Fairey Campania
Fairey Aviation · United Kingdom · first flew 1917 · reconnaissance aircraft
The Fairey Campania was a British ship-borne patrol and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War and Russian Civil War. It was a single-engine, two-seat biplane with twin main floats, and the first aeroplane designed specifically for carrier operations.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 13.13 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Two-bay biplane with wings that fold rearwards
- Twin main floats
- Separate cockpits for the pilot and the observer, who had a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring
A total of 62 were built. It carried a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring in the rear cockpit and could carry up to six 116 lb bombs under wings and fuselage.
Specifications
- The Fairey Campania has a length of 13.13 m (43 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 18.77 m (62 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 137 km/h (85 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The Admiralty issued a specification for a purpose-built two-seat patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, and Fairey designed a fabric-covered wooden tractor biplane that first flew on 16 February 1917. Two prototypes, the F.16 and F.17, were later flown operationally from Scapa Flow.
Variants
The F.16 had a 250 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle IV and the F.17 an Eagle V of 275 hp. The production type used a 260 hp Sunbeam Maori II.
Where you'll see it
Most F.17s were shipped aboard the carriers HMS Campania, HMS Nairana and HMS Pegasus, and the type took its name from the first. Only Campania had a flight deck, from which aircraft took off on jettisonable wheeled bogies fitted to the floats. In August 1918 Campanias from Nairana took part in operations against the Bolsheviks in North Russia, and the type was declared obsolete in August 1919.
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