1/72 Airfix Swordfish

tigercat · January 09, 2012, 02:41:37 PM

Not quite What If

Swordfish 4A was first to fall into Italian hands in the aftermath of the Battle of Taranto, in poor condition. Swordfish K8422 of HMS Eagle was shot down and captured during a raid on Maritza airfield, Rhodes on 4 September 1940. Evaluated at Guidonia Test Centre and kept serviceable until mid-1941 with spare parts coming from captured Swordfish K8422 (4H). Swordfish P4127 (coded 4F) of 820 squadron on HMS Ark Royal, involved in bombing raid on Cagliari, Sardinia. Hit by ground fire, it force-landed on the enemy airfield at Elmas on 2 August 1940. The crew were taken POW and the aircraft captured intact. Caproni repaired it locally and fitted it with an Alfa Romeo 125 engine. It was taken to the Stabilimento Costruzioni Aeronautiche

or

Swordfish W5843 of 813 squadron at North Front, Gibraltar, lost its bearings during an anti-submarine sweep and force landed between Ras el Farea and Pota Pescadores, in Spanish Morocco, on 30 April 1942. The crew were all interned. The final fate of the aircraft is not known.

Swordfish P4073 of 700 squadron of HMS Malaya ran out of fuel whilst shadowing the German battleship Scharnhorst on 8 March 1942. Aircraft and crew were interned in Spain. The Swordfish was put on the strength of the Spanish airforce as HR6-1 in 6 December 1943 with 54 Escuadrilla, Puerto de le Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands. Retired March 1945 at Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.[11]

cataphractarius · January 09, 2012, 02:43:27 PM

Quote from: tigercat on January 09, 2012, 02:41:37 PM

Swordfish P4073 of 700 squadron of HMS Malaya ran out of fuel whilst shadowing the German battleship Scharnhorst on 8 March 1942. Aircraft and crew were interned in Spain. The Swordfish was put on the strength of the Spanish airforce as HR6-1 in 6 December 1943 with 54 Escuadrilla, Puerto de le Cruz, Tenerife, Canary Islands. Retired March 1945 at Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.[11]

A Spanish floatplane - I like that!

NARSES2 · January 10, 2012, 12:57:04 AM

Quote from: cataphractarius on January 09, 2012, 02:05:50 PM
One might think of a production run of, say 10-15 aircraft, originally ordered by some undisclosed South American customer who happened to have a sudden and violent regime change in 1937-1938, so Fairy was left with these aircraft. RN didn't want them (perhaps because of a different engine?), so they sold them off to civilians.

Oh yes. Spanish with a different engine ? Instead of the Wilderbeasts they had ?

Edit : Just remembered that the origional Fairey design which led to TSR/TSR 2/Swordfish was indeed for a Spanish contract.

Hobbes · January 10, 2012, 01:41:51 AM

Quote from: The Wooksta! on January 09, 2012, 03:34:10 AM
TBH, I wouldn't waste the new Airfix Swordfish by cutting it up and adding bits. It's too nice a kit to do that.

Adding bits and changing a kit is never a waste. If it were, every single what-if would be sacrilege. I know that some JMNs think like that, but I am puzzled to find such sentiments here.

cataphractarius · January 10, 2012, 09:28:17 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on January 10, 2012, 12:57:04 AM
Oh yes. Spanish with a different engine ? Instead of the Wilderbeasts they had ?

Ah, fantastic idea - they used a V-12 Hispano Suiza:

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/between-wars-1918-1939/spanish-civil-war-republican-air-force-fare-25733-4.html

(I hope the pics show).

That assembly surely would look interesting on a Swordfish!

NARSES2 · January 11, 2012, 07:19:59 AM

That picture proves I'm a dunderhead. I'd aways assumed the Spanish used another radial, never bothered to check

Ffrom-Azure are issuing a model of the Spanish Widerbeast, might just have to get it now to go with my RAF one

Rheged · January 11, 2012, 07:27:53 AM

Quote from: cataphractarius on January 10, 2012, 09:28:17 AM
Quote from: NARSES2 on January 10, 2012, 12:57:04 AM
Oh yes. Spanish with a different engine ? Instead of the Wilderbeasts they had ?

Ah, fantastic idea - they used a V-12 Hispano Suiza:

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/between-wars-1918-1939/spanish-civil-war-republican-air-force-fare-25733-4.html

(I hope the pics show).

That assembly surely would look interesting on a Swordfish!

I'm waiting for one of our group to turn up a model of a GRIFFON engined Swordfish.

pyro-manic · January 12, 2012, 03:21:09 AM

Someone a little while back did a zwilling Stringbag with two Double Mambas...

tigercat · January 12, 2012, 04:00:44 AM

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,28223.0/highlight,marlin.html

That would be me bwahhaaahha and also gave it a 75 mm gun

I also strapped a Centaurus on one

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,28857.0/highlight,kodak.html

Radish · January 16, 2012, 01:40:58 AM

Finnish?
Thai?
Chinese?
French in Indo-China?

Egyptian AF??

albeback · January 16, 2012, 02:16:45 AM

How about an inline engine? R R Merlin? I'm thinking of something along the lines of the Hawker Fury with the R R Kestrel(?) engine. Now, that was a bonny wee beast!

Allan

pyro-manic · January 16, 2012, 03:26:11 PM

A Merlin would be quite an interesting look, certainly. Worth a go! Bomber-style nacelle with chin radiator, or a scabbed-on ventral one in place of the torpedo?

Another shameless mention for my Estonian Stringbag:

Revell/MB kit. More here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjwhDrKo

Mossie · January 17, 2012, 02:32:47 AM

Quote from: albeback on January 16, 2012, 02:16:45 AM
How about an inline engine? R R Merlin? I'm thinking of something along the lines of the Hawker Fury with the R R Kestrel(?) engine. Now, that was a bonny wee beast!

Allan

Kestrel might be better for the timeframe. By the time Merlin was available the Barracuda would have been firmly in the planning stages, although with that delayed & the Albacore not being up to scratch it gives you a shoe-in for the Merlin. Peregrine might be an outside choice too.

The link that cataphractarius gave for the Hispan-Suiza powered Vildebeest might give a rough idea of how the Swordfish would look with a Kestrel. Smooth off the bumps for the cylinder heads & you're about there. Should give a good clue of how to mount it too. Get hold of Revells re-release of the Matchbox Fury & Bob's your Uncle, Fanny's your Aunt!

albeback · January 19, 2012, 09:27:32 AM

Quote from: pyro-manic on January 16, 2012, 03:26:11 PM
A Merlin would be quite an interesting look, certainly. Worth a go! Bomber-style nacelle with chin radiator, or a scabbed-on ventral one in place of the torpedo?

Another shameless mention for my Estonian Stringbag:

Revell/MB kit. More here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjwhDrKo

I don't have a spare bomber (Lancaster) style nacelle although that option had occurred. I've got a couple of Spitfire wrecks that I can cannibalise so, it'll have to be a ventral radiator

Allan

Gondor · January 19, 2012, 11:22:05 AM

Quote from: albeback on January 19, 2012, 09:27:32 AM

I don't have a spare bomber (Lancaster) style nacelle although that option had occurred. I've got a couple of Spitfire wrecks that I can cannibalise so, it'll have to be a ventral radiator

Allan

How many do you want as I have a few spare outer engines from Airfix Lancasters

Gondor