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Subject: Blackburn Firebrand
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackburn_Firebrand
The Blackburn Firebrand was a British single-engine strike fighter for the Fleet
Air Arm of the Royal Navy designed during World War II by Blackburn Aircraft.
Originally intended to serve as a pure fighter, its unimpressive performance and
the allocation of its Napier Sabre piston engine by the Ministry of Aircraft
Production for the Hawker Typhoon caused it to be redesigned as a strike fighter
to take advantage of its load-carrying capability. Development was slow and the
first production aircraft was not delivered until after the end of the war. Only
a few hundred were built before it was withdrawn from front-line service in
1953.
In general, the Fleet Air Arm had required fighters that were capable of
navigating long ranges over sea and speed differential over attackers was not
critical. Defence of British naval bases was a RAF commitment but provision had
not been made for this and so the Admiralty accepted that it would have to take
on the duty. For this it needed an interceptor fighter and experience in the
Norwegian Campaign of early 1940 had also shown a high-performance,
carrier-based, single-seat fighter would be an advantage. Blackburn tendered
their B-37 design using the Napier Sabre 24-cylinder H-type engine, and this was
accepted by June 1940 with a proposal to order "off the drawing board" (meaning
order placed in January 1941 for three prototypes.
Role
Strike fighter
National origin
United Kingdom
Manufacturer
Blackburn Aircraft
First flight
27 February 1942
Introduction
1945
Retired
1953
Primary user
Royal Navy
Produced
Number built
220 + 3 prototypes
Variants
Blackburn Firecrest
The Firebrand did not see action in World War II, as TF 4s were not issued to
813 Naval Air Squadron until 1 September 1945. The squadron was disbanded 30
September 1946 without ever deploying to sea. It was reformed with TF 5s on 1
May 1947 and flew them from the carrier HMS Implacable, later HMS Indomitable,
until it was reequipped with turboprop Westland Wyvern attack aircraft in
February 1953. 827 Naval Air Squadron received their TF 5 and 5As on 13 December
1950 and flew them primarily off the carrier HMS Eagle until it disbanded on 19
November 1952. A variety of second-line squadrons were issued Firebrands of
various marks for training or trials at one time or another.
In test pilot and naval aviator Captain Eric Brown's opinion the aircraft was
"short of performance, sadly lacking in manoeuvrability, especially in rate of
roll". Furthermore, the positioning of the cockpit even with the trailing edge
of the wing gave the pilot a very poor view over the nose and inhibited his
ability to view his target and to land his aircraft aboard a carrier, enough so
that Brown called it "a disaster as a deck-landing aircraft".
Specifications (Firebrand T.F. Mk IV)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 38 ft 9 in (11.81 m)
Wingspan: 51 ft 3.5 in (15.634 m)
Height: 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Wing area: 383 sq ft (35.6 m2)
Empty weight: 11,457 lb (5,197 kg)
Gross weight: 16,700 lb (7,575 kg)
Fuel capacity: 239 imp gal (1,090 l; 287 US gal)
kW)
Propellers: 4-bladed Rotol, 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m) diameter
Performance
Maximum speed: 342 mph (550 km/h; 297 kn)
Cruise speed: 256 mph (412 km/h; 222 kn)
Range: 745 mi (647 nmi; 1,199 km)
Rate of climb: 2,600 ft/min (13 m/s)
Armament
*
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