Fairey Hendon as torpedo bomber?

Would the Fairey Hendon have been a disaster as a torpedo bomber? Its top speed, defensive armament and crew exposure is about the same as a Swordfish.

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Had a decent long range, and was faster than the Douglas T2D twin engine Torpedo plane, but had too long gestation. 6 years from first flight in 1930 to limited production in 1936?

That was an eternity in that era.
 
Considering all the casualties suffered by Stringbags, I Doubt if Hendon would suffer much worse.
Hendon's greater endurance (1200 miles) would improve its chances of spotting enemy ships.
In comparison, Swordfish could only fly 500 miles, but use shorter runways. Swordfish only carried 3 pairs of eyeballs, with smaller arcs of observation.

Sadly, Hendon could only carry 1,600 pounds of bombs or a single torpedo, the same size of torpedo as carried by Swordfish.

Considering how desperate Coastal Command was in 1939, they would have pressed any - still serving - Hendons into coastal patrol duties.
Hendon also enjoyed the advantage of 5 pairs of eyeballs with nose and tail gunners enjoying much larger arcs of observation.
 
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FBKampfer

Banned
Well for one, that thing is way too big to big to reasonably operate from carriers, so biiiiiiig mark against it. It would severely cripple utility for the FAA.

Second, it's a huge target and based on 1930's construction its none too durable either, so anything with reasonable AA armament will tear it a new asshole.

Third, once cannon armed fighters became common for the Luftwaffe, fighters will have an easy time tearing it a new asshole.


Its only real upshot is the range and perhaps payload, the latter being of questionable value for a torpedo bomber.



So I'd say this is likely a giant disaster if it becomes the mainstay.
 
I'm guessing that you mean using the Hendon as a shore-based torpedo bomber to replace the Vildebeest and not to try and fly it off aircraft carriers.

Depending upon the reference book a total of 75 or 77 Hendons were ordered including the prototype. However, only 15 were built including the prototype and the survivors of the 14 production aircraft were instructional airframes at the outbreak of World War II. IIRC the production contracts were cut back to 14 aircraft to enable Fairey to concentrate on building other types like the Battle and Swordfish.

IMHO the Air Ministry cut to 14 aircraft did not go far enough and no production Hendons should have been ordered in the first place. Either 74 or 76 Harrows should have been ordered from Handley Page because it would have been more useful as a trainer and transport aircraft after it had been withdrawn from the heavy bomber squadrons, AFAIK the Harrow was easy to produce so it would not have slowed down Hampden deliveries and it might have helped Handley Page build up its manufacturing capacity. Or order 150 extra Swordfish from Fairey in place of the Hendon.
 
It's not that unfeasible. The Avro Manchester - roughly the same size as a Hendon - was designed to carry a pair of torpedos internally, and that bomb bay was carried over into the Lancaster, meaning it wasn't hamstrung when the size of bombs went up. Wellingtons were being used for torpedo attacks.
 
Huge target flying low enough and slow enough to drop a torpedo? Might get away with it at night, but in daylight all you get is double the number of airmen killed in comparison with the Vildebeest or Swordfish. Even the scouts on German ships would find them to be sitting ducks, and their Ack Ack should have no problem dealing with them either.
 
Good point the Bismarck's AAA sights weren't calibrated to hit anything under 90 mph (200kph).

Your mph to kph conversion is out 90mph is 145kph plus the Swordfish dropped at around 100 to 120mph.

I have never believed the story about Bismarks AA sights werent calibrated to hit the Swordfish. The Bismark was designed in the mid to late thirties when everybodys torpedos were dropped at around 100mph. The Germans were crap at many things but even they couldnt be that incompetent.
 
I have never believed the story about Bismarks AA sights werent calibrated to hit the Swordfish. The Bismark was designed in the mid to late thirties when everybodys torpedos were dropped at around 100mph. The Germans were crap at many things but even they couldnt be that incompetent.

The AAA suite on the KM ships during the Channel Dash seemed to work just fine on the Stringbags
 
Your mph to kph conversion is out 90mph is 145kph plus the Swordfish dropped at around 100 to 120mph.

I have never believed the story about Bismarks AA sights werent calibrated to hit the Swordfish. The Bismark was designed in the mid to late thirties when everybodys torpedos were dropped at around 100mph. The Germans were crap at many things but even they couldnt be that incompetent.

I think with the Bismarck attack it was a combination of several things

1: The Swordfish were very maneuverable and dove through cloud cover to make a very low level attack very quickly (while slow their maneuverability allow them to start their attack later than their peers) so had surprise on their side
2: Weather was gash
3: The crew would have been knackered having been in a BB fight, in bad weather and on edge from the beginning of the op which had been a week or so by this point.
 
They fixed the problem, apparently one of the survivors from the Bismarck by a U-Boat was a rather fustrated AAA Gunner.

The U-74 picked up only 3 men who were all Matrosengefreiter which I think means Able Seaman, I dont know much about the Kriegsmarine but in western navies an Able Seaman wouldnt know much about target speeds or ranges even if he was a AAgun captain.

I think Cryhavoc101 has it right but I would add a no 4: to his list. Aircrew skill and balls made of solid brass.
 

Errolwi

Monthly Donor
An aside from War in a Stringbag
...Brian with his DSO ribbon was one of the few survivors of that suicidal
attack by Eugene Esmonde's squadron on the S&G only a few months earlier.
Elegant and suave, he still had 18 bits of shrapnel in his back, which the
doctors preferred to leave there, and a newly acquired stammer, but was
already thought fit to return to action."​
 
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