Fairey Swordfish - Shuttleworth Fly Navy Airshow 2018
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- Опубліковано 5 чер 2018
- Fairey Swordfish Mk.1, W5856 from The Royal Navy Historic Flight, displaying at Old Warden Aerodrome during the Shuttleworth Fly Navy Airshow 2018.
This aircraft, a "Blackfish" built by Blackburn Aircraft at Sherburn-in-Elmet, first flew on Trafalgar Day (21 October) 1941. She served with the Mediterranean Fleet for a year and was returned to Fairey's Stockport factory for refurbishment. Used for advanced flying training and trials, the aircraft was sent to Canada where it was again used in a training role and stored in reserve after the war's end. Passing through the hands of at least two civilian operators after disposal, she was purchased by Sir William Roberts and brought to Scotland to join his Strathallan Collection. Bought by BAE Systems (known then as British Aerospace) for presentation to the Swordfish Heritage Trust (now the Fly Navy Heritage Trust), the partly-restored airframe went to BAE Systems Brough facility for complete restoration to flying condition, the work being completed in 1993 when she was presented to the RNHF and brought back onto the Military Register of aircraft.
Following extensive work by BAE Systems at Brough to her wings, W5856 flew in 2015 for the first time since being grounded in 2003.
Between 1992 - 2013 she was painted in the pre-WWII colours of 810 Naval Air Squadron embarked in HMS Ark Royal. W5856 now sports the colours of 820 Naval Air Squadron of HMS Ark Royal, representing an aircraft that took part in the Bismarck action in May 1941.
In September 1996 W5856 was adopted by the City of Leeds and now proudly wears the City's coat of arms and name on her port side just forward of the pilot's cockpit.
The Swordfish evolved from the prototype Fairey TSR.II (Torpedo Spotter Reconnaissance), designed by Marcel Lobelle and H.E. Chaplin of the Fairey Aviation Company Ltd. It first flew in 1934 and entered service with No.825 Squadron in 1936. 2391 aircraft were built, the first 692 machines by Fairey Aviation and the remainder under licence by Blackburn Aircraft Company. In service the Blackburn-built aircraft became unofficially known as "Blackfish". Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this very distinguished aircraft was its longevity. By all normal standards it was already obsolete at the outbreak of WWII. It confounded everyone by remaining in operational service throughout the whole of the war, and was the last British bi-plane to see active service.
It had superb handling qualities which made it uniquely suitable for deck flying operations and the problems of torpedo or dive bombing attacks. Pilots marvelled that they could pull a Swordfish off the deck and put it in a climbing turn at 55 knots. The aircraft manoeuvred in a vertical plane as easily as it would at straight and level, and even when diving from 10,000ft, the ASI would not rise much beyond 200 knots. The controls were not frozen rigid by the force of the slipstream, and it was possible to hold the dive within 200ft of the water.
Even its lack of speed could be turned to advantage. A steep turn at low level towards an attacker just before he came within range and the difference in speed and tight turning circle made it impossible for a fighter to bring its guns to bear for more than a few seconds. The approach to a carrier deck could be made at low speed, yet control response remained good.
Swordfish (or "Stringbags" as they were often nicknamed due to their ability to carry a wide range of weapons, much like a the ability of a string shopping bag to carry any goods) in addition to sinking more than 300,000 tons of German/Italian Axis shipping, were responsible for the destruction of over 20 U-Boats. Operating from adapted merchant vessels, the Merchant Aircraft Carriers (MAC Ships), Swordfish aircraft could be carried with the convoys, providing both a deterrent to submarines and a boost to the merchant sailor's morale.
Amongst their many battle honours are the Battle of the Atlantic, the attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto in November 1940, the operation to seek, pursue and destroy the German Battleship Bismarck in May 1941, and the ill-fated operation against the German Battlecruisers Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen as they made their famous 'Channel Dash' in February 1942. Above all, the Swordfish carved its name in the history books by its exploits in protecting convoys.
From August 1942 they sailed on the Russian convoys. On one such convoy, Swordfish embarked in the escort carriers HMS Vindex and HMS Striker flew 1,000 hours on anti-submarine patrol in the space of 10 days, and in September 1944 Vindex's Swordfish sank four U-Boats in a single voyage.
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This lumbering obsolete monstrosity was the the most efficient and effective allied naval torpedo bomber of ww2. Bloody marvelous aircraft!
I think probably the most underrated plane of World War II is the Swordfish, sank more Axis powers ship tonnage than any other bomber in the war, and it outlasted every plane meant to replace it.
Long live the "String bag".
That aside, it also had early air-to-surface RADAR. One Swordfish sank a U-Boat around Gibraltar at night thanks to ASV.
I love the swordfish. It was out dated before it was even designed, it was so outclassed the Bismarck’s AA couldn’t hit it as it was designed for high speed aircraft.😂
During the Swordfish attack, all torpedos were dropped, and none of the Swordfish were shot down or damaged, that how advanced the AAs of the Bismarck were at the time. Designed to shoot down monoplanes like the Hawker Hurricane or Supermarine Spitfire flying at around 150mph, not biplanes flying at 80mph. Bismarck's AAs were always firing too far ahead of the targets.
@@joshuagrover795 Nobody flew Hurricanes and Spitfires at about 150 mph in combat. The early Hurricanes had a top speed of 315 mph and the Mk1 Spit was faster.
I love the old “Stringbag.” 🇬🇧👍
String the Bismarck, Italian Navy and the Vichy French.
The Stringbag was an early heavy lift STOL aircraft basically built to carry torpedoes from a heaving carrier deck in North Atlantic swells. It could fly when nothing else could. The Bismarck AA gunners had a serious surprise. As did the Italians at Taranto.
yep.. and Pearl Harbor was inspired by Taranto
@@OgrabliatorKorovanov which brought the Americans into the War.
It’s reported that the British never fired a single shot at Taranto- the work was wholly done by the Fairey Swordfish and its torpedoes.
I'm getting Sky Odyssey flashbacks
How many people know that Beatles’ producer Sir George Martin served as an observer on the Swordfish during WW II?
trop beau
It doomed the Bismarck by disabling its rudder
The Swordfish history's during WWII:
1. Assisted in the Second Battle of Navik, April/May 1940.
2. Assisted in the British attack at Mers-el-Kébir in July 1940.
3. Crippled the Italian Navy at Taranto, November 1940, which later led to the Italian Navy's demise.
4. Crippled the Bismarck, which led to its sinking.
5. Sunk more Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft.
Outdated by WWII, but not completely useless "Stringbag." In fact string three nations.
And, to name some minor contributions, one of them sank a U-Boat at night around Gibraltar, and did a lot to lay naval mines around the British home islands.
This is what we need NOT bloody F-35's.
Not quite as stealthy as an F-35!
The Swordfish was succeeded in 1945, and as of current rendered pretty obsolete by most air-to-air missile systems of the modern day.
HOWEVER, the Swordfish proved a veritable pioneer of future aircraft, being among the first to use air-to-surface RADAR. To this day, modern jets are equipped with RADAR, using this in BVR (beyond visual range) warfare.
So no, we don’t need the Fairey Swordfish again. However, we do need to remember that it helped change war, an example of air power putting an end to the era of the battleship.
What was the function(s) of the "observer" in the rear cockpit?
The observers role was primarily navigation. A third crew member, also in the rear cockpit, was a Telegraphist/Air Gunner or TAG.
@@HighFlight Thanks. I knew someone would know.
They actually have one in Nova Scotia which is airworthy!
Is that the one at the Shearwater Aviation Museum? If so, it flew once following completion of its restoration in 1994 but has not flown since - unless something good has happened to it very recently? Vintage Wings of Canada have an airworthy Swordfish based at Gatineau, Quebec. I think there are only 2 aircraft worldwide currently flyable - the one in Gatineau and this one, with a total of 12 survivors and potentially at least 2 to 4 more airworthy after future restorations?
For a second I thought you meant Nova Scotia was airworthy. I'm such an idiot
@@aaroniousairlines9949 Well... I mean, you could make it fly with a big explosion....
@@greatcanadianmoose3965 Yeah but it wouldn't look as cool as just the Swordfish flying
@@aaroniousairlines9949 Well the Shearwater Aviation Museum's trying to restore a Firefly... that'd look at least as cool as the Swordfish imo