Fairey-Gannet/TBF-Avenger Idea

[KJ_Lesnick]

Sound like a good idea?  Basically you'd have the cleaner airframe of the Gannet, with the radial of the TBF-Avenger's, and the TBF-Avenger's cockpit

[NARSES2]

Interesting concept ? An ASW aircraft for nations who don't want to go down the turbo-prop route for various reasons ?

[The Wooksta!]

You mean the Fairey Spearfish, becuse the Gannet was a radically developed Spearfish.  If you read the relevant section of the WWII British Secret Projects you can see the design lineage as the Spearfish is developed ending with the Gannet.

[NARSES2]

You mean the Fairey Spearfish, becuse the Gannet was a radically developed Spearfish.  If you read the relevant section of the WWII British Secret Projects you can see the design lineage as the Spearfish is developed ending with the Gannet.

Right - obvioulsy missed that bit

[Weaver]

Havn't got the book in front of me so apologies for my bad memory:

I thought the Gannet developed from an attack aircraft concept that had two V12s driving co-axial props (it might well have been Spearfish-derived though)? One V12 was underneath the cockpit and the other one behind it, linked to the gearbox with a long shaft.

There was an alternative version with one V12 forwards and a centrifugal turbojet aft, similar in concept, but much bigger than, the Ryan Fireball.

Given the size of the Gannet, a radial seems perfectly feasible. However, I suspect it would have to be bigger than the Avenger's if you wanted to maintain performance. The 18,000lb (MTO) Avenger's Wright R2600 put out 1900bhp, while the 20,000lb (MTO) Gannet's double Mambas put out nearly 3000bhp in their earliest form. The Skyraider's 2700bhp Wright R-3350 would be much more in the ballpark.....

[The Wooksta!]

The Spearfish had the Centaurus and that barely managed to get it into the air!

I have read mentions of a turboprop Spearfish in several articles/books (inc. one by Tony Buttler) but I've never seen a drawing.  I've a Contrail Spearfish (which despite being a vacform is a nicer kit than the Magna one) somewhere that I planned to fit with a RR Eagle but never got round to it.

[KJ_Lesnick]

NARSES2,

Interesting concept ? An ASW aircraft for nations who don't want to go down the turbo-prop route for various reasons ?

No, I mean a design like I described being a contemporary of the TBF Avenger

[The Wooksta!]

Exactly.  The Spearfish.

[Pablo1965]

Well, the inverse situation seems a improvement, a TBF with the engine of the Gannet. may be yours look more nice.

[Weaver]

You mean the Fairey Spearfish, becuse the Gannet was a radically developed Spearfish.  If you read the relevant section of the WWII British Secret Projects you can see the design lineage as the Spearfish is developed ending with the Gannet.

I've just re-read that section of BSP 3 and I don't think the link is quite as strong as that. The first twin Merlin offering was the O.21/44 torpedo bomber offered as an improvementon the Spearfish, but then you have a clean break. Next comes the Fairey Strike Fighter which, in twin Merlin form, struggled to compete with the Wyvern, but was then revised with twin coupled AP.25 turboshafts to N.16/45. However that engine was cancelled in 1947, taking the Fairey project with it. Partly crossing over with that in time, you have the Fairey ASW aircraft to GR.17/45, which became the Gannet. Whilst the latter, in it's early stages, certainly had a family resemblance to the Strike Fighter, it was always a different design.

It seems to me that what you really have are three different designs from the same company, all using the same engine scheme, but there are definite breaks between them, particularly between the Spearfish and the Strike Fighter.