Ryan FR Fireball
FR-1 Fireball | |
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An FR-1 Fireball of NAS North Island , 1945
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Role | Fighter |
National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Ryan Aeronautical |
First flight | 25 June 1944 |
Introduction | March 1945 |
Retired | 1 August 1947 |
Primary user | United States Navy |
Produced | 1944–1945 |
Number built | 71 |
Developed into | Ryan XF2R Dark Shark |
The Ryan FR Fireball was an American mixed-power (piston and jet-powered) fighter aircraft designed by Ryan Aeronautical for the United States Navy during World War II. It was the Navy's first aircraft with a jet engine.[1] Only 66 aircraft were built before Japan surrendered in August 1945. The FR-1 Fireball equipped a single squadron before the war's end, but did not see combat. The aircraft ultimately proved to lack the structural strength required for operations aboard aircraft carriers and was withdrawn in mid-1947.
Design and development
Design of the FR-1 began in 1943 to a proposal instigated by Admiral John S. McCain Sr. for a mixed-powered fighter because early jet engines had sluggish acceleration that was considered unsafe and unsuitable for carrier operations. Ryan received a contract for three XFR-1 prototypes and one static test airframe on 11 February 1943 with the first two prototypes delivered in 14 months.[2] Another contract was placed for 100 aircraft on 2 December 1943 and a later contract on 31 January 1945 increased the total of FR-1s on order to 700.[1]
The XFR-1 was a single-seat, low-wing
The Fireball was armed with four
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/Ryan_FR-1_Fireballs_aboard_USS_Ranger_%28CV-4%29%2C_in_May_1945_%28USN_1053774%29.jpg/220px-Ryan_FR-1_Fireballs_aboard_USS_Ranger_%28CV-4%29%2C_in_May_1945_%28USN_1053774%29.jpg)
The first XFR-1 made its first flight on 25 June 1944 without its jet engine, but this was installed shortly afterward. The second prototype first flew on 20 September 1944. Test flights confirmed
The first prototype was lost in a crash at
Operational testing by the
The FR-1 Fireball was further developed into the XFR-2 which utilized a 1,425 hp (1,063 kW) Wright R-1820-74W in place of the -72W. One single airframe was converted to this configuration. No prototypes were built for the next proposed variant, the FR-3, which would have used a General Electric I-20 turbojet. Both of these projects were canceled with the end of the war.
On 2 December 1943, orders for 100 production FR-1s were placed, with a follow-up order of 1,000 additional fighters in January 1945. All of the contracts were contingent on the aircraft successfully completing carrier trials. Only 66 Fireballs were completed by November 1945 as orders for 1,044 FR-1s were canceled on VJ Day.[10]
Operational history
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/FR-1_launches_from_USS_Badoeng_Strait_1947.jpg/180px-FR-1_launches_from_USS_Badoeng_Strait_1947.jpg)
One squadron,
It has been claimed that a Fireball of VF-41 became the first aircraft to land under jet power on an aircraft carrier, albeit without prior planning, on 6 November 1945.[12] After the radial engine of an FR-1 failed on final approach to the escort carrier Wake Island, the pilot managed to start the jet engine and land, barely catching the last arrestor wire before hitting the ship's crash barrier.[13][N 1] However, there is evidence that the aircraft may have still benefited from some residual power from its Wright R-1820 and therefore the landing was not purely under jet power.[15] The squadron was attempting to qualify its pilots for carrier operations during this time, but only 14 of its 22 pilots made the six required takeoffs and landings. A number of accidents occurred when the nose gear failed on landing, but the pilots were at least partly responsible as they were slamming the nose gear onto the deck after landing on the main gear.[12]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Ryan_FR-1_VF-66_underside_1945.jpg/180px-Ryan_FR-1_VF-66_underside_1945.jpg)
The squadron qualified on the escort carrier
VF-1E conducted carrier qualification in March 1947 aboard the escort carrier Badoeng Strait and only eight pilots successfully qualified, not least because the FR-1s were proving to be too fragile to endure repeated carrier landings. During one brief deployment in June aboard Rendova, one aircraft broke in two during a hard landing. Subsequent inspections of the squadron's aircraft showed signs of structural failure and all the Fireballs were withdrawn by 1 August 1947.[17]
After the withdrawal of the type from service, except for a few examples retained for modifications and testing, the FR-1s were scrapped.[18]
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Variants
- XFR-1
- Military designation of the prototype Model 28 aircraft, three built.[19]
- FR-1 Fireball
- Single-seat fighter aircraft, 66 built.[19]
- FR-2
- Conversion with a Wright R-1820-74W replacing earlier piston engine, one aircraft modified.[7]
- FR-3
- Proposed variant with a General Electric I-20 replacing earlier jet engine; never built.[20]
- XFR-4
- Variant with Westinghouse J34; one built.[7]J34-WE-12.
Operators
The "Firebirds" squadron was known under three names:
- VF-66 (March 1945 – 15 October 1945)[21]
- VF-41 (15 October 1945 – 1 August 1947), redesignated VF-1E on 15 November 1946.[22]
Surviving aircraft
Only a single example, FR-1 BuNo 39657, still survives. Deployed first to the
Specifications (FR-1)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/Ryan_FR-1_Fireball.svg/300px-Ryan_FR-1_Fireball.svg.png)
Data from United States Navy Aircraft since 1911[19] and Ryan FR-1 Fireball and XF2R-1 Darkshark[24]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)
- Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
- Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
- Wing area: 275 sq ft (25.5 m2)
- Airfoil: root: NACA 65-117 a=1; tip: NACA 65-115 a=.5[25]
- Empty weight: 7,689 lb (3,488 kg)
- Gross weight: 11,652 lb (5,285 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,350 hp (1,010 kW)
- Powerplant: 1 × centrifugal-flow turbojetengine, 1,600 lbf (7.1 kN) thrust
- Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed fully-feathering propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 404 mph (650 km/h, 351 kn) both engines
- 276 mph (240 kn; 444 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 152 mph (245 km/h, 132 kn) piston engine only
- Ferry range: 1,620 mi (2,610 km, 1,410 nmi) (with 2 drop tanks)
- Service ceiling: 43,100 ft (13,100 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,800 ft/min (9 m/s) (Piston engine only, with 1 drop tank)
Armament
- Guns: 4 × M2 Browning machine gunswith 300 rpg
- Rockets: 8 × 5-inch (127 mm) rockets under wings
- Bombs: 2 × 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962)
- List of military aircraft of the United States
References
Notes
- ^ A month later on 4 December 1945, a Sea Vampire piloted by Royal Navy Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown was the first aircraft to perform an intentional and planned jet-powered landing on an aircraft carrier.[14]
Citations
- ^ a b Swanborough and Bowers 1990, p. 402.
- ^ Ginter 1995, p. 2.
- ^ a b Ginter 1995, pp. 5, 30.
- ^ Ginter 1995, pp. 3, 5.
- ^ Ginter 1995, p. 31.
- ^ Ginter 1995, pp. 32–33.
- ^ a b c d Ginter 1995, pp. 32, 57.
- ^ McDowell 1995, p. 39.
- ^ McDowell 1995, p. 45.
- ^ Green 1969, p. 186.
- ^ Ginter 1995, pp. 45–47, 51.
- ^ a b Ginter 1995, p. 52.
- ^ "First Jet Landing." Naval Aviation News, United States Navy, March 1946, p. 6.
- ^ Brown 2006, p. 136.
- ^ "The First Jet Carrier Landing - On This Day (Or Not)". Naval Air History. 6 November 2019.
- ^ Ginter 1995, pp. 52–53.
- ^ Ginter 1995, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Green 1969, p. 187.
- ^ a b c Swanborough and Bowers 1990, p. 403.
- ^ Ginter 1995, p. 57.
- ^ Ginter 1995, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Ginter 1995, pp. 52–55.
- ^ Mormillo, Frank B. "Prop-and-Jet Fireball rolled out." Flypast, No. 338, September 2009.
- ^ Ginter 1995, p. 1.
- ^ Lednicer, David. "The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage". m-selig.ae.illinois.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
Bibliography
- Brown, Eric. Wings on My Sleeve: The World's Greatest Test Pilot tells his Story. London: Orion Books, 2006. ISBN 0-297-84565-9.
- Ginter, Steve. Ryan FR-1 Fireball and XF2R-1 Darkshark, Naval Fighters Number 28. Simi Valley, California: Ginter Books, 1995. ISBN 0-942612-28-0.
- Green, William. "Ryan FR-1 Fireball". 'War Planes of the Second World War, Volume Four: Fighters. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., Sixth impression 1969, First edition 1961, pp. 186–187. ISBN 0-356-01448-7.
- Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "Ryan FR-1 Fireball". WW2 Fact Files: US Navy and Marine Corps Fighters. London: Macdonald and Jane's, 1976, pp. 66–68. ISBN 0-356-08222-9.
- McDowell, Ernest. FR-1 Fireball (Mini in action number 5). Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89747-344-2.
- Swanborough, Gordon and Peter M. Bowers. United States Navy Aircraft since 1911. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, Third edition 1990. ISBN 0-85177-838-0.
Further reading
- Bedford, Alan (May–June 1999). "Earl American Carrier Jets: Evolving Jet Operations with the US Fleet, Part One". Air Enthusiast (81): 13–19. ISSN 0143-5450.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Ryan FR-1 "Fireball" / XF2R-1 "DarkShark" page on Jets45 website
- "Prop+Jet=Fireball." Popular Mechanics, November 1945, pp. 8–9.