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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0452.PDF
FEBRUARY 2OTH, 1941. The duties of the Albacore (1939) include dive bombing, reconnaissance and torpedocarrying and spotting. The engine is a Bristol Taurus of 1,065 h.p. Swordfish. This type of machine took a distinguished part in the Taranto action some months ago. These air- craft were produced to combine three duties, viz., torpedo, spotting and reconnaissance, which it had hitherto not been considered possible to com- bine, the various duties being ob- tained by separate types. At the time the specification appeared to be an extremely difficult one, but by inten- sive investigations the full service requirements called for were success- fully met. The success of the Sword- fish has amply justified the judgment of those who laid down the policy underlying the evolution of this type. The Swordfish had a Pegasus III M engine of 750 h.p. encircled by a Townend ring. The machine, a three- seater, had mainplanes of equal span but unequal chord. A somewhat un- usual feature was that only the top plane had a ..dihedral angle. It was equipped with a full range of fittings for Fleet Air Arm duties, including catapult spools and deck arresting gear. The weight and consequently the wing loading and speed varied some- what according to the purpose for which the machine was equipped. De- tails are given in the following table: — Ship Plane Seaplane Reeon- Bomber Recon- Bomber nuisance naiuanee lb. Ih. lb. lb. Weight ... 7,340 8,250 7,760 8,070 • Load per sq. ft. 13.5 35.2 14.3 16.0in.p.h. m.n.h. m.p.h. m.p.li. 154 149 144 138Speed... The pilot's cockpit was located be- hind the top centre sectipn and his seat was so arranged that it could be raised or lowered during flight, so as to enable him to have a good view forward for landing, taking-off, etc. Behind the pilot's cockpit was the centre cockpit for the observer. Pro- vision was also made for a prone bomb- ing position under the pilot's floor. The aft cockpit was, as is customary in Fleet Air Arm aircraft, used by the wireless operator and rear gunner. The T.S.R. II or Swordfish repre- sented a great advance on seaplane construction This was made possible by the long experience which the Fairey Co. had gained on the earlier Series III and III F types. A feature of great practical importance was the absolute interchangeability of com- ponents and the ease of maintenance and repair. It was found on actual service that the repair scheme pro- vided for this aircraft enabled almost any damaged part to be replaced very quickly without upsetting the align- ment of the structure. During this time the drawing office was rearranged for the production of the Swordfish, with Mr. C. G. J. Duns- ford as chief draughtsman. Super Efficiency While the T.S.R. II or Swordfish was in production, the design office was looking ahead to the next type. The long-range monoplane had given remarkable results from the point of view of aerodynamic efficiency, and it was decided that the time had come for a long step forward with a type which should incorporate every bit of modern knowledge, not only aero- dynamic but structural. It was real- ised that although the long-range monoplane had provided valuable ex- perience, further progress would demand extensive research, and the experimental department was put to work on tests of all manner of mater- ials so as to discover those which would give the most efficient results in the design contemplated. Many grades of light alloy were investi- gated, and when the best had been selected they were built into struc- tural units, which were mechanically tested for torsional strength and rigidity. The result of this extensive experi- mental work was the low-wing mono- plane which afterwards became famous as the Fairey Battle. In 1935 a tender was submitted to the Air Ministry, and it was not long before production was in full swing. Apart from de- signing for aerodynamic efficiency, the designers had ease of production well in mind, with the result that when the so-called '' shadow-factories '' came into existence, the Battle be- A REAL FAIREY STORY (Continued) came one of the types chosen for large- scale production. Space does not permit of a detailed description of the Battle, but it may be recalled that the structure is of the all-metal, stressed-skin type. The wing has two main spars, the skin between them being stiffened by Z-section stringers running span wise. The fuselage has oval-section hoop frames, and instead of longitudinal stringers one edge of each '' plank " of the skin covering is lipped for stiff- ness. Thus a single line of rivets suffices. Internal Bombs Classed as a medium bomber, the Battle carries a defensive armament of fixed and movable machine guns, the latter on a Fairey special rotating cone mounting. The bombs are carried in- ternally in the wing in special cells, on hydraulically retracted racks. With the Merlin I engine the Battle has a loaded weight of 10,898 lb., a wing loading of 26 lb./sq. ft., and a top speed of 257 m.p.h. Apart from its original function as a bomber, the Battle has also been used extensively as a trainer. When the Swordfish and Battle were well under way, the Fairey de- signers turned their attention to the production of a light reconnaissance biplane for the Fleet Air Arm. The type was to be used primarily for operation from cruisers, and thus had to be capable of being launched from the smaller type of naval catapult. The type, a twin-float biplane, be- came known as the Seafox. It had a Napier-Halford Rapier VI engine of 395 b.h.p., carried a crew of two, and weighed 5,410 lb. loaded. The wing loading was 12.46 lb./sq. ft., and the speed 125 m.p.h. It will be recalled that one of the Seafox seaplanes did excellent in the Graf Spee action off the South American coast. In fact, without the information which the seaplane pro- vided the action might have taken a different course. A Dive Bomber A monoplane, generally similar to but somewhat smaller than the Battle, followed in 1937. This was designed to Air- Ministry specification P.4/34. This machine had a Merlin engine of 1,050 b.h.p., and its loaded weight was less than that of the Battle, viz., 8,680 lb. The wing load- ing was 25.1 lb./sq. ft., and the top speed 281 m.p.h. In addition to its general character as a light bomber, the P.4/34 was fitted with air brakes for dive bombing. The P.4/34 passed its type tests in 1937, but the Air Ministry decided not to proceed with the class of aircraft for which the specification was origin- ally drawn up, and subsequently the
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