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From: =?UTF-8?Q?Ri=c2=a9ardo?= <here@glorious-somerset.uk>
Subject: Re: Seldom-seen WWII pix
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.pictures.aviation
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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:
>>> On Sat, 15 Aug 2015 15:24:18 +0100, Ri©ardo
>>> <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:
>>>>>>> On Sat, 8 Aug 2015 12:15:23 +0100, Ri©ardo
>>>>>>> <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
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Ri©ardo
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> 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.
--
Moving Things In Still Pictures
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