Fleet Air Arm Swordfish serial number - Raid on Taranto 1940

 Been working on some Swordfish for the FAA GB.  Waiting for some parts but maybe the in progress pics can help you visualize it.

I'll scan some refs tomorrow as I have to go to work tonight but I'll see what I can show to help you out. Check with Simpilot over at the FAA GB he just did a dandy Stringbag as well and is a swell fellow !

As I continue the research, perhaps one of you would be so kind as to answer this question:

Tony Wray's Swordfish carried a torpedo.  To provide extended range, a fuel tank was placed in the observer's position and the observer sat where the telegraphist/gunner sat (position furthest towards the tail.  A.J. Smithers, in 'Taranto 1940' states "the rear Lewis gun was never highly regarded and its absence bothered nobody" from which I imply that I should omit the rear gun.

Here's the question: If the observer was sitting where the telegraphist/gunner normally sat, would the observer have changed orientation and been seated facing forward?

Apparently the 'seat' was a canvas box but it is not clear to me there would have been leg room let alone 'work space' to do charting (as the observer was also the navigator).  I want to pose the Wray figure in the plane as he would have been during the attack and am not sure which way 'round' he would be facing.

This Flickr photo of the observer's position shows a bit of the telegraphist/gunner's position and it doesn't look like Wray could have faced forward -- also with the gun removed, there would have been space for charts/etc. But one of you may know better.

BTW -  A.J. Smithers' Taranto 1940 is an oddly-styled book.  It is written in a breezy style and chock full of references and asides to British history.  One would not expect to see mentions of Crécy or Sir Walter Raleigh in a history of the FAA leading up to the battle. And these allusions are only two out of at least one hundred historical asides casually tossed off in paragraphs on every page.

I learned only a handful of things from this book not covered in previous reading:

• The Swordfish that carried bombs during the attack had their 60 gallon extra fuel tank slung beneath the aircraft. Fortunate for me that Wray's plane carried a torpedo and there are pictures of the observer position-mounted fuel tank (of which Smithers' book has yet another photo on p. 54). I've never seen an underslung fuel tank photo.
  
• The aforementioned 'no rear gun'
• An actual picture of Tony Wray
  

 Thanks!

If your London contact hasn't been to Kew, before, it's possible that he'll need a reader's ticket.  This will involve possibly two proof of identity documents, because they'll ask for something with an address, and with a photo.  A new driving licence might suffice, but they set great store, for a first-timer, by a passport, which, of course, doesn't have an address, so he (or she) should go prepared.  I can't tell, from the website, how the diaries are preserved, but, if they are as original, a reader's ticket will be a must; if, on the other hand, they've been put onto microfilm (like the RAF Squadrons' ORBs,) it's possible to just walk in, and help yourself.

Edgar

To all the kind posters:

• toomanyslurpees: Yes - I have read 'To War in a Stringbag' and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I recommend it to others as it contains a wealth of information about other ops in the Med besides Taranto - especially a clandestine op with grim results.
• Wrinkledm : This reference (WorldCat) I was unaware of.  I might be able to talk my sister into making a trip to the Smithsonian Library. I also learned from another source that the Cambridge University library had a copy and I have a contact there as well.  Thanks!
• Edgar: Another good tip (National Archive/PRO).  I'll pass this on to my London contact
• soulcrusher: This is a good clue - the After Action Report - most likely the source for how I learned from secondary sources that Wray's plane was L4R.
• bondoman: http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/Swordfish.htm - this is useful as well in case I have to 'make up a number' - at least it will be plausible.  

Here's a link that lists the marks by order date, with relevant serials, so you can at least narrow it down.

http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/Swordfish.htm

I have read some RAF wartime action reports and I have noticed that they almost always provide the squadron markings of the plane that the action took place in such as HF-C and the tail serial numbers. Also the pilot and co-pilot if present. This would probally be your best chance to find the tail number. I have no idea how you would go about geting the report though.

                                                                                    Soulcrusher

There is a further possibility; the National Archive (formerly Public Record Office) holds several Squadron Diaries, for the FAA, and it appears that the two relevant Squadrons are among them.  I've never seen a FAA diary, so can't be sure what they contain, but, if they're anything like the Operation Record Books of the RAF, there's a possibility (and I can't put it any higher than that) that the serials will appear in them.  I go to Kew, fairly often, but present commitments mean that I don't know when I can go again, but we'll see.

Edgar

Tried worldcat.org and it show that 6 libraries in the world (as far as it knows) have it. Maybe someone local to one of them can check it out and do a little reading for you. Only 3 copies listed in the US (U of Toronto, Smithsonian, and Harvard U) Oddlly enough the other 3 are in the UK.

D

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36085831&referer=brief_results

Sorry, can't answer your question but just thought I would recommend you check out Charles Lambs "War in a Stringbag" if you haven't already for an amazing recount of that raid.