 The prototype of the Fairey III was the N.10 floatplane, which was designed and built in 1917 by Fairey Aviation (along with the smaller N.9) to meet Admiralty Specification N.2(a) for a carrier-based seaplane for the Royal Naval Air Service during the First World War.N.10, also known by its constructor's number F.128 was a two-bay biplane with folding wings and powered by a 260 hp (190 kW) Sunbeam Maori engine.It first flew from the Port Victoria seaplane station on the Isle of Grain, Kent on 14 September 1917.