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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0441.PDF
8 April 1955 441 THE SPEED OF THE FOX A Fairey Occasion with Historic Associations REFERENCE was made last week to a recent luncheon atClaridges Hotel, London, at which the directors of theFairey Aviation Company presented a handsome silver model of the Fox to No. 12 Squadron of the Royal Air Force.Sir Richard Fairey was present personally to propose the toast and hand the model to S/L. F. C. D. Wright, D.F.C., the CO.of No. 12. In his speech, Sir Richard spoke of the development of high-speed aircraft 30 years ago, and the part played by No. 12 Squadron and the Fox, the fastest bomber of its time. (Belowwe append some notes on this remarkable aeroplane and include a number of the points to which Sir Richard referred.) Whenwork started, Sir Richard revealed, there was no more than £7,000 in the Fairey kitty. This increased over a period to£23,000, but by the time the Fox had made good its promise— and, with increased wing area, had flown at 156 m.p.h.—all hadgone. It was then that Lord Trenchard came to the rescue with a contract [as outlined below]. The presentation of the silver model was to commemoratethe achievement of the Fox. Sir Richard said that only the squadrons could develop the utility of an aeroplane. Everyone was delighted that Lord Trenchard was able to bepresent at this luncheon to confirm Sir Richard's narrative. The test pilot, Capt. Norman Macmillan, was also a guest.Replying, S/L. Wright said that it was in 1925 that the Fox appeared at Andover where No. 12 Squadron was stationed. Inits later version with a different make of engine it was, he believed, capable of 220 m.p.h.; so the bomber was faster thanthe fighter. Today there had been a full swing of the pendulum and 12 Squadron's Canberras could often walk away from thefighters they encountered. S/L. Wright next referred to the incorporation of a Fox motifon the squadron Standard, and more recently, to the appearance of both Fox and Standard in Grimsby town hall. The squadron'smotto "Leads the Field" stemmed directly from Fox days. The health of the guests was most competently proposed byMr. R. T. Outen, deputy chairman of Faireys, and Air Marshal Sir George Mills, C-in-C. Bomber Command, replied. Like Sir John Baker, the V.C.A.S., who was also present,Sir George is a former member of No. 12 Squadron—the adjutant, in fact, when the Fox was introduced. He recalled a further virtueof the Fox. Having remarked that it was a nice aeroplane to fly, and gave no trouble, he said that if the undercarriagehappened to collapse, there were no bits of aircraft to stick into one, because the Fairey-Reed metal blade doubled up underneathand formed a nice skid. After further reminiscences, Sir George concluded by saying that the silver model of the Fox had beenplaced in good hands. As with any other aircraft, he knew it would be used to advantage and looked after well by No. 12Squadron. Historical Notes on the Fairey Fox.—Having seen Lt. David Sir Richard Fairey presents a silver Fox to S/L. F. C. D. Wright, com- manding No. 72 Squadron at a commemorative luncheon in London. This fine action study of the Fox was taken by "Flight" during one of Capt. Norman Macmillan's demonstrations at Northolt. Below is seen the handsome silver model, by Skin- ner and Company, presented to No. 12 Squadron. Rittenhouse, U.S. Navy, win the 1923 Schneider Trophy Race ina Curtiss CR-2 seaplane at a speed of 177.38 m.p.h., Mr. C. R. Fairey was much impressed by the design of both the airframeand the liquid-cooled engine. Early in the following year he visited the U.S.A. and secured the British rights for the engine(the famous "D.I2"), and for the Curtiss wing radiator, Curtiss- Reed metal airscrew, and high-efficiency wing sections. Weddingto these a single-bay biplane airframe of extreme cleanness, his company produced, early in 1926, the Fox two-seater day bomber,a machine of composite wood and metal construction, carrying two 230 lb or four 112 lb bombs at a speed of some 150 m.p.h. at10,000ft. All-up weight was 4,117 lb and service ceiling 19,350ft, which height was attained in about 40 minutes. Capt. Norman Macmillan, who tested the prototype, hasrelated how the Chief of the Air Staff, now Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Trenchard, came to witness a demonstrationat Andover, following which he walked with Macmillan out on to the grass airfield and asked "many searching questions." Theanswers were such that he returned to the tarmac and told Mr. Fairey that he had decided to order enough Foxes to equipa squadron. The chosen unit was No. 12 (Bombing) Squadron, based at Andover, and in subsequent air exercises the 12-SquadronFoxes repeatedly eluded the opposing fighters. Eventually a few Foxes were re-engined with the Rolls-Royce "F" engine (later tobe known as the Kestrel), but this version is not to be confused with the Fox Mk II, an all-metal machine of wholly new designwhich was in later years to be the subject of important contracts for the Belgian Government. With a supercharged Kestrel (theD.12 in the original Fox was normally aspirated), the Fox II achieved about 190 m.p.h. A later variant had the FrenchHispano-Suiza 12Ybrs of some 860 h.p., and it was this which attained 220 m.p.h. and which S/L. Wright probably had inmind. The Hispano-Fox was developed by Avions Fairey, the managing director of which, Mr. E. 0, Tips, flew as test-observerin the original Fox.
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