Fairey Firefly IIM
Fairey Aviation · United Kingdom · first flew 1929 · fighter
The Fairey Firefly IIM was a British single-seat, single-engine biplane fighter of the 1930s. It served mainly with the Belgian Air Force.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 7.52 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Single-seat, single-engine all-metal biplane
- Rolls-Royce F.XIS V-12 engine
- Rebuilt from the wooden-structured Firefly II prototype
A compact single-seat all-metal biplane with a liquid-cooled V-12 engine in the nose.
Specifications
- The Fairey Firefly IIM has a length of 7.52 m (25 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.6 m (31 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 359 km/h (223 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Marcel Lobelle designed the Firefly II as a private venture to specification F.20/27, and it first flew on 5 February 1929. After losing to the Hawker Fury, the prototype was rebuilt in all metal as the Firefly IIM.
Variants
Two Belgian aircraft were converted to the Firefly IV with 785 hp Hispano-Suiza engines, but the improvement was not judged worth developing.
Where you'll see it
Belgium's Aviation Militaire ordered 25, followed by 62 more built by Avions Fairey. They served briefly in the Second World War from May to June 1940.
Related aircraft
- Fairey Fleetwing
- Fairey Hendon
- Fairey Gordon
- Fairey Fox
- Arado SD II
- Arado SD III
- Bernard 20
- Blackburn Nautilus
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