Nexus: The original concept wasn't mine. Upnorth went on to develop his idea in 'Stealing the Stuka':
http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=1501.0CCF Sea GoblinIn September 1940, the CCF-built Grumman GE-23
Goblin constituted the sole RCAF fighter defence of Nova Scotia. Flying from Dartmouth, the two-seat
Goblin proved woefully unsuited to its role. By late 1941 the RCAF was considering transferring the
Goblins to Army Co-operation duties when the Royal Canadian Navy expressed interest in the biplane.
Surviving RCAF
Goblins were transferred from No. 118 RCAF Sqn's A Flight to the RCN's Shearwater Naval Air Station near Halifax, NS. Obviously obsolete as a fighter, the RCN intended to use the
Goblin as a recce-strike aircraft from anticipated 'escort carriers'.
Fitted with US Navy-proved arrestor gear, the
Sea Goblin first formed a training flight at Shearwater. Originally flown in slightly modified RCAF colours, the
Sea Goblin fleet was later resprayed in a scheme similar to Royal Navy shipboard aircraft.
The
Sea Goblins were fitted with wing racks for two 100-lb GP bombs. CCF experimented with US Mk 54 aerial depth charges. It was found that the
Sea Goblin could carry two of the 325-lb weapons only if flown as a single-seater. One
Sea Goblin Mk.IA (418) was permanently modified as a single-seater but the remainder of the fleet carried only one depth charge.
The
Sea Goblins served alongside RCN
Swordfish on RN escort carriers from late 1942 until May 1943 when CCF had built sufficient
Sea Hurricanes to replace the remaining Grumman biplanes.