Fairey Campania
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The Fairey Campania was a British ship-borne,
patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology Fro ...
and
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 ...
aircraft of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
. It was a single-engine, two-seat
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 ...
with twin main floats and backward-
folding wing A folding wing is a wing configuration design feature of aircraft to save space and is typical of carrier-based aircraft that operate from the limited deck space of aircraft carriers. The folding allows the aircraft to occupy less space in a c ...
s. The Campania was the first aeroplane ever designed specifically for carrier operations.


Development

The
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
was an early leader in carrier aviation and in the autumn of 1914, purchased the
liner A low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) is a type of galactic nucleus that is defined by its spectral line emission. The spectra typically include line emission from weakly ionized or neutral atoms, such as O, O+, N+, and S+. ...
for conversion into a
seaplane carrier A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
. Operating
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s required the carrier to stop to hoist the aircraft out- and in-board by crane, leaving the ship exceedingly vulnerable to
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
attacks and the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
began to seek alternatives.Taylor 1988, p.56 By the middle of 1916, ''Campania'' had been fitted with a
flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
forward on which, experiments were being carried out in launching aircraft. The Admiralty issued a specification for a purpose-built, two-seat patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.
Fairey Aviation The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...
designed a single-engined
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
biplane of fabric-covered wooden construction, which first flew on 16 February 1917. The two-bay wings folded rearwards for storage, the crew of two sat in separate cockpits, the observer being provided with a Lewis gun on a
Scarff ring The Scarff ring was a type of machine gun mounting developed during the First World War by Warrant Officer (Gunner) F. W. Scarff of the Admiralty Air Department for use on two-seater aircraft. The mount incorporated bungee cord suspension in eleva ...
.Bruce 1963, pp. 142–143. The first of two prototypes, F.16, was powered by a 250 hp (190 kW)
Rolls-Royce Eagle The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of oth ...
IV and the second prototype, powered by an Eagle V of 275 hp (205 kW), was named F.17. Both prototypes were later flown operationally from
Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
.


Operational history

Trials proving satisfactory, the type went into production and service. Most of the F.17s shipped aboard the carriers HMS ''Campania'', and ; the first aircraft joined ''Campania'' and the type took its name from her. Only ''Campania'' possessed a
flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...
; Campanias operated from this using jettisonable, wheeled
bogies A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transp ...
fitted to the floats. The aircraft in the other ships took off from the water in the normal way. The 27 F.22s operated from
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
air stations. The Campania had an undistinguished career, but performed useful work as a spotter aeroplane. On 1 August 1918, during the
North Russia Campaign The North Russia intervention, also known as the Northern Russian expedition, the Archangel campaign, and the Murman deployment, was part of the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War after the October Revolution. The intervention brought ...
in support of the British intervention in the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
, Campanias from ''Nairana'' participated in what was probably the first fully combined air, sea, and land military operation in history, joining
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
ground forces and ships in driving
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
s out of their fortifications on Modyugski Island at the mouth of the
Northern Dvina River The Northern Dvina (russian: Се́верная Двина́, ; kv, Вы́нва / Výnva) is a river in northern Russia flowing through the Vologda Oblast and Arkhangelsk Oblast into the Dvina Bay of the White Sea. Along with the Pechora River ...
in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, then scouting ahead of the Allied force as it proceeded up the channel to
Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...
. The appearance of one of the Campanias over Arkhangelsk induced the Bolshevik leaders there to panic and flee. Campanias from ''Nairana'' then operated against the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
from Arkhangelsk, as well as against the White Finnish defensive positions in
Uhtua Kalevala (russian: Калевала; krl, Kalevala) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) and the administrative center of Kalevalsky District in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 4,52 ...
in the autumn of 1918 from Kem.Baron, Nick, ''The King of Karelia: Col. P.J. Woods and the British Intervention in North Russia 1918–1919: A History and Memoir'', London, 2007. p. 185. The Campania was declared obsolete in August 1919.


Variants

* F.16 – 250 hp (190 kW)
Rolls-Royce Eagle The Rolls-Royce Eagle was the first aircraft engine to be developed by Rolls-Royce Limited. Introduced in 1915 to meet British military requirements during World War I, it was used to power the Handley Page Type O bombers and a number of oth ...
IV * F.17 – 275 hp (205 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle V or 345 hp (257 kW) Eagle III * F.22 – 260 hp (194 kW) Sunbeam Maori II


Operators

; *
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
**
No. 240 Squadron RAF No. 240 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force flying boat and seaplane squadron during World War I, World War II and up to 1959. It was then reformed as a strategic missile squadron, serving thus till 1963. History Formation and World War I No ...
**
No. 241 Squadron RAF No. 241 Squadron is a former squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed during the First World War. History No. 241 Squadron was formed in August 1918 from the former Royal Naval Air Service flights operating at the RNAS seaplane station a ...
** No. 253 Squadron RAF *
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...


Specifications (F.22)


See also


References


Notes


Bibliography

*Bruce, J.M. "Fairey Campania". ''Air Pictorial'', May 1963. pp. 142–145. *Taylor, H.A. ''Fairey Aircraft since 1915''. London:Putnam, 1988. .


External links


Fairey Campania Carrierborne Reconnaissance and Patrol Aircraft
– Military Factory {{Fairey aircraft 1910s British patrol aircraft Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Floatplanes
Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Aircraft first flown in 1917