The fairey swordfish was an aircraft by fairey aircraft co. in 1934. Almost obsolete by the time it was serviced, it exceeded expectations, being extremely tough, able to take off quickly, and able to hold a large amount of ordinance. Its wings could fold backwards to store in the confinements of a carrier deck, and be folded back out quickly in emergencies. Able to hold 2 people on standard swordfishes and a torpedo, the swordfish wasn't the largest of planes, but the second person operated a turret, so it wasn't completely defenseless.
This wasn't the most technologically advanced, but this was the plane that crippled the most advanced dreadnought of its time and the entire Italian fleet. Soon to be called "stringbag" the swordfish could operate in atrocious weather conditions, had a range of over a thousand miles, and could land at about 30 miles an hour.
Cool. I guess it was too much to hope for that the fairey swordfish was a rare animal. Context would be nice. Good summary.
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ReplyDeleteThank you, Luken. It would be nice to see a few more posts and a little more editing to help make this fascinating topic a little clearer. I know you will continue to work on this, so I look forward to reading more about this.
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