Fairey Battle, part five

The Fairey Battle was a single-engine monoplane light bomber that was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. During production it was fitted with various versions of the Merlin engine, like the Merlin I, II, III (which was the most numerous variant) and V, but every bomber variant was called Battle Mk.I. The Battle featured a relatively clean design with a slim oval-shaped fuselage manufactured in two sections. Forward section, in front of the cockpit, relied mainly upon a steel tubular structure to maintain the weight of the engine. The rear section was made of a metal monocoque structure with hoop frames and z-section stringers, which was built on jigs. It was a very innovative design for Fairey as it was the company's first low-wing monoplane and the first light-alloy stressed-skin aircraft produced by them.
The wing used a two-part construction, with the central section being integral part of the fuselage. Internal wing structure relied upon steel spars which varied in dimensions towards the wing tips. The ailerons elevators and rudder were entirely metal-framed with fabric coverings and the split trailing-edge was entirely made out of metal.
The typical crew of the Battle was three, pilot, observer/navigator and radio operator/rear gunner, all of them accommodated in the forward canopy. Pilot and observer were seated in a tandem position, with the pilot controlling the single forward-firing Browning 0.303 in mounted in the starboard wing. The gunner/radio operator was in the rear controlling the manually-operated Vickers 0.303 in K machine gun. The observer acted also as the bomb aimer and, for this function, he was placed beneath the pilot's seat, as sighting was made in the prone position through a sliding panel in the floor of the fuselage.
It had a standard payload of 1.000 lb (453 kg) of bombs (similar to the earlier variants of the Bristol Blenheim). The standard payload was of four 250 lb (113 kg) carried in cells contained in the internal space of the wings. The maximum bomb-load was 1.500 lb (680 kg) with two additional 250 lb or 500 lb (227 kg) bombs carried on underwing racks. The bombs were mounted on hydraulic jacks and were released via trap doors during a dive attack.
The Battle was a robust aircraft easy to fly even for inexperienced pilots. The pilot enjoyed good external visibility and the cockpit was considered roomy and confortable for the time. However, the tasks of simultaneously deploying the flaps and the retractable undercarriage, were considered as a notable complication.
By the time it entered service in 1937, it had already become obsolete thanks to the quick advances in aircraft technology. It's defensive and offensive armament was considered too weak, and it lacked other defensive items of the time like armoured cockpit and self-sealing tanks. Ironically, it was well armoured of the standards of 1940, but only against small-arms fire on the ground.
In June 1937 No.63 Squadron was the first one to receive the Battle, being it the first operational aircraft to be powered by the mighty Merlin engine. By May 1939 a total of 17 squadrons were equipped with the Fairey Battle, with many of them being assigned to non-mobilising training roles or reserve squadrons.
By the start of the World War II, the Battle was already obsolete but it remained as the front-line main Royal Air Force's (RAF) dive bomber due to the lack of a better replacement.On as early as 3rd September 1939 (some sources claim it was the 2nd, although that day the United Kingdom was not still at war with Germany) ten Battle squadrons were deployed to airfields in France as part of the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force, which was independent of the British Expeditionary Force. They were spread out just after having arrived as it was intended that the Battles would, in the event of German commencement of bombing attacks, launch retaliatory attacks in the Ruhr valley region taking advantage their closer range in French airfields.
Initial missions were to perform aerial reconnaissance over the Siegfried Line at day, resulting in occasional skirmished and losses. On 20th September 1939 a German Messerschmitt Bf.109 was shot down near Aachen, Germany, being that the first RAF's aerial victory of the war.
However, the Battle was seriously outclassed by Luftwaffe's fighters resulting in high losses for the period of late 1939. During the winter of 1939-1940 it was decided to re-estructure the Advanced Air Striking Force, so some Battle squadrons returned to the United Kingdom and were replaced by Bristol Blenheim-equipped squadrons. During this time the activities of Advanced Air Striking Force were limited to training activities.
When the Battle of France begun in May 1940, the Battles were called to perform unescorted low-level tactical attacks against the advancing German army. These kind of attacks resulted very dangerous as the Battles were easy targets for both the Luftwaffe and ground anti-aircraft guns with very little impact on the German ground forces.
During the Battle of France, most of the Battle's attacks were aimed towards bridges and other infrastructures resulting their bomb-load insufficient most of the time for destroying the bridges. It was decided therefore to restrict Battle's operations to night-time raids only resulting in much fewer losses.
On 15th June 1940 the last remaining aircraft of the Advanced Air Striking Force returned home with almost 200 Battles having been lost in six weeks, 99 of them lost between 10 and 16 May. After the Battle of France, the RAF continued to rely on the Battle for a short period of time on the light bomber role. The No.1 Group was reformed with the inclusion of four new Polish squadrons equipped with the type and continued to be deployed for anti-shipping operations in the Channel ports for Operation Sealion. The last combat sortie of the Battle was performed by No.301 (Polish) squadron on the night of 15/16th October when they attacked Boulogne and No.12 and 142 Squadrons attacked Calais. Shortly after, No.1 Group's bombing squadrons were re-equipped with Vickers Wellington bombers. However, in 1941, three squadrons, No.88 and No.226, based in Northern Ireland and No.98 in Iceland were still equipped with the Battle for coastal patrol duties.
As the Battle was found to be largely inadequate for the bomber role, most of them were refitted as trainers or target tugs, some of them with a second cockpit added, others with a turret on the back for gunner training and other with tug-towing equipment. They served on this role with many RAF's schools until the end of the war in 1945.
Some others were used as engine test-beds for various engines such as the Rolls-Royce Exe, Fairey Prince, Napier Dagger and Napier Sabre both in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Curiously enough a single Battle was re-fitted with the Fairey Monarch engine, driving two three-bladed contra-rotating propellers and large ventral radiator. After 86 hours of extensive testing it was shipped in December 1941 to the USA in order to continue the testing at Wright Field, Liberty County, in Georgia.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Air_Forces_in_France_and_Great_Britain
3. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-I-t1349
4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-II-t17039
5. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-III-t61598
6. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-TT-t104197
7. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/fairey-battle.html

Fairey Battle, part four

In April 1933 the British Air Ministry issued the specification P.27/32 which sought for a two-seater monoplane light-bomber to replace the Hawker Hart and Hawker Hind biplanes in service. In the requirement it was stated that the aircraft had to be able of carrying a load of 1.000 pounds (450 kg) of bombs over a distance of 1.000 milles (1.600 km) while flying at a speed of 200 mph (320 km/h).
Fairey Aviation Company was keen to produce a design to meet the demands of the specification P.27/32 and started work on such design with the Belgian designer Marcel Lobelle as as the main engineer. Lobelle chose to use the Rolls-Royce Merlin I engine from very early on development due to its favourable power and compact frontal area. Thanks to the Merlin engine, the aircraft had exceptionally clean lines and enjoyed a generous speed performance. The resulting design was an all-metal single-engine aircraft with a low mounted cantilever wing and equipped with a retractable undercarriage.
A total of four companies answered to the specification, Fairey, Hawker, Armstrong-Whitworth and Bristol, but only those designs of Fairey and Armstrong Whitworth were selected by the Air Ministry. Therefore, on 10th March 1936 the first prototype, powered by a 1030 hp Merlin I engine, took off to the skies for the first time at Hayes, Middlesex. The prototype was quickly transferred for service trials with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and achieved the speed of 257 mph (413 km/h) making it that way the fastest day bomber back then.
When the design process was still going on, some members of the Air Staff expressed their reluctance about the aircraft as they considered the design to be insufficient in a hypothetical conflict with a re-emergent Germany. In spite of those concerns, there was a considerable pressure to put the Battle into production in order to increase RAF's strength numbers to cope with Luftwaffe's similar increase in the mid 1930s.
In 1936 orders were placed for Fairey to build Battles to specification P.14/36, so in June 1937 the first production Battle, which was part of a first batch of 136 machines powered by the Merlin engine, performed its maiden flight. By the end of 1937 a total of 85 Battles were completed and a considerable number of RAF squadrons had been re-equipped with the type or were in re-equipment process. As the RAF was undergoing a substantial pre-war expansion programme, the Battle was recognised as a production priority. In fact, at one point there were orders for a total of 2.419 aircraft. The first production aircraft was completed at Fairey's Hayes factory, but every subsequent machine was completed at Fairey's newly completed plant at Heaton Chapel, Stockport in Greater Manchester. Completed aircraft were sent for testing at RAF Ringway and a total of 1.156 aircraft were completed by Fairey.
Later, as a part of a government-led wartime production planning, the Fairey was also manufactured at Cotton Hacket, Longbridge in Birmingham in a shadow factory operated by the Austin Motor Company, with a total of 1.029 exemplars manufactured. The first one of these Austin-built Battles was completed on 22nd July 1938. At that point concerns about the aircraft's obsolescence were widespread, but because of the difficulties associated to getting another aircraft types into production, and the production lines having been established, stop-gap orders were maintained and production continued steadily well until late 1940.
In September 1940 all production came to an end and every production line was closed. Overall production numbers for the Battle was 2.201 machines including the Belgian 16 machines.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle
2. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-I-t1349
3. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-II-t17039
4. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-Mk-III-t61598
5. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Battle-TT-t104197
6. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/fairey-battle.html

Fairey Battle, part three

The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber designed and manufactured by Fairey Aviation Company. By the end 1940 the type was withdrawn from front-line service and was relegated to training overseas. The overseas user we're covering today are:

• New Zealand: For some unknown reason, two Battles ended up in New Zealand. One of them, registered as P6673 arrived in July 1941 from Canada and was numbered as "Instructional Air-Frame Number 42". The other one, registered as K9177 was sent in November 1941, arrived in February 1942 and was numbered as "Instructional Air-Frame Number 59". However, according to other sources, it was sent on 22nd November 1942 to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and remained there as an instructional air-frame until May 1943 when it was shipped to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and sent to the ANA (Australia National Airways) Flying School to be used, after being repaired, as a mascot. However it was decided to use it for spare parts. We couldn't find any graphical evidence, so the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Southern Rhodesia: As Southern Rhodesia was part of the Empire Air Training Scheme, they received 25 Battles which were sent to the newly created No.24 Combined Air Observers School which was formed in Moffat, Southern Rhodesia. The school was designated as "No.24 Bombing and Gunnery School" in May 1943. Its main equipment was the Battle Target Tug, with 25 of them listed as active in 1944. In the unit's annual report it was stated, "Other than the extreme age of these machines, calling for constant repairs and replacements, very little trouble has been experienced on the type". The last 12 of Southern Rhodesia's Battles were written off in August 1945. As we couldn't find any photo, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
  Concurrently, the No.266 (Rhodesia) Squadron, was formed in late October 1939 at RAF Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, and were equipped with the Fairey Battle for a brief period of time, until January 1940 when they were re-equipped with the Fairey Battle.
• Denmark: According to some sources, a licensed-production line was already set-up in Denmark to manufacture the Fairey Battle but none of them was completed before the German Invasion in April 1940. Interestingly enough, in the same factory where the Battle was going to be manufactured, it was expected to produce the Fokker G.I too. 
• Finland: During the Winter War, in late November 1939, the Finnish Government asked to the British Government for aircraft. Therefore, 20 ex-RAF Battles were released for delivery to Finland and were expected to arrive between January and March 1940. However, with the end of the hostilities, none were delivered and the aircraft were sent to the RAF.
• Poland: In June 1939 a Polish Military Mission to London was formed under the command of General Ludomil Rayski. After long negotiations, it was agreed that one Spitfire, 10 Hurricanes and 100 Battles would be supplied to the Polish Air Force in a scheduled delivery.
  In fact, a first batch of 30 Battle was intended to be shipped to Danzig (Gdansk), but some archives state that it was one Spitfire and 25 that were loaded. On 18th September 1939 a merchant ship departed from Liverpool's harbour escorted by the Polish Destroyer ORP Blyskawica, arriving the two of the to Gibraltar two days later, as the cargo was expected to be unloaded in Constanta, Romania and delivered to Poland by land. However, Romania had declared that it was throwing in its lot in with the Germans and paralysed the transit of weapons all across its territory. Therefore the ship was ordered to sail to Istanbul, when the fall of Poland was unavoidable. They were offered to Turkey instead.
  At the same time, it seems that when Germany invaded Poland, the UK's Chief of Air Staff offered the immediate release of 20 Battles to be flown to France to be collected by Polish pilots. The proposal was refused on the grounds that deliveries of such small war material would make no difference in the outcome of the battle.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle

2. http://www.rathbonemuseum.com/DENMARK/DKPhotos/DKPhotos.html

3. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a22k.htm

4. https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/canadaairwar/canadaairwar1940.pdf

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._266_Squadron_RAF

6. Aeroplane Database June 2016 - Fairey Battle

Fairey Battle, part two

The Fairey Battle was a British light-bomber which was designed and manufactured by Fairey Aviation Company. Though not as successful as expected, it served as a trainer and target tow during the whole World War 2. It was exported to many countries:

• Belgium: An order of 16 Battles were ordered to Fairey by the Belgian Military Aviation. The Battles, contrary to popular belief, were built at Fairey's plant in Stockport, United Kingdom. They were delivered in March 1938 and were differentiated from the British ones in having a longer radiator cowling and a smoother camouflage finish.
  They were assigned to the 5e Escadron, 3éme Regiment d'Aeronautique, (5th Squadron, 3rd Aeronautical Regiment) based at Evere airfield, near Brussels. Initially conceived as a reconnaissance unit, this squadron was quickly reformed into a bomber unit. During the period known as the "Phoney War", the British and Belgian authorities realised that the Battle was very vulnerable to German fighters due to its slowness, poor manoeuvrability and poor defensive armament and was, therefore, becoming obsolete. That's why Belgian authorities cancelled the initial supplementary order for additional machines. They instead tried to obtain, too late Bréguets, Douglas and Caproni bombers.
  The Belgian Battles became famous on 11th May 1940 when they took off on a suicidal mission to destroy three bridges (Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Briegden) on the Albert Canal. From the nine Battles that took off, six of them were destroyed (some other sources claim that all nine were destroyed) and, due to the light bomb load they were carrying, not a single bridge was destroyed.
• Greece: Back in 1939 nine Battle were ordered by the Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF), but because of the war, the order was cancelled and the production was reinstated for the RAF. However, British authorities changed their mind later and eleven Battles were delivered to the Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF) in late February 1940 as part of an order to twelve (the last one was sunk by a torpedo when it was aboard the merchant ship). They were given by the RAF to the Greek authorities as a compensation for 12 Bristol Blenheim IV that were sold in poor conditions due to war shortages. The Battles were assigned to the 33rd Bomber Squadron and they saw extensive action during the Greco-Italian War. On 28th October 1940 the 33rd Squadron, based at Koúklaina, was already in action. Battles bombed the Italian airfield in Koritza, in Italian Albania, destroying a Caproni Ca.133 and damaging four fighters for no Greek losses. Two Battles and two Blenheims were later engaged in another raid against Koritza airfield but they were intercepted by Italian Fiat Cr.42 and were shot down killing their crews and badly wounding another one.
  During the Greek counter-offensive in late November, three Greek Battles attacked a retreating Italian column between Koritza and Pogradets on the 22nd. Later, on 11th March 1941 the CO of 33rd Squadron was intercepted and shot down between Nivitsa and Slatinia.
  The remnants of the squadron were rebased to Menidi, due to the German advance in April 1941 and, as they couldn't hold off Luftwaffe's attacks, they were moved on to Tanagra, South of Athens, where the remaining machines were destroyed on the ground by the Luftwaffe.
• British Raj: The Indian Air Force received four Fairey Battles in 1942. A single Mk.I one and three target tows. They were sent to the Anti-Aircraft School in Karachi.
• Ireland: The Irish Army Air Corps approached the British authorities for a number of aircraft to meet their needs during the World War 2. In 1941 they asked for 13 Hawker Hurricanes, 10 North American Harvard and three Fairey Battle Target Tugs. The resulting offer was amounted later to 10 Hawker Hector biplanes, offer that the Irish authorities accepted. However, in an unexpected way a Battle TT registered as V1222 arrived on 24th April 1941 when it flew, at the hands of a Polish pilot from No.4 Observer School based RAF West Freugh, Scotland, and had to force-land at Corbally Strand, Tramore, in Ireland. The aircraft wasn't damaged and was flown to Baldonnel where it was officially interned. In June 1944 it was decided to put the Battle into use so target-towing equipment was fitted and received a new code, 92. It carried out camera gun exercises with Hurricanes and joined No.1 Squadron in September 1944 (note: our source claims it was in 1940, it must be a mistake) for air-to-air firing duties. It was withdrawn and flown to a maintenance unit in May 1946.
• South Africa: Thanks to the Joint Air Training Scheme, around 190 Battle were allocated for South Africa. But eleven were lost at sea, during delivery, other eleven were sent to Southern Rhodesia, four to India and four to Australia, so a total of 123 were destined to serve with the South African Air Force (SAAF), of which 51 were target tugs and 5 trainers. During the East African Campaign the SAAF used the Battles in their intended role, as light bombers. On 19th May 1940 R. Peller, CO of No.11 Squadron led the squadron to Nairobi, in Kenya, equipped with 24 Hawker Hartebeests and just a single Battle. The Battle was used for a reconnaissance flight over Mogadishu, over Italian Somaliland on 17th June. When it was leaving the area, they saw a Caproni Ca.133 parked near Afmadow, southern Italian Somaliland, and made a strafing run, only to be hit in the radiator by a stray bullet. Because of that, the Battle had to crash land, and the surviving crew set the machine on fire. The crew was eventually rescued.
  During mid-June the No.11 squadron was called back to South Africa to be re-equipped with 15 Battles, allowing them to strike hard on the enemy. They did that on many occasions, targeting Italian airfields, positions and vehicles with some successes but at the cost of sever losses. By June 1941, when No.11 Squadron SAAF was disbanded and their aircraft transferred to the No.15 Squadron, only four Battles were left active and one of them was soon lost on an accident. The remainder carried on until 19th August when the final example flew its last mission. The unit then withdrew to Kenya to be re-equipped.
• Turkey: The Turkish Government ordered some Battles before the World War 2. Four of them were being manufactured at Fairey's plant in Stockport (they had even been painted in Turkish Markings) but with the war in Europe, the deal was cancelled before they were delivered. After protracted negotiations, the British Government agreed to deliver 30 Battles which were initially destined for Poland and diverted them to Turkey instead.
  It was agreed that Flt. Lt. Sam Moseley would oversee and test-fly the Battles as they were assembled in Turkey, but when he arrived in Turkey, the enthusiastic Turks had already offloaded them from the ship, assembled the aircraft without any manuals, instructions or drawings and ferried them to Eskisehir, with the undercarriages deployed and flaps locked up because the hydraulics didn't work.
  Moseley's logbook confirms that 28 Battles were flight-tested with another two used for spares. A single Battle Target Tug arrived in May 1940 but plans for three more were called off. According to a memo from Turkish authorities, on 22nd January 1943 there still 25 Battles active, even though, Moseley said that Turkish pilots had a strong penchant for very low and fast flying.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle

2. http://www.belgian-wings.be/Webpages/Navigator/Photos/MilltaryPics/interbellum/Fairey%20Battle%20I/Fairey%20Battle%20I%20frontpage.html

3. https://www.haf.gr/en/history/historical-aircraft/fairey-battle-b-1/

4. http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/2018/02/17/the-lost-battle/

5. Aeroplane Database June 2016 - Fairey Battle

Fairey Battle, part one

The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber which was designed and manufactured by Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid 1930s as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hawker Hind biplanes.
As by late-1940 the type had been relegated to training roles, it was used by many countries. The ones we're covering today are Australia and Canada.

• Australia: The Battle served as a trainer with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). On 30th April 1940 the first Battles were delivered to the No.1 Aircraft Depot to be reassembled and by 29th June, they were already flying. Deliveries took place at a steady pace until 7th December 1943 when the last one was received. The ones delivered were Battle TT, a mixture of bomber, target-tug and trainer as they could carry bombs, had towing equipment and dual controls. They were used by Bombing and Gunnery schools until 1945 with the last one being withdrawn from service in 1949.
• Canada: In as early as August 1939 the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) received the first delivery of eight Battles at RCAF Station Borden, Ontario. Eventually a total of 802 Battles were delivered from the United Kingdom to serve in various roles and configurations such as dual-control trainers, target-tugs and gunnery trainers for both Bombing and Gunnery schools of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Some of them were of the IT variant, which featured a Bristol turret for gunnery training. The Canadians gradually stopped using the Battle as more advanced trainers were introduced like the Bristol Bolingbroke and the North American Harvard. The Battle remained in active with the RCAF until shortly after the end of the war in 1945.
  Oddly enough, a single Battle was fitted with a 840 hp Wright Cyclone R-1820-G38 radial engine in October 1940. This was made as a stopgap conversion just in case the supply of Rolls-Royce Merlin engine (the one that powered the Battle) were unavailable. This single machine was labelled as Fairey Battle IIT.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Battle

2. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a22.htm

3. https://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/aircraft/fairey-battle/
4. http://silverhawkauthor.com/canadian-warplanes-4-the-second-world-war-fairey-battle_720.html