Description
- Model No: A11007
- Scale 1:48
- Age 8+
- Size - L 290mm W 344mm
- 3 Scheme Options
If you are looking for a model of a unique looking aircraft, the Fairey Gannet has to be on the short list. Now, thanks to Airfix you can build a 1/48 scale model of this unique plane.
The new Airfix Fairey Gannet model kit includes 3 different scheme options for you to choose from.
Arguably the most unconventional Fairey designed aircraft to enter full production, the Gannet was developed in response to a 1945 Royal Navy requirement for an advanced carrier-based, turboprop-powered anti-submarine hunter-killer, one which was rugged enough to withstand the rigors of operation at sea.
Intended to counter the recent expansion of the Soviet submarine fleet at the start of the Cold War era, the Gannet was equipped with all manner of the latest electronic detection equipment and if an enemy submarine was detected, it could be marked, tracked, and if necessary, attacked, using bombs, depth charges, rockets, and air-launched acoustic torpedoes.
One feature of the Gannet which helped to give it a unique appearance was the adoption of its powerplant, the innovative Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba. This arrangement saw two gas turbine engines mounted side by side in the nose of the gannet, sharing a common gearbox, but both operating independently, each engine driving its own coaxially mounted, contra-rotating propeller. In addition to this, the engines could run on kerosene and even diesel fuel, which was safer to handle and less refined than traditional aviation fuels.
Another unique feature of the Gannet's design was its bi-folding wing system, something which was designed to allow this large aircraft to operate safely and to be stored aboard one of the Royal Navy's relatively small aircraft carriers.
