Shown here is the rebuilt 1st prototype F.9/37 (L7999) with the lower powered 900 hp Taurus III [with this engine the aircraft achieved a speed of 534 km/h (332 mph] in flight sometime in 1940. This aircraft was originally fitted the 1,050 hp fourteen-cylinder Taurus TE/I air-cooled engine, which gave it a maximum speed of 579 km/h (360 mph) at 4,570 m (15,000 ft), and a service ceiling of 30,000 ft. A 2nd prototype (L8002) was fitted with a pair of 885 hp Rolls-Royce Peregrine inline engines, this achieving a speed of 531 km/h (320 mph). The 2nd prototype first flew on 22nd February, 1940. In spite of their obvious good qualities, neither variant was ordered into production. Both prototypes had an armament of two 20 mm (0.79 in) Hispano cannon in the nose and four 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Browning Mk.II machine-guns in the fuselage.
