Comments by "David Elliott" (@davidelliott5843) on "Why didn't the Bismarck shoot down any Swordfish?" video.

It wasn't obsolete. It was built that way because that's what got the job done.
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Swordfish was no obsolete. It was a heavy lifting STOL aircraft that could fly in heavy weather and launch a torpedo into heavy Atlantic swells without breaking the weapon. Germany was foolish to ignore them. Probably because they had nothing equivalent and assumed that biplane meant old tech. In reality, that particular biplane was the perfect tool for the job.
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Tony Wilson Ark Royal carried Swordfish, because in 1941, they were the only type that could fly from a carrier running on the North Atlantic swells. Even if Germany had built an Altlantic, carrier their aircraft would have been similar as nothing else could take off and land in those sea conditions. Britain's "luck" was to have an opponent who considered a few very powerful battleships were more important than (to him) ugly flat tops.
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@paoloviti6156 The Fairey Swordfish flew throughout WW2. Not bad for something so "useless" and "obsolete". Under Atlantic sea conditions it was the ideal tool for the job.
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@jerrysmooth24 It did the job it was designed to do and anything much faster could well have broken the torpedoes by hitting the water too hard.
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The Fairey Swordfish was no way obsolete in 1941 - they were the only way to get the job done. the type was introduced in 1936 and continued throughout WW2 so was actually a very successful design. It was built to operate from carrier decks in the heavy swells of North Atlantic while carrying a heavy torpedo. It had to be a STOL aircraft which demanded a biplane type.
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@daneelolivaw602 Blind luck was always a factor with shooter and target moving and the shooter rolling and heaving on Atlantic swells. Bismark was also the newest ship with the very latest fire control systems. Germany's mistake with ships, as it was with heavy tanks, was not having enough of them. The Allies won by force of numbers.
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@daneelolivaw602 The British had the numbers to get the job done. The roles were reversed in the early years of U boat wolf pack attacks where Germany had the numbers to get the job done - almost.
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@Derp Inshmurtz 14 Swordfish attacked and 2 torpedoes hit home. That's the same odds of a hit as the shells fired by both sides. Not luck at all.
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The Brits had and under spec battleship in HMS Hood (weak deck armour and questionable design of magazines) and under spec torpedo bombers. At least one important weapon was till up to the task. The huge stress on British flight crews - they would have known their torpedoes were unlikely to cause serious damage to such a well armoured ship so were flying into almost certain death on a useless mission. But they did their duty and luck favoured the brave. The point about rudder only turns after dropping the weapon makes sense in more than on way. Simply pulling back the stick would expose the plane's belly to AA. Aileron turns also demand more height to avoid hitting the water with a wing tip. Keeping low and doing a slow rudder only turn made a lot of sense. Saying all that. The later plight of the German crew was truly horrific as the ship was bombarded into submission. The British were noted for standing off and using their big guns. It's my belief they should have stopped shooting after Bismark failed to reply. But what do I know? What do any of us know on questions like that?
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@slehar My point is the British continued to hammer the Bismark long after if had stopped shooting back. Bismark scuttled itself to stop the slaughter. How anyone could do what the British Swordfish crews did is beyond belief. They had little idea that their low speed was such an advantage.
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@TheEulerID The Japanese studied Taranto before they hit Pearl Harbor.
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@mrdojob CIWS would take out a few incoming big gun shells then the ammo would run out. But sea launched cruise missiles would destroy any older ship before it could get close enough.
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Tony Wilson The Taranto raid showed the best way out after dropping the torpedo was a side-slip turn on rudder only. That presented the smallest target to the ship's gunners. 14 planes attacked in heavy seas and two torpedoes hit home. Not bad going considering the conditions.
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@threepot5874 In 1941, a 14 years old battleship was in mid life. 1 in 7 shells hit the target. 14 Swordfish went in to attack and two torpedoes hit the ship. Amazingly similar numbers.
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@Jack the Gestapo Germany put far too much effort into it's tanks. They were hugely over-built so they simply could not make enough of them. Anything better than good enough is a waste of effort.
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@monty5692 The sad fact (for Germany) is that its engineers could have built "good enough" tanks in large numbers while at the same time developing the huge land ships that kept Hitler happy. They chose to do the fancy stuff because engineers can't resist making things "better".
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The Fairey Swordfish was one of the few aircraft capable of flying from the heaving deck of an aircraft carrier rolling in the Atlantic swells. These planes were that good that the type was still in use at the end of WW2. The British also had experience from the Taranto raid against Italian battleships. The very raid studied by Admiral Yamamoto before he hit Pearl Harbor. planes which climbed away after dropping their torpedoes were far more vulnerable to AA hits. Running skid turns or pulling over the target ship at the last moment was the safest(?) way to escape.
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Think about what they had to do - Take off from a heaving ship in bad weather. Drop a torpedo low and slow enough that it doesn't break on impact. Fly level in all weather conditions so you have a chance of aiming correctly. Land on a ship without smashing the aircraft. Add that lot up and you end up with a biplane with a powerful engine. At the time it was unlikely that anyone had anything that could do all of that any better than the Swordfish.
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@dulls8475 British furniture makers (and Canadian) built the Mosquito, probably the most versatile aircraft of WW2. But even if they had big enough carriers they'd have struggled to operate in the North Atlantic. They need STOL abilities to get off the deck in one piece.
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The Swordfish has a powerful engine for the aircraft size. It was built fly from small carriers heaving about in Atlantic swells. Nothing else of the time could do that AND carry a useful offensive load. The planes was a steel tube structure with doped canvas over the top. Short take off and landing with good lifting capacity. And easy to repair.
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