Parnall produced several unusual experimental aircraft during the interwar years. The surrounding discussion names the Panther, Possum, Pixie, and Pike before turning to the firm's G.4/31. That aircraft was conceived for day and night bombing as well as reconnaissance, torpedo attack, and dive bombing. A Bristol Pegasus radial engine with a Townend ring supplied about 690 horsepower, giving the proposal a broad paper capability. It was one of the aircraft that might have filled the role later associated with the Fairey Swordfish. Its failure shows how an ambitious multi-role specification could produce an interesting prototype without creating a successful service aircraft.
Notable Point · 31:33-33:06
Parnall's G.4/31 offered a multi-role alternative to the Swordfish
The little-known Parnall G.4/31 combined bombing, reconnaissance, torpedo, and dive-bombing ambitions but never displaced the Fairey Swordfish.