Fairey Seafox

В число задач, решаемых авиацией Королевских британских ВМС (FAA, Fleet Air Arm) в период между двумя мировыми войнами, входили корректировка артиллерийского огня и разведка, производившиеся самолетами, запускаемыми с корабельных катапульт. На конкурс по спецификации (техническому заданию) S.11/32, предусматривающей создание такой машины, фирма "Fairey" представила двухместный биплан с поплавковым шасси. К числу необычных деталей проекта относилось то, что пилот сидел в открытой кабине, в то время как задняя кабина наблюдателя/стрелка была закрыта фонарем. Такая компоновка обеспечивала пилоту хороший обзор при старте с катапульты. Конструкция самолета была смешанной: фюзеляж - металлический монокок и крыло с полотняной обшивкой. Предложение "Fairey" было принято, и контракт на 49 самолетов Seafox был выдан в январе 1936 года, а в сентябре последовал контракт еще на 15 машин.
   Проект предусматривал установку на Seafox радиального двигателя Bristol Aquila в 500 л.с. (373 кВт), но по неизвестным соображениям его заменили на 16-цилиндровый Н-образный двигатель воздушного охлаждения Napier Rapier в 395 л. с. (295 кВт), мощности которого было явно недостаточно. Первый прототип поднялся в воздух 27 мая 1936 года в Хамбле. Второй прототип, оснащенный колесным шасси, взлетел 5 ноября 1936 года; позднее его переделали в поплавковый вариант.
   Серийные Seafox начали сходить со сборочной линии в 1937 году, первый из них был поставлен 23 апреля. После катапультных испытаний в Королевском авиационном НИЦ в марте 1937 года за ними последовали испытания на борту корабля "Нептун", проводившиеся в районе Гибралтара. По мере поступления серийных машин из них стали формировать катапультные отряды. К началу Второй мировой войны Seafox использовались на ряде крейсеров, решая те же задачи, что и амфибии Supermarine Walrus и поплавковые варианты Fairey Swordfish. В декабре 1939 года эти машины принимали участие в действиях против германского "карманного линкора" "Адмирал Граф Шпее" у Ла-Платы. Один из двух Seafox с крейсера "Аякс" корректировал огонь, за что его пилот, лейтенант Е.Д. Левин, первым в FAA был награжден крестом "За боевые заслуги".
   Выпуск Seafox завершился в 1938 году, но самолет оставался на вооружении боевых частей до 1942 года, когда ему на смену пришли Vought Kingfisher. Но и после этого некоторое количество Seafox использовалось в учебных подразделениях до июля 1943 года.
  

ТАКТИКО-ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЕ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ

   Fairey Seafox

   Тип: двухместный поплавковый разведчик-корректировщик
   Силовая установка: один ПД Napier Rapier VI мощностью 395 л. с. (295 кВт)
   Летные характеристики: максимальная скорость на высоте 1785 м - 200 км/ч; крейсерская скорость на оптимальной высоте - 171 км/ч; время набора высоты 1525 м - 15 мин 30 с; потолок 2955 м; дальность полета 708 км
   Масса: пустого 1726 кг; максимальная взлетная 2458 кг
   Размеры: размах крыла 10,81 м; длина 10,81 м; высота 3,68 м; площадь крыльев 40,32 м2
   Вооружение: один 7,7 мм пулемет Lewis на турели в задней кабине и до 163 кг вооружения на четырех узлах подвески под крылом, обычно включавшего две 45-кг глубинные бомбы и восемь 9,1-кг бомб

Flight, December 1937

FOR LIGHT RECONNAISSANCE
The Fairey Seafox Catapult Floatplane: Napier Rapier VI Engine: Monococque Fuselage: Easy Maintenance Features

   TRADITIONALLY silent, the Navy has unobtrusively taken into service a number of Fairey Seafox floatplanes of a large batch ordered for operation with the Fleet. The official term "light reconnaissance" is novel and calls for some definition. An "L.R." machine as typified by the Seafox is a lightly loaded, lightly armed seaplane designed primarily for operation from cruisers under any but the very worst conditions. Ease of handling on the water and on shipboard are first essentials, and provision must be made for easy repair. The Seafox is the first machine of its kind to be adopted and may be operated from the smaller type of naval catapult, which is not intended to handle the heavier amphibians and floatplanes. Its compactness when folded allows three machines to be carried on a cruiser of average size.
   Several Seafoxes with Napier Rapier VI engines have been in service since the early part of this year in East and West Indian, South African and Mediterranean waters. Although the performance is not high - speed climb and ceiling being relatively unimportant so far as the specification is concerned - the handling qualities of the Seafox have ensured its popularity among Fleet Air Arm pilots.
   Not only is the Seafox expected to be able to land safely in quite appalling seas, but it must withstand the blast of naval guns and the effects of prolonged exposure to sea water and salt air.
   The precise extent of the Seafox contract is confidential, but as the entire Fairey factory at Hamble is devoted to the production of these machines it is obviously of a substantial nature.
   The staff at Fairey's Hamble works is headed by Mr. B. G. Slater, the general manager, who has Mr. G. Lyon as his production manager. Mr. C. G. James is the chief draughtsman.
   Designed to the same factors as the Fairey Battle high-speed medium bomber, the Seafox, unlike that aircraft, is a two-bay slightly staggered biplane with twin-float undercarriage, stressed-skin Alclad fuselage, and fabric-covered wings. It is produced exclusively as a floatplane.
   As frequently pointed out in Flight, one of the major disadvantages of the stressed-skin fuselage as applied to modern military aircraft is the difficulty of installing the complex equipment. Notwithstanding the "light" in the official designation of the Seafox, this problem was quite acute, as the standard load is very similar to that of the big Pegasus X-engined Fairey Swordfish torpedo spotter reconnaissance machine operating in “reconnaissance” condition. Matters were eased very considerably when it was decided to build the fuselage in a number of sections. The main portion - approximately of horseshoe section - is fitted with a fore-and-aft coaming plate and the top decking, which is really fairing, is subsequently added. Large apertures must, of course, be left in the coaming plate for the cockpits. The bottom portion of the fuselage is strengthened by longitudinal inter-bulkhead members and longitudinal stringers, but for the greater part there are no stringers in the accepted sense of the term, each plate of the Alclad covering being curled over along one edge, the resultant lip taking the place of the usual riveted-on stringer. Thus each plate virtually provides its own stringer. The frames, of course, are notched to receive the lipped edges.
   Aft of the fuselage main portion is the tail wedge, which is bolted on as a separate unit. This carries the three-spar metal-skinned tailplane, which resembles in construction that of the Battle. Attachment is by taper bolts with split bushes. The fin is likewise metal skinned.
   The forty-foot two-bay folding wings have Handley Page leading-edge slots (top planes only) and ailerons and Fairey flaps of high aspect ratio. Conventional two-spar construction is used, the spars picking up at the roots as shown in the sketches. They have booms of "figure eight" section of drawn-steel tube and have steel drag ribs and ordinary ribs of duralumin. The wing tips are readily detachable for replacement should they sustain damage by contact with the hull of the parent vessel in rough weather. Ingenious wing-folding arrangements are incorporated, folding being greatly facilitated by the push-pull tubes with ball bearings used for the flying controls. The front spar latch-pin arrangements are quite straightforward, the pins for the bottom planes being operated from the floats and those for the top planes from the rear, the pilot's levers having special rods.
   A cam and claw arrangement at the lower-wing junctions automatically links up the flap-operating torque tubes and aileron control rods when the wings are spread. The Perspex-covered orientable landing lights in the leading edge of each lower main plane are Bowden-operated, so no complication arises on their account. Their leads are kept under control during folding by bungee. The wings, when folded, clip in handholds at the tips of the tailplane.
   The controls for the tail surfaces are all internal, the rudder being actuated by a lever with its axis set at 45 deg. to the line of the rudder-operating tube. A similar arrangement is employed for the adjustment of the elevator trimming tab. Transmission for this last operation is by wire, chain and Bowden. Co-ordination was a primary consideration.
   Provision is made for locking the control surfaces when the machine is stowed at sea. The slots may also be locked to prevent "dithering" on the catapult in stormy weather. Should the pilot forget to unlock his slots before taking off they are released automatically by the action of the ailerons.
   The engine - a Napier Rapier VI medium-supercharged 16-cylinder air-cooled unit of "H" formation - is carried on a substantial structure of square and round tubes incorporating resilient rubber bearings which permit a movement of 3/16 - 1/4 in. The latest power figures for the Rapier VI are 355/370 h.p. at 3,650 r.p.m. at 4,750 ft. (normal) and 380/395 h.p. at 4,000 r.p.m. at 6,000 ft. (maximum). For take-off 365 h.p. is available at 3,500 r.p.m. at sea level. As a matter of interest, the maximum r.p.m. at 2 1/2 lb./sq. in. boost for terminal velocity diving is no less than 4,800 r.p.m. The nose cowling of the Rapier is supplied as an integral part of the power plant. Cooling louvres, a Fairey oil-cooler, and the latest recessed exhaust manifolds are features of the Seafox installation. There is a pedal for the compressed-air starter forward of the pilot's control column. The metal airscrew is a three-bladed fixed-pitch Fairey-Reed, anodised and finished in black.
   A large tank, divided into "main" and "emergency" sections, is mounted vertically in the fuselage behind the engine bay, picking up at four points. It is possible to withdraw the complete tank through an aperture in the bottom of the fuselage by releasing two bolts.
   The sprung float undercarriage is exceptionally sturdy. Clean running is but one of the excellent characteristics of the Fairey floats, which are built at the big-new Stockport factory. The Seafox floats are of the single-step type and are built up mainly of Alclad, although anodically treated duralumin is also employed. The springing gear is generally similar to that used on previous Fairey floatplanes incorporating a pile of rubber rings and a rebound rubber at the bottom. The principle is explained in one of the accompanying sketches. Walkways extend for the whole length of each float. One float houses the anchor (not to be confused with the drogue, which is stowed in a box behind the observer's cockpit) and each has a powerful water-rudder. These rudders, incidentally, are of very neat construction and have welded edges. It is claimed that a Seafox has been turned in its own length in a 25 m.p.h. wind.
   But one of the secondary problems associated with the design of aircraft for catapult work is the provision of handling and slinging gear. The Seafox has an arrangement of cables under the leading edge of the top main planes and a carefully studied system of wires in the top centre section leading to the slinging ring which connects with the hook of the hoisting derrick. Handholds are provided at strategic points, and there is a towing bridle attached at the front float struts. Each float has a towing eye, and a boat-hook is stowed in one of the floats.
   Although the pilot's cockpit is left uncovered (doubtless due to the necessity for the pilot to have complete freedom of movement during slinging operations), the observer's cockpit has a Perspex enclosure, which, when in the open position, provides adequate shelter for gunnery. All fittings in the cockpits are of non-magnetic stainless steel in order that the compass - a vital factor in over-water flying - might not be affected. The pilot's rudder bar assembly and adjustable seat are of standard Fairey construction. Dual controls may be fitted in twenty minutes, there being two quickly detachable assemblies. The observer's seat is of the Swordfish type, which folds down on to the floor.
   Armament comprises a Lewis gun over the observer's cockpit and bombs. The gun mounting is of special Fairey design and is adapted from the standard "high-speed" type as used on the majority of Fairey two-seaters for some years past. When not in use the gun folds down into a trough in the top fuselage decking. Provision is also made for the carriage of reconnaissance flares or smoke floats.
   As already intimated, the equipment is surprisingly comprehensive and includes an F.24 hand camera, range-finder, light filters, marine distress signals, sea markers, and an Aldis lamp. The light filters are small pieces of coloured glass for observing objects on a shimmering sea, and the sea markers take the form of boxes of aluminium dust.
   Provision is made for the installation of a blind-flying hood for use in conjunction with the dual controls.

FAIREY SEAFOX
Light Reconnaissance Floatplane. Napier Rapier VI Engine

DIMENSIONS:
   Span 40ft. 0in.
   Length 33ft. 5 1/2 in.
   Height 12ft. 1in.
   Wing Area 434 sq.ft.

WEIGHTS:
   Empty weight 3,805 lb
   Loaded weight 5,420 lb
   Disposable load (excluding pilot, fuel and oil) 642 lb

PERFORMANCE:
   Max. speed at sea level 121 m.p.h.
   Max. speed at 5,860ft. 124 m.p.h.
   Initial rate of climb 420 ft./min.
   Rate of climb at 10,000 ft. 150 ft./min.
   Time to 5,000 ft. 10.4 min.
   Service Ceiling 11,000 ft.
   Absolute Ceiling 12,000 ft.
   Range 440 miles