Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Sopwith Cuckoo

 


7 comments:

  1. Expertise Needed - Is this legit? Seems like a heavy load for that bird. Is there a mount for the torpedo? I cannot identify one if so.

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  2. The Brits say it's legit.

    https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/sopwith-cuckoo

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    1. Thank you and the other responders. Current events combined with interweb images/posts have made me quite the skeptic. :-)

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  3. Sopwith cuckoo confirmed. Biplane design gave the plane excellent short field operation capability and as well as very high load capacity. This made then the first choice for carrier use. A similar plane, the Swordfish scored a crippling torpedo hit on the Bismark, leading to it's sinking.

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    1. Back in 89, I had occasion to work with a couple of German and British colleagues. At that time Robert Ballard had just found the wreck of the Bismark. The German guy kept going on and on about how the battleship had been scuttled by it's crew rather than sunk by British torpedoes. After awhile, my Brit colleague had had enough when he piped up: "The important thing, mate, is SHE'S ON THE BOTTOM!"

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