Fairey Aircraft since 1915

From the very early days Fairey was one of the great names in British aviation, and although its successors no longer build aircraft, the name continues in other aeronautical spheres. During the long period of the 1914-18 War until well after the Second World War, Fairey’s name was always associated with British naval aircraft – there was a long series of Fairey IIIs which served the Royal Naval Air Service and the Fleet Air Arm and which in its final form saw widespread service with the RAF before being developed into the Gordon and the seal.

Many of the Fairey IIIs operated as float seaplanes, but the company’s two large flying boats, the Atalanta and the Titania, never got beyond the prototype stage.

The Fox can be claimed as the start of a new generation of British Day bombers, and later versions of this and the single-seat firefly found favour in Belgium where Fairey had a subsidiary company.

The two Fairey Long-range Monoplanes were pioneering ventures: one made the first non-stop flight between the United Kingdom and India and the other captured in Britain the world’s long-distance record.

One of the best remembered and best – loved aeroplanes were the swordfish – a multi-purpose biplane which outlived its intended successor, the albacore. Fulmars, Firefly monoplanes and Barracudas all played a wartime role. 

The final Fairey naval aeroplane was the gannet – a unique twin-engined aeroplane having the layout and appearance of a single-engined type.

All these types, and many others, are fully described and illustrated by photographs and three-view drawings, and there is a complete listing of aircraft by constructors’ numbers. This is a reprint of the 1984 edition.