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The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during World War II. Affectionately known as the “Stringbag” by its crews, it was already outdated when the war started, but was operated as a primary attack aircraft into 1942.

The Swordfish was based on the Fairey PV and was offered to the Royal Navy to fulfill a reconnaissance and torpedo attack role. The prototype TSR II first flew on April 17, 1934. It was a large biplane with a metal frame covered in fabric, specifically for carrier use it had folding wings. An order was placed in 1935 and the aircraft entered service in 1936. By 1939 the Royal Navy had thirteen squadrons equipped with the Swordfish.
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, they also flew anti-shipping sorties from Malta.
The problems with the aircraft were starkly demonstrated in February 1942 when a strike on German cruisers in the English Channel resulted in the loss of all attacking aircraft. With the development of new torpedo attack aircraft the Swordfish was soon redeployed in an anti-submarine role, equipped with depth-charges or ten 27 kg rockets and flying from the smaller escort carriers or even Merchant Aircraft Carriers (MAC) with RATO. 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.

The Mark II and Mark III variants were both introduced in 1943. The Mark II had metal lower wings to allow the use of rockets and the Mark III added a large centrimetric radar unit. Production ended in 1944 with the Mark IV, which had an enclosed cabin for use by the RCAF, and the aircraft was withdrawn from active service on May 21, 1945.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 2391 had been built, 692 by Fairey and 1699 in Sherburn by the Blackburn Aircraft Company, which were sometimes dubbed the “Blackfish”. The most built was the Mark II of which 1080 were made.

Type

• Role: Two/three-seat torpedo-bomber-reconnaissance biplane.

Wings

• Design: Two-bay, unequal-span staggered biplane.
• Structure:
  • Upper center-section supported by a pyramid structure.
  • Lower center-section stubs braced to upper fuselage longerons with inverted Vee struts.
  • Extremities of center-sections connected by pairs of interplane struts, one set for each outer wing set.
  • Folding mechanism around rear spar hinges.
  • Construction: Built-up steel strip spars, steel drag-struts, duralumin ribs, fabric covering.
  • Ailerons: Duralumin-framed and fabric-covered, present on all four wings.
  • Hoisting sling incorporated in upper center-section.

Fuselage

• Structure: Rectangular steel-tube, faired to an oval section.
• Covering: Forward sections with detachable metal panels, aft with fabric. Includes large inspection panels in the aft covering.

Tail Unit

• Type: Monoplane.
• Construction: Steel and duralumin framework, covered with fabric.

Landing Gear

• Type: Divided with oleo shock-absorbers.
• Construction:
  • Oleo legs anchored to the front spar of the lower center-section and hinged to the fuselage by axle and forwardly-inclined radius-rod.
  • Wheels: Medium-pressure with pneumatic brakes.
  • Interchangeable wheel chassis with twin single-step all-metal floats.

Power Plant

• Engine: One Bristol Pegasus 30, nine-cylinder radial air-cooled engine, rated at 750 h.p. at 4,750 ft (1,450 m).
• Cooling: Townend ring cowling with leading-edge exhaust-collector.
• Fuel: Main tank in center-section, gravity tank on top of the fuselage.
• Propeller: Fairey metal airscrew.

Accommodation

• Crew: Two to three, depending on mission type.
  • Pilot: Positioned aft of the wings.
  • Gunner/Observer: Positioned immediately behind the pilot. For reconnaissance, a third crew member can be carried.
  • Features: Full range of equipment and instruments for Fleet Air Arm duties, including catapulting points and deck arrester gear.

Armament and Equipment

• Guns:
  • One 0.303 in. Vickers gun mounted on the top deck of the fuselage, firing through the propeller.
  • One 0.303 in. Lewis gun on a Fairey high-speed gun-mounting in the rear cockpit.
• Ordnance:
  • Torpedo: Carried beneath the fuselage on crutches.
  • Bombs: Racks beneath the fuselage and lower wings for bombs or sea mines.
  • Rocket Projectiles: Racks beneath the wings.
  • Load Capacity: Up to a maximum weight of 1,500 lbs. (680 kg) or eight 60 lb. (27.2 kg) H.E. or 25 lb. (11.4 kg) armor-piercing rocket projectiles.

Dimensions

• Wingspan: 45 ft. 6 in. (13.87 m)
• Width (folded): 17 ft. 3 in. (5.26 m)
• Length (landplane): 35 ft. 8 in. (10.9 m)
• Length (seaplane): 40 ft. 6 in. (12.3 m)
• Height (landplane): 12 ft. 4 in. (3.75 m)
• Height (seaplane): 14 ft. 7 in. (4.45 m)

Weights

• Landplane:
  • Empty: 4,700 lbs. (2,134 kg)
  • Disposable load (torpedo-bomber): 2,810 lbs. (1,276 kg)
  • Disposable load (reconnaissance): 2,060 lbs. (935 kg)
  • Loaded (torpedo-bomber): 7,510 lbs. (3,410 kg)
  • Loaded (reconnaissance): 6,750 lbs. (3,065 kg)
• Seaplane:
  • Empty: 5,300 lbs. (2,406 kg)
  • Disposable load: Same as landplane
  • Loaded (torpedo-bomber): 8,110 lbs. (3,682 kg)
  • Loaded (reconnaissance): 7,360 lbs. (3,541 kg)

Performance

• Landplane:
  • Max Speed (torpedo-bomber): 138 mph (220.6 km/h) at 5,000 ft. (1,525 m)
  • Max Speed (reconnaissance): 144 mph (230.4 km/h) at 5,000 ft. (1,525 m)
• Seaplane:
  • Max Speed (torpedo-bomber): 128 mph (204.8 km/h) at 5,000 ft. (1,525 m)
  • Max Speed (reconnaissance): 134 mph (214.4 km/h) at 5,000 ft. (1,525 m)