fairey fulmar

The Fairey Fulmar was a carrier-borne fighter aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm built by Fairey Aviation during 1940. It was based upon the Fairey Battle light bomber that had been developed in 1936. It was distinguished as the first eight-gun fighter to serve with the FAA but its performance, like that of its Battle ancestor, was lacking. The Fulmar underwent rapid development. The design was developed to Specification O.8/38 but no prototype was built and the Fulmar went straight into production, the first plane flying on January 4, 1940. Two types of Fulmar were produced; the Mark I was powered by the Rolls Royce Merlin VIII engine and the Mark II was powered by the Merlin 30. Only 250 Mark Is and 350 Mark IIs were built during the production life of the Fulmar. The first squadron to be equipped with the Fulmar was No. 806 Squadron FAA in July, 1940 and this squadron began operating from HMS Illustrious shortly afterwards. In total, 14 squadrons were equipped with the Fulmar. The Fulmar was not well matched with land-based fighters so was replaced by the likes of the Supermarine Seafire in 1942. It saw useful service in night-time roles as a convoy escort and intruder.

Specifications (Mk II)

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 40 ft 2 in (12.24 m)
Wingspan: 46 ft 5 in (14.14 m)
Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.30 m)
Wing area: ft² ( m²)
Empty: lb ( kg)
Loaded: 9,672 lb (4,387 kg)
Powerplant: 1x Rolls-Royce Merlin 30 Vee type, 1,300 hp (970 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 272 mph at 7,250 ft (438 km/h at 2,200 m)
Range: 780 miles (1,255 km)
Service ceiling: 27,200 ft (8,300 m)
Rate of climb: ft/min ( m/min)
Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
Power/mass: hp/lb ( kW/kg)

Armament

8 x .303 in Browning machine guns wing-mounted, 1 x .303 in Vickers K machine gun in rear cabin
2 x 100 lb (45 kg) or 250 lb (110 kg) bombs

Fairey Fulmar

Specifications (Mk II)

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

Related content

See also