View allAll Photos Tagged explain
A true icon flies at Clacton.
The Fairey Swordfish is a 1930s aircraft, obsolete at the start of The Second World War but serving through all of it. The classic image of this aircraft is, like here, as a torpedo attack aircraft, but it was also used as a light bomber, mine layer and later, as a sub killer. It served primarily with The Fleet Air Arm, although many were flown from large merchant ships to protect convoys too.
This is the oldest surviving of the type, first flying on 21st October 1941. Her service record is unclear other than being based in The Mediterranean. It's likely that she operated from Gibraltar, patrolling the straits and adjacent seas.
Swordfish were famously used in The Battle of Taranto where, in a night attack illuminated by flares, they avoided barrage balloons. Six aircraft used torpedoes to attack Italian battleships, seriously damaging three of them. Other Swordfish used bombs to attack cruisers and destroyers, damaging or sinking two cruisers, two destroyers and other vessels. This action was important because for the first time the power of aircraft operating independently was demonstrated in a naval battle.
Most famously they were used in the May 1941 attack upon the German battleship Bismark, which had been causing carnage among the allied convoys. Initially nine torpedo attack aircraft operating from the carrier HMS Victorious scored only one hit, causing minor damage. However, two days later two further Swordfish strikes hit Bismark’s rudder, locking it at 12 degrees to port, making it impossible to steer. The aircraft flew at ultra low level to mount the attack, below the lowest elevation of Bismark's anti aircraft guns. The Royal Navy finished the battle in an action which claimed HMS Hood.
The performance of The Swordfish may be described as gentle. It had a maximum speed of 140mph, which was rather faster than that of the iconic WW1 fighter, the Sopwith Camel (113mph), but its climb rate of 870 feet/minute and ceiling of 16,500 feet were both exceeded by its illustrious predecessor (1,085 feet/minute and 19,000 feet). The Swordfish's armament was weak; a machine gun to the forward and a tripod mounted Lewis gun to the rear. They were no match for the ME-109 which could fly at 330mph with a climb rate of nearly 4,500 feet/minute and far heavier armament. That can mainly be explained by their different roles. Swordfish were designed for low level operations against large targets, ME-109s had to be the equals of Spitfires and Hurricanes. When Swordfish met fighters they would be very fortunate indeed to survive the encounter as was starkly demonstrated in an attack on German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in The English Channel. All six Swordfish deployed were shot down by escorting ME-109s before they could engage their targets. Thirteen of the eighteen crew were killed. This action was instrumental in Swordfish being withdrawn from the torpedo attack role. They became submarine killers, armed with depth charges or rockets. They pioneered the use of air to surface vessel radar in this role, their new equipment being capable of identifying surface vessels at night and through cloud.
Wartime German U-boats, while regarded as submarines, are best regarded as surface craft which could dive when necessary. They could not operate under the surface for long because their diesel engines, requiring oxygen to operate, could not be used while the boat was fully submerged. From 1943 boats were increasingly equipped with schnorkels, which allowed the diesels to take air from above the surface while the boat operated at shallow depth. However, schnorkels were apparent to observant lookouts, especially as a wake would occur in calm seas. Furthermore, schnorkels were not particularly reliable. When the device's valve suddenly shut as it briefly went underwater in a choppy sea, it could stick, resulting in the diesels taking air from the boat compartments instead of through a jammed shut schnorkel. This suddenly decreased the atmospheric pressure inside the boat, causing ear injuries. Battery power was therefore preferred for subsurface operations, and was absolutely necessary for a boat to operate at any meaningful depth. But then the boat's movement, while very quiet, became slow and the batteries lost their charge quickly. U-boats therefore generally sailed on the surface under diesel power, only diving when necessary for concealment. Batteries had to be recharged while surfaced, the diesels providing the power for this. U-boats were very vulnerable to armed opponents in daylight while on the surface, so surface operations, including attacks, when in the vicinity of allied forces were generally conducted at night. An emergency dive (taking 30 seconds at least to accomplish) at the start of recharging could result in a sub which could not move, its interior lighting and other electric systems failing as power dwindled, ultimately forcing it to resurface. That's why some boats caught on the surface had no option but to fight, a pitching boat not being a platform conducive to accurate anti aircraft fire even at a slow target. Swordfish air to surface radar meant that night no longer provided certain protection, and the aircraft proved very capable of exploiting this fundamental weakness of the famed, very effective and greatly feared U-boat.
Scott Farrow, US Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, explains the decontamination process to local schoolchildren during the annual Earth Day (April 22, 2010) mock environmental cleanup activity conducted on Redstone Arsenal.
Video Factory is a boutique explainer video service company based out of India and we have a vision to simplify communication through videos.
For more details, please visit at www.videofactory.in/
My wisdom tooth is coming out on the 14th of May. The dentist who is performing the procedure says he will need to cut through the gum, remove some bone and probably split the tooth in two to remove it. I'm looking forward to it as you might imagine. Messages of sympathy can be left below.
Yosemite Extreme Panoramic Imaging Project
www.xrez.com/yose_proj/Yose_index.html
More Yosemite pics here.
Animated Explainer Videos for business. We make Quality Video Explainers that promote your business or idea fast and with great results. Boost conversions with marketing animation videos, whiteboard animation, and other video marketing content. Get a FREE CONSULTATION.