Fairey Gannet GOD.4

Arguably the most unconventional
Fairey-designed aircraft to enter full production, the Gannet was
developed to meet a 1945 Royal Navy requirement for an advanced
carrier-based turboprop-powered anti-submarine hunter-killer. 

Intended
to counter the recent expansion of the Soviet submarine fleet at the
start of the Cold War era, the Gannet was equipped with the last
electronic detection equipment and if an enemy submarine was detected,
it could be marked, tracked and attacked using bombs, depth charges,
rockets and air-launched acoustic torpedoes. It was a highly effective
anti-submarine aircraft, able to attack submarines on the surface or
submerged.

One feature of the Gannet that gave it a unique
appearance was its innovative Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba
powerplant. This arrangement saw two gas turbine engines mounted side by
side, sharing a common gearbox, but operating independently, each
engine driving its own coaxially mounted, contra-rotating
propeller. Another unique feature was the bi-folding wing system,
designed to allow this large aircraft to be stored aboard relatively
small aircraft carriers.