May 26, 1941: the German battleship "Bismarck" is loose in the Atlantic after sinking the famous battlecruiser "Hood" and damaging the new battleship "Prince of Wales." After a running battle on May 24 involving aircraft from the carrier "Victorious" as well as cruisers and destroyers, British cruisers shadowing the German battleship have lost her.

            Aboard "Bismarck," the crew remember the Swordfish attack out of the gloomy midnight twilight of these high latitudes, how the aircraft bored in despite the massive anti-aircraft fire. The two torpedo bombers shot down of the nine attacking aircraft still made their torpedo drops despite fatal damage. The Germans know the British will throw everything at them possible, and are thankful for the heavy seas and lowering cloud cover. And then, out of the clouds, a RAF Catalina appears almost directly overhead. It dodges the anti-aircraft barrage, and the Germans pick up its radio message. "Bismarck" has been found again. Now it is a race to the east, to gain the protection of the Luftwaffe.

            Aboard the aircraft carrier "Ark Royal," sent from Gibraltar on an emergency run to provide air support in the hunt for "Bismarck," an air of gloom reigns. The hour is late, even though it will not become completely dark, and a Force 4 gale is turning a difficult ocean into a dangerous one. The sighting report from the Catalina changes everything - if the position is right, "Bismarck" is only 50 nautical miles distant! Is there time to launch a strike? Can any aircraft get off a deck whose bow is pitching through a 30-foot arc?

            Within the hour, in deteriorating weather, fifteen Fairey Swordfish biplanes - half from 810 Squadron, the other half from 818 Squadron - launch from the heaving flight deck. The first eight carry only a torpedo due to deck length. They are sent on their way as the bow reaches the limit of downward travel, the angle providing extra speed to throw the antique biplanes into the air on the upswing. Their mission is simple: slow "Bismarck" so that the battleships of the Home Fleet can catch her before she comes in range of land-based Luftwaffe air support, estimated to be possible by dawn. 

            Approximately 33 minutes later, the Swordfish find their target in the last light of North Atlantic gloom at 2230. Contending with turbulence and sea spray, in an attack lasting 30 minutes, the Swordfish make their attack one by one, running in toward the battleship mere feet above the waves. The frail biplanes are met with a barrage of murderous gunfire, “Bismarck” bringing all possible armament to bear.  The great ship dodges the torpedoes, most of which are launched too far out in the uncertain light. The 42,000 ton battleship is in a high-speed turn dodging a previous torpedo when a Swordfish of Number 2 Sub-flight of 818 Squadron bores in.

            The attacking Swordfish isn’t spotted in the gloom until the final moment. The ponderous biplane turns away as its torpedo heads toward the target.

            "Bismarck" comes around to dodge the torpedo arrowing toward her stern, but the order is given just moments too late. The torpedo explodes against her steering gear, irreparably jamming her rudder 20 degrees right.  Two more hits seal her fate.

            Unable to steer, all "Bismarck" can do is await the dawn and the arrival of the British Home Fleet. The Royal Navy would avenge the loss of "Hood" by sending the "Bismarck" to the bottom on May 29, 1941. 

            No other carrier-based strike aircraft of any navy in the world could have gotten off the deck of "Ark Royal" in the sea conditions of that strike, and at least as important was the fact that all aircraft were recovered safely in the gloomy twilight with the stern rising and falling through a 40 foot arc.

            When Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd., first began design of a private-venture Torpedo-Reconnaissance aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm in 1933, the concept of a 3-seat biplane with open cockpits was already ten years out of date.  Fairey presented this to the Their Lordships of the Admiralty as an alternative to the S.9/30, which had been designed in response to an official requirement and was powered by a 525 h.p. inline Kestrel, while the private venture design utilized a 635 h.p. Bristol Pegasus IM.  The T.S.R. I - as the private-venture design was called by Fairey - first flew on March 21, 1933. Following the loss of the prototype in a flat spin that September, the design was modified with an additional bay in the rear fuselage and a wider-chord vertical fin to counteract any tendency to spin, and was given a 690 h.p. Pegasus IIIM3.  The T.S.R. II flew on April 17, 1934; tests were so successful it was ordered in 1935 as the S.38/34, and was given the official name Swordfish.  The first production Swordfish flew on December 31, 1935, and was delivered February 19, 1936.  This was only months before the delivery of the prototype Douglas TBD-1 Devastator to the U.S. Navy, and the prototype B5N1 Carrier Strike Aircraft to the Imperial Japanese Navy, both of which were modern all-metal monoplanes. 

            With Fairey committed to production of several FAA aircraft, Blackburn Aircraft began production of the Swordfish in 1941, and took over complete production of the Mk.II and Mk.III Swordfish in 1942.  These aircraft were colloquially known as “Blackfish.”

            By the time war broke out in September 1939, the Swordfish was considered obsolete. Yet it would be one of five aircraft in first line service of all combatants in 1939 that would still be in first line service in 1945, the other four being the German Bf-109 and Bf-110, and the British Spitfire and Hurricane.

            Thirteen squadrons were equipped with the Swordfish at the outbreak of war and an additional thirteen would equip with it during the war, making it the most widely-used aircraft in the FAA wartime inventory.

            The Swordfish went into combat for the first time on April 11, 1940, when 816 and 818 Squadrons flew off of HMS “Furious” to attack German warships in Trondheim harbor; this marked the first strike of the war by torpedo-carrying aircraft. Two days later a Swordfish floatplane from HMS “Warspite” spotted for the battleship’s guns as seven German destroyers present at Trondheim were sunk or scuttled.  Swordfish from “Furious” fought through the entire Norwegian campaign, often flying in fog and driving snow.  In the same month, Swordfish began work as minelayers in enemy-held Channel ports, a mission they would carry out throughout the war to great effect.  

            The Swordfish was in action against the Italians from the moment Italy entered the war, with a raid against Genoa on June 14 by 767 Squadron, a training unit based at Hyeres.  A month later, half that unit became 830 Squadron and began operating against Italian shipping from Hal Far on Malta, a mission they would fly until the Afrika Korps was defeated - in no small part due to the losses of supplies to Swordfish torpedoes.  

            In July, 1940, 12 Swordfish from “Ark Royal” crippled the French battleship “Dunkerque” in the famous attack against Oran following the French surrender.  The Swordfish played an important role in strikes against coastal shipping throughout the North African campaign.  

            The crowning achievement of the Swordfish came on November 11, 1940, with a night torpedo strike against the Italian Navy in its base at Taranto by Swordfish of 815, 819, 813, and 824 Squadrons operating from HMS “Illustrious.”  The Italian Navy was virtually taken out of the war, losing one “Cavour” and one “Duilio” class battleship damaged and beached, one “Littorio” class battleship heavily damaged, two cruisers severely damaged and two destroyers sunk, for the loss of two Swordfish. This event would inspire the Japanese for the attack on Pearl Harbor a year later.  The Swordfish also participated in the Battle of Cape Matapan against the Italians in April 1941, where they damaged the cruiser “Pola.”

            The Swordfish would eventually gain fame as the “good shepherd” of the North Atlantic, staggering off the 400-foot decks of converted grain ships to provide anti-submarine protection to the convoys, where it was be the most successful U-boat killer of the Royal Navy, flying in North Atlantic gales on days when Grumman Avengers were chained to the deck. 

            Amazing as it may seem to look at the ungainly Swordfish, it is the most successful naval strike aircraft in history. Its exploits are the stuff of legend.

            Tamiya released a Swordfish in 2000 that is considered one of the best injection-plastic kits ever released.  The good news here is that Trumpeter has essentially pantographed the Tamiya kit up to 1/32 scale.  The surface detail is a bit more accentuated than the Tamiya kit, and there are no underwing racks or ordnance provided, but this is not a problem.  The kit also follows the Tamiya kit in not having separate Handley-Page slats on the upper wings.

            The decals include markings for an early-production Swordfish I flown by 810 Squadron aboard “Ark Royal” in 1940 and a late production Swordfish I. flown by 825 Squadron on the “Channel Dash” mission. The decal colors for the early Swordfish are correct, since they are pre-war shades of blue and red, which were maintained on these early aircraft when they were camouflaged.  The decals for the later airplane are incorrect, since they are the same shades, rather than the darker blue and “brick red” colors.

            Fortunately, Xtradecal is just releasing two decal sheets for this kit that solve all these problems.  Sheet 32-014 gives markings for two prewar Swordfish, while Sheet 32-015 provides markings for an early Swordfish I with bright pre-war roundels, a Swordfish from 818 Squadron on the “Bismarck” strike, and a Swordfish I flown off a MAC Ship in 1944.  These sheets include all the stencils; the colors and registration are spot on.

            As was the case with the Tamiya kit, this is definitely a model that starts with the cockpit. The instructions are clear, the parts work, and there are no difficulties encountered in putting together the sub-assemblies and fitting them into a well-detailed interior.  There is even superior fit of the cockpit assembly into the fuselage than was the case with the Tamiya kit.

            Modelers should note that in painting the Swordfish interior, the fabric exterior was covered in red primer. Depending on how well the primer was worked into the fabric, it would be seen in the interior as blotchy red through the doped fabric, which is generally a light tan. I accomplished this by air brushing Tamiya “Buff”, then “blotching” Gunze-Sanyo H-414 "RLM Rot23," a light brick-red color, which the picky-picky modelers at the Aerodrome have determined is a good representation of doped fabric. The fabric area was masked off when dry and the rest of the interior was painted with Xtracrylix “British Interior Green” with details painted with Tamiya “Semi-Gloss Black on all metal items. The painting instructions are clear and should be followed.

            Just before I started in on assembling the cockpit, I saw a post at Britmodeller.com which pointed out that the two rear seats only had a strap around the crewman’s waist that was chained to the airframe as a “seatbelt,” and that this was not seen when the airplane was on the ground.  I therefore only used Eduard’s 1/32 photo-etch Sutton Harness on the pilot’s seat.

            I decided to scratchbuild the underwing racks and separate the upper wing slats and convert them to extended slats as is seen with all Swordfish on the ground. 

            I cut out the slats before assembling the upper wings, and made the interior leading edge using Evergreen sheet.  The cut-off slats were assembled and then the interior was thinned to the proper shape, with some Bondo putty used to give a smooth interior surface.

            I also noted that Trumpeter correctly made the torpedo sight in injection plastic, but then neglected to add the sight markers.  I made those from thin Evergreen strip and glued them in position.

             The underwing racks were created by eyeballing the racks on my Tamiya model, and made from Evergreen plastic.  The lower wings have the mounting holes in the inner surface, so positioning them properly was not a problem.  I did not attach them until after the wings had been fully painted and finished.

            The wings go together easily. You must decide at the point you assemble the upper center section which way you are going to display the model: wings folded back or wings deployed. A main spar in the upper center section becomes the main support of the wings when deployed unfolded. 

            Once the wing sub-assemblies and the fuselage had been finished, it was time to go to the paint shop.

Painting:

            I first pre-shaded the model with black airbrushed along panel lines.  I also painted the propeller, the assembled engine and the interior of the rear cowling with Semi-Gloss Black.  The collector ring and exhaust were painted a “burned metal” color created by mixing Tamiya “Flat Copper” with “NATO Black.”  

             The Xtradecal sheet shows the 818 Squadron airplane with Sky lower surfaces, which I do not think is correct, for reasons detailed below: 

             The Royal Navy camouflage of the Swordfish had Sky Grey lower surfaces, with a disruptive camouflage of Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey in the upper surfaces.  Most authorities believe this was continued by Blackburn when they began production of the Swordfish.  V4298, the 818 Squadron Swordfish on the Xtradecal sheet, was a Blackburn-built airplane, so while I painted the model according to the Xtradecal profile, I did so using Xtracrylix “Dark Sea Grey,” “Dark Slate Grey” and a mixture of “British Light Aircraft Grey” and “Camouflage Grey” to approximate the “Sky Grey” color.  Other sources do say that Blackburn commenced use of the Sky undersurface color in the Spring of 1941, but there is no clear date of this.  Therefore (since we are dealing with black and white photos) V4298 could be as portrayed in the Xtradecal profile.  I chose to do it with the information I have at hand from the old FAA-SIG discussion of the Swordfish.

            When the paint was dry, I gave the sub-assemblies a coat of Testor’s Model Master Sealer.

Decals: 

            The Xtradecals went on without problem.  I used the markings for the 818 Squadron Swordfish that was flown on the “Bismarck” mission.

            The model was washed to get rid of any dried decal solvent, then I gave it an overall coat of Xtracrylix Flat Varnish.  When that was dry I attached the underwing bomb racks and flare racks, and the upper wing leading edge slats, and the torpedo. 

            I then assembled the rubber wheels and attached them.  For those who claim that rubber wheels are a disaster waiting to happen - and I have experienced that with the AMT Tigercat wheels - I have been using the Trumpeter rubber wheels now since 2003 without any problem.

            I attached the torpedo sights and then assembled the bracing wires between the inner and outer struts. The model needs control wires which are not provided, but I was temporarily out of .008 brass wire painted gloss black, so this will await another day.  

            I then assembled the wings and attached them.  At this point, I discovered that Trumpeter had positioned the aileron control strut incorrectly, with the lower attachment point being ahead of the aileron rather than on it.  I cut off the mounting base, put it where the hole was, painted that (thank goodness Xtracrylix dry the same color whether hand-brushed or airbrushed) and attached the strut in the correct position.

            It’s the Tamiya kit, only bigger.  For those who feel “biplane challenged,” this kit is easy to assemble with a modicum of experience.  The Swordfish may be one of the most ungainly-looking airplanes to fly, but its story is such that it has a certain beauty that no other World War II airplane can compete with.  Did I mention it’s really impressively big when finished?? Highly recommended.

Thanks to Stevens International for the review kit.  Thanks to Hannant’s for the decals.

Tom Cleaver

June 2009