Fairey Hamble Baby

Hamble Baby
Role	Floatplane scout
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Fairey Aviation
Introduction	1917
Status	Retired
Primary users	Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force
Number built	180
Unit cost	£2,100 [1]
Developed from	Sopwith Baby

The Fairey Hamble Baby was a British single-seat naval patrol floatplane designed and built by Fairey Aviation for the Royal Naval Air Service

Design and development

Fairey Aviation built a number of Sopwith Baby floatplanes at its Hamble works. A variant of the Sopwith Baby was built by the Fairey Aviation Co., Ltd. On 23 October 1916, Sopwith Baby No.8134 was sent to the Fairey works for repair, and the opportunity was taken to rebuild the aircraft to incorporate a number of modifications. The most significant was the Fairey Patent Camber Gear, which was a form of trailing edge flap used to increase lift. On the Fairey-built aircraft, the entire trailing edge of each wing was hinged along the rear spar, lowered by rotating a handwheel in the cockpit. A differential device ensured that the flaps could still be actuated as ailerons; thus, lateral control was maintained. In this modified form, the aircraft was known as the Fairey Hamble Baby. Production Hamble Babies differed in appearance from those built by Sopwith and Blackburn. The planform of wings and tailplane were changed: the wings had increased span and reduced chord, had rounded tips, and the tailplane had a characteristic shape different from the semi-circular outline of the Sopwith original. A new and angular fin, Fairey-designed main floats of new form, and an enlarged tail float were fitted, and the engine cowling was modified.^[2] Parnall also produced Hamble Babies, which had some detail differences from the Fairey produced aircraft. The last 74 aircraft were produced by Parnall as landplanes and known as the Hamble Baby Convert.

Operators

 Greece

• Hellenic Navy

 United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force
  • No. 219 Squadron RAF
  • No. 225 Squadron RAF
  • No. 229 Squadron RAF
  • No. 249 Squadron RAF
  • No. 253 Squadron RAF
  • No. 263 Squadron RAF
• Royal Naval Air Service

Specifications (110 hp Clerget)

Data from The British Fighter since 1912 ^[3]

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 23 ft 4 in (7.11 m)
• Wingspan: 27 ft 9¼ in (8.47 m)
• Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
• Wing area: 246 ft² (23.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 1,386 lb (630 kg)
• Loaded weight: 1,946 lb (885 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Clerget rotary engine, 110 hp (82 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 80 kn (92 mph, 148 km/h)
• Service ceiling: 7,500 ft (2,290 m)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
• Power/mass: hp/lb (W/kg)
  
• Endurance: 2 hr
• Climb to 2,000 ft (610 m): 5 min 30 sec

Armament

• Guns: 1 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun
• Bombs: 2 × 65 lb (30 kg) bombs

See also

Related development

• Sopwith Baby

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Port Victoria P.V.1

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the Royal Air Force
• List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
• List of seaplanes and amphibious aircraft

References

Notes

1. Taylor 1974, p.66
2. FLIGHT, 22 November 1957
3. Mason 1992, p.88-89

Bibliography

• Mason, Francis K (1992). The British Fighter since 1912. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
• Taylor, H.A. (1974). Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-00065-X.