Fairey Fawn

infobox Aircraft
name = Fawn
type = Bomber
manufacturer = Fairey Aviation



caption =
designer = F Duncanson
first flight = 1923
introduced = 1924
retired = 1929
status =
primary user = Royal Air Force |more users =
produced =
number built = 75
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles = The Fairey Fawn was a British single engined light bomber of the 1920's. It was designed as a replacement for the Airco DH.9A and served with the Royal Air Force between 1924 and 1929.

Development

The Fairey Fawn was designed by F Duncanson of Fairey Aviation as a replacement for the Airco DH.9A in the light day bomber role, to meet the requirements of Specification 5/21. It was a development of the Fairey Pintail floatplane, powered by a Napier Lion engine.

The first of three prototypes flew on 8 March 1923 Cite book |author=Mason, Francis K |authorlink =|title=The British Bomber since 1914 |publisher=Putnam Aeronautical Books|location=London |year=1994|pages= p.148-150 |id= ISBN 0 85177 861 5. The second and third prototypes were fitted with lengthened fuselages to improve stability, and this was adapted for the production version. The Fawn was fitted with fuel tanks above the top wing in order to meet Air Ministry safety requirements. These tanks posed a hazard to the pilots if the aircraft overturned on landing.

Fifty Fawns were ordered in August 1923 to re-equip the home based DH.9A squadrons of the RAF. with the first two being completed as short fuselage Fawn Mk Is and the remainder of this order being full production long fuselage Fawn Mk IIs. The Fawn Mk III was fitted with a more powerful 468 hp Lion V engines, while the Fawn Mk IV was fitted with a supercharged Lion VI engine.

Operational history

The Fawn entered service with 12 Squadron in March 1924, equipping two further regular squadrons, 11 Squadron and 100 Squadron Cite book|author=Thetford, Owen|title=Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918-57|edition= 1st edition |publisher=Putnam |location= London|pages=p. 202-203|year=1957|id=. Despite the fact that the Fawn was originally intended to replace all the home based DH.9A squadrons, four more squadrons continued to be equipped with the DH.9A for several more years before being replaced by other types.

The Fawn was not a popular aircraft in RAF service, having little better performance than the aircraft it replaced, and having a poor view for the pilot owing to the bulky Lion engine .

The Fawn was replaced in these three regular squadrons in 1926, being replaced by the Hawker Horsley and the Fairey Fox. The aircraft freed up were used two equip two Special Reserve and Auxiliary Air Force squadrons, these remaining in service until 1929.

Variants

;Fawn Mk I:Short fuselage - 450 hp Lion II engine. Two built;Fawn Mk II:Long Fuselage - 450 hp Lion II engine. Main production type - 48 built.;Fawn Mk III:468 hp Lion V engine. 15 built.;Fawn Mk IV:520 hp supercharged Lion VI engine. 5 built.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Air Force
**No. 11 Squadron RAF
**No. 12 Squadron RAF
**No. 100 Squadron RAF
**No 503 (County of Lincoln) Squadron RAF Special Reserve
**No 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron RAF Auxiliary Air Force

pecifications (Fawn Mk III)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref=The British Bomber since 1914

crew=Two
capacity=
length main= 32 ft 1 in
length alt= 9.78 m
span main= 49 ft 11 in
span alt= 15.22 m
height main= 11 ft 11 in
height alt= 3.63 m
area main= 550 ft²
area alt= 51.1 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 3,481 lb
empty weight alt= 1,582 kg
loaded weight main= 5,834 lb
loaded weight alt= 2,652 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Napier Lion V
type of prop=12 cylinder, water cooled broad arrow engines
number of props=1
power main= 468 hp
power alt= 349 kW
power original=
max speed main= 99 knots
max speed alt= 114 mph, 184 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
range main= 565 nm
range alt= 650 mi, 1047 km
ceiling main= 13,850 ft
ceiling alt= 4,220 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main= 10.6 lb/ft²
loading alt= 51.9 kg/m²
thrust/weight=
power/mass main= 0.08 hp/lb
power/mass alt= 0.132 kW/kg
more performance=*Climb to 5,000 ft (1,520 m): 6 min 30 sec

armament=
*One forward firing sychronised .303 in Vickers machine gun
*One or two .303 in Lewis gun on Scarff ring in rear cockpit
*Up to 460 lb bombs underwing.

avionics=

ee also

aircontent

related=*Fairey Pintail

similar aircraft=*Airco DH.9A
*Hawker Horsley
*Fairey Fox

lists=
*List of aircraft of the RAF

see also=

References

External links

* [http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/fairey_fawn.php Virtual Aircraft Museum]

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=316 British Aircraft Directory]