英日翻訳　機械　IT　政治経済　自然科学　格安　TRADOS使用

An unabashed antique by World War II, having made its first flight in 1933, the Swordfish broke all convention to become one of the most effective seaborne combat aircraft of World War II. When other powers were flying monoplane, metal stressed skin scout torpedo bombers, for the first two years of the war the Royal Navy’s striking power was based almost entirely on the biplane, wood and fabric Swordfish, nicknamed ‘Stringbag’ because of its wires and bracing. Floatplane versions served aboard battleships and cruisers; Swordfishs with conventional undercarriages flew from British aircraft carriers. The lumbering Swordfish quickly scored a number of triumphs against German ships, neutralized the Vichy French fleet at Oran and sank the Italian fleet at Taranto in November 1940, the first major carrier strike of the war. The feat at Taranto proved to the Japanese that a carrier force could attack and destroy the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. In May 1941 Swordfish took part in the striking of the mighty German battleship Bismarck by disabling its rudders, making it vulnerable to the British battle force. When the ‘Stringbag’ was finally retired later in the war it had been effective far beyond its years, due in large measure to excellent pilots and clever tactics, proving carrier aviation was a war-winning capability.

Specification (Swordfish I)

Powerplant: Bristol Pegasus IIIM3 775hp 9-cylinder radial.

Dimensions: length 11.08m (36ft 4in); height 4.11m(13ft 5.75in); wing span 13.87m(45ft 6in).

Weights: empty 2,134kg(4,700lb); operational 3,677kg(8,100lb).

Performance: maximum speed 224km/h(139mph)(without torpedo); service ceiling 3,660m(12,000ft); range 879km(546miles).

Armament: one forward firing .303 calibre machine gun, one flexible rearward firing .303 gun; bomb load 681kg(1,500lb) or one torpedo.

「WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT」Jeffrey L. Ethell著（HarperCollins Publishers,1995）よ り抜粋。