On 8/16/2015 12:13 PM, Bob (not my real pseudonym) wrote:
> <here@glorious-somerset.uk> wrote:
>
>> On 8/15/2015 10:24 PM, Savageduck wrote:
>>> On 2015-08-15 16:53:07 +0000, Ri
> ardo <here@glorious-somerset.uk> said:
>>>
>>>> On 8/15/2015 4:50 PM, Charles Lindbergh wrote:
>>>>> <here@glorious-somerset.uk> wrote:
>>>>>> On 8/9/2015 2:28 PM, Charles Lindbergh wrote:
>>>>>>> On Sat, 08 Aug 2015 22:07:28 -0700, "Bob (not my real pseudonym)"
>>>>>>> <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>> On Sat, 08 Aug 2015 13:04:52 +0000, Charles Lindbergh
>>>>>>>> <spirit@stlouis.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> <here@glorious-somerset.uk> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> On 8/8/2015 2:35 AM, Byker wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Fairey Swordfish - A remarkable aircraft:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> "Although Swordfish numbered no more than 27 aircraft, they sank an
>>>>>>>>>> average 50,000 tons (50,800 MT) of shipping every month. During one
>>>>>>>>>> month, they sank a record 98,000 tons (99,572 MT). Swordfish
>>>>>>>>>> attacked
>>>>>>>>>> enemy convoys at night although they were not equipped with night
>>>>>>>>>> instrumentation. The risky night missions were necessary to
>>>>>>>>>> avoid German
>>>>>>>>>> fighters which encircled the island of Malta by day. On June 30,
>>>>>>>>>> 1940,
>>>>>>>>>> Swordfish completed a raid attacking oil installations at
>>>>>>>>>> Augusta in
>>>>>>>>>> Sicily."
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> http://www.aviation-history.com/fairey/swordfish.html
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Ricardo, I read the article you posted. I was shocked the
>>>>>>>>> Swordfish holds the record for sinking more tonnage
>>>>>>>>> than any other allied aircraft during WWII.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I am guessing this had a lot to do with circumstance as opposed
>>>>>>>>> to any remarkable capabilities of the
>>>>>>>>> aircraft, what is your perspective on this?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I would suggest the remarkable capabilities of the crews.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Yeah, I'm sure that's it! ;-)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> There's interesting comment today by way of a letter to one of our
>>>>>> national newspapers where the Swordfish gets a mention, as does the
>>>>>> Pacific War of which little is heard about the substantial British
>>>>>> contribution:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Sir,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The "Forgotten Fleet" and its aircraft will be remembered today when a
>>>>>> vintage Royal Navy Swordfish biplane leads the fly-past over Horse
>>>>>> Guards Parade in London as part of events to commemorate the 70th
>>>>>> anniversary of VJ Day.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The British Pacific Fleet was the largest strike force ever
>>>>>> assembled by
>>>>>> the Royal Navy*** and it fought alongside the US Navy in 1945. Aircraft
>>>>>> of the Fleet Air Arm undertook the largest ever raid in aviation naval
>>>>>> history on the oil fields at Palembang in Sumatra, and British naval
>>>>>> aircraft carried out raids upon Japan itself.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It's most appropriate that a Swordfish, which saw action in every year
>>>>>> of the war, will represent not just the forgotten fleet but the
>>>>>> oft-forgotten Fleet Air Arm too.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We should all take a moment today to remember those who fought the
>>>>>> Japanese Empire. Most who survive are nearly 90 years old or more. They
>>>>>> deserve our salute.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Lt-Cdr Lester May RN (retd)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> *** To put that into context, Britain provided three-quarters of the
>>>>>> warships and landing craft for the D-Day landings in Europe!
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Interesting article and comments. Is your point that the Brits
>>>>> contributed significantly to the war against Japan? It would be
>>>>> logical for them to have done so considering the Japanese, on 8
>>>>> December 1941(local time, which was before the Japanese attack on
>>>>> Pearl Harbor), attacked the British in Malaya.
>>>>>
>>>>> Did I miss your point?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In a word, no. But I was also highlighting how large the size of
>>>> British Pacific Fleet strike force must have been in 1945 when one
>>>> considers the British contribution to the D-Day landings.
>>>
>>> It seems the Swordfish was not well represented in the Pacific or
>>> South-West Pacific, particularly after the 1942 sinking of HMS Hermes in
>>> Ceylon.
>>>
>>> The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) had 6 fleet carriers and 9 escort
>>> carriers many of these only moved to the East and Pacific in 1944 and
>>> 1945 after Mediterranean and North Atlantic convoy operations had been
>>> dialed back.
>>>
>>> HMS Colossus, Joined the BPF in June 1945, the Swordfish was withdrawn
>>> from service in May 1945. She carried 24 Corsairs and 18 Barracudas.
>>>
>>> HMS Formidable, refitted at Scapa Flow January 1945 with 36 Corsairs and
>>> 18 Avengers. Joined BPF April 4, 1945 in the Phillipines. No Swordfish
>>> onboard, they were being phased out.
>>>
>>> HMS Glory, commisioned 2 April 1945, assigned directly to the BPF with
>>> Barracudas, and Corsairs onboard. No Swordfish. She took the Japanese
>>> surrender at Rabaul.
>>>
>>> HMS Illustrious, after Taranto and her Indian Ocean cruise, returned to
>>> Scapa Flow and refitted. In 1943 her Swordfish were replaced with
>>> Barracudas. Two squadrons of Corsairs were added to supplement the
>>> Martlets on board. She was assigned to the BPF in November 1944. During
>>> the Battle for Okinawa she was so battle damaged she was withdrawn from
>>> service and returned to the UK in June 1945.
>>>
>>> HMS Implacable, was never armed with Swordfish, she was armed with Fairy
>>> Fireflies, Barracudas, and Seafires when she was still part of the Home
>>> Fleet. In March 1945 she was refitted with 12 Fireflies, 48 Seafires and
>>> 21 TBF Avengers and joined the BPF on 8 May 1945 (V-E Day).
>>>
>>> HMS Indefatigable, joined the BPF in November 1944 with 6 PR Hellcats,
>>> 40 Seafires, 12 Fireflies and 21 Avengers onboard. She joined the USN
>>> 5th Fleet in March 1945 for the Okinawa invasion. She was the first BPF
>>> carrier hit by kamakazis. She lost 25 of her Seafires on that operation.
>>>
>>> HMS Indominable, she was part of the Eastern Fleet in 1944, and after
>>> December 1944 attacks on Sumatra joined the BPF in January 1945. In the
>>> East and with the BPF, she flew 39 Hellcats and 21 Avengers.
>>>
>>> HMS Venerable, commissioned January 1945, and assigned directly to the
>>> BPF with 21 Corsairs and 18 Barracudas onboard. She never had Swordfish
>>> at anytime.
>>>
>>> HMS Vengance, commissioned 1945, and joined the BPF in July 1945, but
>>> never got out of Sydney before the war ended. Her 24 Corsairs and 18
>>> Barracudas did not fly any combat missions. she was too new to have ever
>>> flown Swordfish.
>>>
>>> HMS Victorious. Her Swordfish played an important part in the sinking of
>>> the Bismark. In December 1942 she was loaned to the USN and refitted in
>>> Norfolk VA. where she was armed with Wildcat (FAA Martlet) and
>>> Avengers. In 1944 she returned to the Home Fleet and Barracudas were
>>> added. In June 1944 she joined the Eastern Fleet, and joined the BPF in
>>> November 1944 with 36 Corsairs, 15 Avengers and 1 Walrus.
>>>
>>> The 9 BPF Escort carriers were built in Tacoma Washington, and
>>> Birmingham, Alabama and carried a mixture of 24 aircraft made up from
>>> Martlets, Corsairs, Sea Hurricanes, and a small representation of
>>> Avengers. Some of the escort carriers which had been on North Atlantic
>>> convoy duty carried Swordfish before transfer to the BPF, but not in the
>>> Pacific.
>>>
>>> The bottom line here is the role the Swordfish played with the BPF was
>>> minimal particularly since the last operational Swordfish Squadron was
>>> disbanded in May 1945, with the last Swordfish coming off the production
>>> line in August 1944. By then most RN carriers were replacing, or had
>>> replaced Swordfish with Barrcudas and Avengers.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Thank you for that, although I was not suggesting otherwise. The
>> Swordfish was peripheral to later events and, indeed, was obsolescent -
>> at best - when it did achieve its major glories!
>>
>> However, the fact that it still turns out for ceremonial duties
>> indicates that there's some life in the old girl yet.
>
> And I am fascinated to learn that BPF escort carriers were built about
> 100km from my home. Not that I was around at the time...
>
:-)
--
Moving Things In Still Pictures
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