"1949 ... hunting Russky subs! " Topic

"… "harrumph- quite, well then!" was the response of the Britain's Royal Navy when confronted with the early Cold War's huge numbers of pesky Soviet submarines lurking all about. Still possessing considerable naval air power in the form of several large flat-tops; the Brits set about producing resourceful, and weird, fixed wing aircraft for the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role. The ability to 'stay on station' (tread air and look and listen for a sub in a specific area) was highly valued. With it's efficient, and highly temperamental, jet-turbo-prop-counter-rotating-propellers-engine – the Fairey Gannet was just the ticket!

… ship based helicopters would later take over the role (on both sides). Recent technology makes it possible for a submarine to launch an under-surface to air missile at the annoying ASW helicopters droning overhead: wouldn't that be a rude surprise!…"

link

Amicalement
Armand

Should you ever get the chance, may I recommend watching Eric's Tales of the Sea, a one-man play by a British cold-war submariner.

All the Pre-1960s aircraft are kinda weird-looking.

While helos have allowed small surface ships to reach out and search, we have all pretty much discarded the small fixed-wing ASW birds.

I'm halfway expecting to see an "SV-22" Osprey variant that has a belly full of sonobuoys and a dipping sonar, if the USN decides to roll with an Osprey COD bird.

Agree.!

Amicalement
Armand

Australia flew these of HMAS Melbourne for a while.