This article is about the 1940s British fighter. For the British single-seat biplane fighter of the 1930s, see Fairey Firefly II. For the 1920s British fighter, see Fairey Firefly I.
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Firefly
Operational FAA Fairey Firefly FR.1 wearing late World War II camouflage
Role
Carrier-borne fighter
Strike fighter
Aerial reconnaissance
Type of aircraft
Manufacturer
Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd.
First flight
22 December 1941[1]
Introduction
March 1943[2]
Retired
1956 (Royal Navy)
Status
Retired from military service
Primary users
Royal Navy Royal Australian Navy Royal Canadian Navy Royal Netherlands Navy
Produced
1941–1955
Number built
1,702[2]
The Fairey Firefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was 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 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 During the post-war era, it was soon superseded in the fighter role by the arrival of more modern jet aircraft, thus the Firefly was adapted to perform in other roles, including strike operations and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.
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The FaireyFirefly is a Second World War-era carrier-borne fighter aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft that was principally operated by the Fleet Air...
The FaireyFirefly IIM was a British fighter of the 1930s. It was a single-seat, single-engine biplane of all-metal construction. Built by Fairey Aviation...
that designed important military aircraft, including the Fairey III family, the Swordfish, Firefly, and Gannet. It had a strong presence in the supply of...
The FaireyFirefly was a British fighter of the 1920s from Fairey Aviation. It was a single-seat, single-engine biplane of mixed construction. The Firefly...
RAF, Fairey demonstrated it to the Belgian Air Force, which wanted a light bomber to replace its Breguet 19s and had already bought FaireyFirefly II fighters...
lb (45 kg) or 250 lb (110 kg) bombs Related development Fairey Battle FaireyFireflyFairey P.4/34 Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era...
Corsair Hellcats of 1840 Naval Air Squadron FAA. FaireyFirefly FR.IV 1944 Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish was the FAA's Torpedo bomber at the start...
The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both...
produced. At the time, Fairey was mostly known for producing naval aircraft, such as the Fairey Swordfish biplane and the FaireyFirefly monoplane; the design...
crewmember in fighters for observation and navigation, and the Fairey Fulmar and the FaireyFirefly. The Blackburn Roc was a "turret fighter" and the second...
Force and Royal Navy jet and propeller-powered aircraft (such as the FaireyFirefly, Gloster Meteor and de Havilland Sea Vixen used at RAE Llanbedr between...
in the post-war years, operating such types as the Hawker Sea Fury, FaireyFirefly and Douglas Skyraider. Many air arms however continued to operate target...
The Fairey Albacore is a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation. It was primarily...
the early years, thousands of dinghies were produced by Fairey Marine including the Firefly, Albacore, Falcon (dinghy), Swordfish (dinghy), Jollyboat...
On 7 October 1946 a FaireyFirefly of the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service crashed next to the Hogere Burgerschool in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. The...
aircraft, and 812 NAS received the FR.Mk 5 variant of the FaireyFirefly. Four FaireyFirefly NF.Mk I "night fighter" variant aircraft were also received...
Corsair, an American fighter aircraft. 814 NAS replaced its Fairey Barracuda with FaireyFirefly, a carrier-borne fighter aircraft, in December 1945. Then...
HMCS Warrior in 1946, the RCN received its first aircraft, operating FaireyFirefly fighter-bombers and Supermarine Seafire fighters loaned from the Royal...
until the end of the year. No. 812 Squadron was re-equipped with the FaireyFirefly, and returned to Australia in January 1946, where they were based HMS Nabthorpe...
The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the...
Squadron was re-formed as a Royal Australian Navy FAA squadron operating FaireyFirefly aircraft. The Squadron formed part of the 20th Carrier Air Group embarked...
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