A few Fairey & Bristol types ...

[Mark Allen M]

Per request. Fascinating aircraft in many ways, regardless of whether they had a successful career or not. My knowledge is limited on these particular types so any imput would be greatly appreciated. Each one has an appealing look to them IMO.

Part 1


Fairey Barracuda


Fairey Barracuda


Fairey Barracuda


Fairey Barracuda


Fairey Barracuda


1949-50 RN 815 Squadron Fairey Barracuda

Last edited by Mark Allen M on Fri Feb 14, 2014 6:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Mark Allen M]

Part 2


Fairey Swordfish


Fairey Albacore


April 23, 1953 Fairey Firefly's on the ground near Tobruk - Lt. Len Kenderdine Collection


April 23, 1953 Fairey Firefly's on the ground near Tobruk - Lt. Len Kenderdine Collection

[Mark Allen M]

Part 3


Bristol Beaufort


Bristol Beaufort


Bristol Blenheim Mk I


Bristol Blenheim


Bristol Beaufighter


Bristol Beaufighter


Bristol Beaufighter Mk VI No 96 Squadron RAF being re-armed at Honily, Warwickshire, 23 March 1943


404 Squadron RCAF

[Mark Allen M]

Part 4


Bristol Beaufort production DAP Melbourne

[The Inspector]

The BARRACUDA, a perfect place to waste 2607 otherwise perfectly good MERLINS. Mark, see if you can find a photo of one lobstered up, but don't have any food or liquids in your mouth as you'll spray all over the monitor

[DH82EH]

I have to agree Inspector.
The Barracuda is rather "aesthetically challenged"

http://barracudaproject.co.uk/index.php?id=27

This thread is from a group that are trying to resurrect it from extinction.
No, I am not sure why , but, have a look. this guys writing is really good.

As always Mark, I thank you.

Andy

[Dave Homewood]

Great photos. Please have you any more of the lovely Albacores?

The Blenheims, Beaufighters Swordfish and Fireflies are all good too.

The Barracuda is an interesting type in that some of the pilots I have met who flew it, including in action, reckoned it was a great aircraft. And the others have the opposite view, they hated them.

[Mark Allen M]

Thx for the feedback Dave, always ready to learn more about these particular types.


Fairey Albacore


Fairey Albacore cockpit


Fairey Battle


Fairey Battle


fairey Swordfish

[Dave Homewood]

The Albacore is a very interesting aircraft type. Because it was designed to replace the Swordfish but didn't, a lot of people seem to dismiss it. But they fail to realise it didn't replace the Swordfish not because of any fault of its own, only because the Swordfish continued to be such an effective type itself.

I have talked with a couple of kiwis who flew the Albacore in action. One of them flew them in the defence of Singapore, Malaya and later Java, and he flew his one on the infamous Endau Raid where a ragtag group of everything the RAF could gather together (Vildebeests, Albacores, Hudsons, Buffalos) performed daylight attacks on a Japanese invasion fleet that was headed for Endau, Malaya. It was largely a suicide mission and they failed to stop the Japanese despite huge courage. The same week on the other side of the world the famous operation where Swordfish unsuccessfully attacked the German fleet saw a Victoria Cross and loads of medals dished out, but the guys who had it just as tough at Endau got nothing. The same chap later singlehandedly attacked a Japanese destroyer off Java in his Albacore, dropping a bomb and hitting it perfectly amidships only for it to do no damage whatsoever.

Another chap I have met flew the Albacore from a carrier in Arctic convoys, flying in freezing conditions.

And a third chap I met flew them in the North African desert with No. 823 Naval Air Squadron from Maaten Bagush in Egypt. History has sadly forgotten this but these are the actual chaps who invented the famous Pathfinder marking technique, and they were using it in action a year before the RAF began to adopt it in Europe. The Albacores of 823 Squadron would fly at night low over the desert, if they were lucky guided only by signals they received from the British Army troops on the ground, in the form of burning flares in the shape of arrows with perhaps a distance written with flares, 5 miles or whatever telling them of targets spotted by the army reconnaissance troops.

Sometimes the aircrews on patrol discovered enemy truck convoys, camps and fuel or ammo dumps by chance.

They would drop flares and their bombs on the target when found, and behind them came the RAF Wellingtons of the Desert Air Force that followed up with heavier bomb concentrations and bombed on the markers dropped by 823.

This technique worked so well it was actually one of the major contributing factors in pushing back the Germans from El Alamein. This has been forgotten, so the soldiers on the ground get full credit for the break out from Alamein. However without the Albacores spotting and marking and destroying the German camps, truck columns, and ammo and fuel dumps that breakout would have been a lot more difficult for the soldiers, perhaps impossible, and perhaps Egypt may have been overrun by Rommel.

Given the success achieved in the desert by the Navy Albacores in 1941-42, the RAF started to look at it, and eventually adopted it, and appointed navigation specialist Don Bennett to command the Pathfinder units. These days somehow he often gets credited with inventing the technique which is rubbish. He was running Ferry Command in Canada and Newfoundland when the Albacores were pathfinding in action. I have spoken with several pathfinder aircrew and other Bomber Command aircrew since I discovered all this and none of them had any idea about the Navy Albacores using the technique before the RAF. They are all fascinated by it.

The brave aircrews of No. 823 Squadron didn't just mark targets, they regularly bombed and strafed targets by day and night, they bombed enemy shipping in the Med, and on two occasions after the Fall of Tobruk the whole squadron swooped in low and slow and quietly mined Tobruk's Harbour without even being detected.

All the Albacore pilots I have had the opportunity to meet love the aeroplanes. they'd all flown Swordfish in training and all said they were much the same in handling, only slightly better performance, and best of all they had a canopy so were much more comfortable.

[Dave Hadfield]

We are looking for a Pegasus to get our Swordfish flying again. So far not much luck. We need some new cylinders. If anyone can pass me a hint or a phone number, I'd appreciate it.

Dave

[Mark Allen M]

Dave that was outstanding reading. Thanks for the very informative post. It's really amazing to hear the exploits of these men from a time when heroism was just a days work.

M

[RobC]

Barracuda: interesting looking plane but it needed a Griffon.

Albacore: who doesn't like a closed cockpit, but it needed a Centaurus.

Swordfish. Ah, Swordfish. Really could have gone, if only 4360 Corncobs were available.

Firefly Mk. V: best looking sub chaser of any Navy, ever. It needed nothing. What a sweet peach.

[Larry Kraus]

Here are a couple of Lobstered Up Barracuda shots for The Inspector:

[ErrolC]

I hadn't realised that the wings and flaps folded in such a strange way, thanks!

[The Inspector]

I hadn't realised that the wings and flaps folded in such a strange way, thanks!

It's British! what else would you expect?
GOGGLE Bristol HERCULES, go to images and find the picture of the engine wth the accessory case off, a huge Model 'T' planetary transmission, 3 sets of 7 sun/planet gears. I used to have a copy posted on my cubicle with a line underneath that said 'it's a tooth off on timing..'