Fairey Fleetwing

Two-Seat Carrierborne Reconnaissance Biplane Prototype [ 1929 ]

The Fairey Fleetwing failed to out-duel the Hawker Osprey in trials for the Fleet Air Arm service of Britain.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/11/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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In the mid-1920s, the British Air Ministry, on behalf of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), drew up a new requirement in "Specification 22/26" calling for a twin-seat, carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft. Fairey Aviation Company was one of the respondents with what became their Fairey "Fleetwing" biplane product. The aircraft competed unsuccessfully against the Hawker "Osprey" for the specification and this resulted in just one aircraft being completed.

Design of the Fleetwing is attributed to Marcel Lobelle.

The Fleetwing utilized a traditional biplane wing arrangement but its upper element was considerably larger than the lower. "N-style" struts were used to connect the two planes outboard of the fuselage. The crew of two was seated in tandem in separate cockpits with the pilot located aft / under the upper wing section. The engine was set within a streamlined nose section and the tail utilized a traditional arrangement. The undercarriage was fixed and only the two main legs were wheeled. Dimensions included a length of 29.3 feet, a height of 11.4 feet and a wingspan of 37 feet. Gross weight was 4,740lb. Power was from a single Rolls-Royce F.XI "Kestrel I" series water-cooled inline engine outputting 480 horsepower. This drove a two-bladed propeller at the nose.

A product of its time, construction of the aircraft was mixed, involving wood, canvas and metal. Other consistent qualities were its "tail-dragger", fixed undercarriage and open-air cockpits.

Proposed armament was a 7.7mm Vickers machine gun in a fixed, forward-firing fuselage position (portside, synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades) along with a 7.7mm Lewis Machine Gun on a specialized mounting in the rear cockpit. 4 x 20lb bombs could be carried under the portside wing for light bombing duties.

The prototype Fleetwing went airborne for the first time on May 16th, 1929. The following month, the FAA conducted its deck trials leading to the Fleetwing being fitted with all-metal wing mainplanes as well as the Rolls-Royce "Kestrel IIMS" water-cooled supercharged series engine of 600 horsepower. Additional trials were held in October of 1929 which led to the Hawker product (a navalized version of the Hawker Hart) being selected ahead of the Fleetwing.

As built, the Fleetwing recorded a maximum speed of 169 miles-per-hour and held a rate-of-climb of 1,190 feet-per-minute.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Fairey Aviation Company - UK
Manufacturer(s)

United Kingdom (cancelled)
Operators

1929
Service Year

United Kingdom
National Origin

Cancelled
Project Status

2
Crew

1
Units

AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

GROUND ATTACK
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

MARITIME / NAVY
Land-based or shipborne capability for operating over-water in various maritime-related roles while supported by allied naval surface elements.

INTELLIGENCE-SURVEILLANCE-RECONNAISSANCE
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

X-PLANE
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

29.4 ft
(8.95 meters)
Length

37.0 ft
(11.28 meters)
Width/Span

11.4 ft
(3.48 meters)
Height

3,307 lb
(1,500 kilograms)
Empty Weight

4,740 lb
(2,150 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight

+1,433 lb
(+650 kg)
Weight Difference

1 x Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIMS V-12 water-cooled supercharged inline engine developing 600 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller at the nose.
Propulsion

169 mph
(272 kph | 147 knots)
Max Speed

25,000 ft
(7,620 m | 5 miles)
Ceiling

500 miles
(805 km | 435 nm)
Range

1,190 ft/min
(363 m/min)
Rate-of-Climb

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

PROPOSED:
1 x 7.7mm Vickers machine gun in portside fuselage mounting synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blade.
1 x 7.7mm Lewis Machine Gun on trainable mounting in rear cockpit.

OPTIONAL:
4 x 20lb conventional drop bombs held under portside wing.

4
Hardpoints

Fleetwing - Base Project Name; single flyable example completed.

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