Avions Fairey Fox

The Story of Avions Fairey Fox

Avions Fairey was founded in Belgium as a spin-off of British Airways Fairey. Originally created for the local production of the Fairey Firefly, the facility was later used to produce the newer Fairey "Fox" light bomber biplane. Production models were supplied to the RAF and in service with the Belgian Air Force, with 176 built.

The first flight was January 3, 1925, and the official introduction was June 1926. The final form was decommissioned by the Swiss Air Force in 1945.

The

Fox is an interwar design featuring a biplane wing configuration, an open-air cockpit and fixed painted main landing gear legs. However, such aircraft typically use more advanced equipment, such as metal skins and fully enclosed nacelles. The plane has two seats, with the pilot in the front cockpit and the spotter/gunner in the rear cockpit side by side. Standard armament consists of 2 7.62mm FN Browning machine guns fixed above the nose for forward firing (synchronized firing via rotating propeller blades) and a single gun on a trainable mount in the rear cockpit.

The role of a light bomber is made possible by carrying up to 220 pounds of external ammunition.

The overall configuration of the aircraft is that of a typical biplane - upper and lower wings with struts and proper support and control cables when required. The fuselage is streamlined from the nose to the tail, and the tail adopts a round vertical tail and a low horizontal plane.

Power comes from a liquid-cooled Hispano-Suiza 12Ybr V-12 engine rated at 860 horsepower. Top speed is 225 mph, range is up to 635 miles, and service is capped at 32,800 feet.

In any case, the design is solid and proven to be excellent, although the production data doesn't reflect this. Avions Fairey Foxes played a role during the heroic but hopeless defense of Belgium during the German invasion in 1940.

These planes were superior to their German rivals in every way, signaling that the Fox as an outdated design was on its way to a new generation of combat machines.

Several variants appeared - the "Fox I" was used by the RAF and was equipped with an American Curtiss D-12 450 hp engine, 25 aircraft were produced. The Fox IA followed, as 11 examples (8 rebuilds) were fitted with 490 hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines. The Fox IIM used more and more metal in its construction and kept the Kestrel (480 hp) engine, although it only existed in prototype form. Belgian models start with the "Fox II" with a supercharged Kestrel engine. Fairey in the UK made a dozen and Avions Fairey in Belgium made 31 examples.

The Fox III is a UK demonstration model and a Belgian dual-control trainer variant. Fox IIIS is the trainer model. The Fox IIIC was a Belgian reconnaissance bomber powered by Kestrel engines. These are more modern in their use of an enclosed cockpit. 48 are made in Belgium.

Fox IV includes several limited models - the British Demonstration form, the Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs engine Fox II aircraft and the British Seaplane form. The Fox VIR was a reconnaissance unit with an 860 hp Hispano-Suiza 12 Ydrs engine, for which Belgium collected 24 aircraft, two of which were delivered to Switzerland.

The Fox VIC was a two-seater fighter with 52 built. The Fox VII is a VIR-based fighter model, but with only one crew. The Fox VIII was the pinnacle of the series, with a three-bladed propeller assembly and four machine guns - mounted under the wings, rather than the upper forward fuselage.

12 have been delivered.

The Peruvian Air Force joins the RAF, Belgium and Switzerland as operators of the Fox series.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes