Fairey Fulmar The Fairey Fulmar was a British carrier - borne fighter aircraft that served with the Fleet Air Arm ( FAA ) during the Second World War . A total of 600 were built by Fairey Aviation at its Stockport factory between January 1940 and December 1942 . The Fulmar ' s design was based on that of the earlier Fairey P . 4 / 34 that was in turn developed in 1936 as a replacement for the Fairey Battle light bomber . Although its performance ( like that of its Battle antecedent ) was lacking , the Fulmar was a reliable , sturdy aircraft with long range and an effective eight machine gun armament . Design and development . The Fairey P . 4 / 34 was built to Specification P . 4 / 34 as a light bomber capable of being used as a dive bomber , in competition with the Hawker Henley and an unbuilt Gloster design . Despite its high speed of 284 mph , it lost out to the Henley ( which was eventually ordered as a target tug ) . The Fulmar , a navalised version of the P . 4 / 34 was submitted to meet Specification O . 8 / 38 for a two - crew fleet defence fighter . As it was not expected to encounter fighter opposition , high performance or maneuverability was not considered important , but long range and heavy armament were . The provision of a navigator / wireless operator was considered essential for the long , over - ocean flights that would be required . Looking much like its sister , the Battle , the Fulmar prototype was aerodynamically cleaner and featured a folding wing that was 16 in ( 41 cm ) shorter than its bomber lookalike . The prototype P . 4 / 34 serial number " K5099 " first flew on 13 January 1937 at Fairey Aviation ' s Great West Aerodrome ( now covered by London Heathrow Airport ) , with Fairey test pilot Chris Staniland at the controls . After the first flight tests , the tail was revised , being raised 8 in ( 20 cm ) . The first prototype Fulmar , acting as a " flying mock - up " , was powered by a 1 , 080 hp ( 810 kW ) Rolls Royce Merlin III engine . With this engine , performance was poor , the prototype only reaching 230 mph ( 370 km / h ) . With the Merlin VIII engine - a variant unique to the Fulmar and with supercharging optimised for low - level flight - and aerodynamic improvements , speed was improved to 265 mph ( 426 km / h ) at 7500 ft ( 2286m ) , which , owing to the desperate need for modern fighters , was considered adequate . As a simple derivative of an existing prototype , the Fulmar promised to be available quickly and an initial order for 127 production aircraft was placed in mid - 1938 and the first example flew from Fairey ' s facility at RAF Ringway near Manchester on 4 January 1940 and the last of 600 Fulmars was delivered from Ringway on 11 December 1942 . Fulmar Mk II production began in January 1941 , with the first Mk II reaching an operational squadron in March 1941 . This mark introduced the more powerful Merlin XXX engine while the airframe was also engineered with several enhancements including provision for a 60 gallon ( 273 litre ) centre - line drop tank , and provision to carry a 250 lb ( 114 kg ) or 500 lb ( 227 kg ) bomb in lieu of the drop tank . Testing of the Fulmar II , at Boscombe Down , in June 1942 showed that the Fulmar could safely drop a 500 lb bomb during 60 degree dives at up to 310 knots . Boscombe Down testing in October 1941 showed that the 60 gallon drop tank extended range to 1 , 100 miles . N1854 , the first production Fulmar , was later modified to Mk II standard and then " civilianised " as Fairey ' s hack , G - AIBE . In June 1959 , it reverted to service markings and was seen at Farnborough at the SBAC show on 8 September 1962 ; its last flight was three months later on 18 December 1962 . It is now in the FAA Museum , Yeovilton . During testing , Fulmars were launched from catapults on merchant ships , a convoy defensive plan that was being evaluated at the time . Operational history . The first squadron to be equipped with the Fulmar was No . 806 Squadron FAA in July 1940 , and this squadron began operating from shortly afterwards . The Fulmar was not well matched with land - based fighters . The Navy had specified a two - seat machine , feeling that a navigator was needed to cope with the challenges of navigating over the open ocean . As a result , the Fulmar was far too large and unwieldy when it came into contact with single - seat , land - based opposition , as it did in the Mediterranean Theatre . Yet its long range was useful at times as evidenced in the 1941 chase of the where Fulmars acted as carrier - borne spotters , tracking and trailing the fleeing battleship . First seeing action on Malta convoy protection patrols in September 1940 , the sturdy Fulmar was able to achieve victories against its far more agile Italian and German adversaries . By the autumn , Fulmars had shot down ten Italian bombers and six enemy fighters , while giving top cover to the Swordfish raid on Taranto . Fulmars played a prominent role in the ill - fated raid on Kirkenes and Petsamo in July 1941 . By 1942 , the Fulmar was being replaced by single - seat aircraft adapted from land fighters such as the Supermarine Seafire or by American single seat fighters such as the Grumman Martlet . It saw useful service in nighttime roles as a convoy escort and intruder and was used to train crews for the Fairey Barracuda . On the other hand , its flight characteristics were considered pleasant , its wide undercarriage provided good deck handling capacities and it had excellent fuel capacity and range . Fulmars were used in long - range reconnaissance after they were withdrawn as fighters . Most Fleet Air Arm fighter ace s scored at least part of their victories in Fulmars , for example , Sub Lieutenant S . G . Orr , finished the war with 12 confirmed air victories , as the third - highest scoring pilot in the FAA . At one time , 20 squadrons of the FAA were equipped with the Fulmar . It flew from eight fleet aircraft carriers and five escort carrier s . No . 273 Squadron RAF operated them for some months in 1942 from China Bay , Ceylon , seeing action against Japanese forces during the raid on 9 April 1942 ; though about half the squadron personnel were Navy . Fulmars destroyed 112 enemy aircraft , which made it the leading fighter type , by aircraft shot down , in the Fleet Air Arm during the Second World War . The Fulmar ended its front line operational career on 8 February 1945 , when a Fulmar MK II night - fighter from No . 813 Squadron had a landing accident at the safety barrier on and was written off . Approximately 100 Fulmars were converted to a night fighter variant , but had limited success in this role . The Vichy French captured one Fulmar Mk I which force - landed while flying a reconnaissance mission over Senegal in March 1941 . The Fulmar was repaired and used by the Group de Chasse I / 4 . Some of the early marks of the aircraft were operated from CAM ship s . Survivors . The only known survivor is " N1854 " , the Fulmar prototype ( and first production Mk I ) at the Fleet Air Arm Museum . The only known surviving Rolls - Royce Merlin VIII engine is in a private collection in the UK and came from Fulmar Mk I , " N1926 " .