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Subject: Ryan FR Fireball
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_FR_Fireball
The Ryan FR Fireball was a 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. Only 66 aircraft were built
before Japan surrendered in August 1945. The FR-1 Fireball equipped a single
squadron before the end of the war, 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aircraft carriers and was withdrawn in mid-1947.
The XFR-1 was a single-seat, low-wing monoplane with tricycle landing gear. A
1,350-horsepower (1,010 kW) Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone radial engine was mounted
in the fighter's nose while a 1,600 lbf (7,100 N) General Electric I-16 (later
redesignated as the J-31) turbojet was mounted in the rear fuselage. It was fed
by ducts in each wing root which meant that the wing had to be relatively thick
to house the ducts and the outward-retracting main landing gear. To simplify the
fuel system, both engines used the same grade of avgas. Two self-sealing fuel
tanks were housed in the fuselage, one of 130 US gallons (490 l; 110 imp gal)
and the other of 50 US gallons (190 l; 42 imp gal). The cockpit was positioned
just forward of the leading edge of the wing and the pilot was provided with a
bubble canopy which gave him excellent visibility. The XFR-1 had the first
laminar flow airfoil in a navy carrier aircraft.
The Fireball was armed with four .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns with
300 rounds per gun. They were mounted in the center section of the wing,
immediately outboard of the air intakes for the jet engine. Four 5-inch (127 mm)
rockets could be carried under each outer wing panel and two hardpoints were
provided under the center section for 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or 100 US gal (380
l; 83 imp gal) drop tanks. Armor plates were provided in front and behind the
pilot's seat and for the oil cooler.
The first prototype was lost in a crash at NAS China Lake on 13 October 1944.
Investigation showed that the wing structure was not strong enough to resist
compressibility effects. This was cured by doubling the number of rivets in the
outer wing panels. The second prototype crashed on 25 March 1945 when the pilot
failed to recover from a dive from 35,000 feet (10,670 m), probably also due to
compressibility effects. The third prototype crashed on 5 April when the canopy
blew off during a high-speed pass over Lindbergh Field.
Operational testing by the Naval Air Test Center at Naval Air Station Patuxent
River that included carrier acceptability tests revealed additional problems.
The piston engine tended to overheat until electrically operated cowl flaps were
installed, the catapult hooks had to be moved and the nosewheel oleo shock strut
had to be lengthened by 3 inches (76 mm). Carrier suitability tests began aboard
the escort carrier Charger in early January 1945. The aircraft successfully made
five catapult takeoffs using the piston engine as well as three takeoffs using
both engines. No problems were reported when landing aboard the carrier.
Role
Fighter
Manufacturer
Ryan Aeronautical
First flight
25 June 1944
Introduction
March 1945
Retired
1 August 1947
Primary user
United States Navy
Produced
Number built
71
Variants
XF2R Dark Shark
One squadron, VF-66, received its first Fireballs in March 1945, but they never
saw combat. On 1 May, three of the squadron's aircraft were craned aboard the
carrier Ranger to attempt to qualify seven pilots, but two of the fighters were
damaged while landing. One missed the arresting gear and hit the crash barrier
while the other aircraft's nose gear collapsed. The following month the pilots
qualified and were on pre-embarkation leave when the Japanese surrendered. The
squadron was decommissioned on 18 October with all pilots and aircraft
transferred to VF-41.
The squadron qualified on the escort carrier Bairoko in March 1946, but nose
gear problems persisted and cut the cruise short. Ryan installed a steel fork
for the nosewheel, but inspections also revealed evidence of partial wing
failures so the aircraft was limited to maneuvers not to exceed 5 Gs. VF-41
suffered three fatal accidents in 1946 before being redesignated as VF-1E on 15
November 1946. One Ensign collided with the target banner during gunnery
practice and spun into the water. A few months later, the squadron commander was
performing a barrel roll when his wing broke off and he struck another Fireball,
killing both pilots.
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.
After the withdrawal of the type from service, except for a few examples
retained for modifications and testing, the FR-1s were scrapped.
Specifications (FR-1)
General characteristics
Crew: one
Length: 32 ft 4 in (12.19 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 0 in (12.19 m)
Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.24 m)
Empty weight: 7,689 lb (3,488 kg)
Loaded weight: 11,652 lb (5,285 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: 404 mph (276 mph with piston engine alone) (650 km/h (444 km/h))
Cruise speed: 152 mph (piston engine alone) (246 km/h)
Range: 1,620 mi (2,610 km) (with 2 drop tanks)
Service ceiling: 43,100 ft (13,137 m)
Rate of climb: 29.7 ft/s (9 m/s) (Piston engine only, with 1 drop tank)
Armament
*
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