As a Belgian myself AND an aviation enthusiast to boot, I have known about the Renard designs for a long time, but for most of my followers I guess it will come as a surprise that in the late thirties, several sleek fighter prototypes represented an interesting 'what if' for Belgian military aviation. Unfortunately, the promising R36 lost its attractiveness for both the BAF and potential foreign buyers after the prototype crashed. And the R37 and R38 simply came too late to even be considered for purchase, as Belgium had alreay bought Hawker Hurricanes, Fiat CR42s and Brewster Buffaloes. Still, it's an interesting story, told well by Ed Nash:
A Renard type that DID make it in active BAF service was the R31, a parasol monoplane used for recce. In the event, during the so-called 18-Day Campaign in May 1940, it even performed some ground attacks. The type was Remi Van Lierde's mount.
MFBB.
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