling of the German battleship Bismarck. It was operated primarily as a fleet attack aircraft, however, during its later years it was also used as an anti-submarine and training craft. Designed in the 1930s, Swordfish remained in frontline service through to the end of the war in Europe in 1945. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 100 KB) Descdription: Fairey Swordfish II standing on airfield, Duxford 2002 Air Show Source: [1] Author: Mr. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 100 KB) Descdription: Fairey Swordfish II standing on airfield, Duxford 2002 Air Show Source: [1] Author: Mr. ... A torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with torpedoes, but they could also carry out conventional bombings. ... Fairey Aviation Company logo The Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century, notable for a number of important planes, including the Fairey III family and the Fairey Swordfish. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services being the oldest of its three branches. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... The Italian Regia Marina (literally: Royal Navy) dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification. ... The multinational Combined Task Force One Five Zero (CTF-150) The British Grand Fleet, the supreme naval force of WW1 A rare occurrence of a 5-country multinational fleet, during Operation Enduring Freedom in the Oman Sea. ... Founded 706 BC as Taras () Region Apulia Mayor Rossana Di Bello Area  - City Proper  217 km² Population  - City (2001)  - Density (city proper) 201,349 973/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 40°28 N 17°14 E www. ... HMS Victory in 1884. ... Alternate meanings: See Bismarck (disambiguation). ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Gunter Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine Typhoon class ballistic-missile carrying (SSBN) submarine, compared to a man USS Virginia, a Virginia-class nuclear attack (SSN) submarine A submarine...

History

The Swordfish was based on the Fairey Private Venture (PV), a proposed solution to the Air Ministry requirements for a Spotter-Reconnaissance plane - Spotter referring to observing the fall of a warship's gunfire. A subsequent Air Ministry specification added the torpedo bomber role. The prototype TSR II (Torpedo-Spotter-Reconnaissance), the PV was the TSR I, first flew on April 17, 1934. It was a large biplane with a metal frame covered in fabric, with folding wings for carrier use. An order was placed in 1935 and the aircraft entered service in 1936, replacing the Fairey Seal in the torpedo bomber role. By 1939 the Royal Navy had thirteen squadrons equipped with the Swordfish Mark I. April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1934: Events January Soviet pilots Fedossenko, Wassenko and Usyskin take the stratosphere-balloon Ossoaviachim I to 22,000 m (72,160 ft). ... Hs123 biplane. ... An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1936: Events February February 13 - Imperial Airways commences airmail services to West Africa March March 23 - Impreial Airways begins scheduled flights between Hong Kong and Malaysia. ... // Introduction The Fairey Seal was a inter-war bi-plane design. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Squadron is a small unit or formation of cavalry, aircraft (including balloons), or naval vessels. ...

Combat history

The primary weapon was the torpedo, but the low speed of the biplane and the need for a long straight approach made it difficult to deliver against well defended targets. However, Swordfish flying from HMS Illustrious made a very significant strike, on November 11, 1940, against the Italian navy at Taranto, Italy and in May 1941 a Swordfish strike was vital in damaging the German battleship Bismarck. The low speed of the attacking aircraft may have acted in their favour, as the planes were too slow for the fire-control predictors of the German gunners. This successful attack may have given inspiration or confidence to the Japanese who would later attack Pearl Harbor. Swordfish also flew anti-shipping sorties from Malta. The fourth HMS Illustrious (R87) of the Royal Navy was an aircraft carrier, arguably the one with the most distinguished and vital career of this proud lineage. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Founded 706 BC as Taras () Region Apulia Mayor Rossana Di Bello Area  - City Proper  217 km² Population  - City (2001)  - Density (city proper) 201,349 973/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 40°28 N 17°14 E www. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... The battleship Bismarck is probably the most famous warship of the Second World War. ... The Kerrison Predictor was one of the first fully-automated anti-aircraft predictors, fire control systems which would attempt to predict the correct aim at a plane based on simple inputs like the observed speed and angle to the target. ... Satellite image of Pearl Harbor. ...

The problems with the aircraft were starkly demonstrated in February 1942 when a strike on German battlecruisers during the Channel Dash resulted in the loss of all attacking aircraft. With the development of new torpedo attack aircraft the Swordfish was soon redeployed successfully in an anti-submarine role, equipped with depth-charges or ten 60 lb (27 kg) RP-3 rockets and flying from the smaller escort carriers or even Merchant Aircraft Carriers with RATO. Swordfish equipped units accounted for 14 U-boats destroyed. The Swordfish was meant to be replaced by the Fairey Albacore, also a biplane, but actually outlived its intended successor. It was, however, succeeded by the Fairey Barracuda monoplane torpedo bomber. This article is about the year. ... HMS Hood (left) and HMS Barham (right), in Malta, 1937. ... Operation Cerberus (German: Zerberus) was the name given to the escape during World War II of the Kriegsmarines ships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Prinz Eugen and a number of smaller ships from Brest to ports in Germany and Denmark via the English Channel. ... Anti-submarine warfare is a term referring to warfare directed against submarines. ... The RP-3 (for Rocket Projectile 3), was a British air to ground rocket used in the Second World War. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... The escort aircraft carrier or escort carrier, was a small aircraft carrier developed by the U.S. Navy in the early part of World War II to deal with the U-boat crisis of the Battle of the Atlantic. ... JATO is an acronym for Jet Assisted Take Off. ... The Fairey Albacore was a single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Fleet Air Arm. ... The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive-bomber used during World War II, the first of its type to be fabricated entirely from metal. ... A monoplane is an aircraft with one main set of wing surfaces, in contrast to a biplane or triplane. ...

Variants

The Mark II and Mark III variants were both introduced in 1943. The Swordfish Mark II had metal lower wings to allow the use of rockets and the Swordfish Mark III added a large centrimetric radar unit. Production ended in 1944 with the Swordfish Mark IV, which had an enclosed cabin for use by the RCAF, and the aircraft was withdrawn from active service on May 21, 1945. Almost 2,400 had been built, 692 by Fairey and 1,699 in Sherburn by the Blackburn Aircraft Company, which were sometimes dubbed the "Blackfish". The most built version was the Mark II, of which 1,080 were made. Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... This long range radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. Radar is a system that uses radio waves to detect, determine the distance of, and map, objects such... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1944 calendar). ... The RCAF Roundel is based on that of the British Royal Air Force with a maple leaf, a symbol of Canada in the centre. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Blackburn Beverley photographed in 1964. ...

Operators

• Canada, United Kingdom (Royal Air Force, Royal Navy),

Specifications (Fairey Swordfish)

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
• Wingspan: 45 ft 6 in (13.87 m)
• Height: 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)
• Wing area: 542 ft² (50.4 m²)
• Empty weight: 4,195 lb (1,900 kg)
• Loaded weight: 7,720 lb (3,500 kg)
• Maximum Take-Off Weight: lb (kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Bristol Pegasus IIIM.3 or XXX radial engine, 690 hp (IIIM.3) or 750 hp (XXX) (510 kW / 560 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 138 mph at 5,000 ft (222 km/h at 1,500 m)
• Range: 546 mi combat; 1,025 mi ferry (879 km / 1,650 km)
• Service ceiling: 19,250 ft (5,870 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,220 ft/min (6.2 m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
• Power/mass: hp/lb (kW/kg)

Armament

• 1x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun in engine cowling
• 1x 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis or Vickers machine gun in rear cockpit
• 1x 1,670 lb (760 kg) torpedo or 1,500 lb (700 kg) mine
• 8x 60 lb (27 kg) rocket projectiles (Mk.II and later)

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft can achieve flight. ... Bristol Pegasus piston engine The Pegasus was a 9 cylinder one_row radial aircraft engine designed as the follow-on to the Bristol Aeroplane Companys very successful Bristol Jupiter, following lessons learned in the Mercury effort. ... Radial engine of a biplane. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... Service Ceiling—The maximum density altitude where the best rate-of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet-per-minute climb at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Power-to-weight ratio is a measure commonly used when comparing various vehicles (or engines), including automobiles, motorcycles and aircraft. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... The Lewis Gun was a pre-WWI era American design of machine gun most widely used by the British and Imperial armies that continued to see service all the way through to WWII. It is visually distinctive because of the wide tubular cooling shroud around the barrel, and the top...

Related content

Comparable aircraft

Fairey Albacore The Fairey Albacore was a single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Fleet Air Arm. ...

Designation sequence

Swordfish - Battle - Seafox - Fulmar - Albacore- Seal Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle was a light bomber of the Royal Air Force built by Fairey Aviation in the late 1930s. ... The Fairey Seafox was a Second World War reconnaissance floatplane of the Fleet Air Arm designed to be catapulted from the deck of a warship. ... The Fulmar was a carrier-borne fighter aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm built by Fairey Aviation during 1940. ... The Fairey Albacore was a single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Fleet Air Arm. ... // Introduction The Fairey Seal was a inter-war bi-plane design. ...

Related lists

List of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm This is a list of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. ...