The Fairchild 91, (a.k.a. A-942), was a single-engine eight-passenger

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

airliner developed in the United States in the mid-1930s.Taylor, Michael J.H. . ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation”. Studio Editions. London. 1989.

Design

Fairchild designed the aircraft in response to a Pan American Airways request for a small flying boat to operate on their river routes along the Amazon and Yangtze. The result was a conventional high-wing cantilever monoplane with its radial engine mounted above the wing in a streamlined nacelle. Before construction of the prototype was complete, however, Pan American no longer required the aircraft to operate in China, and Fairchild optimised the design for the Brazilian tropics.

Operational history

After the first two aircraft were delivered, Pan American cancelled the remaining four aircraft of its order as they no longer needed any for China and the two aircraft were capable of handling the Amazon River. The sole A-942-B was specially built for the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

and was used by naturalist Richard Archbold on his second expedition to Papua New Guinea in 1936–1937. The prototype was sold to the

Spanish Republican Air Force The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939. Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...

, but the ship carrying it was captured by the Spanish Nationalists and was used by them until 1941. The A-942 bought by industrialist Garfield Wood was sold to the British American Ambulance Corps before being transferred to the RAF, who operated it in Egypt for air-sea rescue. One exampled was sold to the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Service for evaluation, but was wrecked shortly after delivery, so a second example was purchased to replace it.

Variants

;Fairchild 91 Baby Clipper :Initial version built to Pan Am specifications for use on rivers, powered by a Pratt & Whitney S2EG Hornet. Six built. ;Fairchild A-942-A :Alternative designation for the Fairchild 91 ;Fairchild 91B Jungle Clipper :Specially equipped for NYC Museum of Natural History, powered by a Wright SGR-1820F-52 Cyclone. One built, NR777. ;Fairchild A-942-B :Alternative designation for the Fairchild 91B. ;Fairchild XSOK-1 :Proposed U.S. Navy scout; none built. ;Fairchild LXF :Two A-942Bs supplied to the

Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service The was the Naval aviation, air arm of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). The organization was responsible for the operation of naval aircraft and the conduct of aerial warfare in the Pacific War. The Japanese military acquired their first air ...

for evaluation.

Airframes

Specifications (A-942-A)

Fairchild_A-942_3-view_L'Aerophile_May_1936

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *Taylor, Michael J.H. . ''Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation”. Studio Editions. London. 1989. *

{{Japanese Navy short aircraft designations 1930s United States airliners Flying boats 91 Single-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1935