2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Fairey Hendon ExCC: Wikimedia Commons· Public domain
- 2. Fairey Hendon K1695: Anonymous Unknown author· Public domain
what is it?
The Fairey Hendon was a British monoplane, heavy bomber of the Royal Air Force, designed by Fairey Aviation, and first flown in 1930. The aircraft served in small numbers with one squadron of the RAF between 1936 and 1939.
How to recognise it: 2 piston engines with propellers · 31 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 96 years ago, in 1930.
- Top speed is 1.9× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 31 m: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1930-11-25
- introduced
- 1936
- retired
- 1939
- status
- retired
- number built
- 14
- role
- heavy night bomber
- origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- makers
- Fairey Aviation Company
- engines
- 2× Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI / Kestrel VI
- crew
- 5
- length
- 18.5 m
- wingspan
- 31 m
- height
- 5.7 m
- max take-off weight
- 9,072 kg
- top speed
- 245 km/h
- cruise speed
- 214 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 6,523 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1393173, Wikipedia: Fairey Hendon (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.