Fairey Firefly

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Firefly

The Fairey Firefly was a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and
anti-submarine aircraft principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). It was
developed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation
Company.

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 navigator/weapons officer 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 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post-war era, it was soon superseded in the fighter role by the arrival of more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 was found in various
secondary roles, such as trainers, target tugs and drone aircraft.

The Firefly was a low-wing cantilever monoplane, featuring an oval-section metal
semi-monocoque fuselage and a conventional tail unit with forward-placed
tailplane. It was powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon liquid-cooled piston engine,
which drove a four-blade Rotol-built propeller. A large chin-mounted radiator
was present to provide cooling for the engine. The Firefly had retractable main
undercarriage and tail wheel, the hydraulically-actuated main landing gear
retracting inwards into the underside of the wing centre-section. This
undercarriage was widely-set, a highly useful feature for carrier landings. The
aircraft was also fitted with a retractable arrester hook mounted underneath the
rear fuselage. The pilot's cockpit was located above the leading edge of the
wing while the observer/radio-operator/navigator was positioned aft of the
wing's trailing edge; these positions provided for better visibility for
operating and landing. Both crew were provided with separate jettisonable
canopies.

The Firefly was equipped with an all-metal wing which could be folded manually,
the wings ending up along the sides of the fuselage when folded; when in the
flying position, the wings were hydraulically locked in place. The wing itself
featured square tips and large Fairey-Youngman flaps, which provided relatively
good handling while flown at low speeds. A total of four 20mm cannon were buried
within the wings, which was considered to be relatively heavy armament for the
era. According to pilots, the general handling of the Firefly was relatively
well-balanced, but a level of physical strength was required to effectively
execute aerobatics.

During 1942, handling and performance trials were first undertaken at RAF
Boscombe Down; by 1944, the Firefly had been cleared to use underwing rocket
projectiles and, by April 1944, tests involving a double-underwing load of 16
rockets and a pair of 45 gallon (205 l) drop tanks still provided acceptable
handling. Further testing with two 90 gallon (410 l) drop tanks or two 1,000 lb
(454 kg) bombs deemed acceptable albeit with "...a small adverse effect on
handling..." while "...handling with a single 1,000 lb (454 kg) bomb was
unpleasant, but manageable." Performance trials at 11,830 lb (5,366 kg)
indicated a maximum speed of 315 mph (508 km/h) at 16,800 ft (5,121 m); a climb
to 20,000 ft (6,096 m) took 12.4 minutes, along with a maximum climb rate of
2,140 fpm (10.87 m/s) at 3,800 ft (1,158 m), and a service ceiling of 30,100 ft
(9,174 m).

Role
Carrier fighter

Manufacturer
Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd.

First flight
22 December 1941

Introduction
March 1943

Retired
1956 (Royal Navy)

Status
Out of production, retired

Primary users
Royal Navy
Royal Australian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Netherlands Navy

Produced
1941–1955

Number built
1,702

The primary variant of the aircraft used during the Second World War was the
Firefly Mk I, which was operated in all theatres of operation. During March
1943, the first Firefly Mk Is were delivered to the FAA; however, these did not
enter operational service until July 1944, at which point they equipped 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 same year,
Fireflies also provided air cover and aerial reconnaissance during strikes 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. In these
theatres, the type was interchangeably used against both Japanese ground targets
and fighter aircraft. FAA Fireflies carried out attacks on oil refineries and
airfields; it was repeatedly dispatched against several 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.

During the Korean War of the 1950s, both British and Australian Fireflies
carried out anti-shipping patrols and ground strikes from various aircraft
carriers positioned offshore. Additional missions roles including anti-submarine
patrols and aerial observation, as well as assisting battleships in providing
effective naval gunfire support. Numerous FAA Fireflies were loaned to the
Australian Navy during the conflict as many of its aircraft did not feature
cannons when configured for anti-submarine warfare. Despite several incidents of
aircraft being struck by anti-aircraft fire, the Firefly provided to be
relatively rugged. The type was routinely used for strike operations against
targets such as bridges and railway lines to damage North Korean logistics and
communications; as the war went on, pilots developed new low-level dive-bombing
techniques to achieve greater accuracy. Combat use of the Firefly in the theatre
continued until the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement on 27 July 1953,
although post-armistice patrols involving the type continued for several years
afterwards.

FAA Fireflies were again deployed in the Far East amid the Malayan Emergency,
where it was used conduct to ground-attack operations against Malayan Communist
Party insurgents. The Firefly's front line career with the FAA came to an end
shortly following the introduction of the newer and larger Fairey Gannet, which
effectively replaced the type. The RAN also decided to relegate their Fireflies
to secondary duties following the adoption of newer aircraft, such as the Gannet
and the jet-powered de Havilland Sea Venom. Several versions of the type were
developed later in its career to serve in a number of secondary roles, including
as trainers, target tugs and drone aircraft. As an example, the Indian Navy
acquired a batch of 10 aircraft during the mid-50s for target tug purposes. By
the end of the 1950s, many operators were disposing of their remaining
Fireflies, typically as scrap.

During 1960, in response to territorial demands and threats issued by Indonesia,
the Netherlands chose to deploy a number of Firefly AS.Mk 4s to Dutch New
Guinea. As Indonesian forces began to infiltrate the territory, the Fireflies
carried out attack operations during early 1962; these strikes continued until a
political settlement was negotiated between the two countries.

Specifications (Mk I)

General characteristics
Crew: Two (pilot & observer)
Length: 37 ft 7¼ in (11.46 m)
Wingspan: 44 ft 6 in (13.57 m)
Height: 13 ft 7 in (4.14 m)
Wing area: 328 ft² (30.5 m²)
Empty weight: 9,750 lb (4,432 kg)
Loaded weight: 14,020 lb (6,373 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Griffon IIB liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,730 hp
(1,290 kW)

Performance
Maximum speed: 316 mph (275 kn, 509 km/h) at 14,000 ft (4,300 m)
Range: 1,300 mi (1,130 nmi, 2,090 km)
Service ceiling: 28,000 ft (8,530 m)
Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 5 min 45 sec

Armament

Guns: 4 × 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons
Rockets: 8 × RP-3 "60 lb" rockets
Bombs: 2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs under wings




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