The Fairey Gannet, unique in so many ways, began its life as the Fairey GR.17. The prototype first flew on the 19^th of September 1949. It was designed as a dedicated ASW aircraft with the ability to operated from small aircraft carriers, & still carry ASW weapons as well as radar & sonobuoys. A delay in production of the aircraft (a third crew member was added to ease workload for the other two crewmen) meant that the aircraft entered service later than planned in January 1955 as the Gannet AS.Mk1.

The Gannet had a turboprop engine with two independent power sections, each driving half of the Gannet’s double co-axial propeller. This meant that the crew could shut down half of the engine & its propeller to save on fuel & increase range. The engine could also run on ship’s diesel oil. The Gannet’s wing folded in four places, so as to allow access to the rear cockpits & twin jetpipes. The Gannet also had steerable twin-wheel nose gears, radar extended from the rear fuselage & a very spacious weapon bay.

The Gannet was produced in four ASW types (AS.Mk1, AS.Mk4, AS.Mk6 & AS.Mk7), & was exported to Indonesia, Australia & West Germany, examples surviving into the early 1960s. Gannet T.Mk2s & T.Mk5s were also exported to these three countries, as well as serving as trainers with the Fleet Air Arm.

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