Fairey Firefly

Fairey Firefly
Fairey Firefly AS.Mk 6
Type	Carrier Fighter
Manufacturer	Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd.
Maiden flight	22nd December 1941
Introduced	1943
Status	Retired
Primary user	Fleet Air Arm
Produced	1941-1955
Number built	1,702

The Fairey Firefly was a British Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. It was superior in performance and firepower to its predecessor, the Fairey Fulmar, but did not enter operational service until towards the end of the war. It remained a mainstay of the FAA until the mid-1950s.

Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational service 3 Variants 4 Survivors 5 Operators 6 Specifications (Mk I) 7 Specifications (Mk IV) 8 References 9 External links 10 Related content

Design and development

The Firefly was designed by H.E. Chaplin at Fairey Aviation in 1940; in June 1940, the Admiralty ordered 200 aircraft to meet Specification N.5/40. The prototype of the Mk I Firefly flew on 22 December 1941. Although it was two tons heavier than the Fulmar (due largely to its armament of two 20 mm cannon in each wing), the Firefly was 40 mph (64 km/h) faster due to improved aerodynamics and a more powerful engine, the 1,730 hp (1290 kW) Rolls-Royce Griffon IIB. The Firefly is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with oval-section metal semi-monocoque fuselage and conventional tail unit with forward placed tailplane. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon liquid-cooled piston engine with a three-blade aircrew. The Firefly had retractable main landing gear and tail wheel, with the hydraulic operated main landing gear retracting inwards into the underside of the wing centre-section. The aircraft also had a retractable deck arrester-hook under the rear fuselage. The Pilot's cockpit was over the leading edge of the wing and the observer/radio-operator/navigator aft of the wing trailing edge. Both crew had separate jettisonable canopies. The all metal wing could be folded manually, with the wings along the sides of the fuselage. When in the flying position the wings were hydraulically locked.^[1]

Operational service

The primary variant of the aircraft used during the Second World War was the Mk 1, which was used in all theatres of operation. In March 1943, the first Firefly Mk Is were delivered but they did not enter operational service until July 1944 when they equipped No. 1770 Squadron aboard HMS Indefatigable. The first operations were in Europe where Fireflies made armed reconnaissance flights and anti-shipping strikes along the Norwegian coast. Fireflies also provided air cover during the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz in 1944. Throughout its operational career, the Firefly took on increasingly more demanding roles from fighter to anti-submarine warfare stationed mainly with the British Pacific Fleet in the Far East and Pacific theatres. Fireflies carried out attacks on oil refineries and airfields and gained renown when they became the first British-designed and -built aircraft to overfly Tokyo. After the Second World War, the Firefly remained in service in the UK, Canada and Australia. The Royal Canadian Navy employed 65 Fireflies of the Mk AS 5 type onboard its own aircraft carriers between 1946 and 1954. FAA Fireflies carried out anti-ship missions off various aircraft carriers in the Korean War as well as serving in the ground-attack role in Malaya. The Firefly's FAA frontline career ended with the introduction of the Fairey Gannet.

Variants

Firefly Mk I / FR.Mk I

Two variants of the Mk I Firefly were built; 429 "fighter" Firefly F Mk Is, built by Fairey and General Aircraft Ltd, and 376 "fighter/reconnaissance" Firefly FR Mk Is (which were fitted with the ASH detection radar). The last 334 Mk Is built were upgraded with the 1,765 hp (1,316 kW) Griffon XII engine.

Firefly F.Mk 1A

Firefly NF.Mk II

Only 37 Mk II Fireflies were built, all of which were night fighter Firefly NF Mk IIs. They had a slightly longer fuselage than the Mk I and had modifications to house their airborne interception (AI) radar.

Firefly NF.Mk I

The NF.II was superseded by the Firefly NF Mk I "night fighter" variant.

Firefly T.Mk 1

Two-seat pilot training aircraft. Post-war conversion of the Firefly Mk I.

Firefly T.Mk 2

Armed operational training aircraft. Post-war conversion of the Firefly Mk I.

Firefly T.Mk 3

Used for Anti-submarine warfare training. Post-war conversion of the Firefly Mk I.

Firefly TT.Mk I

Postwar, a small number of Firefly Mk Is were converted into target tug aircraft.

Firefly Mk III

A Firefly Mk III was proposed, based on the Griffon 61 engine, but never entered production.

• The Firefly Mk IV was equipped with the 2,330 hp (1,740 kW) Griffon 72 engine and first flew in 1944, but did not enter service until after the end of the war.

Firefly FR.Mk 4

Firefly Mk 5

Firefly NF.Mk 5

Firefly RF.Mk 5

• The later Firefly AS.Mk 5 was an anti-submarine aircraft, which carried American sonobuoys and equipment.

Firefly Mk 6

• The Fairefly AS.Mk 6 was an anti-submarine aircraft, which carried British equipment.

Firefly TT.Mk 4/5/6

Small numbers of AS.4/5/6s were converted into target tug aircraft.

• The Firefly AS.Mk 7 was an anti-submarine aircraft, powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffin 59 piston engine.
• The Firefly T.Mk 7 was an interim ASW training aircraft.
• The Firefly U.Mk 8 was a target drone aircraft; 34 Firefly T.7s were diverted on the production line for completion as target drones.
• The Firefly U.Mk 9 was a target drone aircraft; 40 existing Firefly Mk AS.4 and AS.5 aircraft were converted to this role.

Survivors

There are approximately 24 Fairey Fireflies surviving worldwide, including three airworthy examples and at least one other being restored to flying condition. The Fleet Air Arm Museum, possesses two Fireflies, the latest acquisition arriving in 2000 from the Imperial War Museum Duxford. Firefly WB271 was destroyed in July 2003 during an aerobatic air display at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire- Europe's largest display of vintage war planes. The airworthy examples are at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (Canada) where Firefly AS 6 WH632 was flyable but after a crash and subsequent repairs, has been redesignated as a static museum display as an RCN Firefly AS 5, and Firefly AS 6 WD826 at the Royal Australian Navy Historic Flight, NAS Nowra NSW (Australia). Fairey Firefly WB518 is the latest flyable Firefly. It was one of the first ten MK VIs built, but retained the earlier MK V fuselage. Originally delivered to the Royal Australian Navy's 817 Squadron, it served in 816 Squadron before being retired and ended up as a memorial on a pole in Griffith, New South Wales. Purchased by American Eddie Kurdziel, a former US Navy pilot and Northwest Airlines captain, after an extensive restoration, WB518 made its first public appearance at the 2002 Oshkosh event. Other survivors include: Firefly AS 6 WD827 first owned by the Australian Air League, Blacktown NSW. and later was transferred to Point Cook where it is now on display in the Moorabin Museum, Melbourne Victoria. AS 6 WD833 is owned by Henry "Butch" Schroeder who moved the aircraft to Danville, Illinois USA for restoration, however, present wheareabouts of the aircraft are unclear. Firefly AS 6 WJ109 is now on display at Australia's Museum of Flight, Nowra NSW. Two Fairey Fireflies are known to exist in Canada: one is at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa and another is being restored at the Shearwater Aviation Museum at Eastern Passage (near Dartmouth), Nova Scotia. Both are Mk I models that served in the Canadian Navy from 1946 to 1954, after which they were sold to the Ethiopian Air Force. Following their discovery in the Ethiopian desert in 1993, they were repatriated to Canada. See also VX381 Fairey Firefly wreck - crash of two aircraft in Australia, 27 November 1956

Operators

Wartime

 United Kingdom

• Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm

Post War

 Australia

• Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm (RAN)
  • No. 723 Squadron RAN
  • No. 724 Squadron RAN
  • No. 725 Squadron RAN
  • No. 816 Squadron RAN
  • No. 817 Squadron RAN
  • No. 851 Squadron RAN

 Canada

• Royal Canadian Navy

 Denmark

 Ethiopia

 Netherlands

 Sweden

 Thailand

 United Kingdom

• Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm

Specifications (Mk I)

General characteristics

• Crew: Two (pilot & observer)
• Length: 37 ft 7 in (11.46 m)
• Wingspan: 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
• Height: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
• Wing area: 330 ft² (31m²)
• Empty weight: 9,460 lb (4,254 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 14,020 lb (6,359 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Griffon IIB liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,730 hp (1,290 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 316 mph at 14,000 ft (509 km/h at 4,300 m)
• Range: 1,070 miles (1,722 km) with auxiliary tanks
• Service ceiling 28,000 ft (8,530 m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)

Armament

• 4 × 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons
• 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb or 8 × 60 lb (27 kg) rockets

Specifications (Mk IV)

General characteristics

• Crew: Two (pilot & observer)
• Length: 37 ft 11 in (11.53 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft 2 in (12.55 m)
• Height: 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m)
• Wing area: 330 ft² (30.66 m²)
• Empty weight: 9,460 lb (4,300 kg)
• Loaded weight: 13,200 lb (6,000 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 14,020 lb (6,359 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Griffon IIB liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,730 hp (1,290 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 386 mph at 14,000 ft (618 km/h at 4,300 m)
• Range: 1,070 miles (1,722 km) with auxiliary tanks
• Service ceiling 28,000 ft (8,530 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,900 ft/min (9.7 m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)

Armament

• 4 × 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons
• 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bomb under wings
• 8 pairs of 60 lb (27 kg) rockets

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Video of Fairey Firefly Mk 5 taxiing at an airshow
• Shearwater Aviation Museum Firefly restoration
• Firefly under restoration[This link appears to be broken]
• Warbird Registry - Fairey Firefly

Related content

Comparable aircraft

• Fairey Fulmar

Designation sequence

Albacore - Barracuda - Firefly - Spearfish

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