The Fairey Firefly IIM was a British fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-seat, single-engine biplane of all-metal construction. Built by Fairey Aviation Company Limited, it served principally with the Belgian Air Force throughout the 1930s until the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Design and development

The Firefly was a private-venture design, penned by

Marcel Lobelle Marcel Lobelle (–1967) was a Belgian aeronautical engineer who spent his professional career working in Britain. He was born in Kortrijk, Flanders, and fought in the Belgian Army at the start of World War I, with the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers ...

, as the

Curtiss D-12 The Curtiss D-12, sometimes identified with the military designation Curtiss V-1150, was an aircraft engine of 18.8 liter displacement. It was a water-cooled V12, producing 443 hp (330 kW) and weighing 693 lb (314 kg). It wa ...

powered Firefly I had been rejected owing to its American engine and its wooden structure, and could not be easily fitted with the larger and heavier geared Rolls-Royce Falcon XI favoured by the RAF.Mason 1992, p. 212.Willis ''Aeroplane'' August 2020, p. 92. A completely new design, it shared little with the Firefly I beyond the name. Making use of experience gleaned from the earlier machine, it was developed in response to Specification F.20/27 for a single-seat interceptor. It first flew on 5 February 1929.Mason 1992, p. 212. The Firefly II competed for the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

contract against the

Hawker Fury The Hawker Fury is a British biplane fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was a fast, agile aircraft, and the first interceptor in RAF service capable of speed higher than 200 mph (321 kmh). It was the fighter co ...

, showing superior speed but was criticised for having heavier controls. Crucially, it retained a mainly wooden structure despite the Air Ministry's demands for metal structures. This led to the Fury being selected. Afterwards, the prototype was rebuilt and renamed Firefly IIM, the "M" denoting the all-metal construction of the rebuilt machine. A revised prototype with longer-span wings, the Firefly III was built to Specification N21/26 as a carrier-based fighter to replace the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

Fairey Flycatcher The Fairey Flycatcher was a British single-seat biplane carrier-borne fighter aircraft made by Fairey Aviation Company which served from 1923 to 1934. It was produced with a conventional undercarriage for carrier use, although this could be exc ...

s, first flying on 17 May 1929.Taylor 1988, pp. 175–176. Like the land-based fighter, it was rebuilt with more metal components as the Firefly IIIM, and again like the Firefly II, was beaten by a design produced by Hawker, in this case the

Hawker Nimrod The Hawker Nimrod is a British carrier-based single-engine, single-seat biplane fighter aircraft built in the early 1930s by Hawker Aircraft. Design and development In 1926 the Air Ministry specification N.21/26 was intended to produce a suc ...

. Although no production orders ensued, the Firefly IIIM was fitted with floats and used as a trainer by the RAF's High Speed Flight preparing for the 1931

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flyin ...

race.Mason 1992, p. 213.

Operational history

A contract was won for 25 IIM aircraft for Belgium's Aviation Militaire, followed by a contract for a further 62 to be constructed by Avions Fairey, Fairey's Belgian subsidiary. The Belgian aircraft served briefly in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

from May to June 1940. Two of the Belgian aircraft were converted to Firefly IV, with 785 hp (585 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs engines but the improvement was not deemed sufficient to warrant development. One was restored to its original form, while the other passed to Fairey for trials. One aircraft was supplied to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Operators

; * Belgian Air Force ; *

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

High Speed Flight RAF The RAF High Speed Flight, sometimes known as '' 'The Flight' '', was a small flight of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed for the purpose of competing in the Schneider Trophy contest for racing seaplanes during the 1920s. The flight was together ...

; *

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

– One Firefly Mk IIM, used for tests and trials.

Variants

; Fairey Firefly II : Single-seat fighter prototype, powered by a 480 hp (360 kW)

Rolls-Royce Kestrel The Kestrel or type F is a 21 litre (1,300 in³) 700 horsepower (520 kW) class V-12 aircraft engine from Rolls-Royce, their first cast-block engine and the pattern for most of their future piston-engine designs. Used during the interwar ...

piston engine. One built. ; Fairey Firefly IIM : Single-seat single-engine fighter aircraft, of all-metal construction, equipped with resigned tail surfaces and revised engine cooling system. ; Fairey Firefly III : Single-seat shipboard fighter prototype. One built. ; Fairey Firefly IIIM : The Fairey Firefly III was rebuilt with all-metal construction and redesignated Firefly IIIM. ; Fairey Firefly IV : Two Belgian Firefly IIs were converted, and fitted with the 785 hp (585 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs engine.

Specifications (Firefly IIM)

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Garcia, Dionisio. "Air Force on the Edge: Belgian Military Aviation in 1940". ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to ''Air International'' maga ...

'', November/December 2001, No. 96. pp. 65–68. . * Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''The Complete Book of Fighters''. New York: Smithmark, 1994. . * Mason, Francis K. ''The British Fighter since 1912''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992. * Pacco, John. "Fairey Firefly" ''Belgisch Leger/Armee Belge: Het militair Vliegwezen/l'Aeronautique militaire 1930–1940''. Artselaar, Belgium, 2003, pp. 32–38. . * Taylor, H. A. ''Fairey Aircraft since 1915''. London: Putnam, 1988. . * Taylor, John W. R. and Jean Alexander. ''Combat Aircraft of the World.'' New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. . * Willis, Matthew. "Database: Fairey Firefly". '' Aeroplane'', August 2020, Vol. 48, No. 8. pp. 89–99. .

External links

Fairey Firefly II (Biplane)
– British Aircraft of World War II {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairey Firefly Ii 1920s British fighter aircraft Firefly II Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes Avions Fairey aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1929