The Fairey III D sold in substantial numbers despite the constrained interwar market and served with British, Australian, New Zealand, Dutch, and Portuguese forces. Fleet flights operated the type from carriers including Argus, Vindictive, Hermes, and Furious, with deployments stretching to the China Station. Its best-known demonstration was the Royal Air Force's 1926 Cairo-Cape-Cairo formation flight of roughly 11,000 miles. The original four aircraft completed the journey with comparatively minor repairs, then changed from wheels to floats in Egypt for the final leg home, demonstrating both reliability and amphibious flexibility. Officially, the journey was both a flag-showing mission and a way to give the RAF long-distance formation-flying experience.
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The Fairey III D proves itself in worldwide service and the Cape flight
Exports, carrier deployments, and an 11,000-mile formation journey made the III D one of Fairey's strongest peacetime successes.