The Fairey Fleetwing was a British two-seat, single-engine
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
designed to an
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
contract for
carrier
Carrier may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos
* ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game
* ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...
-based
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
operations in the late 1920s. Only one was built.
Development
The Fairey Fleetwing
was Fairey's response to
Air Ministry Specification 22/26 for a two-seat carrier-borne spotter reconnaissance aircraft for the
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
, stressed for catapulting and with limited
interceptor
Interceptor may refer to:
Vehicles
* Interceptor aircraft (or simply "interceptor"), a type of point defense fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft
* Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a police car
* ...
fighter capability. By 1927, Fairey had accumulated much experience with biplanes powered by water-cooled engines of small frontal area, allowing increasingly clean, streamlined installations. Fairey had set off down this path with the
Fox I which first and controversially used a U.S.
Curtiss D-12
The Curtiss D-12, sometimes identified with the military designation Curtiss V-1150, was an aircraft engine of 18.8 liter displacement. It was a water-cooled V12, producing 443 hp (330 kW) and weighing 693 lb (314 kg). It was ...
engine, though later Foxes were powered by the British
Rolls-Royce Kestrel
The Kestrel or type F is a 21 litre (1,300 in³) 700 horsepower (520 kW) class V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce, their first cast-block engine and the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interwar pe ...
. The Fox was followed by the similarly powered single seat
Firefly II and the
Fox II. The Fleetwing was designed in this tradition, using the all-metal construction techniques developed for the Fox IIM though flying at first with wooden wings.
The Fleetwing was a single-bay biplane which, like the Fox II, had a lower wing of much narrower
chord than the upper plane. Initially, N-type
interplane strut
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of strut, which act in ...
s of quite wide chord were used, though later slimmed. Upper and lower
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s were at first linked by wire but later with a rigid strut. The wings
folded for carrier storage. The
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
, apart from
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
details and the
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
and
empennage
The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...
of the Fleetwing, Firefly and Fox II were very similar and the Fleetwing's fin and
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
evolved with the Firefly's from a slightly square topped, unbalanced arrangement to a more round topped rudder with horn balance. The Fleetwing's
tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
retained a single lower strut. There were two cockpits, one for the pilot under an upper wing cut out and a gunner's position behind. Armament was traditional: a single forward-firing synchronised .303 in (7.7 mm)
Vickers machine gun
The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a Water cooling, water-cooled .303 British (7.7 mm) machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army. The gun was operated by a three-man crew but typically required more me ...
and a .303 in (7.7 mm)
Lewis Gun on a Fairey high-speed mounting in the rear cockpit. There was a bomb rack under the port wing.
The Fleetwing first flew on 16 May 1929 from
Northolt
Northolt is a town in West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing. It had a population of 30,304 at ...
, piloted by
Norman Macmillan and powered by a Rolls-Royce F.XI (Kestrel I) V-12 water cooled engine, later replaced with a
supercharged
In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement.
The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
Kestrel IIMS. As on the prototype Firefly II and Fox II, these engines were cooled with retractable
radiator
Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics.
A radiator is always a ...
s.
Operational history
After initial trials in June at
Martlesham Heath
Martlesham Heath village is situated 6 miles (10 km) east of Ipswich, in Suffolk, England. This was an ancient area of heathland and latterly the site of Martlesham Heath Airfield. A "new village" was established there in the mid-1970s and th ...
and on with the wooden wings and early fin and rudder it came back to Fairey's for modifications, then returned to Martlesham for competitive testing against the
Hawker Osprey
The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...
,
Blackburn Nautilus
The Blackburn 2F.1 Nautilus was a British single-engine two-seat biplane spotter/ fighter built in 1929. Only one was completed.
Development
The company designation, 2F.1, meant that the Nautilus was Blackburn's first two-seat fighter, though ...
and
Short Gurnard
The Short Gurnard was a single-engined two-seat biplane naval fighter, built in the United Kingdom to an Air Ministry specification in 1929. It failed to win production orders and only two flew.
Design and development
The duralumin-framed S ...
. The Osprey and the Fleetwing emerged as front runners and their seaplane versions were tested together in the early summer of 1930. The Osprey emerged as winner because of its better manoeuvrability and resistance to sea water-induced corrosion.
The sole Fleetwing remained in use until mid-1932, not least as a seaplane trainer and sea-state investigator for the successful 1931
Schneider Trophy
The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying ...
team. In April 1932, the Fleetwing was on for catapult trials, 28 successful flights terminated by an emergency landing and damage beyond repair in retrieval.
Specifications (landplane)
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
{{Fairey aircraft
1920s British military reconnaissance aircraft
Fleetwing
Carrier-based aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Biplanes
Aircraft first flown in 1929