Jump to content

Swordfish wing folded - weapons?


Battle

Recommended Posts

I am building Airfix's excellent 1/72 scale Swordfish for the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations Group Build and I am building it with one wing folded. My question is, would an aircraft ever have been armed while the wings were folded? It would be helpful if it could be so that I can pack the bombs with lead to try and help the aircraft sit level on its wheels (the folded wing unbalances it!). I have looked at a lot of photos on the internet and have found none showing an aircraft armed with the wing(s) folded, so it seems unlikely that they would be armed with the wing(s) folded. Can anyone shed any light on this? Thanks.  

Edited by Battle
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That would be a lot of extra weight/moment for the matelots to manhandle.

 

One possibly idea is to make a simple base for your model and drill a couple of small holes where the wheels go.  Then thread some invisible thread through one hole, round the axle and back through the other hole, knotting it underneath.  This should hold the model down yet be effectively invisible, and considerably less permanent than gluing the wheels down onto a base.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They probably could, not sure if they were though. I'd also think that it would be unlikely an aircraft would be sitting on a carrier deck with one wing folding, for precisely the problem you are having with the model; it makes the aircraft unbalanced. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice Brad. I realise that having one wing folded probably isn't prototypical, but it helps with my space issues while still giving an impression of what the aircraft looks like! Perhaps I could make a diorama of the wing being unfolded to get round the problem...?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

most hand-folding wings would be done one side at a time, so it would be prototypical to have only one wing folded.  Don't know if it would be left like that for long, maybe the matelots might have a tea break in between doing the two wings  You might need a few of them standing around ready to do the next one.  I imagine there must be a Navy instruction document for the technique (as there is for the Seafire - see Seafire III section at http://www.armouredcarriers.com/seafire-variants/ and here in action https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/019032/), which might also say whether with or without weapons - presumably the torpedo could be left on during folding.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Brad said:

I mentioned it because I was unsure of how much accuracy you were aiming for. I mean it's your model, don't let me discourage you if you want to have one wing folded though!

 

There's no discouraging me - it's already done! Thanks for mentioning it though - it's always useful to learn these things. I do however tend to err on the side of doing what I want when it comes to building models. hence the one wing folded (in the railway modelling world there is a commonly used phrase which sums up my attitude - 'it's my railway and I'll run what I want on it (within reason)'). 

 

Thanks malpaso - I will do some research and try and find similar documents for the Swordfish. The aircraft I am modelling will be armed with bombs rather than a torpedo. I will probably leave the centreline bomb on and maybe leave off the wing mounted bombs. If I do end up doing a diorama however, I will try and include them being loaded. 

 

 

Edited by Battle
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Battle said:

 

There's no discouraging me - it's already done! Thanks for mentioning it though - it's always useful to learn these things. I do however tend to err on the side of doing what I want when it comes to building models. hence the one wing folded (in the railway modelling world there is a commonly used phrase which sums up my attitude - 'it's my railway and I'll run what I want on it (within reason)'). 

 

Thanks malpaso - I will do some research and try and find similar documents for the Swordfish. The aircraft I am modelling will be armed with bombs rather than a torpedo. I will probably leave the centreline bomb on and maybe leave off the wing mounted bombs. If I do end up doing a diorama however, I will try and include them being loaded. 

 

 

 

It's my boat and I'm the captain!

 

 

Chris

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Battle said:

 I have looked at a lot of photos on the internet and have found none showing an aircraft armed with the wing(s) folded,

 

Here's a couple showing folded wings / full rocket load, so I'd guess folded with bombs wouldn't be out of the question

 

http://historywarsweapons.com/wp-content/uploads/image/Fairey_Swordfish_on_carrier.jpg

 

http://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/hms_tracker_swordfish.jpg

 

The first photo lead to a ficticious part to fit under the Tamiya Swordfish fuselage due to misinterpretation of the rocket fins on the port folded wing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, Dave Swindell said:

 

Here's a couple showing folded wings / full rocket load, so I'd guess folded with bombs wouldn't be out of the question

 

http://historywarsweapons.com/wp-content/uploads/image/Fairey_Swordfish_on_carrier.jpg

 

http://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/hms_tracker_swordfish.jpg

 

The first photo lead to a ficticious part to fit under the Tamiya Swordfish fuselage due to misinterpretation of the rocket fins on the port folded wing.

 

Thanks very much - those are very helpful. I had actually seen the first photograph but had dismissed it because I only looked at the starboard wing for which the rockets aren't as easily spotted (although I agree they are there). 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thinking about it, it makes sense to bomb up the aircraft below decks, since you then don't have stacks of ordnance sitting around on an open deck where they can be strafed/bombed/washed overboard, and the wings need to be folded to fit the deck lift. So I would imagine that most aircraft could carry underwing stores while folded. Of course, getting stores onto a Corsair, Martlet or Seafire with the wings folded could prove "interesting".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, bull-nut said:

Thinking about it, it makes sense to bomb up the aircraft below decks, since you then don't have stacks of ordnance sitting around on an open deck where they can be strafed/bombed/washed overboard, and the wings need to be folded to fit the deck lift. So I would imagine that most aircraft could carry underwing stores while folded. Of course, getting stores onto a Corsair, Martlet or Seafire with the wings folded could prove "interesting".

 

I always assumed bombing up was done on the flight deck for safety reasons - surely it would be safer than having the bombs on the aircraft in a confined space? But then I also see your point about not having piles of ordnance on the flight deck where it's vulnerable to loss/attack. 

 

13 hours ago, Finn said:

Here are a couple sitting on the edge of the carrier deck with one wing folded to allow for clearance and the other wing straight since it hangs over the edge:

 

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205152306

 

Jari

 

Thanks - that's a fantastic photo you've found there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...