FR Fireball

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FR-1 Fireball
Type	Fighter
Manufacturer	Ryan Aeronautical Company
Designed by	Benjamin Tyler Salmon
Maiden flight	25 June 1944
Primary user	United States Navy
Produced	1944–1945
Number built	66

The Ryan FR Fireball was a composite propeller and jet-powered aircraft designed for the United States Navy during World War II. The Fireball entered service before the end of the war, but did not see combat. The FR-1 Fireball was the US Navy's first aircraft with jet propulsion.

Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Survivors 4 Operators 5 Specifications (FR-1 Fireball) 6 Related content

[edit] Design and development

Design began in 1943 to a proposal instigated by Admiral John S. McCain, Sr. for a composite-powered fighter; early jet engines had sluggish acceleration which was considered unsafe and unsuitable for aircraft carrier takeoff and landing. Ryan aeronautical engineer Benjamin Tyler Salmon was tasked with designing a plane to meet these criteria. His solution was a composite design that allowed for conventional piston-powered flight but gave a jet for higher speeds.

The first prototype flew on 25 June 1944, but it was lost in a crash at China Lake NAS in October that year. Investigation showed that the wing rivets were insufficiently strong, a problem cured by doubling the number of rivets, but not before the other two prototypes crashed in similar fashion.

[edit] Operational history

Orders for 700 aircraft were placed, but only 66 were delivered before Japan's surrender. One squadron, VF-66, was equipped with the aircraft before war's end, but they never saw combat.cThe Fireball was the first American aircraft to land under jet power on a ship, on the escort carrier USS Wake Island on 6 November 1945. US Navy pilots considered Fireball to be a uniquely poorly chosen name, given its "fiery accident" connotations.

The aircraft were withdrawn fairly soon after the war's end. With the rapid advance in technology, and the removal of the pressing need to get anything into combat quickly, the Navy decided to wait for better aircraft to be developed.

The FR-1 Fireball was developed into the F2R Dark Shark, which replaced the piston engine with a turboprop, but this never entered service.

[edit] Survivors

One FR-1 Fireball survives at the Planes of Fame Flying Museum at Chino, California, and is in the process of restoration to display condition.

[edit] Operators

•  United States : United States Navy

[edit] Specifications (FR-1 Fireball)

General characteristics

• Crew: one
• Length: 32 ft 4 in (12.19 m)
• Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
• Height: 13 ft 7¼ in (4.15 m)
• Wing area: 275 ft² (25.6 m²)
• Empty weight: 7,915 lb (3,590 kg)
• Loaded weight: 10,595 lb (4,806 kg)
• Powerplant:
  • 1× General Electric J31 turbojet, 1,600 lb_f (7.1 kN)
  • 1× Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone radial engine, 1,425 hp (1,060 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 426 mph (686 km/h)
• Range: 1,300 miles (2,100 km)
• Service ceiling: 43,100 ft (13,100 m)

Armament

• 4 × .50 cal M2 Browning machine guns
• 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs
• 4 × rockets under wings

[edit] Related content

Related development

F2R Dark Shark

Designation sequence

FR Fireball - F2R Dark Shark

Related lists

List of military aircraft of the United States