Avions Fairey Fox

Biplane Fighter / Light Bomber Aircraft

Belgium | 1926

"The British Fox was built under the Fairey Aviation Company sister name in Belgium, Avions Fairey."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Avions Fairey Fox VIR Biplane Fighter / Light Bomber Aircraft.

1 x Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs 12-cylinder V-type engine developing 860 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Propulsion

224 mph
360 kph | 194 kts
Max Speed

32,808 ft
10,000 m | 6 miles
Service Ceiling

634 miles
1,020 km | 551 nm
Operational Range

2,525 ft/min
770 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Avions Fairey Fox VIR Biplane Fighter / Light Bomber Aircraft.

2
(MANNED)
Crew

30.7 ft
9.37 m
O/A Length

37.9 ft
(11.55 m)
O/A Width

11.5 ft
(3.51 m)
O/A Height

2,932 lb
(1,330 kg)
Empty Weight

5,181 lb
(2,350 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Avions Fairey Fox Biplane Fighter / Light Bomber Aircraft .

STANDARD:
2 x 7.62mm FN-Browning machine gun in upper forward fuselage (fixed, forward-firing).
1 x 7.62mm FN-Browning machine gun on trainable mounting in rear cockpit.

OPTIONAL:
Up to 220lb of external stores (drop bombs).

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Avions Fairey Fox family line.

Fox - Base Series Designation

Fox I - Light bomber form (of mixed construction) for service with the Royal Air Force; powered by Curtiss D-12 engine of 450 horsepower; 25 examples completed.

Fox IA - Powered by Rolls-Royce Kestrel engine of 490 horsepower; three new-build aircraft with eight conversion models from Fox I stock.

Fox IIM - Proposed light bomber form; metal construction; RR Kestrel engine of 480 horsepower fitted; single-prototype form completed.

Fox II - Fox IIM produced for Belgian Air Force; Kestrel IIS supercharged engine for enhanced performance; 31 produced locally in Belgium with 12 arriving from Fairey facility in UK.

Fox III - Kestrel-engined demonstrator; also covers dual-control form for Belgium (these fitting the Armstrong Siddeley Serval engine instead).

Fox III (Kestrel IIS) - Fitted with Kestrel IIS engine; 2 x Fixed, forward-firing machine guns; 13 examples completed (out of Gosselies).

Fox IIIS - Trainer form with Kestrel IIMS engine; five produced by Avions Fairey factory.

Fox IIIC - Combination light bomber/reconnaissance form for Belgian Air Force; Kestrel IIS engine (later the Kestrel V of 600 horsepower); 48 produced locally in Belgian factories.

Fox IV - Model of 1934; Fox III reconfigured as one-off demonstrator.

Fox IV "Fox Floatplane" - Variant equipped with floatplanes for on-water/over-water actions; Six completed for Peru.

Fox VIR - Reconnaissance model for Belgium (24 units) and Switzerland (two for evaluations); fitted with Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs engine of 860 horsepower.

Fox VIC - Two-seat fighter form; 52 examples completed.

Fox VII ("Mono-Fox" / "Kangourou") - Single-seat fighter form; two completed.

Fox VIII - Model of 1938; Fox VI with three-bladed propeller unit; 4 x Underwing guns; 12 units completed before end of 1939.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 04/05/2019 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Avions Fairey was set up in Belgium as an offshoot of the Fairey Aviation Company of Britain. The production facility was initially created for the local production of the Fairey Firefly to these facilities were later used for production of the newer Fairey "Fox" light bomber biplane. Production models were delivered to the British Royal Air Force and adopted for service by the Belgium Air Force with total manufacture being 176 examples. First flight was on January 3rd, 1925 with official introduction following in June of 1926. Final forms were retired with the Swiss Air Force in 1945.

The Fox was an interwar design as characterized by its biplane wing arrangement, open-air cockpit, and the fixed, spatted main landing gear legs. However, such aircraft typically utilized more modern implements such as metal skinning and a wholly shrouded engine compartment. The aircraft seated two in tandem with the pilot in the forward cockpit and an observer/machine gunner in the rear cockpit. Standard armament consisted of 2 x 7.62mm FN-Browning fixed, forward-firing machine guns over the nose (synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades) and a single gun on a trainable mounting in the rear cockpit. The light bomber role was made possible by the carrying of up to 220lbs of externally-held ordnance.

The aircraft's overall configuration was typical of biplane aircraft - an upper and lower wing element was featured with struts and applicable support and control cabling where required. The fuselage was well-streamlined from nose to tail with the tail unit featuring a rounded vertical tail fin and low-set horizontal planes. Power was through a Hispano-Suiza 12Ybr liquid-cooled V-12 engine of 860 horsepower output. Maximum speed was 225 miles per hour with a range out to 635 miles and a service ceiling of 32,800 feet.

By all accounts, the design was sound and proved excellent though production numbers did not reflect this. Avions Fairey Foxes were in play during the valiant - yet hopeless - defense of Belgium during the German invasion of 1940. The aircraft were wholly outclassed by their German rivals in every respect, marking the Fox as an obsolete design heading into a new generation of fighting machines.

Several variants emerged - the "Fox I" was used by the RAF and outfitted with American Curtiss D-12 450 horsepower engines with 25 aircraft produced. The Fox IA followed as eleven examples (eight converted) with Rolls-Royce Kestrel engines of 490 horsepower. The Fox IIM incorporated evermore metal in its construction and retained the Kestrel engine (480 horsepower) though only lived on in prototype form. The Belgian models begam with the "Fox II" and featured supercharged Kestrel engines. A dozen were produced by Fairey in Britain and were followed by 31 examples from Avions Fairey in Belgium. The Fox III marked a British demonstrator model and a Belgian dual-control trainer variant. The Fox IIIS were trainer models. Fox IIIC were Belgian reconnaissance bomber forms with Kestrel engines. These were more modern in their use of enclosed cockpits. 48 were produced in Belgium. Fox IV covered several limited models - a British demonstrator form, a Fox II aircraft with Hispano-Suiza 12Ybrs engine, and a British floatplane form. Fox VIR was a reconnaissance mount with Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs engine of 860 horsepower to which Belgium collected 24 aircraft and two were delivered to Switzerland. The Fox VIC marked a two-seat fighter form of which 52 were produced. The Fox VII was a fighter model based on the VIR though with only one crew. The Fox VIII was the culmination of the line and featured a three-bladed propeller unit and four machine guns - the guns mounted under the wings as opposed to the upper forward fuselage. 12 examples were delivered.

The Peruvian Air Force joined the RAF, Belgians, and Swiss as operators of the Fox series.

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Avions Fairey Fox. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 176 Units
Contractor(s): Avions Fairey / Fairey Aviation Company - UK / Belgium

[ Belgium; Peru; Switzerland; United Kingdom ]

1 / 1

Going Further...
The Avions Fairey Fox Biplane Fighter / Light Bomber Aircraft appears in the following collections:

HOME

AVIATION INDEX

AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY

AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Scale Military Ranks of the World U.S. Department of Defense Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols Breakdown U.S. 5-Star Generals List WWII Weapons by Country World War Next

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.

©2024 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2024 (21yrs)