| Fleetwing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Role | Fleet reconnaissance |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Fairey Aviation Company |
| Designer | Marcel Lobelle |
| First flight | 16 May 1929 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Fairey Fleetwing was a British two-seat, single-engine biplane designed to an Air Ministry contract for carrier-based reconnaissance operations in the late 1920s. Only one was built.
The Fairey Fleetwing [1] was Fairey's response to Air Ministry Specification 22/26 for a two-seat carrier-borne spotter reconnaissance aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm, stressed for catapulting and with limited interceptor 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 engine, though later Foxes were powered by the British Rolls-Royce Kestrel. 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. [1]
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 struts of quite wide chord were used, though later slimmed. Upper and lower ailerons were at first linked by wire but later with a rigid strut. The wings folded for carrier storage. The fuselage, apart from cockpit details and the undercarriage and empennage of the Fleetwing, Firefly and Fox II were very similar and the Fleetwing's fin and rudder 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 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 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. [1]
The Fleetwing first flew on 16 May 1929 from Northolt, piloted by Norman Macmillan and powered by a Rolls-Royce F.XI (Kestrel I) V-12 water cooled engine, later replaced with a supercharged Kestrel IIMS. As on the prototype Firefly II and Fox II, these engines were cooled with retractable radiators. [1]
After initial trials in June at Martlesham Heath and on HMS Furious 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, Blackburn Nautilus and Short Gurnard. 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. [1]
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 team. In April 1932, the Fleetwing was on HMS Norfolk for catapult trials, 28 successful flights terminated by an emergency landing and damage beyond repair in retrieval. [1]
Data from Taylor 1974, p. 195
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
The Fairey Fox was a British light bomber and fighter biplane of the 1920s and 1930s. It was originally produced in Britain for the RAF, but continued in production and use in Belgium long after it was retired in Britain.
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 aircraft in the inter-war period, but was obsolete and already side-lined for newer monoplane aircraft designs by the start of the Second World War, playing only minor roles in the conflict before being retired.
The Hawker Nimrod is a British carrier-based single-engine, single-seat biplane fighter aircraft built in the early 1930s by Hawker Aircraft.
The Rolls-Royce Kestrel is a 21.25 litre V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce. It was their first cast-block engine, and used as the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interwar period, it was fitted to a number of British fighters and bombers of the era, including the Hawker Fury and Hawker Hart family, and the Handley Page Heyford. The Kestrel engine was also sold to international air force customers; in this role it was used to power prototypes of the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive-bomber, as the Junkers Jumo 210 engines were not ready to be fitted. Several examples of the Kestrel engine remain airworthy today.
The Fairey Firefly IIM was a British fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-seat, single-engine biplane of all-metal construction. Built by Fairey Aviation Company Limited, it served principally with the Belgian Air Force throughout the 1930s until the outbreak of World War II.
The Avro 604 Antelope was a British light bomber which was designed and built in the late 1920s to meet a requirement for a light bomber to equip the Royal Air Force, competing against the Hawker Hart and the Fairey Fox II. It was unsuccessful, the Hart being preferred.
The Supermarine Type 322 was a prototype British carrier-borne torpedo, dive bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of the Second World War. A single-engined monoplane, it was unsuccessful, with only two examples being built. The Fairey Barracuda, built to the same specification, would fill this role.
The Blackburn 2F.1 Nautilus was a British single-engine two-seat biplane spotter/fighter built in 1929. Only one was completed.
The Blackburn B.T.1 Beagle was a British single-engine, two-seat biplane bomber/torpedo aircraft from 1928. Designed to Air Ministry specifications which led to no contracts for any manufacturer, only one Beagle was built.
The Westland Wizard was Westland Aircraft's first attempt to produce a monoplane fighter. The project was privately funded and the prototype design was done in the spare time of the company's engineers. This all happened during 1926, with high-speed performance as the primary goal.
The Gloster TC.33 was a large four-engined biplane designed for troop carrying and medical evacuation in the early 1930s. Only one was built.
The Gloster TSR.38 was a single-engined three-seat biplane designed as a naval torpedo/spotter/reconnaissance aircraft in the early 1930s. It did not reach production and only one was built.
The Bristol Berkeley was built to a British government specification for a single-engine day or night bomber. Three of these two-seat biplanes were built, but no contract for further production was awarded.
The Bristol Type 118 was a general-purpose military aircraft, a two-seat biplane built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the early 1930s, powered by a Bristol Mercury radial engine and aimed at overseas markets. The Type 120 was a Bristol Pegasus-engined variant entered into an Air Ministry competition and later used for armament tests. Two aircraft were built.
The de Havilland DH.27 Derby was a large single-engined biplane designed to a heavy day bomber Air Ministry specification. It did not reach production.
The Fairey G.4/31 was a British single-engined, two-seat biplane contender for an Air Ministry specification for a multi-role or general purpose aircraft. Unsuccessful, only one was built.
The Fairey S.9/30 was a two-seat, single-engined biplane built to meet an Air Ministry specification for a fleet reconnaissance aircraft. It flew during 1934–36 in both land- and seaplane configurations. Although only one was built, it was the progenitor of the Fairey Swordfish.
The Westland F.7/30 was a British fighter prototype. A single prototype was built in 1934, but the type was not put in production because its performance fell far below the RAF's requirements. The Gloster Gladiator won the F.7/30 competition.
The Handley Page Handcross was a single-engined biplane day bomber built to an Air Ministry specification. It was not put into production and only the three prototypes were built.
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.
