Fairey Seal
{{Short description|1930s British reconnaissance aircraft}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name = Seal
|image = File:Fairey Seal.jpg
|caption =
|type = Spotter-reconnaissance
|manufacturer = Fairey Aviation
|designer =
|first_flight = 1930
|introduction = 1933
|retired = 1943
|status =
|primary_user = Fleet Air Arm
|more_users = Royal Air Force
|produced = 91
|number_built =
|unit cost =
|variants =
}}
The Fairey Seal was a British carrier-borne spotter-reconnaissance aircraft, operated in the 1930s. The Seal was derived – like the Gordon – from the IIIF. To enable the Fairey Seal to be launched by catapult from warships, it could be fitted with floats.
Service life and operations
The Seal was designed and built by Fairey Aviation. It first flew in 1930 and entered squadron service with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in 1933. Ninety-one aircraft were produced.
The FAA started to replace it with the Swordfish Mk1 from 1936. By 1938 all FAA torpedo squadrons had been entirely re-equipped with the Swordfish. The Seal was removed from front-line service by 1938, but remained in secondary and support roles. By the outbreak of the Second World War, only four remained in service. The type was retired fully by 1943. The type was last used in India as an instructional airframe from the Royal Navy Photographic Unit.
The RAF also operated the Seal as a target tug. Twelve aircraft were part of the RAF's No 10 Bombing and Gunnery School until 1940. A further four aircraft were used by 273 Squadron in Ceylon. These aircraft were used on coastal patrols, some as floatplanes. By May 1942, the type had been retired from RAF service.
In 1934 Latvia ordered four Seal floatplanes for its naval aviation (factory numbers F.2112 – 2115, tactical numbers 26 – 29, later 98 – 101). Between 22 June and 5 July 1936 three floatplanes under Colonel Janis Indans undertook a 6000 km long journey from Liepāja through Baltic and North European countries to England and back. In autumn 1940, after Latvia's annexation, the aircraft were taken by the Soviets, but they were not used by them, and they remained stored on Kisezers lake. On 28 June 1941 they were destroyed there by German planes.Indans' Great Amok, "Insignia" Issue 11, Volume 3, Number 3, Spring 1999, ISSN 1360-4848, p.76-81
Variants
- Fairey IIIF Mk VI : The first prototype was converted from a Fairey IIIF MK IIIB.
- Fairey Seal : Three-seat spotter-reconnaissance aircraft for the Royal Navy.
Operators
Specifications (Landplane)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=British Naval Aircraft since 1912Thetford 1978, p. 131.
|prime units?=imp
|crew=3
|length ft=33
|length in=8
|length note=
|span ft=45
|span in=9
|span note=
|height ft=12
|height in=9
|height note=
|wing area sqft=443.5
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=
|airfoil=
|empty weight lb=
|empty weight note=
|gross weight lb=6000
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight lb=
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity=
|more general=
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Armstrong Siddeley Panther IIA
|eng1 type=14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine
|eng1 hp=525
|eng1 note=
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=fixed-pitch propeller
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|prop dia note=
|max speed mph=138
|max speed note=
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed note=
|range miles=
|range note=
|combat range miles=
|combat range note=
|ferry range miles=
|ferry range note=
|endurance=4 hours 30 minutes
|ceiling ft=17000
|ceiling note=
|climb rate ftmin=
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude={{cvt|5000|ft|0}} in 5 minutes 20 seconds
|lift to drag=
|wing loading lb/sqft=
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|power/mass=
|more performance=
|guns= 1 fixed forward-firing .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun and .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun in rear cockpit
|bombs=500 lb (230 kg) or stores carried under lower wings
}}
See also
{{aircontent
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
|see also=
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References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite journal |last1=Lezon|first1=Ricardo Martin|last2=Stitt|first2=Robert M.|name-list-style=amp |title=Eyes of the Fleet: Seaplanes in Argentine Navy Service, Part 2|journal=Air Enthusiast |date=January–February 2004 |issue=109 |pages=46–59 |issn=0143-5450}}
- {{cite book|last1=Sturtivant|first1=R|last2=Burrow|first2=M|title=Fleet Air Arm Aircraft 1939 to 1945|year=1995|publisher=Air Britain (Historians) Ltd|location=Tonbridge, Kent, UK|isbn=0-85130-232-7}}
- {{cite book|last=Taylor|first=H.A.|title=Fairey Aircraft since 1915 |year=1974|publisher=Putnam|location=London|isbn=0-370-00065-X}}
- {{cite book|last=Thetford|first=Owen|title=British Naval Aircraft Since 1912 |year=1978|publisher=Putnam|location=London|isbn=0-370-30021-1}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Tincopa |first1=Amaru |title=Wings over Peru: The Fairey Seal|journal=The Aviation Historian |date=April 2022 |issue=39 |pages=74–81 |issn=2051-1930}}
- {{cite book |last1=Thetford |first1=Owen |title=British Naval Aircraft since 1912 |year=1991 |publisher=Putnam Aeronautical Books, an imprint of Conway Maritime Press Ltd |location= London, UK |isbn=0-85177-849-6 }}
- {{cite book|last=Vicary|first=Adrian|title=Naval Wings|year=1984|publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |location=Wellingborough, UK|isbn=0-85059-660-2}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20051126205108/http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/Seal.htm Fleet Air Arm Archive]}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080907183016/http://www.jaapteeuwen.com/ww2aircraft/html%20pages/FAIREY%20SEAL.htm Fairey Seal] – British Aircraft of World War II
- [http://latvianaviation.com/Seal.html Latvian Aviation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051024142203/http://latvianaviation.com/Seal.html |date=24 October 2005 }}
{{Fairey aircraft}}
Category:1930s British military reconnaissance aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Carrier-based aircraft