Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 4:05:37-4:06:55

A 1942 engine available when Swordfish was designed

A later engine offers little benefit as a Swordfish retrofit, but about 2,000 horsepower available during its original design could produce a monoplane with a different weapons load.

Aerial TorpedoesAircraft DesignFairey SwordfishFleet Air Arm
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Question

Would replacing the Swordfish's engine with a design from 1942 offer any advantages?

Short answer

Little advantage in the existing aircraft; having that engine in 1934 would probably produce a very different design.

Notes

Putting a 1942 engine into the existing Swordfish would offer little advantage because of the aircraft's overall design. Making that engine available in 1934 changes the premise. The comparison is between roughly 800 horsepower, recalled for the original aircraft, and about 2,000 horsepower from a later engine. A torpedo-spotter-reconnaissance aircraft designed around that power would probably be a monoplane, with twin torpedoes suggested as a possible load.