Fairey N.4

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The Fairey N.4 was a 1920s British five-seat long range reconnaissance flying boat. Designed and built by the Fairey Aviation Company to meet an Admiralty requirement for a very large four-engined reconnaissance aircraft, it was the world's biggest flying boat when it first flew in 1923. ^[1]

Development

Following an increase in experience with flying boats in 1917 the Admiralty issued Specification N.4.^[1] The specification called for a four-engined long-range reconnaissance flying boat.^[1] The admiralty ordered two aircraft from Fairey and one from Phoenix Dynamo.^[1] Fairey sub-contracted the building of the first to Dick, Kerr & Co. of Lytham St. Annes.

Not unusual for the era, the design was a biplane, with the engines mounted as two push-pull pairs between the upper and lower wing, each driving a four-bladed propeller.

The first N.4 (named Atalanta) first flew in 1923 powered by four 650 hp (485 kW) Rolls-Royce Condor IA piston engines.^[1] The hull had been built in Southampton (by the Gosport Aircraft Company^[2]) and delivered to Lytham St. Annes for assembly and the complete aircraft was then dismantled and taken by road to the Isle of Grain for its first flight.^[1]

The second N.4 Mk II (named Titania) included improvements and later variant Condor III engines.^[1] Titania was not flown straight away and was stored, not flying until 1925.^[1]

The rival Phoenix Dynamo N.4 was built but never flown and was scrapped as the service lost interest in large flying boats.^[1]

Specifications (Mk II Titania)

Data from ^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 5
Length: 60 ft 0 in (20.12 m)
Wingspan: 139 ft 0 in (42.37 m)
Wing area: 2900 ft² (269.41 m²)
Gross weight: 31612 lb (14339 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Rolls-Royce Condor III Vee piston engine, 650 hp (485 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 115 mph (185 km/h)
Endurance: 9 hours 0 min
Service ceiling: 14,100 ft (4300 m)

Armament

0.303in (7.7mm) Lewis machine-gun (in nose and beam positions)
1000lb (454kg) of bombs

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fairey.

Notes

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Orbis 1985, p. 1716
↑ ""The Largest Flying-Boat Hull in the World". Flight: p.481. 10 April 1919.

Images

An artist's impression

Bibliography

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.

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