Fairey Gannet The Fairey Gannet was a British carrier - borne aircraft of the post - Second World War era developed for the Royal Navy ' s Fleet Air Arm ( FAA ) by the Fairey Aviation Company . It was a mid - wing monoplane with a tricycle undercarriage and a crew of three , and a double turboprop engine driving two contra - rotating propellers . Originally developed to meet the FAA ' s anti - submarine warfare requirement , the Gannet was later adapted for operations as an electronic countermeasure s and carrier onboard delivery aircraft . The Gannet AEW was a variant of the aircraft developed as a carrier - based airborne early warning platform . Development . The Gannet was built in response to the 1945 Admiralty requirement GR . 17 / 45 , for which prototypes by Fairey ( Type Q or Fairey 17 , after the requirement ) and Blackburn Aircraft ( the Blackburn B - 54 / B - 88 ) were built . After considering and discounting the Rolls - Royce Tweed turboprop , Fairey selected an engine based on the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba : the Double Mamba ( or " Twin Mamba " ) , basically two Mambas mounted side - by - side and coupled through a common gearbox to coaxial contra - rotating propellers . Power was transmitted from each engine by a torsion shaft which was engaged through a series of sun , planet , epicyclic and spur gears to give a suitable reduction ratio and correct propeller - shaft rotation . The ASMD . 1 engine ( 2 , 950 hp / 2 , 200 kW ) was used in the Gannet AS . 1 ; ASMD . 3 ( 3 , 145 hp / 2 , 345 kW ) in the AS . 4 ; and ASMD . 4 ( 3 , 875 hp / 2 , 889 kW ) in the AEW . 3 variant . The Double Mamba engine could be run with one Mamba stopped to conserve fuel and extend endurance for cruise flight . The contra - rotating propellers meant that when only half of the Double Mamba was running there were no thrust asymmetry problems . The Mamba exhausts were situated on each side of the fuselage , at the root of the wing trailing edge . The gas - turbine engine could run on kerosene , " wide - cut " turbine fuel or diesel fuel , allowing the Admiralty to eliminate the dangerous high - octane petroleum spirit required to operate piston - engined aircraft from carriers . In 1958 the Fairey Gannet AEW . 3 was selected to replace the Douglas Skyraider in the AEW role . In order to accommodate the systems required , the Gannet underwent a significant redesign that saw a new version of the Double Mamba installed , new radome mounted under the aircraft , the tailfin increased in area , the undercarriage lengthened and the weapons bay removed . A total of 44 aircraft ( plus a single prototype ) of the AEW . 3 version were produced . Design . The pilot was seated well forward , conferring a good view over the nose for carrier operations , and sat over the Double Mamba engine , directly behind the gearbox and propellers . The second crew member , an aerial observer , was seated under a separate canopy directly behind the pilot . After the prototype , a second observer was included , in his own cockpit over the wing trailing edge . This addition disturbed the airflow over the horizontal stabiliser , requiring small finlets on either side . The Gannet had a large internal weapons bay in the fuselage and a retractable radome under the rear fuselage . The Gannet ' s wing folded in two places to form a distinctive Z - shape on each side . The first fold was at about a third of the wing length where the inboard anhedral ( down - sweep ) changed to the outboard dihedral ( up - sweep ) of the wing ( described as a gull wing ) . The second wing fold was at about two - thirds of the wing length . The length of the nosewheel shock absorber caused the Gannet to have a distinctive nose - high attitude , a common characteristic of carrier aircraft . In FAA service , the Gannet generally wore the standard camouflage scheme of a Sky ( duck - egg blue ) underside and fuselage sides , with Extra Dark Sea Grey upper surfaces , the fuselage demarcation line running from the nose behind the propeller spinner in a straight line to then curve and join the line of the fin . Code numbers were typically painted on the side of the fuselage ahead of the wing ; roundel and serial markings were behind the wing . The T . 2 and T . 5 trainers were finished in silver overall , with a yellow " Trainer band " on rear fuselage and wings . Operational history . The prototype first flew on 19 September 1949 and made the first deck landing by a turboprop aircraft , on on 19 June 1950 , by pilot Lieutenant Commander G . Callingham . After a further change in operational requirements , with the addition of a radar and extra crew member , the type entered production in 1953 and initial deliveries were made of the variant designated AS . 1 at RNAS Ford in April 1954 . A trainer variant ( T . 2 ) WN365 first flew in August 1954 . The RN ' s first operational Gannet squadron ( 826 NAS ) was embarked on . The initial order was for 100 AS . 1 aircraft . A total of 348 Gannets were built , of which 44 were the heavily modified AEW . 3 . Production was shared between Fairey ' s factories at Hayes , Middlesex and Heaton Chapel , Stockport / Manchester ( Ringway ) Airport . By the mid - 1960s , the AS . 1s and AS . 4s had been replaced by the Westland Whirlwind HAS . 7 helicopters . Gannets continued as Electronic countermeasures aircraft : the ECM . 6 . Some AS . 4s were converted to COD . 4s for Carrier onboard delivery — the aerial supply of mail and light cargo to the fleet . The Royal Australian Navy purchased the Gannet AS . 1 ( 36 aircraft ) . It operated from the aircraft carrier and the shore base near Nowra , New South Wales . Indonesia bought a number of AS . 4 and T . 5s ( re - modelled from RN AS . 1s and T . 2s ) in 1959 . Some Gannets were later acquired by various other countries . West Germany bought 15 Gannet AS . 4s and one T . 5 in 1958 . They operated as the anti - submarine squadron of " Marinefliegergeschwader " 2 ( 2nd Naval Fighter Wing ) from Jagel and Sylt . In 1963 the squadron was re - assigned to MFG 3 at Nordholz Naval Airbase until the Gannets were replaced by the Breguet Br . 1150 Atlantique in 1966 . During its operations the German Navy lost one AS . 4 , on 12 May 1966 , when a Gannet crashed shortly after takeoff from Kaufbeuren , killing all three crew members . Harness restraint issues . Tests on the harness restraint system in the Gannet were carried out after a midflight failure due to the release cables binding . The accident itself was the result of an unrelated engine failure , but the primary issue was the failure of the harness quick - release mechanism . A brief report in " Cockpit " , Q4 1973 , concerning the accident :