Wales=Swansea Bay Air Show 2024. Part-Two.

 Westland Wasp.

The second vintage visitor to the Swansea Bay Airshow was the Westland Helicopter, the Wasp was the naval version of the British Army Scout and was used initially for general purpose duties and introduced in 1962, while entering service in 1963, since the potential in naval operations was much needed during the Cold War years!

She could be fitted with two Mk44 torpedoes, but trials following were to upgrade from HAS.1 to more of anti-submarine warfare and the first sixty machines were deployed on various frigates and other shipping across the Royal Navy,

Later over one-hundred machines were fitted with the French AS.11/12 missile systems and other equipment, forty were sold to South-Africa and eleven to its navy, another seventeen went to Brazil.

By 1978 in British service, they were being replaced by the Lynx helicopters and despite this these three to six manned machines remained in service into the 1980;s when they were withdrawn.

Wales-Swansea Bay Air Show 2024. Part-One.

 Fairy Swordfish-II.

A vintage visitor to Swansea this aircraft was conceived in 1933 and was much needed in 1939 on the out break of World War-II (1939-45), she was a bi-plane and stood her ground beside the famous Spitfires and Hurricanes on many an airfield.

Yet she was a torpedo bomber and came into her own right serving on the aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal, Courageous, Eagle, Furious and Glorious, despite looking old of another era she was well capable for the task in hand and could armed with various machine guns and bomb pods, despite still carrying a 730 Kg torpedo.

Operational from 1936 with the RAF and Fleet Air Arm she claimed her first success in 1943 destroying Nazi-German U-boat U64 in the Atlantic ocean, despite an open cockpit and suffering weather the crews fought on with determination against a vile enemy!

Some aircraft were fitted with floats, others with a catapult and the first enclosed cabin came on the Canadian Mk4 

After the war the type continues to operate in Canada, China and Brazil and were eventually phased out for improved types.