As the 12J engine ultimately proved too difficult to come by, the Renards decided to equip their new fighter with the alternative Gnome-Rhone "Jupiter VI" series 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine which promised an output of 480 horsepower. The prototype featuring this powerplant was completed by Stampe et Vertongen and designated as "Epervier Type 2".
The aircraft achieved its monumental first-flight during 1928 but lived a short test life for it was lost when it could not recover from a flat / unrecoverable spin - resulting from dominant yaw axis / side-slip. A second prototype was constructed in its place as the "Epervier Type 2bis" and engineers took this time to introduce reworked landing gear fairings and revised spats as well as streamlined cylinder shrouds. This model was constructed by Societe Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aeronautiques (SABCA).
The new prototype went airborne for the first time during 1930 and competed openly against other types for the Belgian Air Force contract. However, it did not impress enough and was passed on in favor of the Fairey "Firefly II" biplane fighter of British origin.
Despite the defeat, a third prototype - the "Renard Epervier Type 3" - was built and ultimately tested by the Belgian Air Force itself. This mixed-construction offering was differentiated from the previous forms by its Rolls-Royce "F" engine of 480 horsepower and an all-new wing. However it served little beyond an evaluation product and was not adopted at any level.
The Renards continued their work in the field which resulted in several more pre-war types including the R-36, R-37, and R-38 monoplane fighters. None of these aircraft succeeded in their attempts - namely due to foreign competition or the German invasion and subsequent occupation of Belgium in World War 2.
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