Avro, Blackburn, Fairey, Handley Page, Supermarine, and Vickers all submitted designs for the torpedo-bomber requirement, while the detailed comparison also includes Gloster and Parnall. Blackburn's Rolls-Royce Buzzard-powered B.3 developed toward the Shark. Fairey's S.9/30 survived an unpromising first stage and continued evolving, eventually adopting Bristol Pegasus power. Gloster and Parnall offered more unusual layouts, including the Parnall G.4/31 and gull-wing forms shaped partly by the pilot's need to see during a carrier landing. The variety shows how an exacting specification could generate competing aerodynamic and engine choices rather than one obvious design.
Chapter · 23:10-25:58
Blackburn, Fairey, Gloster, and Parnall pursue M.1/30
Compare the broad industrial field and varied prototype, engine, and wing solutions that led from Blackburn's B.3 and Fairey's S.9/30 toward the Shark and Swordfish.