Something I've been pondering for some time now. We know that Wing Commander was described (by Chris Robers, I think) as "WWII in space." Thus, I have been thinking of what kind of planes would have inspired game designers as they were creating the ships we know and love today. Don't ask me why, the subject of where these fictitious fighter craft may have come from or what real fighters they may have been inspired by intrigues the living daylights out of me. Aircraft in general, really.
Since the Broadsword and Sabre are bombers, it ain't too much of a stretch to see which bombers from WWII were their inspiration. I have always seen a Broadsword as being the most like Boeing's B-17 Flying Fortress or the Consolidated B-32 Dominator; the Sabre gives me more of a mental picture of having been inspired by the North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
Playing through WC2 for some screen caps for the Wing Commander Project lately, and having seen Wedge009's sketch, I could not help but wonder: what the Hell could have been the inspiration behind the much maligned Epee?
Seriously, this has kept me thinking until I fall asleep in bed some nights. It's this tiny fighter, seemingly antiquated by comparison to everything else around it that is available for the player to fly in the game, and it's got this ONE lonely torpedo hanging off of its belly with a couple of pea shooters in front. I'm in the shower this morning before work, and it hits me like a skipper missile I've accidentally flown into the path of.
The Fairey Swordfish Mk 1.
Dig this plane. A biplane in use by Britain's RAF and Royal Navy, was seemingly outmoded and antiquated when compared with its contemporaries: the German Messerschmitt, and the Brits' own Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. However, the Fairey Swordfish was instrumental in the sinking of the most famous German "cap ship" of the war, the Bismarck.
Carrying a lone torpedo as its main armament (supplemented by 2 7.69mm guns - one tail mounted and one nose mounted) , guys with balls the size of Parliament flew these things, nicknamed the "Stringbag," into the heavy flak cannons of the Bismarck in 1939 and dropped their 18" torpedoes into the water. Several of them scored good hits which crippled the Bismarck's rudder, and the ship was finished off by elements of the Royal Navy fleet shortly thereafter.
The Fairey Swordfish is probably one of the greatest untold stories of WWII. It gets the mention up front for the role it played that day, but no one really ever comments on them too heavily. It gets a little bit of a mention (mainly because you can't talk about the battle without mentioning them), and then you'll read paragraph after paragraph of the ensuing ship to ship battle that eventually sunk the Bismarck, the three-man Swordfish almost forgotten in the glory of battle, I guess.
Before I ramble off into oblivion, my point (and the segue) is that I think the Epee was heavily inspired by the Fairey Swordfish Mk. 1 and its courageous (and outright ballsy) pilots, and their instrumental role in sinking the Bismarck.
Back to work for me...
Since the Broadsword and Sabre are bombers, it ain't too much of a stretch to see which bombers from WWII were their inspiration. I have always seen a Broadsword as being the most like Boeing's B-17 Flying Fortress or the Consolidated B-32 Dominator; the Sabre gives me more of a mental picture of having been inspired by the North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.
Playing through WC2 for some screen caps for the Wing Commander Project lately, and having seen Wedge009's sketch, I could not help but wonder: what the Hell could have been the inspiration behind the much maligned Epee?
Seriously, this has kept me thinking until I fall asleep in bed some nights. It's this tiny fighter, seemingly antiquated by comparison to everything else around it that is available for the player to fly in the game, and it's got this ONE lonely torpedo hanging off of its belly with a couple of pea shooters in front. I'm in the shower this morning before work, and it hits me like a skipper missile I've accidentally flown into the path of.
The Fairey Swordfish Mk 1.
Dig this plane. A biplane in use by Britain's RAF and Royal Navy, was seemingly outmoded and antiquated when compared with its contemporaries: the German Messerschmitt, and the Brits' own Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. However, the Fairey Swordfish was instrumental in the sinking of the most famous German "cap ship" of the war, the Bismarck.
Carrying a lone torpedo as its main armament (supplemented by 2 7.69mm guns - one tail mounted and one nose mounted) , guys with balls the size of Parliament flew these things, nicknamed the "Stringbag," into the heavy flak cannons of the Bismarck in 1939 and dropped their 18" torpedoes into the water. Several of them scored good hits which crippled the Bismarck's rudder, and the ship was finished off by elements of the Royal Navy fleet shortly thereafter.
The Fairey Swordfish is probably one of the greatest untold stories of WWII. It gets the mention up front for the role it played that day, but no one really ever comments on them too heavily. It gets a little bit of a mention (mainly because you can't talk about the battle without mentioning them), and then you'll read paragraph after paragraph of the ensuing ship to ship battle that eventually sunk the Bismarck, the three-man Swordfish almost forgotten in the glory of battle, I guess.
Before I ramble off into oblivion, my point (and the segue) is that I think the Epee was heavily inspired by the Fairey Swordfish Mk. 1 and its courageous (and outright ballsy) pilots, and their instrumental role in sinking the Bismarck.
Back to work for me...