Fairey Gannet AEW.3
Fairey Aviation · United Kingdom · first flew 1958 · bomber
The Gannet AEW.3 is the Fleet Air Arm's airborne early warning variant, visually transformed from the anti-submarine original by an enormous AN/APS-20 radar dome beneath the fuselage.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × turboprop, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Enormous ventral radome bulging below the fuselage — transforms the underside silhouette from the clean-bellied AS.1 |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Enormous ventral radome bulging below the fuselage — transforms the underside silhouette from the clean-bellied AS.1
- Twin contra-rotating propellers retained from the AS.1 but the deep weapons bay replaced by radar electronics
- Only one cockpit position visible from the side: the two observers work in the expanded mid-fuselage cabin
Against the AS.1, the unmissable difference is the large rounded radome under the belly in place of the clean fuselage. Both marks share the twin-prop nose, but the AEW.3 has a swollen mid-fuselage and no ventral bay doors.
Specifications
- The Fairey Gannet AEW.3 has a length of 13.41 m (44 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 16.56 m (54 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 483 km/h (300 mph).
- Typical crew: 3.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Developed in the mid-1950s to give the Royal Navy organic radar coverage after the loss of fixed-wing AEW capability, the AEW.3 replaced the deep weapons bay with radar electronics and the belly with a large radome. It entered service in 1960 and served as the fleet's eyes until 1978.
Variants
The AEW.3 was a dedicated conversion of the Gannet airframe; it shares the Double Mamba engine and folding wing with the AS marks but is otherwise a different mission aircraft. No further AEW variants were built.
Where you'll see it
Nine AEW.3s served with 849 Naval Air Squadron from HMS Ark Royal, Eagle and Hermes, providing fleet airspace surveillance until retirement in 1978. Their loss before the Falklands War in 1982 was felt acutely. Preserved examples are held at the FAA Museum, Yeovilton and the de Havilland Museum, Hatfield.
Related aircraft
- Fairey Rotodyne
- Fairey Gannet
- Fairey Fulmar
- Fairey Albacore
- Blackburn Buccaneer
- Blackburn Buccaneer S.1
- North American A-5 Vigilante
- Tupolev Tu-22
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