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Fairey Fulmar

1940 WORLD WAR 2

The Fairey Fulmar Story

The Fairey Fulmar became the first dedicated monoplane for the British Fleet Aviation after its introduction in 1940. The genre proved to be a key component of Britain's early response during World War II (1939-1945), with some 600 examples produced and widely used in the first three years of the conflict, only aptly presented. Fulmar didn't become obsolete until more powerful carrier-based types like the Martlet (Grumman F4F Wildcat), Sea Hurricane, and Sea Spitfire came along.

The design of the Fulmar is credited to Marcel Lobelle, a Belgian aeronautical engineer who moved to the UK. Lobelle has been involved in the development of several other notable Fairey products, including Firefly, Fox, Firefly II, Swordfish, Battle, Albacore and Barracuda.

The Fulmar evolved from an earlier Fairey design known as the P. 4/34. This was a light bomber designed by Roebel, which first flew on January 13, 1937. However, the type was not selected for production and only two prototypes were included.

However, it is this design that forms the basis of Fulmar through the O. 8/38 specification. The Fulmar prototype successfully competed with entries from Hawker and Gloster and made its first flight on January 4, 1940.

Officially launched on May 10, 1940, the production time span was from 1940 to 1943.

In practice, the Fulmar underperformed expectations, powered by the same single-engine unit as the rival Hawker Hurricane. The addition of a heavier and larger fuselage than the Hurricane to this single-engine setup further reduced the type's effectiveness as a fast and agile fighter. It carried a crew of two, lined up under a long-barrel greenhouse-like canopy, and the engines were usually front-mounted, driving a three-bladed propeller arrangement. The rear of the fuselage is tapered and is equipped with a typical single vertical stabilizer fin. The wings are low-profile monoplanes with rounded tips that fold up against the sides of the fuselage for storage.

The landing gear consists of two main legs and a tail wheel. A grappling hook allows for short runway landings on the carrier deck. Armament includes 8 x 7.7mm Browning machine guns, four per wing. The rear occupants can mount an optional, trainable 7.7mm Vickers-K machine gun.

Can carry 2 x 100lb or 2 x 250lb bombs for strike.

During the 1940 "Battle of Britain" (July-October), Fulmars were in British stockpiles (273 Squadron, Royal Air Force), although they were not pushed into battle. In November, they began fighting on the decks of the HMS Illustrious, taking part in the naval battle of Taranto, and HMS Ark Royal and HMS Formidable also had additional inventory. Powerful fulmars were used against the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto during the Battle of Cap Matapan. In 1942, the Fulmars were sent to the Far East to defend against a Japanese invasion of the Indian Ocean and around Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

There were 127 Fulmar Mk I models at this time.

To bring more power to the line, the Fulmar Mk II was introduced in 1942 with a Rolls-Royce Merlin 30 V-12 engine producing 1,260 horsepower. The aircraft is now capable of traveling at 272 mph, up to 27,200 feet, with a range of up to 780 miles and a climb rate of 1,320 feet per minute. Still, the Forma's power was limited, and its capabilities as a fighter - especially compared to the famous Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" carrier-based fighter - quickly showed that the type was outdated.

Fulmars had such a poor history of service against experienced Imperial Japanese Navy Zero pilots that nearly all Fulmars were eventually lost or disabled.

The Royal Navy remains the sole operator of the Fairey Fulmar, which has never been exported. It has a total of 23 fleet aviation squadrons, including several night squadrons.