Fairey Fulmar
Encyclopedia
The Fairey Fulmar was a British
carrier-borne
fighter aircraft
that served with the Fleet Air Arm
(FAA) during the Second World War
. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation
at its Stockport
factory between January 1940 and December 1942. The Fulmar's design was based on that of the earlier Fairey P.4/34
that was in turn developed in 1936 as a replacement for the Fairey Battle
light bomber
. Although its performance (like that of its Battle antecedent) was lacking, the Fulmar was a reliable, sturdy aircraft with long range and an effective eight machine gun armament.
was built to Specification P.4/34 as a light bomber
capable of being used as a dive bomber
, in competition with the Hawker Henley
and an unbuilt Gloster design. Despite its high speed of 284 mph, it lost out to the Henley (which was eventually ordered as a target tug
).
The Fulmar, a navalised version of the P.4/34 was submitted to meet Specification O.8/38 for a two-crew fleet defence fighter. As it was not expected to encounter fighter opposition, high performance or maneuverability was not considered important, but long range and heavy armament were. The provision of a navigator/wireless operator was considered essential for the long, over-ocean flights that would be required.
Looking much like its sister, the Battle, the Fulmar prototype
was aerodynamically cleaner and featured a folding wing
that was 16 in (41 cm) shorter than its bomber lookalike. The prototype P.4/34 serial number
K5099 first flew on 13 January 1937 at Fairey Aviation's Great West Aerodrome
(now covered by London Heathrow Airport
), with Fairey test pilot
Chris Staniland at the controls. After the first flight tests, the tail was revised, being raised 8 in (20 cm).
The first prototype Fulmar, acting as a "flying mock-up", was powered by a 1,080 hp (810 kW) Rolls Royce Merlin III engine. With this engine, performance was poor, the prototype only reaching 230 mph (370 km/h). With the Merlin VIII engine - a variant unique to the Fulmar and with supercharging
optimised for low-level flight - and aerodynamic improvements, speed was improved to 265 mph (426 km/h) at 7500 ft (2286m), which, owing to the desperate need for modern fighters, was considered adequate. As a simple derivative of an existing prototype, the Fulmar promised to be available quickly and an initial order for 127 production aircraft was placed in mid-1938 and the first example flew from Fairey's facility at RAF Ringway
near Manchester
on 4 January 1940 and the last of 600 Fulmars was delivered from Ringway on 11 December 1942.
Fulmar Mk II production began in January 1941, with the first Mk II reaching an operational squadron in March 1941. This mark introduced the more powerful Merlin XXX engine while the airframe was also engineered with several enhancements including provision for a 60 gallon (273 litre) centre-line drop tank, and provision to carry a 250 lb (114 kg) or 500 lb (227 kg) bomb in lieu of the drop tank. Testing of the Fulmar II, at Boscombe Down, in June 1942 showed that the Fulmar could safely drop a 500lb bomb during 60 degree dives at up to 310 knots. Boscombe Down testing in October 1941 showed that the 60 gallon drop tank extended range to 1,100 miles.
N1854, the first production Fulmar, was later modified to Mk II standard and then "civilianised" as Fairey's hack, G-AIBE. In June 1959, it reverted to service markings and was seen at Farnborough at the SBAC show on 8 September 1962; its last flight was three months later on 18 December 1962. It is now in the FAA Museum, Yeovilton.
During testing, Fulmars were launched from catapults on merchant ships, a convoy defensive plan that was being evaluated at the time.
The first squadron to be equipped with the Fulmar was No. 806 Squadron FAA in July 1940, and this squadron began operating from shortly afterwards. The Fulmar was not well matched with land-based fighters. The Navy had specified a two-seat machine, feeling that a navigator was needed to cope with the challenges of navigating over the open ocean. As a result, the Fulmar was far too large and unwieldy when it came into contact with single-seat, land-based opposition, as it did in the Mediterranean Theatre. Yet its long range was useful at times as evidenced in the 1941 chase of the where Fulmars acted as carrier-borne spotters, tracking and trailing the fleeing battleship
.
First seeing action on Malta convoy protection patrols in September 1940, the sturdy Fulmar was able to achieve victories against its far more agile Italian and German adversaries. By the autumn, Fulmars had shot down ten Italian bombers and six enemy fighters, while giving top cover to the Swordfish
raid on Taranto
.
Fulmars played a prominent role in the ill-fated raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo
in July 1941.
By 1942, the Fulmar was being replaced by single-seat aircraft adapted from land fighters such as the Supermarine Seafire
or by American single seat fighters such as the Grumman Martlet
. It saw useful service in nighttime roles as a convoy escort and intruder and was used to train crews for the Fairey Barracuda
. On the other hand, its flight characteristics were considered pleasant, its wide undercarriage provided good deck handling capacities and it had excellent fuel capacity and range. Fulmars were used in long-range reconnaissance
after they were withdrawn as fighters. Most Fleet Air Arm fighter ace
s scored at least part of their victories in Fulmars, for example, Sub Lieutenant S.G. Orr, finished the war with 12 confirmed air victories, as the third-highest scoring pilot in the FAA.
At one time, 20 squadrons of the FAA
were equipped with the Fulmar. It flew from eight fleet aircraft carriers and five escort carriers. No. 273 Squadron RAF
operated them for some months in 1942 from China Bay, Ceylon, seeing action against Japanese forces during the raid on 9 April 1942; though about half the squadron personnel were Navy. Fulmars destroyed 112 enemy aircraft, which made it the leading fighter type, by aircraft shot down, in the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. The Fulmar ended its front line operational career on 8 February 1945, when a Fulmar MK II night-fighter from No. 813 Squadron had a landing accident at the safety barrier on and was written off.
Approximately 100 Fulmars were converted to a night fighter
variant, but had limited success in this role.
The Vichy French captured one Fulmar Mk I which force-landed while flying a reconnaissance mission over Senegal in March 1941. The Fulmar was repaired and used by the Group de Chasse I/4.
Some of the early marks of the aircraft were operated from CAM ship
s.
Mk II
The only known survivor is N1854, the Fulmar prototype (and first production Mk I) at the Fleet Air Arm Museum
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
carrier-borne
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
that served with the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
(FAA) during the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation
Fairey Aviation
The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Greater London and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Greater Manchester...
at its Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
factory between January 1940 and December 1942. The Fulmar's design was based on that of the earlier Fairey P.4/34
Fairey P.4/34
-See also:-Bibliography:* Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.* Taylor, H.A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-x.-External links:**...
that was in turn developed in 1936 as a replacement for the Fairey Battle
Fairey Battle
The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed...
light bomber
Light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which were primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance....
. Although its performance (like that of its Battle antecedent) was lacking, the Fulmar was a reliable, sturdy aircraft with long range and an effective eight machine gun armament.
Design and development
The Fairey P.4/34Fairey P.4/34
-See also:-Bibliography:* Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.* Taylor, H.A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-x.-External links:**...
was built to Specification P.4/34 as a light bomber
Light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which were primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance....
capable of being used as a dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
, in competition with the Hawker Henley
Hawker Henley
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Cooper, H.J.,O.G. Thetford and C.B. Maycock. Aircraft of the Fighting Powers - Volume II. Leicester, UK: Harborough Publishing, 1942....
and an unbuilt Gloster design. Despite its high speed of 284 mph, it lost out to the Henley (which was eventually ordered as a target tug
Target tug
A target tug is an aircraft which tows an unmanned drone, a fabric drogue or other kind of target, for the purposes of gun or missile target practice. Target tugs are often conversions of transport and utility aircraft, as well as obsolescent combat types...
).
The Fulmar, a navalised version of the P.4/34 was submitted to meet Specification O.8/38 for a two-crew fleet defence fighter. As it was not expected to encounter fighter opposition, high performance or maneuverability was not considered important, but long range and heavy armament were. The provision of a navigator/wireless operator was considered essential for the long, over-ocean flights that would be required.
Looking much like its sister, the Battle, the Fulmar prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
was aerodynamically cleaner and featured a folding wing
Folding wing
A folding wing is a design feature of aircraft to save space in the airfield, and time, and is typical of naval aircraft that operate from the limited deck space of aircraft carriers. The folding allows the aircraft to occupy less space in a confined hangar because the folded wing normally rises...
that was 16 in (41 cm) shorter than its bomber lookalike. The prototype P.4/34 serial number
United Kingdom military aircraft serials
In the United Kingdom to identify individual aircraft, all military aircraft are allocated and display a unique serial number. A unified serial number system, maintained by the Air Ministry , and its successor the Ministry of Defence , is used for aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force , Fleet...
K5099 first flew on 13 January 1937 at Fairey Aviation's Great West Aerodrome
Great West Aerodrome
The Great West Aerodrome, also known as Harmondsworth Aerodrome, was a grass airfield, operational 1930–1944. It was situated adjacent to the hamlet of Heathrow, within the parish of Harmondsworth...
(now covered by London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
), with Fairey test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
Chris Staniland at the controls. After the first flight tests, the tail was revised, being raised 8 in (20 cm).
The first prototype Fulmar, acting as a "flying mock-up", was powered by a 1,080 hp (810 kW) Rolls Royce Merlin III engine. With this engine, performance was poor, the prototype only reaching 230 mph (370 km/h). With the Merlin VIII engine - a variant unique to the Fulmar and with supercharging
Supercharger
A supercharger is an air compressor used for forced induction of an internal combustion engine.The greater mass flow-rate provides more oxygen to support combustion than would be available in a naturally aspirated engine, which allows more fuel to be burned and more work to be done per cycle,...
optimised for low-level flight - and aerodynamic improvements, speed was improved to 265 mph (426 km/h) at 7500 ft (2286m), which, owing to the desperate need for modern fighters, was considered adequate. As a simple derivative of an existing prototype, the Fulmar promised to be available quickly and an initial order for 127 production aircraft was placed in mid-1938 and the first example flew from Fairey's facility at RAF Ringway
RAF Ringway
RAF Ringway, was a Royal Air Force station near Manchester, UK, in the parish of Ringway, then in Cheshire. It was operational from 1939 until 1957.-Prewar years:...
near Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
on 4 January 1940 and the last of 600 Fulmars was delivered from Ringway on 11 December 1942.
N1854, the first production Fulmar, was later modified to Mk II standard and then "civilianised" as Fairey's hack, G-AIBE. In June 1959, it reverted to service markings and was seen at Farnborough at the SBAC show on 8 September 1962; its last flight was three months later on 18 December 1962. It is now in the FAA Museum, Yeovilton.
During testing, Fulmars were launched from catapults on merchant ships, a convoy defensive plan that was being evaluated at the time.
Operational history
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
.
First seeing action on Malta convoy protection patrols in September 1940, the sturdy Fulmar was able to achieve victories against its far more agile Italian and German adversaries. By the autumn, Fulmars had shot down ten Italian bombers and six enemy fighters, while giving top cover to the Swordfish
Fairey Swordfish
The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
raid on Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
.
Fulmars played a prominent role in the ill-fated raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo
Raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo
The raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo took place on 30 July 1941 during the Second World War. The Royal Navy air arm launched this unsuccessful raid from the aircraft carriers and to inflict damage on merchant vessels owned by Germany and Finland and to show support for their new ally, the Soviet...
in July 1941.
By 1942, the Fulmar was being replaced by single-seat aircraft adapted from land fighters such as the Supermarine Seafire
Supermarine Seafire
The Supermarine Seafire was a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire specially adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. The name Seafire was arrived at by collapsing the longer name Sea Spitfire.-Origins of the Seafire:...
or by American single seat fighters such as the Grumman Martlet
F4F Wildcat
The Grumman F4F Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that began service with both the United States Navy and the British Royal Navy in 1940...
. It saw useful service in nighttime roles as a convoy escort and intruder and was used to train crews for the Fairey Barracuda
Fairey Barracuda
The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive bomber used during the Second World War, the first of its type used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to be fabricated entirely from metal. It was introduced as a replacement for the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes...
. On the other hand, its flight characteristics were considered pleasant, its wide undercarriage provided good deck handling capacities and it had excellent fuel capacity and range. Fulmars were used in long-range reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
after they were withdrawn as fighters. Most Fleet Air Arm fighter ace
Fighter Ace
Fighter Ace was a massively multiplayer online computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots...
s scored at least part of their victories in Fulmars, for example, Sub Lieutenant S.G. Orr, finished the war with 12 confirmed air victories, as the third-highest scoring pilot in the FAA.
At one time, 20 squadrons of the FAA
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
were equipped with the Fulmar. It flew from eight fleet aircraft carriers and five escort carriers. No. 273 Squadron RAF
No. 273 Squadron RAF
No. 273 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as reconnaissance unit in World War I and a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance unit in World War II.-Formation and World War I:No...
operated them for some months in 1942 from China Bay, Ceylon, seeing action against Japanese forces during the raid on 9 April 1942; though about half the squadron personnel were Navy. Fulmars destroyed 112 enemy aircraft, which made it the leading fighter type, by aircraft shot down, in the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. The Fulmar ended its front line operational career on 8 February 1945, when a Fulmar MK II night-fighter from No. 813 Squadron had a landing accident at the safety barrier on and was written off.
Approximately 100 Fulmars were converted to a night fighter
Night fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
variant, but had limited success in this role.
The Vichy French captured one Fulmar Mk I which force-landed while flying a reconnaissance mission over Senegal in March 1941. The Fulmar was repaired and used by the Group de Chasse I/4.
Some of the early marks of the aircraft were operated from CAM ship
CAM ship
CAM ships were World War II-era British merchant ships used in convoys as an emergency stop-gap until sufficient escort carriers became available. CAM is an acronym for catapult aircraft merchantman. A CAM ship was equipped with a rocket-propelled catapult launching a single Hawker Sea Hurricane,...
s.
Variants
Mk I- First production variant powered by a 1,035 hp (772 kW) (1275 hp at take off) Rolls-Royce Merlin VIII, 250 built.
Mk II
- Updated variant powered by a 1,300 hp (970 kW) Merlin XXX with a new propeller and the addition of tropical equipment, some finished as night fighterNight fighterA night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
s, one prototype converted from a Mk I and 350 built.
Operators
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
- No. 273 Squadron RAFNo. 273 Squadron RAFNo. 273 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as reconnaissance unit in World War I and a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance unit in World War II.-Formation and World War I:No...
- No. 273 Squadron RAF
- Fleet Air ArmFleet Air ArmThe Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
-
- 748 Naval Air Squadron (Naval Fighter Pool)
- 759 Naval Air Squadron (RNAS Fighter School)
- 761 Naval Air Squadron (RNAS Fighter School)
- 772 Naval Air Squadron (Fleet Requirements Unit)
- 775 Naval Air Squadron (Fleet Requirements Unit)
- 777 Naval Air Squadron (Fleet Requirements Unit)
- 778 Naval Air Squadron
- 784 Naval Air Squadron (Night Fighter Training Unit)
- 787 Naval Air Squadron (Fighter Development Unit)
- 795 Naval Air Squadron (East African Fighter Pool)
- 800 Naval Air Squadron
- 803 Naval Air Squadron803 Naval Air Squadron803 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron.-Interwar:803 NAS was formed on 3 April 1933 by promoting No 409 Flight to the status of a squadron, with nine Ospreys...
- 804 Naval Air Squadron804 Naval Air Squadron804 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy, formed in November 1939 from part of 769 NAS Sea Gladiators which had been detached to RNAS Hatston. The squadron was merged into 800 NAS in June 1944 and subsequently reformed in September.-World War II:During World War II, she...
- 805 Naval Air Squadron805 Squadron RAN805 Squadron was a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron, which previously operated as 805 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm....
- 806 Naval Air Squadron806 Naval Air Squadron806 Naval Air Squadron was a fighter squadron in the Fleet Air Arm that existed from February 1940 to December 1960 and saw active service in Norway, the Dunkirk evacuation and the Malta Convoys.-Formation:...
- 807 Naval Air Squadron807 Naval Air Squadron807 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy.-Second World War:807 Squadron was formed at Worthy Down in September 1940, equipped with Fairey Fulmar Is. Three were embarked on HMS Pegasus, where they remained until February 1941, when the entire squadron embarked on for...
- 808 Naval Air Squadron808 Naval Air Squadron808 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed in July 1940. It served on a number of the Navy's aircraft carriers during the Second World War, serving in most of the theatres of the war, before decommissioning at the end of the war...
- 809 Naval Air Squadron809 Naval Air Squadron-WWII:Formed in January 1941 at St Merryn with 12 Fairey Fulmars, the squadron embarked in HMS Victorious in July 1941. At first involved in operations against Petsamo and Bodø, and then the convoys to North Russia, Victorious and her air group fought in the Mediterranean from July 1942, including...
- 813 Naval Air Squadron813 Naval Air Squadron813 Naval Air Squadron was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm during World War II and again post-war. It initially operated Swordfish Mk Is from the aircraft carrier Illustrious and took part in the successful raid on Taranto in November 1940.In July 1943, the squadron was a...
(Night Sqn.) - 884 Naval Air Squadron
- 886 Naval Air Squadron
- 887 Naval Air Squadron
- 889 Naval Air Squadron
Survivors
Fleet Air Arm Museum
The Fleet Air Arm Museum is located north of Yeovil, and south of Bristol. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, as well as models of Royal Navy ships, especially aircraft carriers. Some of the museum has interactive displays...
.