Fairey built the Swordfish to meet Air Ministry specification S.15/33 based on an existing private venture design, it was a large single fabric covered biplane with folding wings and it made it's maiden flight on the 17th of April 1934 and entered service with the Fleet Air Arm in 1935. In service the Fairy Swordfish soon gained the nickname 'Stringbag', a reflection on the aircrafts ability to carry almost anything asked of it regardless of shape or size. By the start of WW2 the type was considered virtually obsolete and several other aircraft were brought into service to try and replace it, however the Swordfish's flexibility and ruggedness resulted in the Swordfish still being in frontline service long after it's would-be replacements had been withdrawn! The Fairy Swordfish remained in service for the whole of WW2, a total of 2,391 aircraft being produced by Fairey and Blackburn, few changes were made to the aircraft in this time, the most obvious changes being the adoption of non flammable metal skins on the lower wings to allow the use of under-wing rockets from the introduction of the 1943 Swordfish II, and eventually the addition of airborne type x radar in a dome between the main undercarriage struts on the Swordfish III. A small number of Swordfish IV's were produced for use in the cold Canadian waters, these were effectively Swordfish II's with their open cockpits glazed over to increase crew comfort and endurance. The most famous events involving Fairy Swordfish in WW2 were the attack against Italian battleships and a cruiser during the Battle of Taranto and the crippling of the German battleship Bismarck's ruder allowing the Royal Navy's task force to catch and sink it. Fairey Swordfish Specifications: - Crew: Pilot, observer, and radio operator/rear gunner
- Length: 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)
- Wingspan: 45 ft 6 in (13.87 m)
- Height: 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)
- Empty weight: 4,195 lb (1,900 kg)
- Loaded weight: 7,720 lb (3,500 kg)
- Engine: Single (750 hp (560 kW) Bristol Pegasus IIIM
- Maximum speed: 138 mph (222 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,500 m)
- Range: 546 mi (879 km)
- Ferry range: 1,025 mi (1,650 km)
- Service ceiling 19,250 ft (5,870 m)
Armament: - Single 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun mounted in the engine cowling
- Single 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis or Vickers K machine gun in rear cockpit
- Eight 60 lb (27 kg) RP-3 under-wing rocket projectiles (Mk.II and later only)
- Single 1,670 lb (760 kg) torpedo or 1,500 lb (700 kg) mine
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