as a spotter-reconnaissance aircraft, operating on floats from the Royal Navy's cruisers and battleships, and with wheels, from the aircraft carriers , , , and . The IIIF remained in front line service well into the 1930s, with the last front line RAF squadron, 202 Squadron, re-equipping with Supermarine Scapas in August 1935, and the final front line Fleet Air Arm squadron, 822 Squadron retained the IIIF until 1936. The IIIF remained in use in second line roles, and despite being declared obsolete in 1940, some were still in use as target tugs as late as 1941. Civil use The first prototype III was purchased back by Fairey in 1919, fitted with new, single bay wings and a Napier Lion engine and entered into the 1919 Schneider Trophy race, on 10 September. The race was abandoned due to fog, however. Four IIICs were civilianized, some with an extra cockpit between the two standard ones and sometimes with an enlarged rear cockpit. One carried five passengers, one in the extra cockpit and four in the rear. One three seat civilianized IIIC (G-EBDI) was part of a Daily News sponsored multi-aircraft round the world flight in 1922, with Norman Macmillan, W T Blake and cine-photographer G.H. Malins. The aircraft, with Macmillan and Malins aboard was finally lost between Lakhidia Char and Chittagong, but the crew were rescued. A small number of civil operated IIIDs and IIIFs were used for survey duties in the 1920s and 30s, while in October 1934 a single IIIF was entered into the MacRobertson Air Race, reaching the finishing line in Melbourne but too late to be classed as completing the race. Variants Fairey N.10 The first Fairey III prototype. Fairey IIIA Two-seat reconnaissance biplane, powered by a 260 hp (190 kW) Sunbeam Maori II V-12 piston engine; 50 built. Fairey IIIB Three-seat patrol, bomber seaplane, powered by a Sunbeam Maori II V-12 piston engine, it had the same fuselage as the IIIA but the fin, wing and rudder had a larger area, it also had larger floats then the IIIA; 30 built. Fairey IIIC Two-seat reconnaissance, bomber and general-purpose seaplane, powered by a 375 hp (280 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle V-12 piston engine; 36 built. Fairey IIID Two-seat general-purpose biplane, powered by a 375 hp (280 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle V-12 or 450 hp (336 kW) Napier Lion W-12 piston engine; 227 built. Fairey IIIE Designation sometimes used for