Fairey F.2

Fairey F.2
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Role	Fighter
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Fairey Aviation Company
First flight	17 May 1917
Number built	1

The Fairey F.2 was a British fighter prototype in the late 1910s. It was the first aircraft designed entirely by the Fairey Aviation Company.

Development

The F.2 was ordered by the Admiralty in 1916 as a massive, three-seat long-range fighter. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Falcon engines, it was a three-bay biplane with a four-wheel "bedstead" main undercarriage, the wings folding aft from a point outboard of the engines. Armament consisted of a .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun on a Scarff ring on the extreme nose and a similar installation immediately aft of the wings.

Operational history

Built at Harlington the F.2 was transported by road to Northolt Aerodrome where it first flew on 17 May 1917; however, by then Admiralty interest in the project had waned. The fighter was found to be hard to handle and slow, and therefore no further production was continued.

Operators

United Kingdom

• Royal Naval Air Service

Specifications

General characteristics

• Crew: three
• Length: 40 ft 6 in (12.34 m)
• Wingspan: 77 ft 0 in (23.47 m)
• Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
• Wing area: 814.00 ft² (75.36 m²)
• Gross weight: 4,880 lb (2,213 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Falcon 12-cylinder water-cooled engines, 190 hp (142 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 93 mph (150 km/h)
• Endurance: 3 hours  30 min

Armament

• 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Guns