FR Fireball
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| Ryan FR-1 Fireball | ||
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| Missing image FR-1_Fireball.jpg FR-1 Fireball Ryan FR-1 Fireball | ||
| Description | ||
| Role | Fighter | |
| Crew | One | |
| First Flight | June 25, 1944 | |
| Entered Service | March 1945 | |
| Manufacturer | Ryan Aeronautical Company | |
| Dimensions | ||
| 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 |
| Weights | ||
| Empty | 7,915 lb | 3590 kg |
| Loaded | 10,595 lb | 4806 kg |
| Maximum takeoff | lb | kg |
| Powerplant | ||
| Engines | Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone radial piston engine General Electric J31 turbojet | |
| Power | 1,425 hp | 1060 kW |
| Thrust | 1,600 lbf | 7.1 kN |
| Performance | ||
| Maximum speed | 426 mph | 686 km/h |
| Combat range | 1,300 miles | 2,100 km |
| Ferry range | miles | km |
| Service ceiling | 43,100 ft | 13,100 m |
| Rate of climb | ft/min | m/min |
| Wing loading | lb/ft² | kg/m² |
| Armament | ||
| Guns | 4 × .50 cal machine-guns | |
| Bombs | 2 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs | |
| Rockets | 4 under wings | |
The Ryan FR Fireball was a composite propeller and jet powered aircraft designed for the United States Navy during World War II. They 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.
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. A composite design allowed for conventional piston-powered flight but gave a jet for higher speeds.
FR-1_Fireball_engines_off.jpg
The first prototype flew on June 25, 1944 but it was lost in a crash 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.
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.
The aircraft were withdrawn fairly soon after the war's end.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.
US Navy pilots considered Fireball to be a uniquely poorly chosen name, given its 'fiery accident' connotations.
The FR-1 Fireball was developed into the F2R Dark Shark, which replaced the piston engine with a turboprop, but this never entered service.
One FR-1 Fireball survives at the Planes of Fame Flying Museum, at Chino, California, and it is in the process of restoration to display condition.
| Related content | |
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| Related Development | |
| Similar Aircraft | |
| Designation Series |
FR Fireball - F2R Dark Shark |
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