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Fairey Swordfish Mk. I
Fairey Swordfish Mk. I
Rank 1 Rank2
Type Biplane/Torpedo Bomber
Maximum Speed 221 km/h
On Height 1400 m
Maximum Altitude 5,870 m
Turn Time 50.2 seconds
Rate of Climb 1 m/s
Takeoff Run 297 m
Armament 1x 7.7mm Vickers K machine gun (600 rds)
1x Turret 7.7mm Vickers K machine gun (576 rds)
1x Mark 12 Torpedo (760 kg)
Burst Mass 0.15kg/s

The Fairey Swordfish Mk. I is a biplane torpedo bomber currently sitting at Rank 1 in the British line. The upfront cost of which is 1,000 Lion.

Characteristics[]


A single-engine biplane torpedo bomber of mixed construction. The TSR II was first flown on April 17, 1934, with mass production beginning in June of 1936. In July, the plane entered service with the Fleet Air Arm(FAA) of the Royal Navy.

The Swordfish Mk.I was fitted with an in-line air-cooled Bristol Pegasus Mk.IIIM3 engine and was equipped with one synchronous fuselage-mounted 7.7mm Vickers Mk.II (class E) machine gun and one 7.7mm Lewis machine gun on a moving Fairey turret in the rear cabin. In its undercarriage the plane could carry one Mk.XII torpedo (731 kg) or one sea mine (680 kg). Later models could carry unguided rockets.

The aft section of the plane carried a hook for carrier landings. The crew was either two or three men, as the navigator's place could be filled with an additional fuel tank when necessary.

The Swordfish Mk.I was already obsolete at the onset of World War II. The pilots nicknamed the plane the «Stringbag», but it was the FAA's only torpedo bomber. Because of this, it played a large role in the war, launching both from aircraft carriers and from airstrips. The plane had high horizontal maneuverability and ease of control, which made it a good choice for night and bad-weather operations.

In June of 1940 the Swordfish began to be used widely as a torpedo bomber in the Mediterranean. One notable squadron based out of the island of Malta gaining notoriety for terrorizing the Italian convoys bound for North Africa. A great victory was won in November of 1940 over the Italian base of Taranto, where a squadron of Swordfish sunk a battleship and damaged two more. In May of 1941, the Swordfish Mk.I helped sink the German battleship, the Bismarck. A Swordfish from the HMS Ark Royal dropped its torpedo hitting the Bismarck's rudders, jamming them. As a result the British were able to catch up with it and delivered the killing blow the next morning. 

Production of the torpedo bomber ceased in August of 1944. The plane was removed from active military service in May of 1945. A total of 2,392 Swordfish were produced, 992 of which were from the Mk.I series.

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