__NOTOC__ 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 The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire that designed important military aircraft, including the ...

Development

The F.2 was ordered by the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

in 1916 as a massive, three-seat long-range fighter. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Falcon engines, it was a three-bay

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

with a four-wheel "bedstead" main undercarriage, the wings

folding Fold, folding or foldable may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Fold'' (album), the debut release by Australian rock band Epicure * Fold (poker), in the game of poker, to discard one's hand and forfeit interest in the current pot *Abov ...

aft from a point outboard of the engines. Armament consisted of a .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun on a

Scarff ring The Scarff ring was a type of machine gun mounting developed during the First World War by Warrant Officer (Gunner) F. W. Scarff of the Admiralty Air Department for use on two-seater aircraft. The mount incorporated bungee cord suspension in el ...

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

; *

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

Specifications

References

* {{Fairey aircraft 1910s British fighter aircraft F.2 Aircraft first flown in 1917 Biplanes Twin-engined piston aircraft Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear