FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1381.PDF
JULY 6TH, 1944 FLIGHT 13 PASSING OF A FAMOUS BIPLANE many escort carriers then building relied upon Sword- fish production. By that time these aircraft had figured in many faraway campaigns ; in Norway ; in the Lowlands ; at Oran; in the brilliant naval victory at Taranto, where a couple of Swordfish squadrons crippled Italian sea power for negligible losses; in the campaigns of Greece, Crete, Syria and Cyprus; in the second major naval air victory at Matapan; and throughout the campaigns in the Western Desert from Mersa Matruh to Benghazi; at Malta ; and had played the leading role in trapping and destroying the Bismarck. Fruits of the production effort began to be gathered in the wider, and more strategically important, Battle of the Atlantic. In May, 1942, after taking part in the successful domination of Madagascar, the Swordfish operated from an escort carrier in the destruction and serious damage of numerous U-boats which were attacking by pack methods our shipping supply lines. From that date the U-boat sinkings in the Atlantic dropped sensationally and have never recovered—though the function of the Swordfish was rather to seal the "gap" in mid-Atlantic which the very long-range aircraft could not cover from shore bases. Numerous remarkable feats have been performed by the Swordfish outside its designed tasks of torpedo-bombing, bombing, depth-charge attack and general reconnaissance Kduty. It took part in leaflet raids on North African Vichy towns; landed British agents behind the lines in Tunisia; served as a maid-of-all-transport-work to Fleet Air Arm squadrons in the Western Desert (including delivery of personnel, spares, stores, ammunition and provisions). In its torpedo slings a motor bike was flown from the R.N. base at Hyeres. S. France, to Alexandria. On one occa sion, such was the shortage of aircraft in the Eastern Medi terranean that Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, General Wavell and his Staff Colonel had to stand in the back of a Swordfish from Alexandria to Cairo. Frequently as many as five passengers have been crowded into the back seats— designed to carry two. It is on record that after A.A. fire had badly damaged a lower wing of one Swordfish, ripping off most of its fabric, the pilot landed, deliberately stripped the fabric from the other wing and then, having dumped all movable gear, flew back to base in part-monoplane form. As an indica tion of its sea striking power, during one period of months Swordfish based at Malta sank an average of more than 50,000 tons of shipping per month, and despite bitter enemy attacks against the island airfields, sank 98,000 tons Part of the Swordfish production line in one of the Blackburn factories. in the peak month. Widespread success has also been achieved on mine-laying operations. Less conspicuously the Swordfish has performed yeoman service in training.. Many hundreds of air gunners have practised air firing from its rear seats—one Old Faithful at a naval air station is credited, after many months of active war service, with having been the flying platform for more than 1,500 air* gunners, who fired more than a million rounds of ammunition from it. In addition. Sword- fish have been extensively used for warship gunnery train ing, towing a sleeve target some 6,000ft. astern for ship practice shoots. They have also been the '' target for to night" in hundreds of searchlight exercises, and by flare- dropping at Western Desert enemy bases in 1940-41 can be said to have pioneered Bomber Command pathfinder technique. From the initial production equivalent of 22 aircraft per month, output has progressively risen steeply to estab lish Backburn's as a foremost British production organisa tion. A stage came, however, when the Fairey Barracuda took over on operations many of the duties performed by the Swordfish through jthe years of endurance. Black burn's success with Swordfish production made them the obvious choice when large-scale production of the Barracuda was demanded, and they accordingly have tailed off their Swordfish production to give factory space to the successor of monoplane design. The impending demise of the Swordfish closes a memor able chapter of biplane construction in the history of British aeronautics, though it should be remembered that stalwart work is still being performed by the Vjckers Walrus and by de Havilland biplanes on training duty. Last of the fully operational biplanes, the Swordfish has behind it a brilliant- war record in its category, and its affectionate nickname of " Stringbag " will be remembered long after other less enduring types are forgotten. POST-WAR INDUSTRY TOUCHING upon post-war cenditions in his statement to shareholders at the annual general meeting of Hawker- Siddeley Aircraft, Mr. T. O. M. Sopwith referred to the need for maintaining a strong Air Force, the great scope for civil air transport, and the importance of Commonwealth equipment being at least equal technically to any other. The Hawker- Siddeley group was in a position to take advantage of any opportunity that might offer. Certain establishments would no longer be required, and consideration would be given to any sound proposals for utilising this surplus capacity, but the board had at present no intention of embarking upon any venture detrimental to their established peacetime activities, or of entering into competition with already well-established industries. Referring to the statement by the Minister of Production concerning the output of 90,000 aircraft up to the end of last December, Mr. Sopwith said that of this total no less $han 27 per cent, were produced by companies in the Hawker- Siddeley Group. Of the new types made by the operating companies in the Group, Mr. Sopwith said that the Albemarle, a glider-towing freighter type, had been in operation in Sicily and now in Europe. The Tempest had maintained the same superiority as had the Hurricane and Typhoon, and the York had proved one of the most reliable transport types for all purposes. "I look forward," Mr. Sopwith said, "with confidence to the debut of the York and its sister types on the more important commercial routes under post-war conditions." *
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
