Fairey Swordfish - Foto's & Video's

De Fairey Zwaardvis was een tweedekker torpedobommenwerper ontworpen door de Fairey Aviation Company. Ontstaan in de vroege jaren 1930, werd de Swordfish, bijgenaamd "Stringbag", geëxploiteerd door de Fleet Air Arm van de Royal Navy, naast het feit dat hij was uitgerust door de Royal Air Force (RAF) naast meerdere overzeese operators, waaronder de Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) en de Royal Netherlands Navy. Het werd aanvankelijk voornamelijk gebruikt als een vloot aanvalsvliegtuig. In zijn latere jaren werd de Swordfish steeds meer gebruikt als anti-onderzeeër en trainingsplatform. Het type was gedurende de hele Tweede Wereldoorlog in frontdienst, maar werd al bij het uitbreken van het conflict in 1939 als verouderd beschouwd.

Bron: Fairey Swordfish op Wikipedia

The Fairey Swordfish was a medium-sized biplane torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. The Swordfish employed a metal airframe covered in fabric. It had folding wings as a space-saving measure, which was useful onboard aircraft carriers and battleships. The Swordfish was powered by a single Bristol Pegasus radial engine that gave it a modest speed of around 140 mph. The Swordfish had a crew of three: a pilot, a navigator/torpedo operator, and a rear gunner. The Swordfish could carry a variety of weapons, including a 1,600 lb torpedo, bombs, rockets, or depth charges.
The Swordfish was designed by the Fairey Aviation Company in the early 1930s and entered service with the Royal Navy in 1936. Despite being outdated by the start of World War II, the Swordfish proved to be a reliable and effective weapon that achieved several notable successes against enemy ships, such as the Italian fleet at Taranto and the German battleship Bismarck. The Swordfish was also used for anti-submarine patrols and training missions. The Swordfish remained in service until 1945, having outlived some of its intended replacements. A total of 2,391 Swordfish were built by Fairey and Blackburn Aircraft.