The
Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in
HayesHayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added in order to house factory workers...
in Greater London and
Heaton ChapelHeaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of Heaton Moor to the west, Reddish and Heaton Norris to the east and Heaton Mersey to the west and south...
and
RAF RingwayRAF 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:...
in Greater Manchester. Notable for the design of a number of important military aircraft, including the
Fairey IIIThe Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants...
family, the
SwordfishThe 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...
,
FireflyThe Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
, and
GannetThe Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning aircraft of the post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm by the Fairey Aviation Company...
, it had a strong presence in the supply of naval aircraft, and also built bombers for the RAF.
After the Second World War the company diversified into mechanical engineering and boat-building. The aircraft manufacturing arm was taken over by
Westland AircraftWestland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Ltd just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915...
in 1960.
Following a series of mergers and takeovers, the principal successor businesses to the company now trade as WFEL (formerly Williams Fairey Engineering Limited) manufacturing portable bridges,
SpectrisSpectris plc is a leading supplier of precision instrumentation and controls. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
plc and as FBM Babcock Marine Ltd
History
Founded in 1915 by
Charles Richard FaireySir Charles Richard Fairey MBE, FRAeS was a British aircraft manufacturer.-Early life:Charles Fairey was born was born on 5 May 1887 in Hendon, Middlesex and educated at the Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood and later as an apprentice at the Finsbury Technical College where he studied City &...
(later Sir Richard Fairey) on his departure from
Short BrothersShort Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, usually referred to simply as Shorts, that is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first company in the world to make production aircraft and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s...
, the company first built under licence or as subcontractor aircraft designed by other manufacturers. The first aircraft designed and built by the Fairey Aviation specifically for use on an aircraft carrier was the
Fairey Campania|-See also:-Bibliography:*Taylor, H.A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-370-00065-x....
a patrol
seaplaneA seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
that first flew in February 1917. In the third report of the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors, reported in Flight magazine of 15 January 1925, aviation figure prominently, C. R. Fairey and the Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd., was awarded £4,000 for work on the
Hamble Baby
seaplane.
Fairey subsequently designed many aircraft types and, after World War II,
missileThough a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
s.
The Propeller Division (Fairey-Reed Airscrews) was located at the Hayes factory, and used designs based on the patents of Mr Sylvanus Albert Reed. C.R. Fairey first encountered Reed’s products in the mid-1920s when investigating the possibilities of the
Curtiss D-12|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:*...
engine. The Curtiss company also manufactured propellers designed by Reed. Another example of utilising the talents of independent designers was the use of flaps, designed by Robert Talbot Youngman (Fairey-Youngman Flaps) which gave many of the Fairey aircraft and those of other manufacturers improved manoeuvrability.
Aircraft production was primarily at the factory in North Hyde Road,
HayesHayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added in order to house factory workers...
(Middlesex), with flight testing carried out at Northolt Aerodrome (1917–1929),
Great West AerodromeThe 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...
(1930–1944), Heston Airport (1944–1947), and finally at
White WalthamWhite Waltham Airfield , is located at White Waltham, southwest of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England...
(1947–1964). One notable Hayes-built aircraft type during the late 1930s and World War II was the
SwordfishThe 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...
. In 1957, the prototype
Fairey RotodyneThe Fairey Rotodyne was a 1950s British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military applications...
vertical takeoff airliner was built at Hayes. After the merger with Westland Helicopters, helicopters such as the
Westland WaspThe Westland Wasp was a British small first-generation, gas-turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and was based on the earlier piston-engined Saunders-Roe Skeeter...
were built at Hayes in the 1960s.
Receipt of large UK military contracts in the mid 1930s necessitated acquisition of a large factory in
Heaton ChapelHeaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of Heaton Moor to the west, Reddish and Heaton Norris to the east and Heaton Mersey to the west and south...
StockportStockport 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...
in 1935 that had been used as the
National Aircraft Factory No. 2National Aircraft Factory No. 2 was a World War I UK government owned aircraft factory located at Heaton Chapel, Stockport. It produced over 450 warplanes during 1918/19.-Management:...
during World War I. Flight test facilities were built at Manchester's
RingwayRAF 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:...
Airport, the first phase opening in June 1937. A few
Hendon|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Crosby, Francis. The World Encyclopedia of Fighters and Bombers. London: Lorenz Books ISBN 0-75481-616-8* Gallop, Alan. Time Flies: Heathrow At 60. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-7509-3840-4...
monoplane bombers built at Stockport were flown from Manchester's
Barton AerodromeCity Airport is a general aviation airport in the Barton-upon-Irwell area of Eccles, in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. Formerly known as both Barton Aerodrome and City Airport Manchester...
in 1936. Quantity production of
BattleThe 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 bombers at Stockport/Ringway commenced in mid 1937. Large numbers of
FulmarThe Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942...
fighters and
BarracudaThe 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...
dive-bombers followed during WWII. Fairey's also built 498
Bristol BeaufighterThe Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
aircraft and over 660
Handley Page HalifaxThe Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
bombers in their northern facilities. Postwar,
FireflyThe Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
and
GannetThe Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning aircraft of the post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm by the Fairey Aviation Company...
naval aircraft were supplemented by sub-contracts from
de HavillandThe de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
for
VampireThe de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
and
VenomThe de Havilland DH 112 Venom was a British postwar single-engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. It served with the Royal Air Force as a single-seat fighter-bomber and two-seat night fighter....
jet fighters. Aircraft production and modification at Stockport and Ringway ceased in 1960.
On 13 March 1959
Flight reported that Fairey Aviation Ltd was to be reorganised following a proposal to concentrate aircraft and allied manufacturing activities in the United Kingdom into a new wholly owned subsidiary called the
Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd. The Board felt that the change, taking effect on 1 April 1959, would enable the
RotodyneThe Fairey Rotodyne was a 1950s British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military applications...
and other aircraft work to be handled by a concern concentrating on aviation. It is proposed to change the company's name to the Fairey Co. Ltd., and to concentrate general engineering activities in the Stockport Aviation Co. Ltd., whose name would become
Fairey Engineering Ltd. Under these changes, the Fairey Co. would become a holding company, with control of policy and finance throughout the group.
The government in the late 1950s was determined to rationalise the UK's aero industry. The
Ministry of DefenceThe Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
saw the future of helicopters as being best met by a single manufacturer. The merger of Fairey's aviation interests with
Westland AircraftWestland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Ltd just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915...
took place in early 1960 shortly after Westland had acquired the
Saunders-RoeSaunders-Roe Limited was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works East Cowes, Isle of Wight.-History:The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliot Verdon Roe and John Lord took a controlling interest in the boat-builders S.E. Saunders...
group and the helicopter division of the
Bristol Aeroplane CompanyThe Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
. Westland Aircraft and the Fairey Company announced that they had reached agreement for the sale by Fairey to Westland of the issued share capital of Fairey Aviation, which operated all Fairey's UK aviation interests. Westland acquired all Fairey’s aircraft manufacturing business (including the Gannet AEW.3) and Fairey's 10% investment in the Aircraft Manufacturing Company (
AircoThe Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited was established in 1912 by George Holt Thomas at The Hyde in Hendon, north London, England.-Geoffrey de Havilland:...
). Fairey's workforce employed on manufacture of the outer wings of the Airco D.H.121. (later to be the HS 121 Trident) was transferred to Westland. Fairey received 2,000,000 Westland shares of 5 shillings each and a cash payment of approximately £1.4m. The sale did not include Fairey Air Surveys or the works at Heston which was home to the weapon division, which had a contract for research into advanced anti-tank missile systems. Fairey's remaining net worth was approximately £9.5m.
The collapse of the Fairey Group
In 1977 the Fairey Group went into receivership and was effectively nationalised by the Government. Fairey went into liquidation when it introduced a
Britten-Norman IslanderThe Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a 1960s British light utility aircraft, regional airliner and cargo aircraft designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial aircraft types produced in Europe. Although designed in...
production line into its subsidiary company, Avions Fairey and overproduced the plane and subsequently faced redundancy payments of about £16 million in Belgium. The companies involved were as follows:-
- Fairey Hydraulics Ltd, Heston, Hydraulic power controls and filters for aircraft; – Sold in 1999 to a management buyout, name changed to Claverham Ltd, bought in 2001 by Hamilton Standard
Hamilton Standard, an aircraft propeller parts supplier, was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller Corporation. Other members of the corporation included Boeing,...
.
- Fairey Engineering Ltd, Stockport, General and nuclear engineering;
- Fairey Nuclear Ltd, Heston, Nuclear components and light engineering;see also Dungeness nuclear power station
- Fairey Industrial Products Ltd, Heston, Management company;
- Fairey Filtration Ltd, Heston, Industrial filters;
- Fairey Winches Ltd, Tavistock, Vehicle overdrives, winches and hubs;
- Jerguson Tress Gauge and Valve Co Ltd, Newcastle, Liquid Level indicators;
- The Tress Engineering Co Ltd, Newcastle, Petrochemical valves;
- Fairey Marine Holdings Ltd, Hamble, Management company;
- Fairey Marine (East Cowes) Ltd, East Cowes, Ship and boat building;
- Fairey Exhibitions Ltd, Hamble, Exhibition stand contractors;
- Fairey Marine Ltd, Hamble, Boat building and repair;
- Fairey Yacht Harbours Ltd, Hamble, Boat handling, berthing and storage;
- Fairey Surveys Ltd, Maidenhead, Aerial and geophysical survey and mapping;
- Fairey Surveys (Scotland) Ltd, Livingston, Aerial and geophysical survey and mapping;
- Fairey Developments Ltd, Heston, Management company:
The Fairey
Britten-NormanBritten-Norman is a British aircraft manufacturer owned by members of the Zawawi family from the Sultanate of Oman, making it the last remaining UK independent commercial aircraft producer....
Aircraft Company was taken over by
PilatusPilatus may refer to:* Pilatus , a mountain in Switzerland* Pilatus , an X-ray area detector developed at the Swiss Light Source* Pilatus , a 1917 play by Kaj Munk manufacturer* Pilatus Aircraft, a Swiss aircraft manufacturer...
then a subsidiary of the Oerlikon group in Switzerland.
The rescue action was taken by the Government under section 8 of the Industry Act 1972 acquiring from the
official receiverAn officer of the Insolvency Service of the United Kingdom, the Official Receiver is an officer of the court to which he is attached. The OR is therefore answerable to the courts for carrying out the courts' orders and for fulfilling his duties under law...
of the Fairey Company Ltd the entire share capital for £201,163,000. The companies were managed by the
National Enterprise Board-History:The National Enterprise Board was set up in the United Kingdom in 1975 to implement the Wilson Labour government's objective of extending public ownership of industry...
(NEB). In 1980 The Fairey Group was purchased by
Doulton & Company LimitedDoulton may refer to:*Royal Doulton, ceramic manufacturing company*John Doulton, potter, founder of Royal Doulton*Henry Doulton, potter and son of John Doulton*Frederick Doulton, Member of Parliament and son of John Doulton...
(part of S Pearson & Son) from the NEB. At time, Pearson's interests in manufacturing were concentrated in the Doulton fine china business. The engineering interests were strengthened in 1980 by the acquisition of the high technology businesses of Fairey, and their merging with Pearson's other engineering interests in 1982. However, these businesses were disposed of in 1986 as part of Pearson wishing to concentrate on core activities; acquired by Williams Holdings they became
Williams Fairey Engineering Ltd.
Other parts of the combined Fairey – Doulton group saw a management buy-out from Pearson, listing on the
London Stock ExchangeThe London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1988. During the 1990s this company concentrated on expanding its electronics business, acquiring a number of companies and disposing of the electrical insulator and hydraulic actuator businesses. In 1997, the company acquired Burnfield, of which
Malvern InstrumentsMalvern Instruments is a Spectris plc company.Founded in the late 1960s, the company is a manufacturer and supplier of laboratory analytical instruments,was influential in the development of the Malvern Correlator...
was the most significant company. Servomex plc was acquired in 1999. In July 2000, the acquisition of the four instrumentation and controls businesses of Spectris AG of Germany for £171m was the largest ever made by the company and marked an important strategic addition to the company’s instrumentation and controls business. The reshaping of the group was marked with the change of name from Fairey Group to
Spectris plcSpectris plc is a leading supplier of precision instrumentation and controls. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
in May 2001.
Avions Fairey
On 27 August 1931, Avions Fairey SA was founded. Fairey aircraft had impressed the Belgian authorities and a subsidiary,
Avions FaireyAvions Fairey was the Belgian-based subsidiary of the British Fairey Aviation that built Fairey aircraft designs for the Belgian government.-History:...
was established to produce Fairey aircraft in
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
The company staff left Belgium ahead of the German invasion of the Low Countries and returned after the war to build aircraft under license for the Belgian Air Force. With Fairey's financial troubles in the later 1970s, the Belgian government bought Avions Fairey to preserve its involvement in the Belgian F-16 project. See also
Tipsy NipperThe Tipsy Nipper T.66 is a light aircraft, developed in 1952 by Ernest Oscar Tips of Avions Fairey at Gosselies in Belgium. It was designed to be easy to fly, cheap to buy and cheap to maintain. It was designed for both factory production and homebuild...
Fairey Aviation of Canada
Formed in 1948 the Fairey Aviation Company of Canada Limited and grew from a 6-man operation to a major enterprise employing around a thousand people. In March 1949, the company undertook repair and overhaul work for the
Royal Canadian NavyThe history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
on the
Supermarine SeafireThe 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:...
and the Fairey Firefly and later the
Hawker Sea FuryThe Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Navy by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.-Origins:The Hawker Fury was an...
and also undertook modification work on the Grumman Avenger. The
Avro LancasterThe Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
conversion programme created the need for plant expansion. The Lancaster was followed in service by the Lockheed Neptune and again the company undertook a share of the repair overhaul and service of these aircraft. The company was engaged in the modification and overhaul of the McDonnell Banshee.
Fairey of Canada also developed a component and instrument design and manufacturing organisation. The company began manufacture of Hydro Booster Units which control flight surfaces hydraulically rather than manually. Other flight controls were designed and manufactured for the
Avro CF-100The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck was a Canadian jet interceptor/fighter serving during the Cold War both in NATO bases in Europe and as part of NORAD. The CF-100 was the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter mass production, serving primarily with the RCAF/CAF and in small numbers in Belgium...
. The Canadair Argus used Fairey-designed hydraulic actuators. The company also produced the
"Bear Trap" helicopter /ship handling systemThe beartrap is the Canadian name of a device invented for smaller warships, like frigates and destroyers, that carry helicopters. While not essential to enable embarked helicopters to operate from small escort vessels, it enables them to operate in a wider range of weather conditions.In the...
for the Royal Canadian Navy. In the early 1960s the company undertook the conversion of the Martin Mars flying boats to water-bearing firefighters.
Drawing on the parent company's expertise in the design of hydraulic equipment led to local manufacturer of the Fairey Microfilter, which had applications in industries beyond aviation. Yet another: Fairey designed and manufactured component was the Safety Ohmmeter. This instrument had many applications in missiles, mining, quarrying and similar fields. The company was appointed agent for RFD Inflatable Marine Survival Equipment. This agency included sales, service inspection and repair of inflatable liferafts.
The West Coast Branch of the Fairey Aviation Company of Canada Limited was formed in 1955 at Sidney,
Vancouver IslandVancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
. The plant was located at Patricia Bay Airport. This facility handled mainly repair, overhaul and modification of military and civil aircraft including the conversion of ex-military Avenger aircraft to commercial cropdusting roles. Additionally, the company diversified into designing and manufacturing items of hospital equipment.
Following the failure of the UK parent, Fairey Canada was acquired by IMP Group International.
Fairey Aviation Company of Australasia Pty. Ltd.
The Australian branch of Fairey Aviation was formed in 1948 as
Fairey-Clyde Aviation Co Pty. Ltd., a joint venture with
Clyde EngineeringClyde Engineering was the name of part of the business now known as Downer EDI Rail. Clyde Engineering were involved in the construction of railway locomotives and rolling stock, as well as larger scale engineering projects on behalf of the governments of Australia...
and incorporated the aircraft division of CEC. The name was changed in November 1951. Based in Bankstown, Sydney, the factory overhauled aircraft for the
Royal Australian Air ForceThe Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
and
Royal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
, converted RAN Firefly AS.5s to Trainer Mark 5 standard. The Special Projects Division built the Jindivik, Meteor, and Canberra drones at Woomera missile test range.Fairey Australasia was the first company to be established at the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE). This was in 1949 when the firm was involved in supporting research trials of the scale model of the Fairey vertical-take-off aircraft. Shortly afterwards the company expanded to manufacture the RTV.l research rockets that were fired in Australia. From this developed a design and production factory that specialised in the manufacture of airborne and ground equipment for target aircraft and missile fields including the Tonic towed target, which can be carried and streamed by a Jindivik 3A.
In 1957 a minuature camera by the name of WRECISS (Weapons Research Establishment camera interception single-shot) was designed and developed by the WRE at Woomera and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Co of Australasia Pty Ltd, at Salisbury, South Australia. In most surface-to-air missile installations the cameras have been mounted in the nose telemetry bay. Although the firing lever must be replaced after each mission, it is estimated that some 30 per cent of the WRECISS can be re-used without repairs and a
substantial further proportion can be repaired relatively cheaply.
WRECISS data: film was
Ilford PhotoIlford Photo is a manufacturer of photographic materials known worldwide for its black-and-white film and papers and chemicals, as well as its range of Ilfochrome and Ilfocolor colour printing materials. Ilfochrome was formerly called Cibachrome, developed in partnership with the Swiss company...
SR101 in the form of 0.93in discs punched from 35 mm strip; weight 801; diameter 1.5in; length 1.25in; field of view 186 deg; exposure time 0.3 millisec; effective relative aperture, approximately f/8; 192 cameras were made in the initial production run. In 1988 this company was merged into
AWAAWA may be an abbreviation for:* Advanced World Alliance , a treaty between individuals instead of nations or tribes* Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Limited , Australian manufacturer of radio and communications equipment...
Defence Industries of Australia.
Aerial Survey
Fairey Air Surveys, Ltd., was initially headquartered at 24 Bruton Street, London W.1. and later at Reform Rd., Maidenhead, with companies across the world. The aircraft (C-47’s) and technical offices were based at White Waltham, Berks, along with a special research laboratory. Here the company undertook the design and development of anti-vibration isolators which were incorporated into camera mountings. Both mapping and geophysical work was undertaken. The UK based aircraft were sent out to work all over the world. The company undertook aerial surveys for local authorities within the UK and for many overseas Governments. Maps were also published under the Fairey-Falcon imprint. Over the years the companies names were changed to reflect Fairey ownership and operated into the late 1970s, later becoming Clyde Surveying Services Ltd.
Subsidiary companies were as follows:—
Fairey Surveys (Scotland) Ltd, Livingston, Aerial and geophysical survey and mapping.
Aero Surveys Ltd., Vancouver International Airport, Canada. This company was equipped to handle processing and mapping. Aircraft include two Ansons and one P-38. Operated in partnership with Fairchild Aerial Surveys, Inc.
Air Survey Company of India (Private), Ltd.,
Dum DumDum Dum is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a neighbourhood in North-west Kolkata and the location of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, formerly Dum Dum Airport.Dum Dum is a well known place in greater Kolkata...
Airport, Calcutta. This branch was fully equipped for processing and mapping. Aircraft include a DC-3 and three DH Rapides (known in 1946 as the Indian Air Survey & Transport LTD.).
Air Survey Company of Pakistan, Ltd., Dunolly Road, Karachi, 2. This was an office only and no aircraft or ground equipment were permanently based there.
Air Survey Company of Rhodesia, Ltd., Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia. Fully equipped for processing and mapping. An Anson or a Dove from the U.K. fleet was available for operations.
Other companies were located in Nigeria and Zambia. And the Republic of Ireland.
Fairey Surveys was absobred into what eventually became Blom Aerofilms in 2010 aerial photography specialist Bluesky acquired access to the Blom Aerofilms library which contains photographs dating from the 1950s, held on about 7,000 original films, these will be available to purchase from www.oldaerialphotos.com. Many of the images have never previously been available to purchase online. These were captured by some of the most prestigious names in the UK aerial survey industry, including Fairey, Huntings,
Simmons-People:* Adelma Simmons , American author and herbalist* Al Simmons , American baseball player* Allan Simmons , British scrabble player and author* Andrew Simmons , British wrestler...
, Clyde and BKS Engineering Surveys – all part of Blom
AerofilmsAerofilms Ltd was the UK's first commercial aerial photography company, founded in 1919 by Francis Wills and Claude Graham White. Wills had served as an Observer with the Royal Naval Air Service during the Great War, and was the driving force behind the expansion of the company from an office and a...
’s UK heritage. The agreement also covers the housing and management of the original films at Bluesky’s dedicated film archive facility.
Heaton Chapel
The Fairey factory at
Heaton ChapelHeaton Chapel is an area in the northern part of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It borders the Manchester districts of Levenshulme to the north, the Stockport districts of Heaton Moor to the west, Reddish and Heaton Norris to the east and Heaton Mersey to the west and south...
, Stockport can trace its roots back to when Crossley Bros. Ltd having had by the end of 1916 supplied large numbers of tenders and aero engines to the Royal Flying Corps acquired premises at High Lane, Heaton Chapel to expand production. In 1917, following the Government's decision to build three National Aircraft Factories was taken, Crossley Motors Ltd was formed to manage National Aircraft Factory No.2 as it was known. The factory continued to produce aircraft until November 1918. After the First World War the site switched to vehicle production. The factory was taken over by Willys-Knight and Overland Motors for the manufacture of cars and commercial vehicles and retained by them until 30 November 1934 when it was acquired by Fairey. In 1935 the Fairey company received a substantial order for Hendon night bombers and established production lines at the Heaton Chapel factory. The production facilities at Heaton Chapel were incorporated as the Stockport Aviation Company Limited on 11 February 1936 and the Company took a site at Ringway (now Manchester Airport), where test flights were carried out.
After the end of aircraft production the Heaton Chapel works became Fairey Engineering Ltd and began production of medium and heavy engineering including portable bridges for military and emergency services use, notably the
Medium Girder BridgeThe Medium Girder Bridge is a lightweight, man portable bridge and can be assembled without help from heavy equipment. In addition, it is also a deck type, two-girder bridging system capable of carrying loads up to and including Main battle tanks .MGB was originally produced by Fairey Engineering...
. Its bridges are in service with the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
,
U.S. ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and many other
NATO forces. Fairey Engineering Ltd also made Nuclear Reactor cores and fuelling machines for Dungeness B and
TrawsfynyddTrawsfyndd nuclear power station is a disused Magnox power station situated at Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd, Wales.-History:Construction of the power station, which was undertaken by a consortium involving Crompton Parkinson, International Combustion, Fairey Engineering and Richardsons Westgarth, and...
.
The company became Williams Fairey Engineering in 1986, and was then taken over by
KiddeKidde, a brand and division of United Technologies Corporation, is a business, or group of businesses, that manufactures and distributes fire detection and extinguishing equipment.-History:The company was founded by Walter Kidde in 1917 in the United States...
part of the American giant United Technologies Corporation. in 2000, and became now known as WFEL Ltd. In 2006 the
Manchester Evening NewsThe Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
reported that private equity investors Dunedin Capital Partners backed a management buy-out of WFEL from UTC which employs 160 people at its factory on Crossley Road, Heaton Chapel.
Land Rover hubs and overdrives
In the post-war period, from the late 1950s onwards, Fairey acquired Mayflower Automotive Products, including their factory in Tavistock, Devon and with it the designs of its products, including winch and free-wheeling front hubs for
Land RoverLand Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It is owned by the Indian company Tata Motors, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover group...
vehicles. By the 1970s Fairey was manufacturing a wide range of winches covering mechanical,
hydraulicHydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
and electric drive and
capstanCapstan may refer to:*Capstan , a rotating machine used to control or apply force to another element*Capstan , rotating spindles used to move recording tape through the mechanism of a tape recorder...
/drum configurations. Fairey winches formed the bulk of the manufacturer-approved winch options for Land Rover throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1975 Fairey designed and manufactured a mechanical
overdriveOverdrive is a term used to describe a mechanism that allows an automobile to cruise at sustained speed with reduced engine RPM, leading to better fuel economy, lower noise and lower wear...
unit for Land Rovers. Vehicles fitted with the unit carried a badge on the rear saying 'Overdrive by Fairey', with the Fairey logo (see above).
This branch of products effectively ceased in the early 1980s when new product development at Land Rover and a trend for manufacturers to build accessories in-house forced Fairey to drop out of the sector. The American company Superwinch bought the Tavistock works and continued making Fairey-designed winches for a few years. The site is now Superwinch's European base and manufacturing facility. Fairey-designed hydraulic winches are still in production, but the large majority of manufacture is of Superwinch-designed electric drum winches. The Fairey Overdrive is still in production in America.
Fairey aircraft
Year of first flight in brackets
- Fairey Hamble Baby
– 1917
- Fairey F.2 – 1917
- Fairey Campania
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Taylor, H.A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-370-00065-x....
– 1917
- Fairey III
The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants...
– large biplane family, starting late 1917
- Fairey N.9
-References:* Bruce, J.M. British Aircraft 1914-18. London:Putnam, 1957.* Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London:Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.* Taylor, H.A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London:Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-x....
– 1917
- Fairey Pintail
|-See also:-External links:*...
– 1920
- Fairey Flycatcher
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.* Taylor, H A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-00065-X....
– biplane fighter, 1922
- Fairey N.4 – 1923
- Fairey Fawn
|-See also:...
– 1923
- Fairey Firefly I – 1925
- Fairey Fremantle
|-See also:...
– long range seaplane 1925
- Fairey Ferret
The Fairey Ferret was a 1930s British general purpose biplane designed and built by the Fairey Aviation Company. It performed well in trials but it was not ordered into production.-Development:...
– 1925
- Fairey Fox
The Fairey Fox was a British light bomber and fighter biplane of the 1920s and 1930s. It was originally produced in Britain for the RAF, but continued in production and use in Belgium long after it was retired in Britain.-Fox I:...
– biplane bomber, 1925
- Fairey Long-range Monoplane
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Cooksley, Peter. "Long Range Fairey". Air Enthusiast, Fifty-one, August to October 1993.Stamford, UK:Key Publishing. ISSN 0143-5450. pp. 49–53....
– 1928
- Fairey Firefly II – 1929
- Fairey Fleetwing – 1929
- Fairey Seal
|-Operators:*Argentine Navy* Latvian Navy* Peruvian Air Force* Peruvian Navy* Royal Air Force* Fleet Air Arm-See also:-References:*Sturtivant, R...
– biplane torpedo bomber, reconnaissance floatplane, 1930
- Fairey Gordon
|-See also:-External links:* * *...
– 1931
- Fairey G.4/31
The Fairey G.4/31 was a British single-engined, two-seat biplane contender for an Air Ministry specification for a multi-role or general purpose aircraft. Unsuccessful, only one was built.-Development:...
– general purpose 1934
- Fairey FC1 commercial airliner
- Fairey S.9/30 – 1934
- 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...
– biplane torpedo bomber, 1934
- Fairey Fantôme – single seat fighter 1935
- Fairey Hendon
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Crosby, Francis. The World Encyclopedia of Fighters and Bombers. London: Lorenz Books ISBN 0-75481-616-8* Gallop, Alan. Time Flies: Heathrow At 60. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0-7509-3840-4...
– monoplane night bomber 1935
- 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, 1936
- Fairey Seafox – reconnaissance floatplane, 1936
- 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:**...
– 1937
- Fairey Fulmar
The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier-borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War. A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942...
– carrier-borne fighter, 1940
- Fairey Albacore
The Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and used during the Second World War. It had a three-man crew and was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as delivering...
– carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber, 1938
- 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...
– carrier-borne divebomber/torpedo bomber, 1940
- Fairey Firefly
The Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm ....
– carrier-borne fighter, 1941
- Fairey Spearfish
|-See also:-External links:* *...
– divebomber, 1945
- Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Charnov, Dr. Bruce H. Retrieved: 18 May 2007.* Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. The Observer's Book of Aircraft, 1958 edition...
– gyrodyne (autogyro/compound helicopter) 1947
- Fairey Jet Gyrodyne
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Charnov, Dr. Bruce H. The Fairey Rotodyne: An Idea Whose Time Has Come – Again? Retrieved: 18 May 2007.* Green, William and Pollinger, Gerald...
– gyrodyne 1954
- Fairey Primer
|-References:NotesBibliography...
– trainer 1948
- Fairey Gannet
The Fairey Gannet was a British carrier-borne anti-submarine warfare and airborne early warning aircraft of the post-Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm by the Fairey Aviation Company...
– carrier-borne ASW (later AEW) aircraft, 1949
- Fairey F.D.1 – experimental delta wing 1950
- Fairey F.D.2
The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 was a British supersonic research aircraft produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for investigation into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds.The aircraft was the first to exceed 1000mph, and...
– record-setting delta-wing, 1954
- Fairey Ultra-light Helicopter
|-See also:-Bibliography:...
(1955)
- Fairey Rotodyne
The Fairey Rotodyne was a 1950s British compound gyroplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation and intended for commercial and military applications...
– autogyro/compound helicopter 1957
Subcontract built aircraft
Number built in brackets
- Short Admiralty Type 827 (12)
- Sopwith 1½ Strutter
The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun...
(100)
- Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
B Mk III(326) / B Mk V (246)http://www.sonsofdamien.co.uk/Halifax.htm
- De Havilland Venom
The de Havilland DH 112 Venom was a British postwar single-engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. It served with the Royal Air Force as a single-seat fighter-bomber and two-seat night fighter....
(TBA)
Aircraft engines
Fairey imported 50 Curtiss built
D-12|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:*...
engines in 1926, renaming them the
Fairey Felix.
- Fairey Felix
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:*...
- Fairey Prince (V-12)
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
- Fairey Prince (H-16)
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
Prince – 16 cylinder 1500 hp
- Fairey Monarch
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...
– 2 x 12 cylinders (two engines with one propshaft passing through the other) 2,250 hp. The P-24 flew in 1939 but was cancelled during the war.
Missiles and drones
Fairey's interest in missile production had been kept separate from the Fairey Aviation Co Ltd and its subsequent absorption into the Westland Group in 1960. Production was therefore invested in Fairey Engineering Ltd but by 1962 this had been transformed into a 50/50 joint venture with the
British Aircraft CorporationThe British Aircraft Corporation was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs , the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with...
(Holdings) Ltd known as BAC (AT) LTD, with offices at 100 Pall Mall, London SWI. and a share capital of £100. This was separate to the BAC Guided Weapons division.
The Fairey company was also involved in the early development of pilotless aircraft which led to the development of radio controlled pilotless target aircraft in Britain and the United States in the 1930s. In 1931, the Fairey "Queen" radio-controlled target was developed, building a batch of three. The Queen was a modified Fairey IIIF floatplane, (a catapult launched aircraft which was used for reconnaissance by the Royal Navy). Apart from installing radio gear the Queen also had some aerodynamic modifications to improve stability, however the first couple of pilotless flights came to quick endings as the drones crashed as soon as they left the catapult launcher on
HMS ValiantSix vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Valiant.* Valiant, launched in 1759 at Chatham, was a Third rate ship of the line of 74 guns.* Valiant, launched in 1807, was a Repulse Class Third rate....
.
In 1960, Fairey announced an agreement between Fairey Engineering Ltd. and the Del Mar Engineering Laboratories, Los Angeles, California, to distribute a range of subsonic and supersonic towed target systems (RADOP) for air-to-air and surface-to-air guided weapon training in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Commonwealth and the UK.
The parent Fairey Company and its Australian subsidiary were heavily involved guided weapon development. The Weapon Division of Fairey Engineering Ltd was responsible in the UK for the Jindivik Mk 2B Pilotless target aircraft. This had a Bristol Siddeley Viper ASV.8 turbojet, giving a speed of 600 mph (965.6 km/h) and an operational ceiling in excess of 50,000 ft.
The "Fairey V.T.O" was a vertical take-off delta wing aircraft was designed to explore the possibility of making an aircraft launched from short ramps with low acceleration. Shown for the first time at the
Society of British Aircraft ConstructorsThe Society of British Aerospace Companies, known as SBAC was the UK's national trade association representing companies supplying civil air transport, aerospace defence, homeland security and space...
(SBAC) Show in 1952, the Fairey VTO Project was used to test the basic configuration of future research craft. Each wing had a large aileron and the vertical fin carried a large rudder. The V.T.O. obtained 900 lbf (4 kN) thrust from each Beta nozzle and, for launching, used two solid-fuel boosters of 600 lbf (2.7 kN) each, bringing the total thrust up to 3000 lbf (13.3 kN)—obviously more than the total weight. The Beta I rocket had two jets, one of which could be swivelled laterally and the other vertically, according to signals from an autopilot. The resulting mean thrust line could thus be varied to maintain controlled flight at low airspeeds. Fairey carried out many successful tests, the first of which was from a ship in
Cardigan BayCardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales....
in 1949.
Fairey Rocket Test Vehicle 1, formerly known as LOPGAP ("Liquid Oxygen and Petrol Guided Anti-Aircraft Projectile"). The original design can be traced back to the 1944 Royal Navy specification for a guided anti-aircraft missile known as LOPGAP. In 1947, the Royal Aircraft Establishment took over development work and the missile was renamed RTV1. Several versions of the basic RTV1 were developed.
The Fairey Aviation Company of Australasia Pty Ltd was awarded a contract to build 40 RTV1e rockets. The first of which were completed in early 1954. Components were built by the
Royal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
Torpedo Establishment (hydraulic servo units),
EMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
(guidance receivers and amplifiers) and the
Commonwealth Aircraft CorporationThe Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation was an Australian aircraft manufacturer. The CAC was established in 1936, to provide Australia with the capability to produce military aircraft and engines.-History:...
(magnesium castings). Some parts were also imported from the UK. Assembly was undertaken at Salisbury, South Australia by the Special Projects Division of Fairey. Test firings took place in 1955–56 but by this time the RTV1 was considered obsolete
RTV1e was the beam guidance test vehicle. Radar guidance was provided by a radar unit which projected a narrow beam. Different versions of the test vehicle were created and each was concerned with a different aspect of control, guidance, propulsion and aerodynamics of the complete rocket. The RTV 1e was a two-stage liquid fuel rocket used for research and development into problems associated with beam riding missiles. It was fired at an angle of 35 degrees with a maximum altitude of about 12,000 feet. The vehicle was launched by seven solid booster rockets which had a burn time of four seconds, after which the liquid fuel sustainer motor took over.
At the 1954 Farnborough Airshow, Fairey Australia displayed a massive missile, which resembled the RTV-1. The base was formed by a booster unit about 6 ft high and 20 inches in diameter, stabilised by four large and four small fins and housing seven five-inch motors. The main body was about 17 ft in length with a diameter of 10 in. The body was fitted with four wings and four small control vanes.
Fairey Australia also displayed an aerodynamic test vehicle, described as a "three-inch winged round." This was a simple projectile, without guidance to aid investigations into the properties of various wing/body assemblies at high supersonic speeds. The example shown was about 6 ft long, and had a finely finished, white-painted body apparently made of seamless tube. About two-thirds of the way back from the nose was fitted a laminated-wood wing of about two feet span, positioned across a diameter of the body, with a root chord of some 18in and a quarter-chord sweep of about 50 deg.
In April, 1947 Fairey released details of its first guided missile It was an anti-aircraft weapon designed for use in the
Pacific warThe Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
but not completed in time for use by the
British ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
(who originally ordered it) or for the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. The
Ministry of SupplyThe Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
requested that the work be completed, and the
StoogeFairey Aviation's Stooge was a command guided surface-to-air missile development project carried out in the United Kingdom starting in World War II. Development dates to a British Army request from 1944, but the work was taken over by the Royal Navy as a potential counter to the Kamikaze threat...
was the outcome. It had a length of 7 foot, a span of 6 in 10 in (2.08 m), a body diameter of 17 in, and weighing 738 lb (334.8 kg), with a warhead. Propulsion was by four 75 lbf (333.6 N)-thrust solid-fuel main rockets, but initially four additional booster rockets delivering further 5,600 lb thrust accelerated the Stooge off its 10 ft (3 m) long launching ramp. Unlike later designs, the Stooge was intended for high subsonic speeds—and limited ranges. The Stooge consisted of two-stage propulsion, an autopilot, radio control equipment with additional ground unit, and a warhead. The Stooge required a launching ramp and transport. The missile was extensively tested at Woomera
The Malkara missile was designed in Australia by British and Australian companies. It was a heavy wire-guided missile for deployment from vehicles, light naval craft and fixed emplacements. This weapon replaced the Fairey "Orange William" project for the MoS which would later lead to
SwingfireSwingfire was a British wire-guided anti-tank missile developed in the 1960s and produced from 1966 until 1993.-Development:Swingfire was developed by Fairey Engineering Ltd and the British Aircraft Corporation. It replaced the Vickers Vigilant missile in British service...
. Fairey Engineering had the sales agency for all countries outside the US, and was also been appointed by the Australian Department of Supply's to assist in the introduction of the Malkara to operational service and to design and produce modifications. The missile was in service with the
Royal Armoured CorpsThe Royal Armoured Corps is currently a collection of ten regular regiments, mostly converted from old horse cavalry regiments, and four Yeomanry regiments of the Territorial Army...
, deployed on a special vehicle—the
Humber HornetThe FV1620 Humber Hornet was a specialised air-deployable armoured fighting vehicle designed to carry the Malkara, an anti-tank guided missile developed by Australia and the United Kingdom.-History:...
, made by Wharton Engineering—which carried two rounds on launchers and two rounds stowed. The Hornet could be air-dropped, had a crew of three. For training purposes the Malkara Mk I was used, with a range of some 2,000m (6,600 ft). The operational weapon was the Malkara Mk 1 A, which had a different type of tracking flare, thinner guidance wire, and other improvements to give approximately double the range of Mk 1.
The Fairey Fireflash was an early air-to-air weapon guided by radar beam riding. Developed as "Blue Sky" - a derated version of the Red Hawk missile. It was in service briefly before being replaced by the de Havilland Firestreak.
Green Cheese was a tactical nuclear anti-ship missile for use with the Gannet. Problems with Gannet led to continued development with the
Blackburn BuccaneerThe Blackburn Buccaneer was a British low-level subsonic strike aircraft with nuclear weapon delivery capability serving with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force between 1962 and 1994, including service in the 1991 Gulf War...
but it was cancelled.
Fairey Marine
Fairey Marine Ltd was begun in the late 1940s by Sir Richard Fairey and Fairey Aviation's Managing Director, Mr. Chichester-Smith. Both were avid sailing enthusiasts. Utilising techniques developed in the aircraft industry during WWII both men decided that they should produce sailing dinghies and so recruited Charles Currey to help run the company when he came out of the Navy. In the following years, thousands of dinghies were produced by Fairey Marine including the Firefly, Albacore, Falcon, Swordfish, Jollyboat, Flying Fifteen, 505 and International 14's along with the much smaller Dinky and Duckling. Later on in the 1950s they produced the larger sailing cruisers, the Atalanta (named after Sir Richard's wife), Titania, Fulmar and the 27 feet (8.2 m) Fisherman motor sailer (based on the Fairey Lifeboat hull) along with the 15 Cinderella (outboard runabout) and the 16'6" Faun (outboard powered family cruiser). see Also Fairey Marine Ltd
Fairey Band
In 1937, workers at the Fairey aviation plant formed a
brass bandA brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting entirely of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands , but are usually more correctly termed military bands, concert...
. For some sixty years the band was associated with the company and its successors, although the
Fairey BandThe Fairey Band is a brass band based in Heaton Chapel in Stockport, Greater Manchester.Its name comes from Sir Richard Fairey and the Fairey Aviation Company, famous in later years for the Fairey Delta 2 aircraft - the first aircraft in level flight to exceed 1,000mph, and had an important...
has now had to turn to external sources for financial backing. Throughout its history though the band has retained its identity with the company under guises as the
Fairey Aviation Works Band,
Williams Fairey Band and later
Fairey (FP Music) Band. The band has recently returned to roots, rebranding as just
The Fairey Band. The Fairey Band has won many national and international titles throughout its proud history.
External links