Although it was built in time for the 1934 MacRobertson Race from England to Australia, it was never destined to be a competitive long-distance racer but it was ultimately reborn as a high-speed bomber.

Powered by a Pratt & Whitney 700 hp double-row "Wasp Jr.", the long streamlined fuselage merged a tandem cockpit area topped by an extended canopy into a low-wing monoplane configuration with retractable main landing gear.

[3] After receiving the aircraft, Fitzmaurice and his co-pilot, Eric "Jock" Bonar conducted a rapid series of preflight tests in New York before carrying out the first flight on 1 September 1934.

Christened the Irish Swoop, Fitzmaurice and Bonar took off in the racer on 9 October, arriving in Great Britain barely in time for the start of the MacRobertson Race.

After being recertified for its new configuration, Fitzmaurice and Bonar undertook a long-distance record flight on 29 October 1934 intending to set a new London-Baghdad mark (4,100 km / 2546 mi).