Misplaced Pages

#150849

161-822: The Fairey Swordfish was a biplane torpedo bomber , designed by the Fairey Aviation Company . Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy . It was also used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as several overseas operators, including the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Royal Netherlands Navy . It

322-532: A German invasion of the United Kingdom This included security patrols and spotting for naval bombardments. In February 1942, the shortcomings of the Swordfish were starkly demonstrated during a German naval fleet movement known as the Channel Dash . Six Swordfish led by Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde sortied from Manston to intercept the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as they traversed

483-401: A biplane configuration and a single 645 hp Bristol Pegasus IIM radial engine as its powerplant. The company chose initially to pursue development of the project as a self-financed private venture while both customers and applicable requirements for the type were sought. Development of the T.S.R. I was in parallel to Fairey's activities upon Air Ministry Specification S.9/30 , for which

644-452: A stall , so the FAA emphasizes training pilots in stall recognition, prevention, and recovery as a means to reduce accidents due to unintentional stalls or spins. A spin is often intimidating to the uninitiated, however many pilots trained in spin entry and recovery find that the experience builds awareness and confidence. In a spin, the occupants of the airplane only feel reduced gravity during

805-527: A Swordfish based in Gibraltar located and sank a U-boat, the first such kill to be achieved by an aircraft during nighttime. On 23 May 1943, a rocket-equipped Swordfish destroyed German submarine U-752 off the coast of Ireland , the first kill achieved with this weapon. Towards the end of the war, No. 119 Squadron RAF operated Swordfish Mark IIIs with centimetric radar from airfields in Belgium. Their main task

966-646: A W shape cabane, however as it does not connect the wings to each other, it does not add to the number of bays. Large transport and bombing biplanes often needed still more bays to provide sufficient strength. These are often referred to as multi-bay biplanes . A small number of biplanes, such as the Zeppelin-Lindau D.I have no interplane struts and are referred to as being strutless . Because most biplanes do not have cantilever structures, they require rigging wires to maintain their rigidity. Early aircraft used simple wire (either braided or plain), however during

1127-412: A biplane aircraft, two wings are placed one above the other. Each provides part of the lift, although they are not able to produce twice as much lift as a single wing of similar size and shape because the upper and the lower are working on nearly the same portion of the atmosphere and thus interfere with each other's behaviour. In a biplane configuration with no stagger from the upper wing to the lower wing,

1288-528: A brand new fabrication and assembly facility in Sherburn-in-Elmet , North Yorkshire . Less than a year later, the first Blackburn-built Swordfish conducted its first flight. During 1941, the Sherburn factory assumed primary responsibility for the fuselage, along with final assembly and testing of finished aircraft. Efforts were made to disperse production and to employ the use of shadow factories to minimise

1449-415: A differential induced drag that raises the nose toward a level pitch attitude. As the nose comes up the tail moves out farther from the center of rotation increasing lateral airflow over the empennage. The increase in lateral flow across the vertical stabilizer/rudder brings it to its critical angle of attack stalling it. The normal recovery input of opposite rudder further increases angle of attack, deepening

1610-441: A dive to torpedo release altitude of 18 feet (5.5 m). Maximum range of the early Mark XII torpedo was 1,500 yards (1,400 m) at 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) and 3,500 yards (3,200 m) at 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph). The torpedo travelled 200 feet (61 m) forward from release to water impact, and required another 300 yards (270 m) to stabilise at preset depth and arm itself. Ideal release distance

1771-551: A documented jet-kill, as one Lockheed F-94 Starfire was lost while slowing down to 161 km/h (100 mph) – below its stall speed – during an intercept in order to engage the low flying Po-2. Later biplane trainers included the de Havilland Tiger Moth in the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and others and the Stampe SV.4 , which saw service postwar in the French and Belgian Air Forces. The Stearman PT-13

SECTION 10

#1732844839151

1932-509: A faster and more comfortable successor to the Dragon. As the available engine power and speed increased, the drag penalty of external bracing increasingly limited aircraft performance. To fly faster, it would be necessary to reduce external bracing to create an aerodynamically clean design; however, early cantilever designs were either too weak or too heavy. The 1917 Junkers J.I sesquiplane utilized corrugated aluminum for all flying surfaces, with

2093-422: A given wing area. However, interference between the airflow over each wing increases drag substantially, and biplanes generally need extensive bracing, which causes additional drag. Biplanes are distinguished from tandem wing arrangements, where the wings are placed forward and aft, instead of above and below. The term is also occasionally used in biology , to describe the wings of some flying animals . In

2254-442: A metal airframe covered in fabric. It had folding wings as a space-saving measure, which was useful onboard aircraft carriers and battleships . In service, it received the nickname Stringbag ; this was not due to its biplane struts, spars, and braces, but a reference to the seemingly endless variety of stores and equipment that the type was cleared to carry. Crews likened the aircraft to a housewife's string shopping bag, common at

2415-507: A minimum of struts; however, it was relatively easy to damage the thin metal skin and required careful handling by ground crews. The 1918 Zeppelin-Lindau D.I fighter was an all-metal stressed-skin monocoque fully cantilevered biplane, but its arrival had come too late to see combat use in the conflict. By the 1930s, biplanes had reached their performance limits, and monoplanes become increasingly predominant, particularly in continental Europe where monoplanes had been increasingly common from

2576-410: A pilot's instinct to pull back on the stick served only to make a spin worse. Because of this, the spin earned a reputation as an unpredictable danger that might snatch an aviator's life at any time, and against which there was no defense. In early aviation, individual pilots explored spins by performing ad-hoc experiments (often accidentally), and aerodynamicists examined the phenomenon. Lincoln Beachey

2737-500: A pitch test. To do this, slowly reduce power to idle and see which way the nose pitches. If it pitches down, then the aircraft is stall recoverable. If the nose pitches up, then the stall would be difficult to recover or altogether unrecoverable. The pitch test should be done just prior to performing a spin maneuver. If the center of gravity of the airplane is behind the aft limit approved for spinning, any spin may prove unrecoverable except by using some special spin-recovery device such as

2898-473: A release height of 1,300 ft (400 m) and a dive angle of 70 degrees; tests against a manoeuvring target showed an average error of 44 yd (40 m) from a drop height of 1,800 ft (550 m) and a dive angle of 60 degrees. After more modern torpedo attack aircraft were developed, the Swordfish was soon redeployed successfully in an anti-submarine role, armed with depth charges or eight "60 lb" (27 kg) RP-3 rockets and flying from

3059-450: A series of aircraft catapult and recovery tests aboard the battlecruiser HMS Repulse . K4190 was later restored to its wheeled undercarriage prior to an extensive evaluation process by the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at RAF Martlesham Heath . In 1935, following the successful completion of testing at Martlesham, an initial pre-production order for three aircraft

3220-458: A single torpedo hit that only caused minor damage. On 26 May, Ark Royal launched two Swordfish strikes against Bismarck . The first failed to locate the ship. The second attack scored two torpedo hits, one of which jammed the ship's rudders at a 12° port helm. This made Bismarck unmanoeuvrable and unable to escape to port in France. She sank after intense Royal Navy attack within 13 hours. Some of

3381-463: A small degree, but more often was used to improve access to the cockpit. Many biplanes have staggered wings. Common examples include the de Havilland Tiger Moth , Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann and Travel Air 2000 . Alternatively, the lower wing can instead be moved ahead of the upper wing, giving negative stagger, and similar benefits. This is usually done in a given design for structural reasons, or to improve visibility. Examples of negative stagger include

SECTION 20

#1732844839151

3542-561: A small number of airplane types the FAA has made a finding of equivalent level of safety (ELOS) so that demonstration of a one-turn spin is not necessary. For example, this has been done with the Cessna Corvalis and the Cirrus SR20/22 . Successful demonstration of the one-turn spin does not get an airplane approved for intentional spinning. To get an airplane approved for intentional spinning,

3703-473: A somewhat unusual sesquiplane arrangement, possessing a more substantial lower wing with two spars that eliminated the flutter problems encountered by single-spar sesquiplanes. The stacking of wing planes was suggested by Sir George Cayley in 1843. Hiram Maxim adopted the idea for his steam-powered test rig, which lifted off but was held down by safety rails, in 1894. Otto Lilienthal designed and flew two different biplane hang gliders in 1895, though he

3864-522: A spin of at least one turn, while single-engine aircraft certified in the utility category must demonstrate a six-turn spin that cannot be unrecoverable at any time during the spin due to pilot action or aerodynamic characteristic. NASA recommends various tail configurations and other strategies to eliminate the flatter of the two spin modes and make recovery from the steeper mode more reliable. In aviation's early days, spins were poorly understood and often fatal. Proper recovery procedures were unknown, and

4025-420: A spin, the spin has four phases. At low altitude, spin recovery may also be impossible before impacting terrain, making low and slow aircraft especially vulnerable to spin-related accidents. Spins can be classified using the following descriptors: The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) has defined four different modes of spinning. These four modes are defined by the angle of attack of

4186-480: A spin-recovery parachute specially installed in the tail of the airplane; or by jettisoning specially installed ballast at the tail of the airplane. Some World War II airplanes were notoriously prone to spins when loaded erroneously; for example, the Bell P-39 Airacobra . The P-39 was an unusual design with the engine behind the pilot's seat and a large cannon in the front. Soviet pilots did numerous tests of

4347-506: A spin. Generally, though, spin training is undertaken in an "Unusual attitude recovery course" or as a part of an aerobatics endorsement (though not all countries actually require training for aerobatics). However, understanding and being able to recover from spins is certainly a skill that a fixed-wing pilot could learn for safety. It is routinely given as part of the training in sailplanes , since gliders often operate slowly enough to be in near-stall conditions while turning. Because of this, in

4508-677: A stall and wing drop (the very beginning of the entry to a spin) and must recover from a stall and wing drop as part of training. Some aircraft cannot be recovered from a spin using only their own flight control surfaces and must not be allowed to enter a spin under any circumstances. If an aircraft has not been certified for spin recovery, it should be assumed that spins are not recoverable and are unsafe in that aircraft. Important safety equipment, such as stall/spin recovery parachutes , which generally are not installed on production aircraft, are used during testing and certification of aircraft for spins and spin recovery. Spin-entry procedures vary with

4669-421: A test pilot must repeatedly subject it to a spin of six turns and then demonstrate recovery within one and a half additional turns. Spin testing is a potentially hazardous exercise, and the test aircraft must be equipped with some spin-recovery device such as a tail parachute, jettisonable ballast, or some method of rapidly moving the center of gravity forward. Agricultural airplanes are typically certificated in

4830-417: A total of 27 Swordfish aircraft stationed on the island at a time, the type succeeded in sinking an average of 50,000 tons of enemy shipping per month across a nine-month period. During one record month, 98,000 tons of shipping were reportedly lost to the island's Swordfish-equipped strike force. The recorded Swordfish losses were low, especially in relation to the high sortie rate of the aircraft and in light of

4991-470: A volley of flares being dropped by Swordfish aircraft to illuminate the harbour, after which, the Swordfish formation commenced bombing and torpedo runs. Due to the presence of barrage balloons and torpedo nets restricting the number of suitable torpedo-dropping positions, many of the Swordfish had been armed with bombs and made a synchronised attack upon the cruisers and destroyers instead. The six torpedo-armed Swordfish inflicted serious damage on three of

Fairey Swordfish - Misplaced Pages Continue

5152-547: Is better known for his monoplanes. By 1896 a group of young men in the United States, led by Octave Chanute , were flying hang gliders including biplanes and concluded that the externally braced biplane offered better prospects for powered flight than the monoplane. In 1903, the Wright Flyer biplane became the first successful powered aeroplane. Throughout the pioneer years, both biplanes and monoplanes were common, but by

5313-411: Is composed of opposing roll and yaw. It is crucial that the yaw be countered to effect recovery. The visual field in a typical spin (as opposed to a flat spin) is heavily dominated by the perception of roll over yaw, which can lead to an incorrect and dangerous conclusion that a given inverted spin is actually an erect spin in the reverse yaw direction (leading to a recovery attempt in which pro-spin rudder

5474-539: Is hardest to push") and held (aka the Mueller/Beggs technique). An advantage of the Mueller/Beggs technique is that no knowledge of whether the spin is erect or inverted is required during what can be a very stressful and disorienting time. Even though this method does work in a specific subset of spin-approved airplanes, the NASA Standard/PARE procedure can also be effective provided that care must be taken to ensure

5635-417: Is mistakenly applied and then further exacerbated by holding the incorrect elevator input). In some aircraft that spin readily upright and inverted, such as Pitts- and Christen Eagle-type high-performance aerobatic aircraft, an alternative spin-recovery technique may effect recovery as well, namely: Power off, Hands off the stick/yoke, Rudder full opposite to the spin (or more simply "push the rudder pedal that

5796-401: Is still typically reduced to idle thrust and pitch control neutralized, opposite rudder is almost never used. Adverse yaw created by the rolling surfaces (ailerons, differential horizontal tails, etc.) of such aircraft is often more effective in arresting the spin rotation than the rudder(s), which usually become blanked by the wing and fuselage due to the geometric arrangement of fighters. Hence,

5957-638: Is the Piper Tomahawk , which is certified for spins, though the Piper Tomahawk's spin characteristics remain controversial. Aircraft that are not certified for spins may be difficult or impossible to recover once the spin exceeds the one-turn certification standard. Though spinning has been removed from most flight training courses, some countries still require flight training on spin recovery. The U.S. requires spin training for civilian flight instructor candidates and military pilots. A spin occurs only after

6118-413: Is typical of an aircraft with moderate or high aspect ratio and little or no sweepback which leads to spin motion which is primarily rolling with moderate yaw. For a low aspect ratio swept wing with relatively large yaw and pitch inertia the diagram will be different and illustrates a predominance of yaw. One common scenario that can lead to an unintentional spin is a skidding uncoordinated turn toward

6279-586: The Anglo-Iraqi War . The aircraft conducted dive bombing attacks upon Iraqi barracks, fuel storage tanks and bridges. The Swordfish also flew a high level of anti-shipping sorties in the Mediterranean, many aircraft being based at Malta. Guided by aerial reconnaissance from other RAF units, Swordfish would time their attacks to arrive at enemy convoys in the dark to elude German fighters, which were restricted to daytime operations. While there were never more than

6440-773: The Battle of Taranto . The main fleet of the Italian Navy was based at Taranto in southern Italy; in light of the success of the earlier attack upon the French Navy at Mers-el-Kébir, members of the Admiralty sought another victory under similar conditions. The Royal Navy had conducted extensive preparations, with some planning having taken place as early as 1938, when war between the European powers had already seemed inevitable. Regular aerial reconnaissance missions were flown to gather intelligence on

6601-524: The Bristol M.1 , that caused even those with relatively high performance attributes to be overlooked in favour of 'orthodox' biplanes, and there was an allegedly widespread belief held at that time that monoplane aircraft were inherently unsafe during combat. Between the years of 1914 and 1925, a clear majority of new aircraft introduced were biplanes; however, during the latter years of the First World War,

Fairey Swordfish - Misplaced Pages Continue

6762-638: The First World War -era Fokker D.VII fighter and the Second World War de Havilland Tiger Moth basic trainer. The larger two-seat Curtiss JN-4 Jenny is a two bay biplane , the extra bay being necessary as overlong bays are prone to flexing and can fail. The SPAD S.XIII fighter, while appearing to be a two bay biplane, has only one bay, but has the midpoints of the rigging braced with additional struts; however, these are not structurally contiguous from top to bottom wing. The Sopwith 1½ Strutter has

6923-684: The Grumman Ag Cat are available in upgraded versions with turboprop engines. The two most produced biplane designs were the 1913 British Avro 504 of which 11,303 were built, and the 1928 Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 of which over 20,000 were built, with the Po-2 being the direct replacement for the Soviet copy of the Avro 504. Both were widely used as trainers. The Antonov An-2 was very successful too, with more than 18,000 built. Although most ultralights are monoplanes,

7084-497: The Italian declaration of war , nine Swordfish of 767 Naval Air Squadron stationed in Hyeres , Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur , France took off for the first Allied bombing raid upon Italian soil. Four days later, 767 Squadron relocated to Bone , Algeria before being split, the training elements returning to Britain while the operational portion proceeded to RAF Hal Far on Malta , where it

7245-595: The Lite Flyer Biplane, the Sherwood Ranger , and the Murphy Renegade . The feathered dinosaur Microraptor gui glided, and perhaps even flew, on four wings, which may have been configured in a staggered sesquiplane arrangement. This was made possible by the presence of flight feathers on both forelimbs and hindlimbs, with the feathers on the forelimbs opening to a greater span. It has been suggested that

7406-681: The Nazario Sauro and Daniele Manin were sunk in dive-bombing attacks. The other two Italian destroyers, Pantera and Tigre were heavily damaged and driven ashore at Jedda and later destroyed by HMS Kingston . In 1942, Swordfish of 810 and 829 Squadrons on HMS Illustrious took part in the Battle of Madagascar . They dropped dummy paratroopers in support of the initial landings. They later conducted anti-ship and anti-submarine operations in Diego Suarez Bay and bombed land targets in support of land operations during Operation Ironclad. In

7567-539: The Nieuport-Delage NiD 42 / 52 / 62 series, Fokker C.Vd & e, and Potez 25 , all serving across a large number of air forces. In the general aviation sector, aircraft such as the Waco Custom Cabin series proved to be relatively popular. The Saro Windhover was a sesquiplane with the upper wing smaller than the lower, which was a much rarer configuration than the reverse. The Pfalz D.III also featured

7728-494: The Sopwith Dolphin , Breguet 14 and Beechcraft Staggerwing . However, positive (forward) stagger is much more common. The space enclosed by a set of interplane struts is called a bay (much as the architectural form is used), hence a biplane or triplane with one set of such struts connecting the wings on each side of the aircraft is a single-bay biplane . This provided sufficient strength for smaller aircraft such as

7889-484: The aircraft has sufficient yaw while at the stall point. In a normal spin, the wing on the inside of the turn stalls while the outside wing remains flying. It is possible for both wings to stall, but the angle of attack of each wing, and consequently its lift and drag , are different. Either situation causes the aircraft to autorotate toward the stalled wing due to its higher drag and loss of lift. Spins are characterized by high angle of attack, an airspeed below

8050-419: The lift coefficient is reduced by 10 to 15 percent compared to that of a monoplane using the same airfoil and aspect ratio . The lower wing is usually attached to the fuselage , while the upper wing is raised above the fuselage with an arrangement of cabane struts , although other arrangements have been used. Either or both of the main wings can support ailerons , while flaps are more usually positioned on

8211-408: The 1970s and '80s, and repeatedly recommended by the FAA and implemented by the majority of test pilots during certification spin-testing of light airplanes. Inverted spinning and erect or upright spinning are dynamically very similar and require essentially the same recovery process but use opposite elevator control. In an upright spin, both roll and yaw are in the same direction, but an inverted spin

SECTION 50

#1732844839151

8372-579: The British Air Ministry . Fairey promptly informed the Air Ministry of its work for the Greeks, whose interest had eventually waned, and proposed its solution to the requirements for a spotter-reconnaissance plane ("spotter" referring to the activity of observing and directing the fall of a warship's gunfire ). In 1934, the Air Ministry issued the more advanced Specification S.15/33 , which formally added

8533-503: The CR.42 was able to achieve success in the defensive night fighter role against RAF bombers that were striking industrial targets throughout northern Italy. The British Fleet Air Arm operated the Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber from its aircraft carriers, and used the type in the anti-submarine warfare role until the end of the conflict, largely due to their ability to operate from

8694-518: The Caribou , performed the first non-stop flight between the Canadian mainland and Britain in 30 hours 55 minutes, although the intended target for this long distance flight had originally been Baghdad , Iraq . Despite its relative success, British production of the Dragon was quickly ended when in favour of the more powerful and elegant de Havilland Dragon Rapide , which had been specifically designed to be

8855-465: The English Channel towards Germany. When the Swordfish formation arrived and commenced an initial attack run coming astern of the ships, the Swordfish were intercepted by roughly 15 Messerschmitt Bf 109 monoplane fighter aircraft; the aerial battle was extremely one-sided, quickly resulting in the loss of all Swordfish while no damage was achieved upon the ships themselves. The lack of fighter cover

9016-503: The First World War, the British Royal Aircraft Factory developed airfoil section wire named RAFwire in an effort to both increase the strength and reduce the drag. Four types of wires are used in the biplane wing structure. Drag wires inside the wings prevent the wings from being folded back against the fuselage, running inside a wing bay from the forward inboard corner to the rear outboard corner. Anti-drag wires prevent

9177-565: The French Nieuport 17 and German Albatros D.III , offered lower drag than a conventional biplane while being stronger than a monoplane. During the Interwar period , numerous biplane airliners were introduced. The British de Havilland Dragon was a particularly successful aircraft, using straightforward design to could carry six passengers on busy routes, such as London-Paris services. During early August 1934, one such aircraft, named Trail of

9338-644: The Germans had been experimenting with a new generation of monoplanes, such as the Fokker D.VIII , that might have ended the biplane's advantages earlier had the conflict not ended when it had. The French were also introducing the Morane-Saulnier AI , a strut-braced parasol monoplane , although the type was quickly relegated to the advanced trainer role following the resolution of structural issues. Sesquiplane types, which were biplanes with abbreviated lower wings such as

9499-517: The Gosport School of Special Flying, while in France, at the School of Acrobacy and Combat, Americans who had volunteered to serve in the famous Lafayette Escadrille were by July 1917 learning how to do what the French called a vrille . During the 1920s and 1930s, before night-flying instruments were commonly available on small aircraft, pilots were often instructed to enter a spin deliberately to avoid

9660-654: The Mers-el-Kébir attack, a detachment of three Swordfish were sent to support British Army operations in the Western Desert , in response to a request for torpedo aircraft to destroy hostile naval units operating off the coast of Libya . On 22 August, the three aircraft destroyed two U-boats, one destroyer and a replenishment ship in the Gulf of Bomba , Libya, using only three torpedoes. On 11 November 1940, Swordfish flying from HMS  Illustrious achieved great success in

9821-530: The P-39 and were able to demonstrate its dangerous spinning characteristics. Modern fighter aircraft are not immune to the phenomenon of unrecoverable spin characteristics. Another example of a nonrecoverable spin occurred in 1963, with Chuck Yeager at the controls of the NF-104A rocket-jet hybrid: during his fourth attempt at setting an altitude record, Yeager lost control and entered a spin, then ejected and survived. On

SECTION 60

#1732844839151

9982-526: The Pitts S-1 designated the Sunbird S-1x. Suderman started from an altitude of 24,500 ft (7,500 m) and recovered at 2,000 ft (610 m). For safety, all certificated, single-engine fixed-wing aircraft , including certificated gliders , must meet specified criteria regarding stall and spin behavior. Complying designs typically have a wing with greater angle of attack at the wing root than at

10143-539: The Second Battle of Narvik, Swordfish continually bombed ships, land facilities, and parked enemy aircraft around Narvik . Anti-submarine patrols and aerial reconnaissance missions were also flown despite difficult terrain and inhospitable weather, which proved especially challenging for aircrew in the Swordfish's open cockpit. For many Swordfish crews, this campaign marked their first combat missions and nighttime landings upon aircraft carriers. On 14 June 1940, soon after

10304-587: The Swordfish flew so low that most of Bismarck ' s flak weapons could not depress enough to hit them. Throughout 1942, the Swordfish was progressively transferred away from the Royal Navy's fleet carriers as newer strike aircraft, such as the Fairey Albacore and Fairey Barracuda , were introduced. In the submarine-hunter role, the Swordfish contributed to the Battle of the Atlantic , detecting and attacking

10465-538: The Swordfish for training. During the early months of the conflict, the Swordfish operated in mostly uneventful fleet protection and convoy escort missions. The Swordfish first saw combat on 11 April 1940, during the Norwegian Campaign . Several Swordfish aircraft were launched from the aircraft carrier HMS Furious to torpedo several German vessels reported to be anchoring at Trondheim . The Swordfish found only two enemy destroyers at Trondheim, scoring one hit in

10626-500: The Swordfish was terminated; the last aircraft to be delivered, a Swordfish III, was delivered that day. Almost 2,400 aircraft had been built, 692 having been constructed by Fairey and a further 1,699 by Blackburn at their Sherburn facility. The most numerous version of the Swordfish was the Mark II, of which 1,080 were completed. The Fairey Swordfish was a medium-sized biplane torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. The Swordfish employed

10787-519: The U.S. demonstration of spin entry and recovery is still expected of glider instructor certification. Also, before their initial certifications both airplane and glider instructors need a logbook endorsement of proficiency in spin training which, under Federal Aviation Regulations 61.183(i), may be given by another instructor. In Canada, spins are a mandatory exercise to get the private and commercial pilot licenses; Canadian recreational pilot permit candidates (1 level below private pilot license) must do

10948-410: The aft limit at which spins may be attempted is not as far aft as the aft limit for general flying. Intentional spinning should not be attempted casually, and the most important pre-flight precaution is to determine that the airplane's center of gravity is within the range approved for intentional spinning. For this reason, pilots should first determine what tendency the airplane has before it stalls. If

11109-460: The aircraft carrier HMS  Ark Royal and conducted three sorties of attacks upon the anchored fleet. The torpedo attack, which crippled the French battleship Dunkerque and damaged other vessels present, demonstrated that capital ships could be effectively attacked while in harbour; it was also the first time in history that the Royal Navy had won a battle without the use of gunfire. Shortly after

11270-419: The aircraft intended to replace it. In 1933 Fairey, having established a proven track record in the design and construction of naval aircraft, commenced development of an entirely new three-seat naval aircraft, intended for the twin roles of aerial reconnaissance and torpedo bomber . Receiving the internal designation of T.S.R. I , standing for Torpedo-Spotter-Reconnaissance I , the proposed design adopted

11431-436: The aircraft now under control, Parke climbed, made another approach, and landed safely. In spite of the discovery of "Parke's technique", spin-recovery procedures were not a routine part of pilot training until well into World War I. The first documented case of an intentional spin and recovery is that of Harry Hawker . In the summer of 1914, Hawker recovered from an intentional spin over Brooklands , England, by centralizing

11592-644: The aircraft to stall. This is called a cross-control stall , and is very dangerous if it happens at low altitude where the pilot has little time to recover. To avoid this scenario, pilots learn the importance of always making coordinated turns. They may simply choose to make the final turn earlier and shallower to prevent an overshoot of the runway center line and provide a larger margin of safety. Certificated, light, single-engine airplanes must meet specific criteria regarding stall and spin behavior. Spins are often entered intentionally for training, flight testing, or aerobatics. In aircraft that are capable of recovering from

11753-404: The aircraft's flight characteristics. On 11 September 1933, F1875 was lost during a series of spinning tests in which it became unable to recover; the pilot survived the incident. Prior to this, the prototype had exhibited favourable performance, which contributed to the subsequent decision to proceed with the more advanced T.S.R II prototype, which had been specifically developed to conform with

11914-469: The airflow on the wing. During the 1970s, NASA used its spin tunnel at the Langley Research Center to investigate the spinning characteristics of single-engine general aviation airplane designs. A 1/11-scale model was used with nine different tail designs. Some tail designs that caused inappropriate spin characteristics had two stable spin modes—one steep or moderately steep; and another that

12075-429: The airplane returned to level flight. This procedure is sometimes called PARE , for P ower idle, A ilerons neutral, R udder opposite the spin and held, and E levator through neutral. The mnemonic "PARE" simply reinforces the tried-and-true NASA standard spin recovery actions—the very same actions first prescribed by NACA in 1936, verified by NASA during an intensive, decade-long spin test program overlapping

12236-492: The angle of attack is reduced at the outboard regions of both wings. This necessitates an increase in angle of attack at the inboard (center) regions of the wing, and promotes stalling of the inboard regions well before the wing tips. A US certification standard for civil airplanes up to 12,500 lb (5,700 kg) maximum takeoff weight is Part 23 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , applicable to airplanes in

12397-551: The battleships. Two cruisers, two destroyers and other vessels were damaged or sunk. The high manoeuvrability of the Swordfish was attributed with enabling the aircraft to evade intense anti-aircraft fire and hit the Italian ships. The Battle of Taranto firmly established that naval aircraft were independently capable of immobilising an entire fleet and were an effective means of altering the balance of power. The Japanese assistant naval attaché to Berlin, Takeshi Naito, visited Taranto to view

12558-407: The biplane naturally has a deep structure and is therefore easier to make both light and strong. Rigging wires on non-cantilevered monoplanes are at a much sharper angle, thus providing less tension to ensure stiffness of the outer wing. On a biplane, since the angles are closer to the ideal of being in direct line with the forces being opposed, the overall structure can then be made stiffer. Because of

12719-544: The coasts of Netherlands and Belgium in daylight raids, during which they braved anti-aircraft fire and interception by Luftwaffe fighter aircraft. Night time bombing raids were conducted against oil installations, power stations , and aerodromes . After the Allied defeat in the Battle of France and the signing of the French Armistice of 22 June 1940 , Swordfish focused their activities against ports that might be used for

12880-564: The company was at one point developing a separate but broadly similar aircraft, powered by a Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine instead as well as employing a differing fin and rudder configuration. Significant contributions to the T.S.R.I's development came from Fairey's independent design work on a proposed aircraft for the Greek Naval Air Service , which had requested a replacement for their Fairey IIIF Mk.IIIB aircraft, and from specifications M.1/30 and S.9/30, which had been issued by

13041-598: The competition aerobatics role and format for such a biplane well-defined by the mid-1930s by the Udet U 12 Flamingo and Waco Taperwing . The Pitts Special dominated aerobatics for many years after World War II and is still in production. The vast majority of biplane designs have been fitted with reciprocating engines . Exceptions include the Antonov An-3 and WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor , fitted with turboprop and turbofan engines respectively. Some older biplane designs, such as

13202-403: The consequences of the attack; he later briefed the staff who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor . On 28 March 1941, a pair of Swordfish based at Crete contributed to the disabling of the Italian cruiser Pola during the Battle of Cape Matapan . In May 1941, six Swordfish based at Shaibah , near Basra , Iraq , participated in the suppression of a revolt in the region, widely known now as

13363-504: The controls. Russian aviator Konstantin Artseulov , having independently discovered a recovery technique, somewhat different from Parke's and Hawker's, on the frontlines, demonstrated it in a dramatic display over the Kacha flight school 's airfield on September 24, 1916, intentionally flying his Nieuport 21 into a spin and recovering from it twice. Later, Artseulov, at the time an instructor at

13524-601: The crew area and the third crew member was left behind. RAF fighters often provided aerial cover where possible and occasionally counterattacked enemy air bases. The intensity of Coastal Command's Swordfish operations was drastically increased after the German invasion of the Low Countries , expanding to involve four Swordfish-equipped squadrons. Typically flying from Detling , Thorney Island , North Coates and St Eval , Swordfish crews were dispatched to strike strategic targets off

13685-505: The currently surviving aircraft were recovered from the farm of Canadian Ernie Simmons. Data from Fairey Aircraft since 1915, The Fairey Swordfish Mks. I-IV General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Biplane Biplanes offer several advantages over conventional cantilever monoplane designs: they permit lighter wing structures, low wing loading and smaller span for

13846-407: The damage caused by Luftwaffe bombing raids. Major sub-assemblies for the Swordfish were produced by four subcontractors based in neighbouring Leeds , these were transported by land to Sherburn for final assembly. Initial deliveries from Sherburn were completed to the Swordfish I standard; from 1943 onwards, the improved Swordfish II and Swordfish III marks came into production and superseded

14007-470: The drag from the number of struts used. The structural forces acting on the spars of a biplane wing tend to be lower as they are divided between four spars rather than two, so the wing can use less material to obtain the same overall strength and is therefore lighter. A given area of wing also tends to be shorter, reducing bending moments on the spars, which then allow them to be more lightly built as well. The biplane does however need extra struts to maintain

14168-421: The elevator control is moved briskly forward to reduce the angle of attack below the critical angle . Depending on the airplane and type of spin, the elevator action could be a minimal input before rotation ceases, or in other cases the pilot may have to move the elevator control to its full forward position to effect recovery from the upright spin. Once the rotation has stopped, the rudder must be neutralized and

14329-542: The end of World War I . At the start of World War II , several air forces still had biplane combat aircraft in front line service but they were no longer competitive, and most were used in niche roles, such as training or shipboard operation, until shortly after the end of the war. The British Gloster Gladiator biplane, the Italian Fiat CR.42 Falco and Soviet I-153 sesquiplane fighters were all still operational after 1939. According to aviation author Gianni Cattaneo,

14490-422: The entry phase and then experience normal gravity, except that the extreme nose-down attitude presses the occupants forward against their restraint harnesses. The rapid rotation, combined with the nose-down attitude, results in a visual effect called ground flow that can be disorienting. The recovery procedure from a spin requires using rudder to stop the rotation, then elevator to reduce angle of attack to stop

14651-513: The eve of war in September 1939, the FAA, which had been transferred to Royal Navy control, had 13 operational squadrons equipped with the Swordfish I. There were also three flights of Swordfish equipped with floats, for use with catapult-equipped warships. After the outbreak of the Second World War, 26 FAA Squadrons were equipped with the Swordfish. More than 20 second-line squadrons also operated

14812-509: The fact that many aircraft lacked any blind-flying equipment, making night flying even more hazardous. In May 1941, Swordfish helped pursue and sink the German battleship Bismarck . On 24 May, nine Swordfish from HMS  Victorious flew a late night sortie against the Bismarck under deteriorating weather conditions. Using ASV radar, the flight were able to spot and attack the ship, resulting in

14973-625: The first attack of the war by torpedo-carrying aircraft. On 13 April 1940, just before the Second Battle of Narvik , a Swordfish floatplane was launched from the battleship HMS  Warspite with the crew ordered to reconnoitre for Germans ships. They reported seeing several German destroyers, and also spotted the German submarine  U-64 anchored close to the shore in Herjangsfjord . They dived to 200 feet (60 m) and dropped two 100-pound (45 kg) anti-submarine bombs; one hit and sank

15134-528: The first production aircraft was completed in early 1936 and the type entered service with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in July 1936. By early 1940, Fairey was busy with the Swordfish and other types such as the new Fairey Albacore torpedo bomber. The Admiralty approached Blackburn Aircraft with a proposal that manufacturing activity for the Swordfish be transferred to the company, who immediately set about establishing

15295-421: The further forward the center of gravity the less readily the airplane will spin, and the more readily it can recover from a spin. Conversely, the further aft the center of gravity the more readily the airplane will spin, and the less readily it can recover from a spin. In any airplane, the forward and aft limits on center of gravity are carefully defined. In some airplanes that are approved for intentional spinning,

15456-505: The fuselage; along with other aerodynamic-related tweaks to the rear of the aircraft. During the ensuing flight test programme, K4190 was transferred to Fairey's factory in Hamble-le-Rice , Hampshire , where it received a twin- float undercarriage in place of its original land-only counterpart; on 10 November 1934, the first flight of K4190 in this new configuration was performed. Following successful water-handling trials, K4190 conducted

15617-420: The gallant sortie of these six Swordfish aircraft constitutes one of the finest exhibitions of self-sacrifice and devotion to duty the war had ever witnessed". German Vice-Admiral Otto Ciliax remarked on "the mothball attack of a handful of ancient planes, piloted by men whose bravery surpasses any other action by either side that day." However, as a result of this incident, Swordfish were quickly withdrawn from

15778-416: The gap between the wings, which add both weight and drag. The low power supplied by the engines available in the first years of aviation limited aeroplanes to fairly low speeds. This required an even lower stalling speed, which in turn required a low wing loading , combining both large wing area with light weight. Obtaining a large enough wing area without the wings being long, and thus dangerously flexible

15939-467: The hind limbs could not have opened out sideways but in flight would have hung below and slightly behind the fore limbs. Spin (aerodynamics) In flight dynamics a spin is a special category of stall resulting in autorotation (uncommanded roll) about the aircraft's longitudinal axis and a shallow, rotating, downward path approximately centred on a vertical axis. Spins can be entered intentionally or unintentionally, from any flight attitude if

16100-489: The later Operation Jane, Swordfish were ready to support the attack on Tamatave , but in the event the town surrendered before they were needed. During early 1940, Swordfish aircraft of 812 Squadron under RAF Coastal Command started a campaign against enemy ports along the English Channel . The aircraft routinely sortied to drop naval mines near such harbours. To increase range, additional fuel tanks were installed in

16261-612: The low speeds and simple construction involved have inspired a small number of biplane ultralights, such as Larry Mauro's Easy Riser (1975–). Mauro also made a version powered with solar cells driving an electric motor called the Solar Riser . Mauro's Easy Riser was used by "Father Goose", Bill Lishman . Other biplane ultralights include the Belgian-designed Aviasud Mistral , the German FK12 Comet (1997–),

16422-519: The lower wing. Bracing is nearly always added between the upper and lower wings, in the form of interplane struts positioned symmetrically on either side of the fuselage and bracing wires to keep the structure from flexing, where the wings are not themselves cantilever structures. The primary advantage of the biplane over a monoplane is its ability to combine greater stiffness with lower weight. Stiffness requires structural depth and where early monoplanes had to have this provided with external bracing,

16583-445: The more innovative uses of the Swordfish was its role with merchant aircraft carriers ("MAC ships"). These were 20 civilian cargo or tanker ships modified to carry three or four aircraft each on anti-submarine duties with convoys. Three of these vessels were Dutch-manned, and several Swordfish of 860 (Dutch) Naval Air Squadron were typically deployed on board. The others were manned by aircrew from 836 Naval Air Squadron. At one time this

16744-512: The most famed copies was the Siemens-Schuckert D.I . The Albatros D.III and D.V , which had also copied the general layout from Nieuport, similarly provided the backbone of the German forces during the First World War. The Albatros sesquiplanes were widely acclaimed by their aircrews for their maneuverability and high rate of climb. During interwar period , the sesquiplane configuration continued to be popular, with numerous types such as

16905-578: The much more dangerous graveyard spiral when they suddenly found themselves enveloped in clouds, hence losing visual reference to the ground. In almost every circumstance, the cloud deck ends above ground level, giving the pilot a reasonable chance to recover from the spin before crashing. Today, spin training is not required for a private pilot licence in the United States; added to this, most training-type aircraft are placarded "intentional spins prohibited". Some models of Cessna 172 are certified for spinning although they can be difficult to actually get into

17066-461: The newly issued Specification S.15/33. On 17 April 1934, the prototype T.S.R II, K4190 , performed its maiden flight, flown by Staniland. In comparison with the previous prototype, K4190 was equipped with a more powerful model of the Pegasus engine, an additional bay within the rear fuselage to counteract spin tendencies, and the upper wing was slightly swept back to account for the increased length of

17227-529: The night ground attack role throughout the Second World War. In the case of the Po-2, production of the aircraft continued even after the end of the conflict, not ending until around 1952. A significant number of Po-2s were fielded by the Korean People's Air Force during the Korean War , inflicting serious damage during night raids on United Nations bases. The Po-2 is also the only biplane to be credited with

17388-420: The normal category at a moderate weight. For single-engine airplanes this requires successful demonstration of the one-turn spin. However, with the agriculture hopper full these airplanes are not intended to be spun, and recovery is unlikely. For this reason, at weights above the maximum for the normal category, these airplanes are not subjected to spin testing and, as a consequence, can only be type certificated in

17549-517: The normal, utility and acrobatic categories. Part 23, §23.221 requires that single-engine airplanes must demonstrate recovery from either a one-turn spin if intentional spins are prohibited or six-turn spins if intentional spins are approved. Even large, passenger-carrying single-engine airplanes like the Cessna Caravan must be subjected to one-turn spins by a test pilot and repeatedly demonstrated to recover within no more than one additional turn. With

17710-434: The nose above the horizon. Such maneuvers must be performed with the center of gravity in the normal range and with appropriate training, and consideration should be given to the extreme gyroscopic forces generated by the propeller and exerted on the crankshaft. Guinness World Records lists the highest number of consecutive inverted flat spins at 98, set by Spencer Suderman on March 20, 2016, flying an experimental variant of

17871-483: The original model. The Swordfish II carried ASV Mk. II radar and featured metal undersurfaces to the lower wings to allow the carriage of 3-inch rockets , later-built models also adopted the more powerful Pegasus XXX engine. The Swordfish III was fitted with centimetric ASV Mk.XI radar between the undercarriage legs, precluding carrying torpedoes, and retained the Pegasus XXX powerplant. On 18 August 1944, production of

18032-503: The other hand, the Cornfield Bomber was a case where the ejection of the pilot shifted the center of gravity enough to let the now-empty aircraft self-recover from a spin and land itself. In purpose-built aerobatic aircraft, spins may be intentionally flattened through the application of power and aileron within a normal spin. Rotation rates experienced are dramatic and can exceed 400 degrees per second in an attitude that may even have

18193-475: The other. The wing that stalls first drops, increasing its angle of attack and deepening the stall. At least one wing must be stalled for a spin to occur. The other wing rises, decreasing its angle of attack, and the aircraft yaws towards the more deeply stalled wing. The difference in lift between the two wings causes the aircraft to roll, and the difference in drag causes the aircraft to continue yawing. The spin characteristics diagram shown in this section

18354-483: The outbreak of the First World War biplanes had gained favour after several monoplane structural failures resulted in the RFC's "Monoplane Ban" when all monoplanes in military service were grounded, while the French also withdrew most monoplanes from combat roles and relegated them to training. Figures such as aviation author Bruce observed that there was an apparent prejudice held even against newly-designed monoplanes, such as

18515-442: The pilot's inputs to the flight controls, and recovery from a spiral dive requires a different set of actions from those required to recover from a spin. In the early years of flight, a spin was frequently referred to as a "tailspin". Many types of airplanes spin only if the pilot simultaneously yaws and stalls the airplane (intentionally or unintentionally). Under these circumstances, one wing stalls, or stalls more deeply than

18676-572: The positions of specific capital ships and Swordfish crews were intensively trained for night flying operations, as an undetected aerial attack during the night raid had been judged to be the only effective method of reasonably overcoming the defences of the well-protected harbour and to strike at the fleet anchored there. Originally scheduled for 21 October 1940, the Taranto raid was delayed until 11 November to allow for key reinforcements to arrive and other commitments to be met. The aerial attack started with

18837-428: The preferred recover technique has a pilot applying full roll control in the direction of the rotation ( i.e. , a right-hand spin requires a right stick input), generally remembered as "stick into the spin". Likewise, this control application is reversed for inverted spins. The characteristics of an airplane with respect to spinning are significantly influenced by the position of the center of gravity . In general terms,

18998-424: The reduced stiffness, wire braced monoplanes often had multiple sets of flying and landing wires where a biplane could easily be built with one bay, with one set of landing and flying wires. The extra drag from the wires was not enough to offset the aerodynamic disadvantages from having two airfoils interfering with each other however. Strut braced monoplanes were tried but none of them were successful, not least due to

19159-582: The relatively compact decks of escort carriers . Its low stall speed and inherently tough design made it ideal for operations even in the often severe mid-Atlantic weather conditions. By the end of the conflict, the Swordfish held the distinction of having caused the destruction of a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft. Both the German Heinkel He 50 and the Soviet Polikarpov Po-2 were used with relative success in

19320-468: The restricted category. As an example of an agricultural airplane, see the Cessna AG series . To make some sailplanes spin easily for training purposes or demonstrations, a spin kit is available from the manufacturer. Many training aircraft may appear resistant to entering a spin, even though some are intentionally designed and certified for spins. A well-known example of an aircraft designed to spin readily

19481-477: The roaming U-boat packs that preyed upon merchant shipping between Britain and North America and in support of the Arctic convoys which delivered supplies from Britain to Russia. Swordfish attacked submarines directly and guided destroyers to their locations. During one convoy battle, Swordfish from the escort carrier HMS  Striker and Vindex flew over 1,000 hours on anti-submarine patrols in 10 days. One of

19642-407: The rudder (i.e., a cross-control). If the aircraft manufacturer provides a specific procedure for spin recovery, that procedure must be used. Otherwise, to recover from an upright spin, the following generic procedure may be used: Power is first reduced to idle and the ailerons are neutralized. Then, full opposite rudder (that is, against the yaw) is added and held to counteract the spin rotation, and

19803-591: The runway during the landing sequence. A pilot who is overshooting the turn to final approach may be tempted to apply more rudder to increase the rate of turn. The result is twofold: the nose of the airplane drops below the horizon, and the bank angle increases due to rudder roll. Reacting to these unintended changes, the pilot then begins to pull the elevator control aft (thus increasing the angle of attack and load factor) while applying opposite aileron to decrease bank angle. Taken to its extreme, this can result in an uncoordinated turn with sufficient angle of attack to cause

19964-507: The school, went on to teach this technique to all of his students, quickly disseminating it among the Russian aviators and beyond. In 1917, the English physicist Frederick Lindemann conducted a series of experiments in a B.E.2E that led to the first understanding of the aerodynamics of the spin. In Britain, starting in 1917, spin recovery procedures were routinely taught by flight instructors at

20125-641: The second pre-production aircraft, K5661 , became the first to be delivered; the final pre-production aircraft, K5662 , was completed in the floatplane configuration and underwent water-based service trials at the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe , Suffolk . In early 1936, an initial production contract for 68 Swordfish aircraft was received, as the Swordfish I . Manufactured at Fairey's factory in Hayes , West London ,

20286-651: The series of Nieuport military aircraft—from the Nieuport 10 through to the Nieuport 27 which formed the backbone of the Allied air forces between 1915 and 1917. The performance of the Nieuport sesquiplanes was so impressive that the Idflieg (the German Inspectorate of flying troops) requested their aircraft manufacturers to produce copies, an effort which was aided by several captured aircraft and detailed drawings; one of

20447-450: The slots are located ahead of the ailerons, they provide strong resistance to stalling and may even leave the airplane incapable of spinning. The flight control systems of some gliders and recreational aircraft are designed so that when the pilot moves the elevator control close to its fully aft position, as in low speed flight and flight at high angle of attack , the trailing edges of both ailerons are automatically raised slightly so that

20608-451: The smaller escort carriers , or even merchant aircraft carriers (MACs) when equipped for rocket-assisted takeoff (RATO) . Its low stall speed and inherently tough design made it ideal for operation from the MACs in the often severe mid-Atlantic weather. Indeed, its takeoff and landing speeds were so low that, unlike most carrier-based aircraft, it did not require the carrier to be steaming into

20769-417: The spin does not simply cross from positive to negative (or vice versa) and that a too-rapid application of elevator control is avoided as it may cause aerodynamic blanketing of the rudder rendering the control ineffective and simply accelerate the spin. The converse, however, may not be true at all—many cases exist where Beggs/Mueller fails to recover the airplane from the spin, but NASA Standard/PARE terminates

20930-445: The spin. Before spinning any aircraft, a pilot should consult the flight manual to establish if the particular aircraft type has any specific spin recovery techniques that differ from standard practice. A pilot can induce a flat spin once the spin is established by applying full opposite aileron to the direction of rotation—hence, the requirement to neutralize ailerons in the normal spin recovery technique. The aileron application creates

21091-414: The stall on at least one wing and a shallow descent. Recovery and avoiding a crash may require a specific and counter-intuitive set of actions. A spin differs from a spiral dive , in which neither wing is stalled and which is characterized by a low angle of attack and high airspeed. A spiral dive is not a type of spin because neither wing is stalled. In a spiral dive, the aircraft responds conventionally to

21252-408: The stick, and turning into the spin, with no effect. The aircraft descended 450 feet (140 m), and horrified observers expected a fatal crash. Though disabled by centrifugal forces, Parke still sought an escape. In an effort to neutralize the forces pinning him against the right side of the cockpit, he applied full right rudder, and the aircraft leveled out 50 feet (15 m) above the ground. With

21413-415: The structural problems associated with monoplanes, but offered little improvement for biplanes. The default design for a biplane has the wings positioned directly one above the other. Moving the upper wing forward relative to the lower one is called positive stagger or, more often, simply stagger. It can increase lift and reduce drag by reducing the aerodynamic interference effects between the two wings by

21574-464: The submarine. This was the first U-boat to be destroyed by an FAA aircraft in the war. Later that day, a force of ten Swordfish were dispatched from HMS Furious to attack the German destroyers with 250lb bombs. They scored no hits and two aircraft were shot down; the crew of one were lost, the crew of the other were picked up after making a forced-landing. During the battle, eight German destroyers were sunk or scuttled with no British ships lost. After

21735-521: The tail stall and so rudder input is ineffective to slow/stop rotation. Recovery is initiated by maintaining pro-spin elevator and rudder and applying full aileron into the spin. Differential drag now lowers the nose returning the plane to a normal spin from which the PARE technique is used to exit the maneuver. Although entry techniques are similar, modern military fighter aircraft often tend to require yet another variation on spin recovery techniques. While power

21896-412: The tendency is to pitch down (nose-heavy) when it stalls, then the aircraft is likely to recover on its own. However, if the tendency is to pitch up (tail-heavy) when it stalls, the aircraft will likely transition into a flat spin where stall recovery would be delayed, or it may not be recoverable at all. Before practicing spins, one recommended method is to determine the aircraft's stall tendency by doing

22057-416: The time and which could accommodate contents of any shape, and that a Swordfish, like the shopping bag, could carry anything. The primary weapon of the Swordfish was the aerial 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. Swordfish torpedo doctrine called for an approach at 5,000 feet (1,500 m) followed by

22218-606: The torpedo bomber role in competition with the Blackburn Shark in the combined role. Initially, the Shark replaced the Seal in the spotter-reconnaissance squadrons and the Swordfish replaced the Baffin in torpedo squadron, after which the Shark was quickly replaced by the Swordfish. For nearly two years during the late 1930s, the Swordfish was the sole torpedo bomber aircraft equipping the FAA. By

22379-429: The torpedo bomber role. On 21 March 1933, the prototype T.S.R. I, F1875 , conducted its maiden flight from Great West Aerodrome , Heathrow , piloted by Fairey test pilot Chris Staniland . F1875 performed various flights, including several while re-engined with an Armstrong Siddeley Tiger radial engine before it was refitted with the Pegasus engine again, was used to explore the flight envelope , and to investigate

22540-420: The torpedo-bomber role in favour of more anti-submarine duties. Armed with depth charges and rockets, the aircraft were good submarine killers. In the anti-submarine role, the Swordfish pioneered the naval use of air to surface vessel (ASV) radar , allowing the aircraft to effectively locate surface ships at night and through clouds. Swordfish were flying missions with the radar by October 1941. In December 1941,

22701-665: The two planes when the high pressure air under the top wing and the low pressure air above the lower wing cancel each other out. This means that a biplane does not in practice obtain twice the lift of the similarly-sized monoplane. The farther apart the wings are spaced the less the interference, but the spacing struts must be longer, and the gap must be extremely large to reduce it appreciably. As engine power and speeds rose late in World War I , thick cantilever wings with inherently lower drag and higher wing loading became practical, which in turn made monoplanes more attractive as it helped solve

22862-419: The type and model of aircraft being flown but there are general procedures applicable to most aircraft. These include reducing power to idle and simultaneously raising the nose to induce an upright stall. Then, as the aircraft approaches stall, apply full rudder in the desired spin direction while holding full back-elevator pressure for an upright spin. Sometimes a roll input is applied in the direction opposite of

23023-400: The upper and lower wings together. The sesquiplane is a type of biplane where one wing (usually the lower) is significantly smaller than the other. The word, from Latin, means "one-and-a-half wings". The arrangement can reduce drag and weight while retaining the biplane's structural advantages. The lower wing may have a significantly shorter span, or a reduced chord . Examples include

23184-500: The war. Notable events included sinking one battleship and damaging two others of the Regia Marina (the Italian navy) during the Battle of Taranto , and the famous attack on the German battleship Bismarck , which contributed to her eventual demise. Swordfish sank a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft during the war. The Swordfish remained in front-line service until V-E Day , having outlived some of

23345-572: The wind. On occasion, when the wind was right, Swordfish were flown from a carrier at anchor. In July 1936, the Swordfish formally entered service with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), which was then part of the RAF; 825 Naval Air Squadron became the first squadrons to receive the type that month. The Swordfish began replacing both the Fairey Seal in the spotter-reconnaissance role and the Blackburn Baffin in

23506-520: The wing tip, so that the wing root stalls first, reducing the severity of the wing drop at the stall and possibly also allowing the ailerons to remain somewhat effective until the stall migrates outward toward the wing tip. One method of tailoring such stall behavior is known as washout . Some designers of recreational aircraft seek to develop an aircraft that is characteristically incapable of spinning, even in an uncoordinated stall . Some airplanes have been designed with fixed leading edge slots . Where

23667-434: The wings from folding up, and run from the underside of the outer wing to the lower wing root. Conversely, landing wires prevent the wings from sagging, and resist the forces when an aircraft is landing, and run from the upper wing centre section to outboard on the lower wings. Additional drag and anti-drag wires may be used to brace the cabane struts which connect the fuselage to the wings, and interplane struts, which connect

23828-421: The wings from moving forward when the aircraft stops and run the opposite direction to the drag wires. Both of these are usually hidden within the wings, and if the structure is sufficiently stiff otherwise, may be omitted in some designs. Indeed many early aircraft relied on the fabric covering of the wing to provide this rigidity, until higher speeds and forces made this inadequate. Externally, lift wires prevent

23989-466: Was 1,000 yards (910 m) from target if the Swordfish survived to that distance. The Swordfish was also capable of operating as a dive-bomber . During 1939, Swordfish on board HMS Glorious participated in a series of dive-bombing trials, during which 439 practice bombs were dropped at dive angles of 60, 67 and 70 degrees, against the target ship HMS Centurion . Tests against a stationary target showed an average error of 49 yd (45 m) from

24150-458: Was a contributing factor for the heavy losses experienced; only 10 of 84 promised fighters were available. Thirteen of the 18 Swordfish crew involved were killed. Esmonde, who had previously led an attack on Bismarck , was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. The courage of the Swordfish crews was noted by commanders on both sides. British Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay wrote "In my opinion

24311-447: Was able to exit spins at will, according to Harry Bruno in Wings over America (1944). In August 1912, Lieutenant Wilfred Parke RN became the first aviator to recover from an accidental spin when his Avro Type G biplane entered a spin at 700 feet (210 m) AGL in the traffic pattern at Larkhill . Parke attempted to recover from the spin by increasing engine speed, pulling back on

24472-444: Was either moderately flat or flat. Recovery from the flatter of the two modes was usually less reliable or impossible. When the center of gravity was further aft, the spin was flatter and the recovery was less reliable. For all tests, the center of gravity of the model was at either 14.5% of mean aerodynamic chord (MAC) or 25.5% of MAC. Single-engine airplane types certified in the normal category must be demonstrated to recover from

24633-513: Was essential. The last operational squadron, 836 Naval Air Squadron , which had last been engaged in providing resources for the MAC ships, was disbanded on 21 May 1945, soon after the end of World War II in Europe . In mid-1946, the last training squadron equipped with the type was disbanded, after which only a few remained in service to perform sundry duties at a few naval air stations. A large proportion of

24794-441: Was initially operated primarily as a fleet attack aircraft. During its later years, the Swordfish was increasingly used as an anti-submarine and training platform. The type was in frontline service throughout the Second World War . Despite being representative of early 1930s aircraft design and teetering on the edge of becoming outdated (in comparison to some alternatives), the Swordfish achieved some spectacular successes during

24955-465: Was intended to be replaced by the Fairey Albacore, also a biplane, but it outlived its intended successor until succeeded by the Fairey Barracuda monoplane torpedo bomber. Operational sorties of the Swordfish continued into January 1945. The last active missions are believed to have been anti-shipping operations off the coast of Norway by FAA Squadrons 835 and 813, where the Swordfish's manoeuvrability

25116-404: Was more readily accomplished with a biplane. The smaller biplane wing allows greater maneuverability . Following World War I, this helped extend the era of the biplane and, despite the performance disadvantages, most fighter aircraft were biplanes as late as the mid-1930s. Specialist sports aerobatic biplanes are still made in small numbers. Biplanes suffer aerodynamic interference between

25277-465: Was placed by the Air Ministry; it was at this point that the T.S.R II received the name Swordfish . All three pre-production aircraft were powered by the Pegasus IIIM3 engine, but adopted a three-bladed Fairey-Reed propeller in place of the two-bladed counterpart used on the earlier prototype. On 31 December 1935, the first pre-production Swordfish, K5660 , made its maiden flight. On 19 February 1936,

25438-560: Was re-numbered as 830 Naval Air Squadron . On 30 June, operations re-commenced with an opening night raid upon oil tanks at Augusta, Sicily . On 3 July 1940, the Swordfish was one of the main weapons during the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir , an attack by the Royal Navy upon the French Navy fleet stationed at Oran , French Algeria to prevent the vessels falling into German hands. Twelve Swordfish from 810 and 820 Naval Air Squadrons launched from

25599-514: Was the largest squadron operating the type, with 91 aircraft. In March and April 1941, during the East African campaign , Swordfish from HMS Eagle 's 813 and 824 Naval Air Squadrons , operating from shore bases, were used against Italian land and naval targets in Massawa, East Africa. On 2 April 1941 four Italian destroyers, attempting to escape from Massawa, were attacked at sea by the Swordfish;

25760-612: Was to hunt at night for German midget submarines in the North Sea and off the Dutch coast. The radar was able to detect ships at a range of around 25 miles (40 km). One of the aircraft operated by 119 Squadron in this role survives and is part of the collection of the Imperial War Museum ( see Surviving aircraft ). By 1945, nine front-line squadrons were still equipped with Swordfish. Overall, Swordfish sank 14 U-boats. The Swordfish

25921-741: Was widely used by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) while the US Navy operated the Naval Aircraft Factory N3N . In later civilian use in the US, the Stearman became particularly associated with stunt flying such as wing-walking , and with crop dusting, where its compactness worked well at low levels, where it had to dodge obstacles. Modern biplane designs still exist in specialist roles such as aerobatics and agricultural aircraft with

#150849