Unknown ordnance under a Fairey Swordfisch from the F.A.A.

[Antoon]

Hello,

Found this picture on the internet with the text that it is a mine to be mounted under a Fairey Swordfisch of the F.A.A.

The airborne dropped mines I know are around 2.75 meters long, have a parachute at the end and a wooden fairing at the nose and looking different than the long item on the picture.

Who knows what this is?


Greetings - Antoon

 

[Dreamk]

Very nice photograph showing a MkI or a MkIII air dropped mine equipped with the cylindrical stabilizator.
Instead of a parachute, early models of British air dropped mines had a metallic cylindrical stabilizer, of roughly the same diameter as the mine body.
The length of the MkI with this tubular extension was 4.17 m, while its length with the parachute setting was 3m
The tubular extension of the MKI was 1.27 m long, the front section of the body was 2.21m long and the middle section was 0.68m long.
The MKIII-IV mines could also be equipped with such an extension instead of a parachute. The length of the body being 2.825m, the overall length being 3m if a parachute was installed, or 4.1m if the tubular extension was installed
The Swordfish and Hampden used frequently such mines with tubular extension as they dropped them from quite low heights. Wellington and Lancaster bombers used generally teh parachute versions as they dropped from higher heights.

 

[Antoon]

Dreamk,

Very clear. Problem solved.

But what is the little protrusion at the end of the cylindrical stabilizator?

Greetings - Antoon

 

[Dreamk]

Antoon Hi!
I am indeed puzzled by this protruding artifact as by the presence of an closing dome plaque in the stabilizator - it was generally open. The dome appeared on the side of the "explosive" on MkIII and MkIV mines with increased explosive content (ASYF 602 and 608 versions) , being generally replaced on regular mines by an angled straight plaque, before the addition of a ballistic bumper to this angled nose, restituting the full cylindrical shape of these mines.
It also app[ears on this bad old photograph based drawing of the MkIII mine:

This combination (hydrostatic safety MkIX) was generally mounted at the front of the mine fuctioned as a "safety": when the mine entered the water, the salt stopper inside this protrusion slowly dissolved, releasing a spring, thus arming the fuse of the mine.
I have no drawing of the MkIX (or of the earlier MkVIII also used on these mines) but a similar device was already mounted on the earlier 480lb fluvial mines: