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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..
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
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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.
The Fox entered service with No. 12 Squadron RAF in June 1926. The Fox proved to have spectacular performance
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.