Fairey Swordfish MkI 1:72

cropredy, thanks so much for your compliments on the build. It was "Tazmanian" - my modeler - who built this Swordfish.

Nice to know that you're building three Swordfish's in a row, I assume they're all 1:72 scale. Another guy here is also building three in a row, but in 3 different scales. Can't believe the Swordfish is this popular. I'd love to have another one with landing gears and torpedo, but it's hard to find here in whatever scale.

Hope you get your builds done soon and then show them here.

Model Maniac -- How true (kit quality) - You did a fantastic job.

I'm in the middle (well, maybe the 'end of the beginning') of a three Swordfish build.

The plane was manned by observer Tony Wray who served in 815 Squadron.  He was my mother-in-law's wartime boyfriend (although he died on HMS Illustrious in January 1941 after flying on the Taranto raid).  Anyway, I have some documentation of three different missions:

• Taranto
• A depth charge raid in the Med againt the Italians

• A mining raid against a Libyan port

So I decided to build each of them with - sucessively - Frog, Eastern Express, and Cooperativa kits (latter two are Frog clones).  The Frog isn't too bad (although fuselage is warped) but the latter two require lots of trimming.  Even the crew figures got 'fatter' with the eastern bloc kits.  In order to get one of the figures into the PE seats, a 'hip-o-suction' was required.

Anyway - very cool work on your part.

 

 

You mean you've got most RN aircraft but not the Swordfish? If so, is it that hard to find?

I finshing my collection of RN aircraft and a Swordfish is on my short list-much appreciate your evaluation.

"True air superiorty is a tank on the run way."

I finshing my collection of RN aircraft and a Swordfish is on my short list-much appreciate your evaluation.

Thanks, Chris, for your information. It's very informative.

Hi MM,

my modelling knowledge isn't that extensive. I've just built a few kits over the last 50-or-so years - including both the wheeled and floatplane versions of the FROG Swordfish and can remember some of them.

The rudder is only part of the steering gear of a ship. The rudder is powered by an engine (usually elecric or hydraulic) which causes it to turn. In the case of the Bismarck, a torpedo launched from one of Ark Royal's Swordfish hit her towards the stern, jamming the rudder to port. To remain under control, the Bismarck had to slow down, enabling the British warships to catch up with her and sink her.

In World War 2, and in the 1920s and 30s, most large warships, such as cruisers and battleships, carried aircraft to spot targets for their guns. These aircaft were launched by catapults, but could not then land back aboard. Therefore they were fitted with floats, so that they could land in the sea alongside the ship, which then hoisted the seaplane back aboard with a crane.

Swordfish floatplanes were used for these duties. they weren't used to deliver torpedo attacks.

Cheers,

Chris.

Thanks, Chris, for your info about the kits and their history. How do you know so well? What do you mean by "steering gear"? Isn't that called "rudder"?

The kit's boxart also shows one with wheels launching a torpedo to a  poor destroyer, If those on aircraft carriers wer all wheeled ones, then when and where the floated ones were used? 

Model Maniac wrote:

[snip] I think most Swordfish kits come with options between wheels and floats and most modelers would probably opt for floats, so I'm a little surprised to hear this is the first one seen with floats. Tazmanian chose floats and named it "Bismarck Killer".

In fact, the FROG kit, its heirs and successors, was the only one in 1/72 to be issued as a floatplane, and that was a separate kit from the land/ carrier version. In 1/48, a version of the Tamiya kit came  with floats, and the Merit/ SMER kit has floats as an option. The Airfix and Matchbox 1/72 kits, and the new Trumpeter 1/32 kit, come with wheels only.

The floatplane version - of which only a few were made - was used as a spotter plane aboard some British battleships and battlecruisers in the late 1930s and first years of WW2. They were too lage and bulky to be really successful in this role, and were replaced by aircraft such as the Walrus and Seafox.

The Bismarck  had its steering gear jammed, leading to its ultimate destruction, by Swordfish from HMS Ark Royal, equipped with conventional wheeled undercarriages.

Excellent model, nonetheless.

Cheers,

Chris.

Many thanks for all kind compliments! I really appreciate them! I think most Swordfish kits come with options between wheels and floats and most modelers would probably opt for floats, so I'm a little surprised to hear this is the first one seen with floats. Tazmanian chose floats and named it "Bismarck Killer".

Hi Maniac, this is a cracking build that Tazmanian has done. Another fantastic model for your collection. Thanks for sharing.

...Guy

Back when this was a FROG kit, the mould quality wasn't at all bad. Time and Eastern European/ Russian manufacturing standards seem to have taken their toll. But you've done a fine job with severly limited resources thee!

Cheers,

Chris. 

 

Wow !  This is the first 1/72 scale fish that I've seen with floats.  The kit might be crap - but the finished model is nice.  At least the surface detail on that kit is better than the Matchbox/Revell Germany kit.

That's some very fine weathering work.  Nice build.

Chris