Fairey Firefly IIM

The Fairey Firefly IIM was a single-seat, single-engine fighter biplane of all-metal construction, rebuilt from the Firefly II prototype that Marcel Lobelle designed as a private venture to Specification F.20/27. The Firefly II first flew on 5 February 1929 and was faster than the Hawker Fury but lost the Royal Air Force contract because it kept a mainly wooden structure. The metal rebuild, with the M for metal, then won a contract for 25 aircraft for the Belgian Aviation Militaire, followed by 62 more built by Avions Fairey. Belgian aircraft served briefly from May to June 1940, and one was sent to the Soviet Union for tests.