Fairey S.9/30
The Fairey S.9/30 was a two-seat, single-engined biplane built to meet an Air Ministry specification for a fleet reconnaissance aircraft. It flew during 1934–36 in both land- and seaplane configurations. Although only one was built, it was the progenitor of the Fairey Swordfish. Development The design evolution that led to the Fairey Swordfish began with Fairey's submission to Air Ministry specification S.9/30 for a two-seat fleet spotter-reconnaissance aircraft. The company were awarded funds for a prototype in August 1931. The resulting aircraft, which did not fly until 22 February 1934 was known only by its specification number. The Fairey S.9/30 was constructed throughout with stainless steel strip and tube, fabric covered. It was a single bay biplane with wings of slight stagger and sweep. The lower wing was a little smaller both in span and chord; because of these differences the interplane struts converged noticeably towards the lower wing and the outer pairs leaned slightly outwards. Ailerons were only fitted to the upper wing, which also had leading edge slots. The wings could fold for on-ship storage. The most obvious difference between the S.9/30 and its descendants was the powerplant, the former having a liquid cooled V-12 Rolls-Royce Kestrel, rather