Fairey Ferret

The Fairey Ferret was a 1930s British general purpose biplane designed and built by the Fairey Aviation Company. It performed well in trials but it was not ordered into production.

Development
The Ferret was designed to meet a Fleet Air Arm requirement defined by specification 37/22 for a reconnaissance aircraft; it was the company's first all-metal design. With a lack of interest from the FAA the company proposed the design to meet a Royal Air Force requirement for a general-purpose biplane.

The company built three prototypes, two were three-seaters (to meet the naval requirement) and the third was a two-seater. The two-seater Ferret III was also fitted with a new Fairey-designed high-speed gun mounting in the rear cockpit. The first prototype first flew in June 1925 powered by a 400hp (298kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV radial engine. The other two aircraft had a 9 inch extension to the wing span and were both fitted with a 425hp (317kW) Bristol Jupiter radial engine.

The aircraft performed well during trials at RAF Martlesham Heath but was not ordered into production.

Variants

 * Ferret Mk I
 * Three-seat prototype powered by a 400hp (298kW) Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IVl radial engine, one built.


 * Ferret Mk II
 * Three-seat prototype powered by a 425hp (317kW) Bristol Jupiter radial engine, one built.


 * Ferret Mk III
 * Two-seat prototype powered by a 425hp (317kW) Bristol Jupiter radial engine, one built.