Fairey IIIA
Fairey IIIA | |
---|---|
Role | Naval Reconnaissance |
Manufacturer | Fairey |
First flight | May 1918 |
Introduction | autumn 1918 [1] |
Primary user | U.K. (RNAS) |
Number built | 50 [1] |
Variants | IIIB, IIIC |
Wingspan | 14.1 m (46 ft 2 in) [2] |
Engine | 260hp Sunbeam Maori II |
Armament | rear flexible Lewis 230 kg (500 lb)[2] of bombs |
Crew | 2 |
Max Speed | 175 km/h (109 mph) [3] |
Climb | 1,500 m (5,000 ft) in 8:00[2] 2,000 m (6,500 ft) in 10:00[3] 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in 17:40 [3]-21:00[2] |
Service Ceiling | 4,200 m (13,840 ft)[2] - 4,600 m (15,000 ft)[3] |
Endurance | 4:30 [3] |
While the Fairey III (F.128) started as a seaplane, it was re-purposed with conventional wheels and aimed at replacing the venerable Sopwith Strutter as a ship-borne two-seater. Deployed in the latter half of 1918, it came too late to see much action before the Armistice.[3]
Fifty had been ordered for shipboard use, with deliveries to trials beginning in May 1918. After trials had concluded, they saw no use on ships, but they were planned replacements for the submarine patrols out of Luce Bay, Machrihanish, and Dublin which had been getting by with aged D.H.6s, but only N2850 had arrived before the Armistice forced a change in plans. [1]
For more information, see Wikipedia:Fairey III.
References
- Citations
- Bibliography
- J.M. Bruce. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. Great Britain: Funk & Wagnalls, 1957, 1969. ISBN 0370000382
- Heinz J. Nowarra, Bruce Robertson, and Peter G. Cooksley. Marine Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War. Letchworth, Herts, England: Harleyford Publications Limited, 1966. ISBN 0900435070