Discover the fascinating Fairey Firefly, one of the most successful two-seat fighter/strike/attack aircraft used in WWII and beyond. While the type did have some teething problems at the beginning it proved its value across multiple theatres and two wars. The first action for the type was in Europe against the German battleship Tirpitz and then onto the Pacific against the Japanese, Later marks provided valuable service in the Korean War.
Development of the Firefly can be traced back to pair of specifications issued by the British Air Ministry in 1938, calling for new naval fighter designs. Designed to the contemporary FAA concept of a two-seat fleet reconnaissance/fighter, the pilot and observer were positioned at separate stations. In flight, the Firefly was superior in terms of both performance and firepower to its predecessor, the Fairey Fulmar. Due to a protracted development, the type only entered operational service towards the end of the conflict, at which point it was no longer competitive as a fighter. The limitations of a single engine in a relatively heavy airframe reduced its performance, but the Firefly proved to be a fairly sturdy, long-ranged, and docile aircraft during carrier operations.
The Fairey Firefly served in the Second World War as a fleet fighter. During the post-war era, it was soon superseded in the fighter role by the arrival of more modern jet aircraft, thus the Firefly was adapted to perform in other roles, including strike operations and anti-submarine warfare. In these capacities, it remained a mainstay of the FAA until the mid-1950s. Both British and Australian Fireflies routinely performed ground-attack operations from various aircraft carriers during the Korean War. In foreign service, the type was in operation with the naval air arms of Australia, Canada, India, and the Netherlands. As late as 1962, Dutch Fireflies were used to carry out attack sorties against Indonesian infiltrators in Dutch New Guinea. Its final uses were in various secondary roles, such as trainers, target tugs, and drone aircraft.
The primary variant of the aircraft used during the Second World War was the Firefly Mk I, which was used in all theatres of operations. During March 1943, the first Firefly Mk Is were delivered to the FAA but these did not enter operational service until July 1944, at which point they equipped the 1770 Naval Air Squadron aboard HMS Indefatigable. The first operations were flown in the European theatre where Fireflies carried out numerous armed reconnaissance flights and anti-shipping strikes along the Norwegian coast. That year, Fireflies also provided air cover and aerial reconnaissance during attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz.
Throughout its operational career, the Firefly took on increasingly demanding roles from fighter to anti-submarine warfare while being stationed mainly with the British Pacific Fleet in the Far East and Pacific theatres. The type was used against Japanese ground targets and fighter aircraft. FAA Fireflies carried out attacks on oil refineries and airfields and were repeatedly dispatched against Japanese-controlled islands up until Victory over Japan Day. The Firefly gained a level of public renown when the type became the first British-designed and -built aircraft to overfly the Japanese capital of Tokyo.
General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 37 ft 11 in (11.56 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 2 in (12.55 m)
Width: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m) wings folded
Height: 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m) including prop disc
Wing area: 330 sq ft (31 m2)
Empty weight: 9,674 lb (4,388 kg)
Gross weight: 12,727 lb (5,773 kg) stripped for fighter mission
13,479 lb (6,114 kg) normal
Max takeoff weight: 15,615 lb (7,083 kg) with two drop-tanks
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Griffon 74 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 2,300 hp (1,700 kW) for take-off
Propellers: 4-bladed Rotol constant-speed propeller
Performance
Maximum speed: 367-386 mph (591-621 km/h, 319-335 kn) at 14,000 ft (4,267 m)
330 mph (287 kn; 531 km/h) at sea level
Cruise speed: 209 mph (336 km/h, 182 kn)
Range: 760 mi (1,220 km, 660 nmi) on internal fuel at 209 mph (182 kn; 336 km/h)
Ferry range: 1,335 mi (2,148 km, 1,160 nmi) with 2 90 imp gal (110 US gal; 410 L) drop-tanks at 209 mph (182 kn; 336 km/h)
Service ceiling: 31,900 ft (9,700 m)
Time to altitude:
5,000 ft (1,524 m) in 3 minutes 36 seconds
10,000 ft (3,048 m) in 7 minutes 9 seconds
20,000 ft (6,096 m) in 10 minutes 30 seconds
Wing loading: 43 lb/sq ft (210 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.164 hp/lb (0.270 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 4 × 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano Mk.V cannon
Rockets: maximum 16x RP-3 60 lb (27.2 kg) rockets on 8 × zero-length launchers
Bombs: maximum 2x 1,000 lb (454 kg) on underwing pylons
Avionics
Radar
Radio
Night-flying instrumentation / equipment
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