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The Fairey Fox was a British light bomber and fighter biplane of the 1920s and 1930s. It was originally produced in Britain for the RAF, but continued in production and use in Belgium long after it was retired in Britain.

Fairey Fox
Fairey Fox Mk.IV of the Belgian Air Force.
Role Light bomber
Manufacturer Fairey Aviation
Designer Marcel Lobelle
First flight 3 January 1925 (Mk.I)
Introduction June, 1926 (Mk.I)
Retired 1945 Swiss Air Force[1]
Primary users Royal Air Force
Belgian Air Force
Air Force of Peru

Development and design



Fox I


In 1923, Charles Richard Fairey, founder and chief designer of Fairey Aviation, disappointed with his Fawn bomber, which owing to the constraints of Air Ministry specifications, was slower than the Airco DH.9A which it was meant to replace while carrying no greater bombload, conceived the idea of a private venture bomber not subject to official limitations, which could demonstrate superior performance and handling. On seeing the Curtiss CR, powered by a Curtiss D-12 V-12 liquid-cooled engine of low frontal area and in a low drag installation, win the 1923 Schneider Trophy race, Fairey realised that this engine would be well suited to a new bomber and acquired an example of the engine and a licence for production.[2][3]

Fairey began design of a bomber around this engine, with detailed design carried out by a team at first led by Frank Duncanson and then by the Belgian Marcel Lobelle. The resultant aircraft, the Fairey Fox, was a single-bay biplane with highly staggered wings,[2] with a composite wood and metal structure.[4] The Curtiss D-12 was installed in a closely cowled tractor installation, with one radiator mounted on the underside of the upper wing, and a second retractable radiator that could be wound in and out of the fuselage as required.[2] Pilot and gunner sat close together in two tandem cockpits, with the gunner armed with a Lewis gun on a specially designed high-speed gun mounting that allowed the gun to be stowed to reduce drag, with the pilot armed with a single synchronised Vickers machine gun.[5] Up to 460 lb (210 kg) of bombs could be carried under the wings,[6] aimed by the gunner whose seat folded to allow use of a bombsight.[5]

The prototype Fox first flew at RAF Hendon on 3 January 1925, piloted by Norman Macmillan, quickly demonstrating good performance and handling.[7] Despite this, there was much resistance to the new bomber within the Air Ministry, with the Fox not designed to an official specification and having several features, such as fuel tanks within the fuselage, that went against official norm, and most importantly, it featured an American engine.[8][lower-alpha 1] However, on seeing the prototype Fox being demonstrated on 28 July 1925, Air Chief Marshal Hugh Trenchard, the Chief of the Air Staff, announced that "Mr Fairey, I have decided to order a squadron of these machines", thus shortcutting official channels, an initial order for 18 Foxes following.[9]


Second generation Foxes


In 1926 the Air Ministry drew up Specification 12/26 for a new light-bomber for the Royal Air Force. Unlike previous specifications, high performance was stressed, and many of the overly prescriptive requirements which had previously limited performance removed. At first, Fairey was not informed of the new specification, and only received a copy after protesting to the Air Ministry. To meet the requirement, Lobelle's team designed the Fox IIM, effectively an all-new aircraft with a metal structure as demanded by the Specification, and powered by a Rolls-Royce F.XIB (later named the Rolls-Royce Kestrel. It first flew on 25 October 1929. The competing Hawker Hart and Avro Antelope prototypes had been flying for over a year by this time, and the Hart had received an initial production order in June 1929.[10] Although the Fox IIM was not wanted by the RAF, Fairey demonstrated it to the Belgian Air Force, which wanted a light bomber to replace its Breguet 19s and had already bought Fairey Firefly II fighters from Fairey which had also set up a Belgian subsidiary, Avions Fairey, to build the Firefly. The Fox IIM was successful, winning an initial order for 12 Fox II reconnaissance aircraft to be built in England, with further production to come from Avions Fairey.[11]


Operational history


The Fox entered service with No. 12 Squadron RAF in June 1926.[12] The Fox proved to have spectacular performance, being 50 mph (80 km/h) faster than the Fairey Fawns that it replaced in 12 Squadron, and as fast as contemporary fighters.[13] Such was the performance of the Fox that 12 Squadron was instructed to fly no faster than 140 mph (225 km/h) during annual Air Defence Exercises in order to give the defending fighters a chance.[14] Despite this, no further RAF squadrons were equipped with the Fox, and only 28 were purchased in total, with later aircraft being powered by the Kestrel engine and surviving Curtiss engined aircraft being re-fitted with the Kestrel. 12 Squadron, which later adopted a fox's mask as squadron badge in memory of their sole usage of the aircraft, remained equipped with the Fox until 1931, being finally replaced by the Hawker Hart. Foxes remained in use as dual control trainers at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell until 1933.[15]

Two superannuated Fox Mk.Is took part in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race from London to Melbourne. One of them occasioned the only fatalities of the race when it crashed in Italy. The other, commanded by Australian Ray Parer (a veteran of the 1919 England to Australia Air Race), had struggled no further than Paris when news came through that the race winner had completed the course. Parer and co-pilot Geoff Hemsworth continued an epic and eventful journey, taking nearly four months to reach Melbourne.[16]

The first Fox IIs entered service with the Belgian Air Force in early 1932 as a reconnaissance aircraft, with one winning the "Circuit of the Alps" race for two-seat military aircraft at the 1932 Zurich Aviation meeting.[17][18] The Fox continued in production at Avions Fairey at Gosselies for much of the 1930s, forming the backbone of the Belgian Air Force, being used as reconnaissance, reconnaissance-bomber and two-seater fighters. Later aircraft were fitted with enclosed canopies and more powerful Hispano-Suiza 12Y engines.[19]

Over 100 Foxes were still in front-line service with the Belgian Air Force at the time of the German invasion on 10 May 1940.[20] Although massively outclassed by the aircraft of the Luftwaffe they flew about 75 sorties and even claimed one kill of a Messerschmitt Bf 109.[20][21]


Variants


Fox I
Mixed construction light bomber for RAF. Powered by 450 hp (338 kW) Curtiss D-12 engine (also known as Fairey Felix). 25 built (including prototype).[22][23]
Fox IA
Fox I powered by 490 hp (366 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine. Three built as new plus eight conversions.[22][23]
Fox IIM
Metal construction light bomber powered by 480 hp (358 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel IB. One prototype.[17]
Fox II
Production version of IIM for Belgium. Supercharged Kestrel IIS engine.[17] 12 built by Fairey in Britain, and a further 31 under licence by Belgian Avions Fairey at Gosselies (including two Fox IIS dual control aircraft).[24][25]
Fox III
Designation used for British built, Kestrel powered demonstrator (later designated Fox IV) and for Belgian built dual control trainer (also Fox Trainer) powered by 360 hp (270 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Serval engine.[24][26]
Fox IIIS
Fox Trainer converted with Kestrel IIMS. Five additional production aircraft by Avions Fairey.[27]
Fox III
Kestrel IIS and two forward-firing machine guns. 13 built at Gosselies.[27]
Fox IIIC
(C for Combat) – Bomber/reconnaissance version for Belgium powered by Kestrel IIS, with provision for underwing bombs, two forward-firing machine guns and enclosed cockpit.[28] 48 built in Belgium, including one Fox Mk IIICS dual-control trainer. Last few fitted with 600 hp 448 kW) Kestrel V engine.[27]
Fox IV
Used for British built demonstrator (ex Fox III).[27]
Fox IV
Fox II converted with Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs engine. First flew 31 January 1934.[27]
Fox IV
British built floatplane (Fox Floatplane). Six were produced for the Peruvian Air Force to serve during the Colombia-Peru War of 1933, but by the time they had been delivered (in October 1933),[29] the war was over.[30] They later (with the floats removed) carried out observation duties in the Ecuadorian–Peruvian War in 1941.
Fox VIR
Reconnaissance version powered by 860 hp (642 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs engine. 24 built for Belgium and two for Switzerland.[28][31]
Fox VIC
Two-seat fighter version of VIC. 52 built.[32]
Fox VII
Single-seat fighter version of the Fox Mk.VIR (also known as the Mono-Fox or Kangourou[33] Provision for six machine guns. Only two aircraft were built. One converted back to Fox VI standard and one used as personal aircraft by Willy Coppens.[32][34] One article printed from information from Fairey even stated that the Fox VII was a "flying fort" and had four machine guns and a cannon! [35]
Fox VIII
Final production version ordered as a result of international tensions in 1938. Based on VI but with three-bladed propeller and provision for four underwing guns. 12 built, with final aircraft completed 25 May 1939.[24][36]

Operators


 Belgium
 Peru
  Switzerland
 United Kingdom

Specifications (Fairey Fox VIR)


Data from War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft[31]

General characteristics

Performance

  • 16,400 ft (4,999 m) in 6 minutes 30 seconds
  • 19,700 ft (6,005 m) in 8 minutes 21 seconds

Armament


See also


Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era


Notes


  1. Although Fairey had negotiated a license for the D-12, in the end it built no engines, with 50 engines being imported.[2]

References



Notes


  1. "Historical Listings: Switzerland, (SWT)" Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. World Air Forces. Retrieved: 19 May 2011.
  2. Mason 1994, p.167.
  3. Jarrett 1993, pp. 27–28.
  4. Jarrett 1994, p.45.
  5. Jarrett 1994, p.47.
  6. Taylor 1974, p.136.
  7. Taylor 1974, pp. 136–137.
  8. Jarrett 1993, p.29.
  9. Jarrett 1993, pp. 29–30.
  10. Taylor 1994, pp. 196–197.
  11. Green 1967, pp. 27–28.
  12. Taylor 1974, p.140.
  13. Thetford 1994, pp. 34–35.
  14. Mason 1994, p.168.
  15. Thetford 1994, p.39.
  16. Taylor 1974, p.142.
  17. Taylor 1974, p.197.
  18. "The Zurich Meeting". Flight, 5 August 1932, pp. 723–726.
  19. Green 1967, pp.28–32.
  20. Garcia 2001, p.67.
  21. Green 1967, pp. 32–33.
  22. Jarrett 1994, p.48.
  23. Thetford 1994, p.38.
  24. Taylor 1974, p.206.
  25. Green 1967, p.28.
  26. Green 1967, p.29.
  27. Taylor 1974, p.200.
  28. Green 1967, p.30.
  29. Taylor 1974, p.202
  30. von Rauch 1984, p.4.
  31. Green 1967, p.32.
  32. Green 1967, p.31.
  33. "Avions Fairey comes of age". Flight, 2 May 1952, p.52.
  34. Taylor 1974, pp. 203–204.
  35. "Flying Fort Carries Cannon and Four Machine Guns" Popular Mechanics, July 1935
  36. Green 1967, pp. 31–32.
  37. Taylor 1974, p.202.
  38. Taylor 1974, p.207.

Bibliography


Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fairey Fox.

На других языках

[de] Fairey Fox

Die Fairey Fox I war ein zweisitziger leichter Doppeldecker, der im britischen Dienst als Tagbomber verwendet wurde. Der Erstflug des Flugzeuges war 1925. Im August 1926 wurde die No. 12 Squadron der Royal Air Force (RAF) mit diesem Modell ausgestattet. Sie blieb die einzige britische Einheit, die diesen leichten und schnellen Bomber flog. Insgesamt wurden 28 Maschinen in Dienst gestellt. Das Flugzeug war bis 1931 bei der Squadron im Einsatz.
- [en] Fairey Fox

[fr] Fairey Fox

Le Fairey Fox est un avion militaire de l'entre-deux-guerres, bombardier léger biplace. Il a été conçu pour la Royal Air Force, mais fut exporté vers des armées de l'air étrangères : l'Aéronautique militaire belge, la Marina de Guerra del Perú et la Fuerza Aérea del Perú. La Suisse réceptionna 2 exemplaires pour évaluation.

[it] Fairey Fox

Il Fairey Fox era un bombardiere leggero biplano biposto prodotto dall'azienda britannica Fairey Aviation Company Limited e successivamente nella sua succursale belga Fairey Aviation dalla metà anni venti fino alla fine degli anni trenta.

[ru] Fairey Fox

Файри Фокс (англ. Fairey Fox) — британский разведчик, лёгкий бомбардировщик, двухместный истребитель, биплан с неубирающимся шасси. Создан в КБ фирмы Fairey Aviation под руководством Марселя Лобеля. Первый полет опытный самолет совершил 3 января 1925 года. Серийное производство развернуто в июне 1926 года на заводе Fairey в Хэйси. В апреле 1933 года производство перенесено на завод дочерней фирмы «Авионс Фэйри» в Госселье, Бельгия. Производство прекратилось в мае 1939 года. Всего выпущено 230 экземпляров. Самолет состоял на вооружении британских королевских ВВС с августа 1926 года, на вооружении бельгийских ВВС с января 1932 года. В Великобритании «Фокс» снят с вооружения в начале 1930 годов. На вооружении ВВС Бельгии стоял до Второй мировой войны. С сентября 1939 по май 1940 года прошли модернизацию с установкой закрытых фонарей кабин.


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