A Palmetto Aviation Model 61E Fox of the 94th Night Bombardment Squadron stationed in Arkansas, Summer of 1943.
Palmetto Aviation's Model 61 bi-plane would be in fact a locally built licensed copy of a British designed plane from the Fairey Company under the same name, which the production rights would be granted to the Palmetto Aviation Company in 1927. Originally, these Confederate copies were to merely serve in civilian roles such as surveying, crop dusting, and some were used as barnstorming aircraft. At the same time, the Confederate Army operated a small batch (these planes being operated by a circus front organization), which this group under the command of then-Lieutenant Colonel Frank Maxwell Andrews (who would later go on to help form the Bomber Corps of the future CSAF) would conduct tests with these planes for the development of bomber tactics and formations. Later on, when the Confederate Air Force was formally created in 1934, 150 of the PA-61 Foxes would enter service as it's first tactical bomber as well as serving in other roles such as army co-operation, reconnaissance, and as trainers. In 1938, the Foxes would be phased out from service as light bombers in favor of the new Mule dive bombers. By then, Palmetto Aviation would make some substantial changes to the original British design as the installation of a new engine and a semi-enclosed cockpit. In addition to serving with the Air Force, substantial numbers would be used by the Confederate Navy's Air Service, serving as scouting and observation planes off of large warships as well from Caribbean Islands. In Air Force service during the SGW, the PA-61 would serve in a variety of roles, such as a basic trainer, reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and even in the roles of night bomber and anti-guerilla operations, which in the former role, would sneak on Union rear areas at night and cause tremendous devastation to them. In the latter, these planes would prove to be bane of the Black Guerilla's existence as they were used to seek out and attack them, or more commonly, report their positions to FPG units. Almost 1,600 PA-61s would be constructed by Palmetto Aviation between 1927 to 1942, besides the Confederate Air Force and Navy, other operators included Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Russia (all serving in Russian America), South Africa, and Costa Rica. This simple bi-plane would turn out to the Confederacy's longest serving and produced military aircraft, and would fight for the South until the very end.