Fairey III

The Fairey III was a versatile British biplane developed by the Fairey Aviation Company in the aftermath of World War I. First flying in 1919, it was designed as a carrier‑borne reconnaissance aircraft for the Royal Navy, combining a sturdy mixed‑construction airframe with a powerful Rolls‑Royce Eagle or later a Napier Lion engine. Its most distinctive feature was the interchangeable wing and under‑carriage system, allowing rapid conversion between landplane, floatplane and seaplane configurations; this flexibility made the type ideal for naval catapult launches and long‑range maritime patrols.

Several variants followed, most notably the IIM (a dedicated floatplane) and the IIIc (the final production model with a stronger airframe and improved controls). The aircraft set several distance and endurance records in the 1920s, most famously the 1924 non‑stop flight from England to South Africa undertaken by Flight Lieutenant C. T. R. W. Burdon. Over 600 Fairey IIIs were built, serving with the Royal Navy, the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Australian Air Force, and a handful of foreign services. Its reliability, adaptability and record‑breaking exploits cemented the Fairey III as a cornerstone of interwar naval aviation and a catalyst for the development of later carrier‑borne aircraft.

Fairey Aviation Company

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Design & Classification