Fairey Fulmar

The Fairey Fulmar was a British two-seat carrier-borne reconnaissance aircraft and fighter developed and built by the Fairey Aviation Company for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War. It was named after the northern fulmar seabird and was based on the earlier Fairey P.4/34 light bomber, redesigned to Specification O.8/38. Its performance was unspectacular, but it was a reliable, sturdy aircraft with long range and eight machine guns, and it could be put into production quickly. The first production aircraft flew from Ringway on 4 January 1940, an improved Mark II followed in January 1941, and Fairey built 600 at Stockport between January 1940 and December 1942. No. 806 Squadron received the first in July 1940, and the Fulmar helped to find the Bismarck, flew convoy patrols to Malta and was the main Fleet Air Arm fighter in the Mediterranean in 1941 and 1942 until single-seat fighters replaced it.