The three-seat Fairey F.2 was conceived as a twin-engine, long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft with a wingspan of about 77 feet. Its intended operating areas offered few suitable airfields, creating a basing problem before performance was considered. Roughly 380 horsepower had to move an aircraft weighing about 4,880 pounds, leaving the design with too little power for its size and mission. Although unsuccessful, the F.2 marked the point at which Fairey demonstrated that it could design and construct a complete aircraft of its own.
Chapter · 10:40-12:54
The Fairey F.2 outruns its operational setting
Fairey's first wholly designed-and-built aircraft was a large twin-engine maritime machine with few suitable bases and insufficient power.