Fairey S.9/30

The Fairey S.9/30 was a two-seat, single-engine biplane built to Air Ministry specification S.9/30 for a fleet spotter reconnaissance aircraft, and the progenitor of the Fairey Swordfish. Its stainless steel structure was fabric covered, and its folding wings carried slots on the upper wing. Unlike the Swordfish it had a steam-cooled V-12 Rolls-Royce Kestrel rather than a radial. The only example, known by its specification number, first flew on 22 February 1934 as a landplane and in 1935 as a seaplane, and was tested at Felixstowe in 1936. The related TSR I, which flew in 1933 with a radial engine, led on to the production Swordfish.