Fairey Firefly
Fairey Firefly Mk V
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. Download high resolution version (2370x1504, 238 KB)Fairey Firefly, Oshkosh 2002, taken and submitted by Paul Maritz (paulmaz) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... The Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Heyes (Middlesex) and Heaton Chapel/Ringway in Greater Manchester. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... (Redirected from 22nd December) December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Four aircraft carriers, Principe-de-Asturias, USS Wasp, USS Forrestal and HMS Invincible (front-to-back), showing the difference in size between a supercarrier, light V/STOL carriers, and an amphibious carrier. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... The Fulmar was a carrier-borne fighter aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm built by Fairey Aviation during 1940. ...

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 Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Heyes (Middlesex) and Heaton Chapel/Ringway in Greater Manchester. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Old Admiralty House, Whitehall, London, Thomas Ripley, architect, 1723-26, was not admired by his contemporaries and earned him some scathing couplets from Alexander Pope The Admiralty was historically the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... (Redirected from 22 December) December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1941: Events Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic Ocean. ... This article is about the branch of Physics. ... Rolls-Royce Griffon The Rolls-Royce Griffon was a 2,240 in³ (36. ...

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. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom France Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Charles de Gaulle Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1944: Events January January 11 - in one of the largest air raids to date, 570 USAAF bombers strike Brunswick, Halberstadt, and Oschersleben. ... HMS Indefatigable (R10) was an Implacable-class aircraft carrier of the British Royal Navy. ... For other uses, see Battleship (disambiguation). ... Tirpitz was the second Bismarck class battleship of the German Kriegsmarine, sistership of Bismarck. ...

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. The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a multinational Allied naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was comprised mainly of British Commonwealth naval vessels. ... The far east as a cultural block includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and South Asia. ...

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. In 1956, the Firefly's FAA frontline career ended with the introduction of the Fairey Gannet. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the navy of Canada from 1911 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces. ... Combatants United Nations: Republic of Korea  Australia  Belgium Canada  Colombia Ethiopia  France Greece  Netherlands  New Zealand  Philippines South Africa  Thailand  Turkey  United Kingdom United States Medical staff:  Denmark  India  Italy  Norway  Sweden Communist states: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea People’s Republic of China  Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee... The Malayan Emergency was an insurrection and guerrilla war of the Malay Races Liberation Army against the British and Malayan administration from 1948-1960 in what is now Malaysia. ... The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne Anti-submarine warfare and Airborne Early Warning aircraft of the immediate post World War II-era developed for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. ...

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 T.Mk 1 : After the war a number of Firefly Mk Is were converted in pilot training aircraft.

Firefly with wings folded, Oshkosh, 2002.

• 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 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. The later Firefly AS 5 and AS 6 followed for anti-submarine duties. General Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1934 to amalgamation with Blackburn Aircraft in 1949 to become Blackburn and General. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... This long range Radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine and map the location, direction, and/or speed... Download high resolution version (2160x1440, 1124 KB)Fairey Firelfy, Wings Folded, Oshkosh, 2002, taken and submitted by Paul Maritz (paulmaz) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (2160x1440, 1124 KB)Fairey Firelfy, Wings Folded, Oshkosh, 2002, taken and submitted by Paul Maritz (paulmaz) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night, or in other times of bad visibility. ...

• 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 four 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. The most well known flying Firefly is in the Royal Naval Historic Flight, Fairey Firefly MK5 WB271. The other 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 redsignated 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 10 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. Museum building with a CF-104 Starfighter mounted as a monument The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is one of the major aviation museums in Canada. ...

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.

Specifications (Mk I)

General characteristics

• Crew: Two
• 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 (m²)
• Empty weight: lb (kg)
• Loaded weight: lb (kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 14,020 lb (6,359 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Griffon IIB liquid-cooled V-12, 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 with auxiliary tanks (1,722 km)
• Service ceiling: 28,000 ft (8,530 m)
• Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)

Armament

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

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... Rolls-Royce Griffon The Rolls-Royce Griffon was a 2,240 in³ (36. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... The 20mm caliber is a specific size of cannon or autocannon ammunition, commonly the smallest caliber which is unambiguously a cannon (or more commonly today, autocannon) and not a heavy machine gun. ... The Hispano-Suiza HS.404 20 mm autocannon was one of the most widely used aircraft weapons of the 20th century, used by British, American, French, and many other military services. ...

Specifications (Mk IV)

General characteristics

• Crew: Two
• 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: lb (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 V-12, 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 with auxiliary tanks (1,722 km)
• Service ceiling: 28,000 ft (8,530 m)
• Rate of climb: 1900 ft/min (9.7 m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)

Armament

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

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... Rolls-Royce Griffon The Rolls-Royce Griffon was a 2,240 in³ (36. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... The 20mm caliber is a specific size of cannon or autocannon ammunition, commonly the smallest caliber which is unambiguously a cannon (or more commonly today, autocannon) and not a heavy machine gun. ... The Hispano-Suiza HS.404 20 mm autocannon was one of the most widely used aircraft weapons of the 20th century, used by British, American, French, and many other military services. ...

Operators

Wartime

• United Kingdom
  • Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm

Post War The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ...

• 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

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. ... Final approach to HMAS Melbourne The Fleet Air Arm is the operational part of the Royal Australian Navy responsible for the operation of aircraft aboard ship. ... 816 Squadrons crest 816 Squadron is a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. ... 817 Squadrons crest 817 Squadron is a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. ... 851 Squadron was a Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. ... The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the navy of Canada from 1911 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ...

See also

• VX381 Fairey Firefly wreck - crash of two aircraft in Australia, 27 November 1956

Fairey Firefly VX381 is a Fairey Firefly aircraft that crashed on 27 November 1956 in Jervis Bay, New South Wales, Australia. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• Bussy, Geoffrey. Fairey Firefly: F.Mk.1 to U.Mk.9 (Warpaint Series 28). Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: Hall Park Books Ltd., 2001. ISBN 0-9999-00284.
• Harrison, William A. Fairey Firefly - The Operational Record. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife, 1992. ISBN 1-85310-196-6.
• Harrison, William A. Fairey Firefly in Action. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 2006. ISBN 0-89747-501-1.

External links

[1] Video of Fairey Firefly Mk 5 taxiing at an airshow [2] Firefly under restoration

Related content

Comparable aircraft

Fairey Fulmar The Fulmar was a carrier-borne fighter aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm built by Fairey Aviation during 1940. ...

Designation sequence

Albacore - Barracuda - Firefly - Spearfish - The Fairey Albacore is a single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Fleet Air Arm. ... The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive-bomber used during World War II, the first of its type to be fabricated entirely from metal. ... Fairey Spearfish was a World War II British torpedo bomber. ...