Fairey Spearfish
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| Spearfish | |
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| Type | Torpedo bomber |
| Manufacturer | Fairey Aviation |
| Maiden flight | 5 July 1945 |
| Status | development cancelled |
| Primary user | Fleet Air Arm |
| Number built | 5 |
Fairey Spearfish was a Second World War British torpedo bomber. It was one of the largest single-engine aircraft to ever operate from a British aircraft carrier.
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[edit] Design and development
The Spearfish was designed by Fairey Aviation to Admiralty Specification O.5/43. Having learned the lessons of the Fairey Barracuda, the Spearfish featured a much more powerful engine and an integral ASV anti-submarine radar (the external installation on the Barracuda caused problems with longitudinal stability). Problems with the Bristol Centaurus engine delayed the first flight until 5 July 1945. Only five aircraft were built before victory over Japan at which point further work on the project was stopped.
The Admiralty refused to accept the Spearfish for service use. The aircraft had such heavy controls that in bad weather a pilot circling a carrier whilst waiting to land was forced to fly such a wide circuit that he could not keep the carrier in sight in bad visibility.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (Spearfish)
Data from Fairey Aircraft Since 1915 Taylor, H. A.[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 45 ft 0 in (13.7 m)
- Wingspan: 60 ft 0 in (18.3 m)
- Height: 16 ft 0 in (4.9 m)
- Wing area: 530 ft ² (49.2 m²)
- Empty weight: 12,435 lb (5,640 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 22,050 lb (10,000 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Bristol Centaurus 57 18-cylinder radial engine driving a five-blade propeller, 2,585 hp (1,930 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 300 mph (480 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 260 mph (415 km/h)
- Range: 895 mi (1,440 km)
- Service ceiling 23,600 ft (7,200 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,720 ft/min (8.74 m/s)
Armament
- Guns:
- 4× .50 inch M2 Browning machine guns, two in the wings and two in a Frazer-Nash FN95 remote-controlled dorsal barbette
- Rockets:
- 16× RP-3 rocket projectiles on underwing rails
- Bombs: carried in an internal weapons bay; either:
- 1× torpedo or
- 2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs or mines
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] References
- ^ Fairey Aircraft Since 1915. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-X.
[edit] External links
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