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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1014.PDF
126 FLIGHT, 22 July 19» T.S.R.1 (Pegasus). TS.R1 (Tiger). FAMILY OF FAIREYS... FLEET SPOTTING AND RECONNAISSANCE Ferret f The Ferret (1925) was the first Fairey product to havean all-metal main structure, though the covering was fabric. It was designed for fleet reconnaissance and was a three-seater.Special attention was paid to interchangeability and the engine was an Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar. The Ferret resembledstrongly the various Series Ills, but the mainplanes had a slight stagger. It appears that the missing "Series HIE" was thisaircraft. Ferret II A development of the Mk 1, with Bristol Jupiter engine. The arrester gear was still in the form of catch-hooks attached to the cross-axle undercarriage. Ferret III A cleaned-up Ferret, also with Jupiter. Whereas on the earlier Ferrets the rear gun mounting had been of the Scarff type, on the Mk III it was of the Fairey high-speed pattern. S.9/30 The primary structure of this two-seat fleet spotter/reconnaissance aircraft was of stainless steel, and proved extremely satisfactory in service trials. As an alternative to the wheelundercarriage, with its low-pressure tyres, a single central float, with lateral under-wing stabilizing floats, was fitted. The Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIMS engine was evaporatively cooled, the wing condensers being in the top wings. Seafox Officially classed as a light reconnaissance aircraft, theSeafox appeared in 1936. Aerodynamically it was a highly con- ventional aircraft, but speed performance was not a requirement.The prescribed duties were spotting and reconnaissance after the machine had been catapulted—from the smaller type of navalcatapult men in service—from a cruiser. The two-bay wings were of equal span and all-metal construction, with fabric cover-ing. The fuselage was, somewhat unusually, a metal monocoque structure, widi Z-section frames covered with Alclad panels.Except for the cockpit cutaways and drain holes the fuselage was completely sealed. The observer was provided with a trans-parent cockpit enclosure and his gun was on a Fairey mounting. The pilot's cockpit was open (his duties when being hoistedaboard demanding freedom of movement) and he had no gun. A feature of particular interest was the engine—a 395 h.p.Napier Halford Rapier VI 16-cyUnder H-type air-cooled unit. Swordfish III. Swordtish on floats. Span was 40ft, length 35ft 5iin, folded width 14ft, weight empty3,805 lb, gross weight 5,420 lb, top speed 124 m.pJi. at 5,850ft, service celling 11,000ft, cruising endurance 4.15 hr. i TORPEDO BOMBERS T.S.R.1 As a private venture, to Specification S.9/30, Faireyssubmitted a radial-engined machine capable of operating not only as a spotter or reconnaissance aircraft but as a torpedo bomber also.It materialized in 1933 as the T.S.R.1 and was first flown from the Great West Aerodrome by F/L. Staniland. A sturdytwo-bay biplane it had wings of unequal span and chord, and the pilot was placed high to give him a good view for attack.Initial tests were promising, but late in 1933 the prototype developed a flat spin from which Staniland could not recover. Hebaled out, but was blown into the rear cockpit, from which he made a second jump—from the other side of the aircraft—thistime successfully. The T.S-R.l was tried with the Armstrong Siddeley Tiger and Bristol Pegasus engines. T.S.R.2 This second version, which was ready in the springof 1934, had an extra bay let into the fuselage, and to compensate for this insertion the upper wings were slightly swept back. Thetype was adopted in 1935 as standard Service equipment under the name Swordfish. Swordfish / This designation was later applied to the earlyproduction Swordfish, the first of which appeared in 1936. The wing structure consisted of two built-up spars of steel strip, withsteel drag struts and Duralumin ribs. Ailerons were fitted on all four wings. The fuselage was essentially a rectangular steel tubestructure. The engine, a Bristol Pegasus HIM, was installed in a Townend ring. For spotting and reconnaissance duties the crewnumbered three, but for torpedo work only two were carried. Twin metal floats were interchangeable with the land under-carriage. Alternative to the single torpedo the Swordfish could carry bombs up to a maximum weight of 1,500 1b. Swordfish II This designation distinguished the Swordfish aswith special lower wings to enable R.P.s to be launched. The R.P. load was eight 60 lb H.E. or 25 lb armour-piercing projectiles.Depth charges were another possible load. Figures for the Swordfish II were: span 45ft 6in, length 35ft Sin, empty weight4,700 lb, gross weight 7,5101b (as torpedo bomber landplane), top speed 138 m.pii. at 5,000ft, rate of climb l,220ft/min, serviceceiling 19,250ft.
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