Fairey Firefly

[Flying Trucker]

Goodly morning folks....

Mark and I have had several PMs back and forth regarding the Fairey Firefly and I always thought it was designed as a Torpedo or Dive Bomber.

The aircraft seems to have been a jack of all trades from what I read on the internet.

I can't find any pictures or information on this aircraft while it was carrying a torpedo.

I was wondering if the aircraft ever torpedoed anything in the Pacific Theater as I believe it operated off several Royal Navy Carriers there.

Any Links, Pictures or Information would be most appreciated. I have visited several Links on the internet with little luck on this aircraft and it's torpedo carrying capabilities....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Firefly

[OldAirmail]

Never mind. This is a Fairey Barracuda.

The search for "Fairey Firefly" "with torpedo" -Albacore pulled this up.

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks OldAirmail...I am still surfing the web...

[Hagar]

The Fairey Firefly was originally designed & used as a fleet fighter. There were several later anti-submarine versions (AS.5, AS.6 & AS.7). These were fitted with various types of radar/sonar & could carry bombs or rockets on underwing racks. I've not heard of a version that was capable of carrying a torpedo. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_fairey_firefly_AS6.html

[PhantomTweak]

I seem to recall from my history lessons many moons past, that the Firefly was responsible for the sinking of a major Gernam Battleship, I THINK in WWII, because they were so slow the German gun computers couldn't track them properly, so they were able to get a torpedo or two into the rudder, freezing it hard over left, permitting the British fleet to use it for target practise till they got enough plunging fire main gun rounds through the decks to sink him. German ships, unlike most cultures around the world, are "him" not "her", just so you know. The Firefly's release system failed, also, so the rear gunner had to lean over the side and manually release the fish in flight when the pilot yelled at him. I'll be darned if I recall the name of the German ship, unfortunately...

...Ok, late edit, I apologise....I was thinking Swordfish, not fireflies, apparently, and it was the Bismark they helped sink. I knew I had the name Fairey something-or-other stuck in my head. I apologise for the mass confusion on my part.

Pat~

[G.K.]

I can't add anything helpful with regards to these aircraft.....but:

related trivia:
After the war Fairey moved into sailing dinghy manufacturing. They used the same wood moulding techniques for the boats. Three classes of dinghy spring to mind, The Firefly, Swordfish and then the Albacore. Two of these boats are still in production by other manufacturers, unfortunately the Swordfish is now an extinct class. I have sailed and raced the Albacore and it's a great little boat, still very popular.

History of the Firefly dingy here:
http://www.fireflysailing.org.uk/page/p ... rial_id=24

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks folks for the replies.

Have found several sites that refer to the Firefly carrying a Centerline Torpedo but no pictures.

The Canadian Warplane Heritage flies the only Firefly out of about twenty that they know about.

Have sent a request to them about the torpedo carrying Firefly and if they actually sank anything with a torpedo.

[Hagar]

Thanks folks for the replies.

Have found several sites that refer to the Firefly carrying a Centerline Torpedo but no pictures.

The Canadian Warplane Heritage flies the only Firefly out of about twenty that they know about.

Have sent a request to them about the torpedo carrying Firefly and if they actually sank anything with a torpedo.

I suspect that people are confusing the Firefly with the Swordfish, just like PhantomTweak did in this thread. The Swordfish is possibly the most well-known type manufactured by Fairey Aviation.

[Bass]

Thanks folks for the replies.

Have found several sites that refer to the Firefly carrying a Centerline Torpedo but no pictures.

The Canadian Warplane Heritage flies the only Firefly out of about twenty that they know about.

Have sent a request to them about the torpedo carrying Firefly and if they actually sank anything with a torpedo.

I suspect that people are confusing the Firefly with the Swordfish, just like PhantomTweak did in this thread. The Swordfish is possibly the most well-known type manufactured by Fairey Aviation.

Yes, and it was a Swordfish that hit Bismark on her rudder with a torpedo!

[jefflar]

I think you will find that's a Barracuda not a Firefly?

[OldAirmail]

I think you will find that's a Barracuda not a Firefly?

Never mind. This is a Fairey Barracuda.
The search for "Fairey Firefly" "with torpedo" -Albacore pulled this up.

Those pictures were pulled up in a search for Fairey Firefly as I had mentioned.


I deleted the original message very shortly after my post, and then I retyped the above.

The pictures were left in because I thought that they were interesting.



Other than that, good catch.

[logjam]

Way back in '59 I worked as an apprentice for AWA at Coventry. They had a bunch of Fireflies in for something, I never did find out what. Of course one never knows whether they carried torpedoes at all, just interesting that someone found them useful. I'll do a bit of research in my old "Brownie" file box.

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks for the interest shown folks...I am still searching...

[C]

You won't find a Firefly with a torpedo, or even its elder brother the Fulmar. Swordfish and Albacore yes, as the were "TSR" (torpedo-spotter-recce) aircraft, but not the Firefly or Fulmar, as they were primarily fighters by design. Underwing hardpoints they did have, but far too weak for a Torpedo.

Fairey did produce a monoplane torpedo bomber, the Spearfish, which was a contemporary in design of the Skyraider. It was cancelled following the end of the war. In true British style, we then acquired the Skyraider...

[Flying Trucker]

Thanks "C"...much appreciated...

Still waiting to hear from the Canadian Warplane Heritage on the e-mail I sent them asking for information on the Royal Canadian Navy Air Arm Firefly's.