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By shortening the wingspan, the weight between the two Seafires goes up by only 150 lbs.
Interesting note about concern over the added weight of a folding wing mechanism.
"The provision of a folding wing was examined in 1940. But the desperate need for aircraft designers for next-generation aircraft, as well as concerns over the Hurricane's ability to accommodate the extra weight, soon saw this idea abandoned. " http://www.armouredcarriers.com/hawker-sea-hurricane-variants
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Looking at these pics I wonder if the wings would be able to clear hangar ceilings if the folded upward rather than back.Remember that the RN carriers had armored flight decks, which reduced the ceiling height on the hangar deck, so much so that the RN F4U's had to have shortened wingtips in order to fold and not hit the ceiling.
One might bear in mind that the 27' 5"L x 32' 3"W x 11' 9"H Sea Gladiator was in service and fitted in the lifts and hangers with no folding at all so a small fold of 4' or so on each wing would make it a longer Sea Gladiator in stowage. More Zero than Martlet in weight and complexity.
I'm not sure that a folding wing was ever seriously considered.
Mason doesn't even mention it.
He does mention the substantial strengthening needed for the fuselage to prevent failure when making an arrested landing on a carrier. That must have added some weight too. Apparently the attachment of catapult spools to transmit the thrust of the catapult to the main structure of the aircraft did not require substantial modifications.
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By the way, accoring to a USAF manual I read 50 years or so ago, "Obsolete" means "Outdated" while "Obsolescent" means "No Longer Used."