RENARD R-31

The Renard R-31 was a Belgian reconnaissance aircraft from the interwar period and World War II in the high wing configuration. The drive was provided by a single engine Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIS with a power of 480 hp. The flight of the prototype took place in 1932, and the plane entered the line in the Belgian Air Force from 1935. About 35-40 aircraft of this type were built in the course of serial production. The deck armament consisted of 2-3 7.62 mm Vickers or Lewis machine guns. The Renard R-31 was made to order Belgian air force to replace the Breguet 19 aircraft, as a new reconnaissance aircraft and cooperation with the army. Renard R-31 however, it was not popular among pilots flying it due to its poor performance, especially low rate of climb, and considerable problems with piloting. Suffice it to say that Belgian airmen were forbidden to perform any acrobatic figures on it and were to limit more violent maneuvers on it! The only development version of the plane The Renard R-31 was the R-32 model, which was powered by a Gnome-Rhone Mistral Major or Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine, but the machine did not perform better than the base version and did not go into production. Renard R-31 planes were used in combat only during the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940.