Fairey's attempt to replace the Greek Naval Air Service's Fairey IIIF aircraft began the line that led toward the Swordfish. The aircraft first flew in March 1933, and its original Panther engine was replaced by a Bristol Pegasus that summer. When Greek interest faded, Fairey continued the emerging TSR1 as a private venture and offered it for a British three-seat torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance requirement. A September spinning trial then exposed a serious handling problem: the aircraft entered a flat spin and would not respond to its controls. Chris Staniland's first attempt to escape threw him into the rear cockpit, from which he managed to abandon the aircraft before it crashed. The later Swordfish grew out of this changing requirement and hazardous experimental work.
Chapter · 14:49-19:09
How a Greek naval project led toward the Swordfish
The Swordfish's lineage runs from a Greek naval requirement through Fairey's private-venture TSR1 and hazardous flight testing.