Fairey Swordfish

The Fairey Swordfish was a carrier-based torpedo-bomber in service with the British Royal Navy during World War II. It was a very efficient and maneuverable biplane, which sank 22 German U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic. Thus, it was one of the most widely used combat biplane of that armed conflict. It was also the only military biplane to be fitted with folding wings (for carrier storage). Between 1934 and 1944, Fairy built 2,391 Swordfish torpedo-bombers in the Mk I, Mk II, Mk III and Mk IV versions.

The Fairey Swordfish prototype, the T.S.R. II K4190, made its maiden flight on April 17, 1934. The test pilot was Lt. Chris Staniland. It was powered by a 690-HP, Pegasus IIIM3 piston engine. After several test flights, it would crash the following year, but a new prototype, the same design, would built. In May 1936, the first production Swordfish Mk I torpedo-bomber rolled out of the Fairey factory at Hayes, Middlesex county, SE England. It entered service with the Royal Navy aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious on July 10, 1936, as part of the 825 Squadron.

Because of its obsolescent appearance, this British biplane was called the 'Stringbag' by the Royal Navy pilots. However, on November 11, 1940, 21 Fairey Swordfish Mk IIs, which had taken off from the flight deck of HMS Illustrious, attacked the Italian fleet moored at Taranto, sinking two battleships, one cruiser, and one destroyer. This daredevil action of seemingly out of date biplanes practically put the Italian fleet out action for several months. The year before, it had already made the crucial hit on the German battleship Bismarck on 27 May, 1941. Despite of these exploits, it would be replaced by the Fairey Barracuda in 1943 in the torpedo-bomber role as it would be relegated to reconnaissance missions.

Technical Characteristics

The Fairey Swordfish was a two/three seat, single-engine biplane. Its airframe was of all-metal construction (steel tubes), covered by plywood and hardened canvas. The forward fuselage and cockpit portion was covered by sheet metal panels, with fabric wrapping up the remainder of fuselage. An arresting hook for catching the carrier's arresting cables was mounted to the lower fuselage longerons.

The two wing planes were held together by metal struts and steel wires. Ailerons were fitted to both the upper and lower plane trailing edges. The wings had no flaps. The outer wing panels were hinged on the rear spars of root wings. This allowed the outer panels to fold backwards. The wheeled landing gear was fixed. However, Fairey built many Swordfish fitted with floats. These were carried onboard of surface vessels, such as battleships.

Specifications (Mk II)

Type: torpedo-bomber

Length: 10.87 m (36 feet)

Wing Span: 13.87 m ( 45 feet)

Wing Area: 56.39 m2 (607 sq. feet)

Height: 3.76 m (12 feet)

Powerplant: one 750-HP, Bristol Pegasus, 9-cylinder, radial piston engine.

Maximum Speed: 222 km/h (138 mph)

Range: 1,658 km (1,028 miles)

Crew: 2/ or 3

Armament: one 730-kg (1,600 pounds) Mk XII Torpedo, or 600 kg of bombs. Two 7.7mm Lewish machine guns for defense.

Below, the prototype TSR.II K4190 parked at factory yard.

The Fairey Swordfish Mk II armed with a lethal torpedo.

Below, six Swordfish, including the one from which the photo is taken, from a carrier squadron in flight.

In this photo, you can see the way its wings were folded backwards.