The winning line developed gradually from Fairey's S.9/30 through the TSR.1 and TSR.2 into the Swordfish. The sequence shows an evolutionary design process rather than a finished classic appearing in one step. Of the 2,391 Swordfish built, Blackburn produced 1,699 and Fairey produced 692. Its evolution belonged to a productive 1931-35 period when British specifications could draw half a dozen or more prototypes. That breadth gave the services competing answers while spreading design work across a substantial aircraft industry.
Chapter · 25:58-27:25
From S.9/30 and TSR prototypes to the Fairey Swordfish
Trace the Swordfish through successive prototypes and place it in Britain's unusually fertile 1931-35 design competition.