Misplaced Pages

#35964

42-565: 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. 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,

84-657: A medium bomber ) each had variants with 8 or more forward-firing machine guns for ground strafing missions. Later variants of the Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber were adapted to the role of ground attack against tanks armed with 37 mm cannon , and the Curtiss SB2C Helldiver (a U.S. Navy dive bomber adopted later in World War II when that design role was beginning to disappear) also was assigned to ground attack sorties using its cannon , bombs and rockets . The light bomber, as

126-608: A bomb load of 50–400 kg. Two of the most famous were the Airco DH.4 designed by Geoffrey de Havilland , and the Breguet 14 designed by Louis Breguet . The same type often also served as reconnaissance aircraft; examples include the Albatros C.III , Avro 504 , DFW C.V , LVG C.II , Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 , Rumpler C.I and Voisin III . The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was even modified as

168-572: A discrete aircraft type, began to be superseded as World War II opened. The growth of engine power from the 1,000 hp to the 2,000 hp class during the war produced single-engine fighters with greater performance, offensive and defensive capabilities than the light bombers of only a few years earlier. This gave rise to the fighter-bomber type, notably the Fw 190 F and G models, Hawker Typhoon and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt . Multirole twin-engine designs capable of hauling bomb loads greater than 2,000 lbs such as

210-626: A few years). During the early stages of World War II , the above-mentioned designs of the late 1930s often saw considerable action. In some cases, they became the basis of newer, faster light bombers, such as the Martin Baltimore ( U.S. designation A-23/A-30 developed from the Maryland), as well as medium bombers with more powerful engines and heavier payloads . Twin-engine light bombers were successful when converted into airborne radar -equipped night fighters during World War II; examples include

252-530: A new bomber and acquired an example of the engine and a licence for production. 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, with a composite wood and metal structure. The Curtiss D-12

294-481: A pioneering night fighter in attempts to shoot down German Zeppelins . By the early 1930s many air forces were seeking to replace their older biplane aircraft (for example, the RAF 's Hawker Hart and VVS 's Polikarpov R-5 ) with more modern and higher performance monoplane designs. Specialised light bomber designs were single-engine or twin-engine aircraft with a bomb load of about 500–1,000 kg. Typical single-engine light bombers of this era included

336-483: A self-defense measure; even the bomb load was minimised towards this design goal. Early examples were the Bristol Blenheim and Dornier Do 17 (both introduced in 1937). A weakness of the fast bomber design concept was that improvements in the speed of bombers were, in most cases, quickly matched in subsequent fighter designs (which would additionally eclipse the load -carrying ability of light bomber aircraft within

378-506: A similar bomb load as the Invader) medium bomber. The substantial increases in performance, load -carrying ability, and multirole versatility of new combat aircraft designs (including the advent of jet aircraft ) by the end of World War II signaled the end of the dedicated light bomber type. Attack aircraft , strike fighters , counter-insurgency aircraft and combat UAVs are types which today carry out technologically enhanced equivalents of

420-527: A squadron of these machines", thus shortcutting official channels, an initial order for 18 Foxes following. 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

462-549: A target. During World War I some air forces began to distinguish between light bombers and the earliest purpose-built attack aircraft which carried out ground attack, close air support , anti-shipping and similar missions. After World War I, attack aircraft were typically identifiable by their ability to carry multiple fixed machine guns , automatic cannons and rockets in addition to bombs . Light bombers have often served as attack aircraft and vice versa. Purpose-built light bombers disappeared from military aviation by

SECTION 10

#1732851814036

504-703: A year by this time, and the Hart had received an initial production order in June 1929. 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

546-564: The Breda Ba.65 , Ilyushin Il-2 Šturmovík , Northrop A-17 , and Vultee V-11 initially differed little in armament and operational role from light bombers. As World War II progressed, specialised attack designs became increasingly focused on low altitude strafing of surface targets, armed with automatic cannons , heavy machine guns and newly-developed rockets ; the A-20 and B-25 Mitchell (type-classed as

588-450: The Bristol Blenheim , Douglas A-20 Havoc (as the P-70), and Dornier Do 17 . Light bombers were selected as a basis for night fighters during this time because early airborne radar systems, used to find and track targets in the dark, were bulky and often required a dedicated operator in the crew ; most smaller day fighters of that era were unsuited to such extra weight and personnel. Conversely,

630-703: The Britten-Norman company, their Islanders were built in Belgium and Romania and a Trislander production line started in Belgium. Islanders built in Romania continued to be ferried to Britten-Norman for finishing flight certification as did all aircraft built in Belgium. Fairey UK had its own financial difficulties and the Belgian government took over Avions Fairey in order to preserve the Belgian F-16 project. On 1 June 1976,

672-625: The Fairey Battle , Kawasaki Ki-32 (later known by the Allied reporting name "Mary"), Mitsubishi Ki-30 ("Ann"), Mitsubishi Ki-51 ("Sonia"), PZL.23 Karaś , and Sukhoi Su-2 . Contemporaneous twin-engine light bombers included the Bristol Blenheim , Douglas B-23 Dragon , Kawasaki Ki-48 ("Lily"), Martin Maryland (also known as the A-22), Lockheed Hudson , Tupolev SB , and Mitsubishi G3M ("Nell"). While

714-569: The Hendon Air Display where they saw a Fairey Firefly and met Fairey staff. The Firefly toured Belgian air bases in 1930 and met with approval from pilots. This led to a contract for 12 UK-built Firefly II to be followed by a further 33 aircraft built in Belgium. Fairey already had a number of Belgians in key roles in the company; Ernest Oscar Tips and Marcel Lobelle had joined during the First World War . Tips went to Belgium to set up

756-545: The Italian Caproni Ca 30 and British Bristol T.B.8 , both built in 1913. The T.B.8 was a single engine biplane built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company . It was fitted with a prismatic bombsight in the front cockpit and a cylindrical bomb carrier in the lower forward fuselage capable of carrying 12 x 10 lb (12 x 4.5 kg) bombs, which could be dropped individually or all together. The T.B.8

798-572: The Lockheed P-38 Lightning , Junkers Ju 88 and de Havilland Mosquito also supplanted earlier 1930s-era light bomber designs during the war. One of the last light bombers to be introduced in World War II, the U.S. Douglas A-26 Invader , replaced the earlier A-20 Havoc type and also was designated by the USAAF as a replacement for its Martin B-26 Marauder (which had the same engines and

840-739: The Petlyakov Pe-3 , which had been designed as a night fighter, was often used a light bomber. Many other aircraft which originally had been designed as fighters or other mission-specific bombers but fit the size, performance and payload requirements for the light bomber role would also be adapted to perform such missions during World War II. Most dive bombers , such as the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka and Vultee Vengeance were light bombers by definition, as these aircraft typically carried bomb loads of one ton or less. Likewise, many torpedo bombers were light bombers according to their size and warload and it

882-508: The Tipsy Nipper which was a very low cost aircraft was produced either assembled or in kit form. In 1953, Avions Fairey was contracted to produce 256 Hawker Hunter fuselages for the Dutch and Belgian air Force. This lasted until 1958. Avions Fairey continued in service contracts and, in conjunction with SABCA , built Lockheed F-104 Starfighters under licence from 1962. After Fairey UK bought

SECTION 20

#1732851814036

924-492: The subsidiary company. He based the new company near Charleroi . The fighter ace Fernand Jacquet who operated a flying school nearby joined the company in 1931. Avions Fairey received further orders for Fireflies followed by Fairey Foxes which would be the main aircraft of the Belgian Air Force; being used as a fighter, bomber and training aircraft. E.O. Tips designed a number of light civil aircraft at Avions Fairey;

966-615: The "Tipsy" family of aircraft. After the 1933 16  hp (12 kW) Tipsy, came the S2 with a more powerful 32 hp (24 kW) engine. The Tipsy B was a side-by-side seat training aircraft. A tandem trainer was the Tipsy M designed for the Belgian Air Force but overlooked for the SV4b. Tipsy series was successful and licence rights for production were sold in the UK and South Africa . Most of Avions Fairey work

1008-562: The Air Force; this was then extended to other aircraft. Avions Fairey returned to production as a joint venture with Fokker to build Gloster Meteor jet fighters: 240 were built between the companies for the Dutch and Belgian air forces. Tipsy development continued; the Tipsy Junior single seater followed by the Tipsy Belfair . Sales were poor due to a glut of ex-military aircraft. In 1957

1050-763: The Belgian Air Force at the time of the German invasion on 10 May 1940. Although massively outclassed by the aircraft of the Luftwaffe they flew about 75 sorties and even claimed one kill of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 . Data from War Planes of the Second World War: Volume Seven Bombers and Reconnaissance Aircraft General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Light bomber The earliest light bombers were intended to drop their bombs in level flight over

1092-591: 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. 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. Over 100 Foxes were still in front-line service with

1134-664: 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. Two superannuated Fox Mk.Is took part in the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race from London to Melbourne . One of them occasioned

1176-575: The Mitsubishi G3M was classified by the Imperial Japanese Navy as a medium bomber , it was a land-based day bomber with bomb loads as small as 800 kg (1,800 lb) and had a secondary role as a torpedo bomber . Many of these aircraft were also used in other non-offensive roles, such as reconnaissance and maritime patrol . A sub-type of light bomber also emerged in the 1930s, the fast bomber (German Schnellbomber ), which prioritised speed as

1218-486: The end of World War II, as advancements in propulsion and aeronautical design enabled newer attack/strike aircraft, fighter-bombers , and multirole aircraft types to deliver equal or greater bomb loads while also having superior performance, range and defensive capabilities. Modern aircraft carrying out similar missions include light attack aircraft , strike fighters , and counter-insurgency aircraft . The first aircraft purposely designed for bombing missions were

1260-511: The factory was heavily bombed by the Germans. The company personnel evacuated to France, and then left for England. Their ship was sunk by German bombers outside St Nazaire and eight Fairey staff were killed; the survivors worked for the parent company during the Second World War . After the war, Avions Fairey restarted at Gosselies airfield near Charleroi by servicing C-47 Skytrains of

1302-587: The former light bomber role. Avions Fairey Avions Fairey was the Belgian-based subsidiary of the British Fairey Aviation that built aircraft for the Belgian government. It subsequently separated from the UK parent and became SONACA . In the late 1920s, the Aéronautique Militaire ( Belgian Air Force ) set out to replace its old aircraft. Accordingly, Belgian officers attended

Fairey Fox - Misplaced Pages Continue

1344-542: 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. 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

1386-547: 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

1428-478: 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. The first Fox IIs entered service with

1470-402: The pilot armed with a single synchronised Vickers machine gun . Up to 460 lb (210 kg) of bombs could be carried under the wings, aimed by the gunner whose seat folded to allow use of a bombsight. The prototype Fox first flew at RAF Hendon on 3 January 1925, piloted by Norman Macmillan , quickly demonstrating good performance and handling. Despite this, there was much resistance to

1512-550: Was common for these aircraft to also be used for level bombing missions. The Bristol Beaufort , Nakajima B5N and Grumman TBF Avenger , while designed as torpedo bombers, saw some action purely in the light bomber role. Types designed before the war as heavy fighters were also frequently adapted as light bombers, including the Messerschmitt Bf 110 , Potez 633 , Fokker G.I , Kawasaki Ki-45 , Bristol Beaufighter , and Lockheed P-38 Lightning . Light attack aircraft such as

1554-417: 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. 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

1596-648: Was on military contracts. The contact with the Belgian military led to Fairey developing the Fairey Fantôme as a followup to the Firefly for the Belgians. Of the three prototypes, two ended up in Spain (via the USSR ) the third as a test aircraft with the RAF. Although they ordered 12 Fairey Battles in 1936 to replace the Fox, no further orders came until an order for Hawker Hurricanes to be built in Belgium. However, on 10 May 1940,

1638-633: Was purchased for use both by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). The Eastbourne RNAS Squadron , operating the T.B.3, carried out the first bombing attack of World War I: on 25 November 1914, under the command of Charles Rumney Samson , the squadron attacked coastal gun batteries operated by German Empire forces, at Middelkerke , Belgium . Most bombers used on World War I battlefields were in fact light bombers: typically single- engine biplanes with

1680-523: 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

1722-512: 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. The Fox entered service with No. 12 Squadron RAF in June 1926. 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. Such

Fairey Fox - Misplaced Pages Continue

1764-419: 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. 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

#35964