A now sadly departed friend of mine flew Fireflies off HMS Glory in the Korean War. Mainly ground attack work. I asked him once what their game plan was for if they were attacked by the MiG 15. He said the Firefly was pretty manoeuvrable but if they were bounced from the 6 o’clock, the MiG would inevitably overshoot and then they could all open up with their 4 x 20mm cannon which with the tracer was a pretty impressive sight. I’ve got a photo of him carrying out the last landing on HMS Glory’s first Korean deployment. If I remember correctly, there was a tradition that the pilot who made the final landing of their deployment was awarded with some alcoholic beverages which certainly went down well. His worst memory though was not of a wartime operational flight. It was quite common for flight experience to be given to ground crew amongst others but on one such flight, the landing didn’t go according to plan and his Firefly went off the side of the flight deck. My friend got out. The guy in the observers position didn’t. I think that played on my friend’s mind more than any combat operation ever did.
@@Sherwoody Yes, there was also one that crashed at Duxford in around 2003 and I believe there might still be a couple of Firefly TT-1 at one of the restoration outfits at Duxford. I think they might have been ex-Swedish.
My grandfather won contracts from the Australian government, post war, to scrap surplus/redundant military aircraft. I remember playing in one of these at my Grandads factory. That was mid 60’s. That same aircraft has been fully restored and flying again. Have only recently become aware of the history/significance of this amazingly versatile plane. Great vid. Thanks.
I had just heard about this plane when I was reading the book about the British Navy in the Pacific. I had no idea that it was that involved in British Military History. Thank You so much for filling in all the gaps I did not know I had.
I was touching one a week ago. It's at the Royal Thai Air Force museum near Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, with its wings folded back. Next to it is a Spitfire FR XIVe. The Firefly is huge in comparison. The museum therefore has two Griffons and no Merlins, unless you count the wrecked one inside, which came from a P-51D shot down while attacking the airfield at Chiang Mai in 1945.
I remember passing Fairey's factory which was still at London Airport (Heathrow), maybe c.1960 and seeing a largish number of Firefly fuselages dumped on top of each other by the chain link fence adjoining the road.
Really great and concise little documentary. I know of the service of this fine aircraft in WW2 and Korea but nothing regarding the later variants. It was the Firefly along with other types that really made the British Pacific Fleet such a mighty force.
I never gave this aircraft much thought, and knew very little about it. An outstanding and versatile aircraft. This program really opened my eyes and the Firefly earned my respect ! Thankyou
Firefly video lets gooo! My most used plane in War Thunder This thing has such a scary armament with 4 20mm canons and a great range of bombs and rockets They can also fly forever, with a range of >2000km, for reference that's about 3/4 the length of America in a straight line The Mk I had elliptical wings until the Mk IV, which has the clipped tips going forward There's a surviving ones that got restored, parts were swapped between planes as far as I've heard, so part numbers don't line up all the time A lot of thought went into this thing being survivable, the fuel tank placement helps a lot as well (:
The ancient Airfix kit would be a bit difficult to get hold of nowadays, but Special Hobby have kitted it more recently in 1/72 and 1/48 scale. The larger kit is the easier to put together I think.
Firefly on both land and air proved effective weapons, the Sherman Firefly frightened the German Tiger Tanks and the Fairey Firefly did stering work over the years.
Amazing plane. Amazing philosophy. Defying the conventional focus on purpose built and specialized aircraft, the advantage of versatility is clearly superior.
It looks like the poor old pilot was cramped right up whilst, his tail end Charlie had room to stretch his legs lol. Cracking video about an aircraft well overlooked 👍😉
I knew no more than it was a plane for navy , had a griffin engine and by accounts I'd previously heard was liked by pilots. Apart from these few points vi knew nothing more. A great video and info on a plane that I have now a new found respect and their pilots...
Anyone notice that, on later Marks, they moved the radiators from the chin to the wing roots, Mosquito-style? Interestingly not mentioned in the Wikipedia article. They also did this with the Tempest Mark I prototype (which never went into serial production, most Tempests being Mark Vs with the chin radiator, and the Mark II with the Bristol Centaurus).
Looks like they put a big Lancaster Engine into a fighter plane, it looks like a cross between a Typhoon and a P-51 Mustang but bigger. I never saw this plane until this post.
I built the Airfix kit of the Firefly years ago. Back then I had never heard of the Firefly. I bought it because I thought it was a good looking aircraft.
Have never heard much about this plane, thanks for the information. The picture at 13:13 is a Fulmar, I think. I guess I did not tumble to this being converted to the 16x9 format until the end. /thanks for cropping rather than just stretching. It makes me wonder what was lost, however. Hard to make these compromises, I am sure.
I watched a firefly crash into Lake Ontario at Toronto air show in 1975 or so. Very tragic, looks like he stalled in a turn. Beautiful airplane though.
So the Fairy Firefly was a British plane that could be compared to Americas Voult F4U navy plane that fought in Korea & several Latin American Air Forces?!
I can never understand why the admiralty was fixated on multi seat fighters. The US navy did just fine with single seat designs. Nor can i ubderstand why the firefly wings folded muzzle up when Grumman types folded muzzle down which is far more sensible in a carrier based machine.
The US Navy had more advanced and secured navigation aid to help naval fighter pilots such as the YE-ZB radio homing beacon system which could pinpoint the carrier position for the pilot without the need of a dedicated navigator to operate. The Royal Navy adopted the system much later, unfortunately.
@@tvgerbil1984 So we got one piece of tech from them but we gave them steam catapults, angled decks and the mirror landing system. Plus we taught them how to operate the Corsair from carriers.
@@mothmagic1 Steam catapult was actually a German invention to launch V1 rockets with. RN experts examined V1 rocket sites after WW2 and adopted it for carrier operations launching aircrafts.
Getting Boxed would have helped. Jack of Most Trades see Lightning, Coursair and Thundetbolt. This aircraft was a major disappointment in the Far East.
It is worth noting that the 23 year life of this plane is considered "long", while the F-15 has been in service for 50 years and the F-16 for 40 years +. 🤔 I guess, with the cost of such things now, that's a good thing.
Yes but whereas jet fighters overal speed hasn't greatly improved since the early 60's the transition from propeller driven to jet powered fighters and bombers was pretty much of a quantum leap - so considering it's relatively late introduction as a propeller driven fighter-bomber it's 23 year service life looks a lot more impressive.
A stupid and ignorant comment considering that the British invented (Frank Whittle) the jet engine! Also innovating in such a new field is always going to be very hit and miss and I would argue given our much ore restricted budgets that say the USA's I would argue that we got as much if not better "bang for the buck" in terms of effective designs and builds.
We had the RNAS Firefly visit us at RAF Barkston Heath for our Families Open day in July 2003 in which I managed to sit in the front cockpit, it stayed that night in our Hangar and left the following morning for another airshow, sadly it crashed killing the Pilot and Engineer in the back, it transpired the Pilot had done an unauthorised aerobatic display and bellied it in. 😢
A now sadly departed friend of mine flew Fireflies off HMS Glory in the Korean War. Mainly ground attack work. I asked him once what their game plan was for if they were attacked by the MiG 15. He said the Firefly was pretty manoeuvrable but if they were bounced from the 6 o’clock, the MiG would inevitably overshoot and then they could all open up with their 4 x 20mm cannon which with the tracer was a pretty impressive sight.
I’ve got a photo of him carrying out the last landing on HMS Glory’s first Korean deployment. If I remember correctly, there was a tradition that the pilot who made the final landing of their deployment was awarded with some alcoholic beverages which certainly went down well. His worst memory though was not of a wartime operational flight. It was quite common for flight experience to be given to ground crew amongst others but on one such flight, the landing didn’t go according to plan and his Firefly went off the side of the flight deck. My friend got out. The guy in the observers position didn’t. I think that played on my friend’s mind more than any combat operation ever did.
There’s one with the Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton Ontario, Canada. It’s still flying.
@@Sherwoody Yes, there was also one that crashed at Duxford in around 2003 and I believe there might still be a couple of Firefly TT-1 at one of the restoration outfits at Duxford. I think they might have been ex-Swedish.
My grandfather won contracts from the Australian government, post war, to scrap surplus/redundant military aircraft. I remember playing in one of these at my Grandads factory. That was mid 60’s. That same aircraft has been fully restored and flying again. Have only recently become aware of the history/significance of this amazingly versatile plane. Great vid. Thanks.
I have watched scores of YT videos and read scores of books about WWII - and have never heard of this great plane before. Well done Mark!
That's because it was a mediocre aircraft in every way.
Never heard of the Firefly!? Have you been under a rock? It's well described in many aviation books. 😮
I had just heard about this plane when I was reading the book about the British Navy in the Pacific. I had no idea that it was that involved in British Military History. Thank You so much for filling in all the gaps I did not know I had.
Great video!
Didn’t realize how versatile & successful that this aircraft’d been.
👍
Good show. I never really appreciated this plane before. Thanks for making new neurons!
Thats an interesting way to put it. Never heard that before.
@@Greendevilpaintworks Yeah, I get that a lot.
I was touching one a week ago. It's at the Royal Thai Air Force museum near Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, with its wings folded back. Next to it is a Spitfire FR XIVe. The Firefly is huge in comparison. The museum therefore has two Griffons and no Merlins, unless you count the wrecked one inside, which came from a P-51D shot down while attacking the airfield at Chiang Mai in 1945.
I remember passing Fairey's factory which was still at London Airport (Heathrow), maybe c.1960 and seeing a largish number of Firefly fuselages dumped on top of each other by the chain link fence adjoining the road.
Really great and concise little documentary. I know of the service of this fine aircraft in WW2 and Korea but nothing regarding the later variants. It was the Firefly along with other types that really made the British Pacific Fleet such a mighty force.
I never gave this aircraft much thought, and knew very little about it. An outstanding and versatile aircraft. This program really opened my eyes and the Firefly earned my respect ! Thankyou
That was GREAT! I had barely heard of the Firefly. What an amazing plane. And a well told history if its distinguished long service!
Nice to see this crate get a mention. A very decent bit of kit. Great that the Fulmar gets a mention. Great planes, Fulmars.
There is a Firefly mounted on a pole in the town of Griffith New South Wales Australia. It's propeller spins in the wind.
Id heard of this airplane before, but knew almost nothing about it. Well done.
Firefly video lets gooo! My most used plane in War Thunder
This thing has such a scary armament with 4 20mm canons and a great range of bombs and rockets
They can also fly forever, with a range of >2000km, for reference that's about 3/4 the length of America in a straight line
The Mk I had elliptical wings until the Mk IV, which has the clipped tips going forward
There's a surviving ones that got restored, parts were swapped between planes as far as I've heard, so part numbers don't line up all the time
A lot of thought went into this thing being survivable, the fuel tank placement helps a lot as well (:
I've built 1/72 models of the Fairey Fulmar and Barracuda, but haven't yet found the Firefly. Each is an interesting aircraft.
The ancient Airfix kit would be a bit difficult to get hold of nowadays, but Special Hobby have kitted it more recently in 1/72 and 1/48 scale. The larger kit is the easier to put together I think.
Gotta say, my favourite scale!
Firefly on both land and air proved effective weapons, the Sherman Firefly frightened the German Tiger Tanks and the Fairey Firefly did stering work over the years.
Amazing plane. Amazing philosophy. Defying the conventional focus on purpose built and specialized aircraft, the advantage of versatility is clearly superior.
One of my favorite planes in war thunder. Glad to see you cover it!
the greatest plane I never heard of. amazing versatility.
Thanks for the introduction to a bird I've never heard of. Remarkable piece of work, wasn't it?
I’ve never witnessed such awesome editing as this one.
It looks like the poor old pilot was cramped right up whilst, his tail end Charlie had room to stretch his legs lol.
Cracking video about an aircraft well overlooked 👍😉
Nice one once again Dark , no b/s clips keep it up
Dark skies is the best of this genre , no clunky ai , succinct clear info without repetition
Theres a flying Mk VI at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum here in Hamilton Ontario Canada
It's possible to get a flight in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Firefly in the warmer months.
I knew no more than it was a plane for navy , had a griffin engine and by accounts I'd previously heard was liked by pilots. Apart from these few points vi knew nothing more. A great video and info on a plane that I have now a new found respect and their pilots...
Anyone notice that, on later Marks, they moved the radiators from the chin to the wing roots, Mosquito-style? Interestingly not mentioned in the Wikipedia article. They also did this with the Tempest Mark I prototype (which never went into serial production, most Tempests being Mark Vs with the chin radiator, and the Mark II with the Bristol Centaurus).
Lower drag and more efficient in the air... Tough probably less so on the ground taxing than the chin radiator..
I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
Another great aircraft that wasn't in ww2 but has been so versatile is the Douglas skyraider . Could you do a history video on this fantastic plane ?
That is a good-looking aircraft!
Looks like they put a big Lancaster Engine into a fighter plane, it looks like a cross between a Typhoon and a P-51 Mustang but bigger. I never saw this plane until this post.
I built the Airfix kit of the Firefly years ago. Back then I had never heard of the Firefly. I bought it because I thought it was a good looking aircraft.
Thanks for this
One of them crashed in front of me some years ago. Both crewmen were killed. It was a horrible sight
Always interesting. Thanks.
A well timed upload, in 10 minutes time it will be the anniversary of the 3rd protoype taking to the air for the first time!
Must admit, your production quality has vastly improved recently...try to keep it up.
I wonder if there was ever a Washburn to have polited one of these fireflies?!? 🤔
I like that air craft.
Very nice plane. Interesting video. My father never told me about these.
When Fairey finally got something right. I did not count, but the rudder took many shapes during development
Have never heard much about this plane, thanks for the information. The picture at 13:13 is a Fulmar, I think. I guess I did not tumble to this being converted to the 16x9 format until the end. /thanks for cropping rather than just stretching. It makes me wonder what was lost, however. Hard to make these compromises, I am sure.
A Firefly can be viewed at IWM Duxford.
This is not a romanticized aircraft, which, given it's success, is a bit surprising.
Air fix used to.produce a model kit and might still do.
Do. Try eBay.
Your conversion from kilometers to miles is appreciated 🤓
I watched a firefly crash into Lake Ontario at Toronto air show in 1975 or so. Very tragic, looks like he stalled in a turn. Beautiful airplane though.
Another of those "forgotten" planes
When the sea fury arrived these were quickly replaced
The Firefly could out turn a Zero.
Yes, by deploying their flaps to a combat position!
Has everyone noticed that he just reads the Wikipedia entry slightly edited?
23 years is a long career, but compare that to modern aircraft like F-16 or F-15: 50 years old and still being ordered for production.
I've got to be honest that because of the thumbnail I thought that this video was going to be about the Supermarine Seafire (Navy Spitfire) lol
That cockpit looks insanely upright and uncomfortable.
How come you’re not doing the other channel anymore? The other guys bring it down
The Firefly was a true jack of all trades. I t just goes to show if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Fairey Barracuda.
And it had a wooden frame!
This when Great Britain was indeed ‘Great’, sadly unlike now.
Ah, so I've never heard of it, because it was late getting into WW2.
Just remember Australia is NOT pronounced “OS-tra-ya” it is pronounced “os-tray-lee-uh”
*deown undah
9:25 Those aircraft are not Fireflies! Those are Barracudas!
"Lambo Wings"!
Heard about this aircraft, never actually seen one until now though.
Very versatile bird 👍
😊😊😊
😊😊😊
No notice again screw tube.
So the Fairy Firefly was a British plane that could be compared to Americas Voult F4U navy plane that fought in Korea & several Latin American Air Forces?!
The F4U had a very different design remit as USN doctrine was different. The Firefly was much larger, slower.
😢😢😢😢😢
😊
I can never understand why the admiralty was fixated on multi seat fighters. The US navy did just fine with single seat designs. Nor can i ubderstand why the firefly wings folded muzzle up when Grumman types folded muzzle down which is far more sensible in a carrier based machine.
The US Navy had more advanced and secured navigation aid to help naval fighter pilots such as the YE-ZB radio homing beacon system which could pinpoint the carrier position for the pilot without the need of a dedicated navigator to operate. The Royal Navy adopted the system much later, unfortunately.
@@tvgerbil1984 So we got one piece of tech from them but we gave them steam catapults, angled decks and the mirror landing system. Plus we taught them how to operate the Corsair from carriers.
@@mothmagic1 Steam catapult was actually a German invention to launch V1 rockets with. RN experts examined V1 rocket sites after WW2 and adopted it for carrier operations launching aircrafts.
What were the people in the back doing?
Navigation
Navigation. Or for those with radar, operating the radar.
@@wbertie2604 Thanks .
Its sad how many bots are here
It's also sad that UA-cam is restricted access to the platform to only be used by people with an account!
They should just change the name to BotTube
I’m a bot, and I have to say, it’s boring here…I’m leaving!
And as always youtube is very slow or doesn't care solving the issue
Oh, now we have bots complaining about other bots....
Complimentary algorithm enhancement comment!😊
...And dont get me started on `Say-lun`. Very typical BS of AI... And at 9:30 those are Fairey Barracuda, NOT Fireflies...
A Two seat fighter,A SUPER Killer plane,Idon’t think so !
If you’re playing top trumps I suppose…..
Treat everything said on these Dark Skies videos as a basis for further research. Not as accurate truth.
Point taken. Is there some aspect of this presentation in need of further research?
👍👍👍❤❤❤✈✈✈
Getting Boxed would have helped. Jack of Most Trades see Lightning, Coursair and Thundetbolt. This aircraft was a major disappointment in the Far East.
You’re comparing the Firefly with later designs.
I think we have another "soaring tractor" on our hands! 😂😂😂
Like so many British airplane designs, predictably ugly yet compelling to look at
`Maliar`? `Ma lay A`. And the plural of cannon is `cannon`, not `cannons`. Shoddy AI voiceover? Must try harder...
then you should have sent it to vietnam
It is worth noting that the 23 year life of this plane is considered "long", while the F-15 has been in service for 50 years and the F-16 for 40 years +. 🤔
I guess, with the cost of such things now, that's a good thing.
The F-8 was operational 43 years, the A-4 and F-4 over 50.
Yes but whereas jet fighters overal speed hasn't greatly improved since the early 60's the transition from propeller driven to jet powered fighters and bombers was pretty much of a quantum leap - so considering it's relatively late introduction as a propeller driven fighter-bomber it's 23 year service life looks a lot more impressive.
AI soundtrack, please watch authentic content creators!
Read read JE mcDonnel
If you can’t use a real person to narrate we won’t listen.
This bot voice is really annoying
A very successful aircraft but down right butt ugly.
The Firefly was a piece of garbage.
As usual, the narrative is garbage.
I've never heard of them. Must a been a hunk of junk to not to have been seen before.
*The British produced a lot of Lemons*
It was a very effective aircraft.
A stupid and ignorant comment considering that the British invented (Frank Whittle) the jet engine! Also innovating in such a new field is always going to be very hit and miss and I would argue given our much ore restricted budgets that say the USA's I would argue that we got as much if not better "bang for the buck" in terms of effective designs and builds.
Fairey Firefly must be one of the least badass names for an aircraft imaginable
We had the RNAS Firefly visit us at RAF Barkston Heath for our Families Open day in July 2003 in which I managed to sit in the front cockpit, it stayed that night in our Hangar and left the following morning for another airshow, sadly it crashed killing the Pilot and Engineer in the back, it transpired the Pilot had done an unauthorised aerobatic display and bellied it in. 😢