- Yes
- No
In 1930 the Belgian Aéronautique Militaire wanted to find a replacement for the obsolete Bréguet 19 in the observation/bomber role to no avail.
However, some time later the Belgian engineer and co-founder of Fairey Aviation Company Ernest Oscar Tips presented the Fairey Fox IIM prototype to Belgian authorities at Evere. The presentation convinced the Belgians to order 12 Fox IIMs, however with the more powerful Kestrel IIS engine, where it was now designated as the Fairey Fox II in Belgium. From there onwards, many variants were produced in Belgium, including the Fox VII
Fairey Fox? Isn’t that British?
While the Fairey company is British (even though it was co-founded by a Belgian engineer as stated earlier), the Fairey Fox is more Belgian than you would think!
First of all, Belgium was one of the biggest user and producer of the Fox (probably the biggest, but i don’t have the numbers to prove it), the Fox’s designer, Marcel Lobelle, was Belgian and most of the Fox variants were built in Belgium, by Belgium and for Belgium. Fairey even had a subsidiary in Belgium, Avions Fairey
All of this leads me to suggest the Fox as a Belgian plane, but only the variants built and used by Belgium!
The Fairey Fox VII “Kangourou”:
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Fairey Fox VII
The Gosselies factory in Belgium had developed a single-seat fighter variant version of the Fox VIR, and as a result does not have the glass canopy that the later Fox variants all share. The ventral radiator was also moved further back, giving the plane its “Kangaroo” nickname.
As a fighter, two additional 7.62 mm FN-Browning machine guns were installed in the upper wing, and the top speed was also slightly increased to 375 km/h.
Two Fox VIIs were made; one was quickly reverted back to the Fox VIR standard, and the other one kept as Willy Coppens’ fighter, Belgium’s leading WWI ace and commander of the IIème Groupe de Chasse.
Specifications
Engine: Hispano-Suiza 12Ydrs (860 hp)
Wingspan: 11.58 m
Length: 9.09 m
Height: 3.51 m
Wing area: 33.6 m²
Loaded weight: 2345 kg
Wing loading: 70 kg/m² - Est. Turn time: 13 s
Max speed: 375 km/h at 4000 m
Climb rate: 11.9 m/s
Armament: 6 × 7.62 mm FN-Browning machine guns (ammo: 1500)
Payload: 4 × 25 kg bombs
Service ceiling: 8800 m
This is one of the two latest and most powerful Fairey Foxes, with a top speed just shy of 400 km/h and a total of 6 excellent FN-Browning machine guns, coupled with a few small bombs just in case and you have a very competitive biplane suitable to tackle any target with ease!
It could be used as premium or a 1.3-ish biplane in a future BeNeLux tech tree, or it can also legitimately enter the game in the British tech tree due to the origins of the Fairey company, or to France due to the close political ties between France and Belgium. Let me know what you think!
Sources
Spoiler
from H. A. Taylor’s “Fairey Aircraft”
https://www.belgian-wings.be/fairey-fox-homepage
“Fighters” by William Green
“1939-1940 / La bataille de France, Volume VII: L’Aéronautique militaire Belge”, Icare