(Ryan) FR Fireball @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • A Ryan FR-1 at NAS Patuxent River in March 1945 A Ryan FR-1 at NAS Patuxent River in March 1945
    A Ryan FR-1 at NAS Patuxent River in March 1945
  • FR-1 Fireballs of VF-66 at Naval Air Station North Island, California FR-1 Fireballs of VF-66 at Naval Air Station North Island, California
    FR-1 Fireballs of VF-66 at Naval Air Station North Island, California
  • Ryan FR-1 Fireball Ryan FR-1 Fireball
    Ryan FR-1 Fireball
  • A Fireball armed with four HVAR rockets (1945) A Fireball armed with four HVAR rockets (1945)
    A Fireball armed with four HVAR rockets (1945)
  • Ryan FR-1<br>Fireball (1945) Ryan FR-1<br>Fireball (1945)
    Ryan FR-1
    Fireball (1945)
  • Ryan FR-1s of VF-66 at NAS North Island, in 1945 Ryan FR-1s of VF-66 at NAS North Island, in 1945
    Ryan FR-1s of VF-66 at NAS North Island, in 1945
  • Planes of Fame Museum (Chino, California) Planes of Fame Museum (Chino, California)
    Planes of Fame Museum (Chino, California)
  • This Fireball is hoisted on<br>USS Anchorage, circa 1969 This Fireball is hoisted on<br>USS Anchorage, circa 1969
    This Fireball is hoisted on
    USS Anchorage, circa 1969
  • The Ryan XFR-4 Fireball The Ryan XFR-4 Fireball
    The Ryan XFR-4 Fireball
  • Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds" Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds"
    Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds"
  • FR-1 Fireball on escort carrier USS Charger FR-1 Fireball on escort carrier USS Charger
    FR-1 Fireball on escort carrier USS Charger
  • Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-66 at NAS North Island (1945) Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-66 at NAS North Island (1945)
    Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-66 at NAS North Island (1945)
  • The trials on USS Ranger (May 1945) The trials on USS Ranger (May 1945)
    The trials on USS Ranger (May 1945)
  • Ryan FR-1 Fireballs of VF-66 on USS Ranger, in 1945 Ryan FR-1 Fireballs of VF-66 on USS Ranger, in 1945
    Ryan FR-1 Fireballs of VF-66 on USS Ranger, in 1945
  • Ryan FR-1 Fireball Ryan FR-1 Fireball
    Ryan FR-1 Fireball
  • Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds" Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds"
    Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds"
  • Planes of Fame Museum (Chino, California) Planes of Fame Museum (Chino, California)
    Planes of Fame Museum (Chino, California)
  • Ryan FR-1 in flight near NAS Patuxent River in July 1945 Ryan FR-1 in flight near NAS Patuxent River in July 1945
    Ryan FR-1 in flight near NAS Patuxent River in July 1945
  • Ryan FR-1 Fireball (Near North Island, 1945) Ryan FR-1 Fireball (Near North Island, 1945)
    Ryan FR-1 Fireball (Near North Island, 1945)
  • On USS Bairoko, in 1946 On USS Bairoko, in 1946
    On USS Bairoko, in 1946
  • LCdr John Gray was killed in a mid-air collision involving two FR-1s LCdr John Gray was killed in a mid-air collision involving two FR-1s
    LCdr John Gray was killed in a mid-air collision involving two FR-1s
  • Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds" Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds"
    Ryan FR-1 Fireball of VF-41 "Fire Birds"
  • A Ryan FR-1 launches from USS Badoeng Strait, in 1947 A Ryan FR-1 launches from USS Badoeng Strait, in 1947
    A Ryan FR-1 launches from USS Badoeng Strait, in 1947

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.

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. 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.

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 XFR-1 made its first flight on 25 June 1944 without its jet engine, but that was installed shortly afterward. The second prototype first flew on 20 September 1944. Test flights confirmed wind tunnel tests that revealed a lack of longitudinal stability because the center of gravity had been miscalculated. In addition, the circular rear fuselage of the FR-1 gave less stability than the slab-style fuselage of the Grumman F4F Wildcat that was used as a model for the stability calculations. A new tail with enlarged vertical and horizontal stabilizers was designed and retrofitted to the prototypes. The original Douglas double-slotted flaps proved to be unsatisfactory during flight testing, but all three prototypes and the first 14 production aircraft were built with them before they were replaced with a single-slotted flap.

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.

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. The fastest Fireball was the XFR-4, which had a Westinghouse J34 turbojet and was approximately 100 mph (161 km/h) faster than the FR-1. The turbojet's air intakes were moved from the wing roots to the fuselage in front of the wing; they were covered by electrically powered doors to lessen drag when the aircraft was flying only on its piston engine. The Fireball's fuselage was lengthened by 8 inches (203 mm) to accommodate the larger engine and the leading edge extension of the wing root that housed the air intakes was also removed. The XFR-4 was intended to serve as a testbed for the turbojet installation on the XF2R-1 Dark Shark. This was the final variant; the piston engine was replaced with a General Electric XT31-GE-2 turboprop, but only one prototype was built.

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.

Operational history

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.

On 6 November 1945, a Fireball of VF-41 became the first aircraft to land under jet power on an aircraft carrier, albeit unintentionally. 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. 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.

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.

Variants

  • XFR-1 : Military designation of the Prototype Model 28 aircraft, three built.
  • FR-1 Fireball : Single-seat fighter aircraft, 66 built.
  • FR-2 : Conversion with a Wright R-1820-74W replacing earlier piston engine, one aircraft modified.
  • FR-3 : Proposed variant with a General Electric I-20 replacing earlier jet engine; never built.
  • XFR-4 : Variant with Westinghouse J34; one built.

Operators

United States : United States Navy

The "Firebirds" squadron was known under three names:

  • VF-66 (March 1945 – 15 October 1945)
  • VF-41 (15 October 1945 – 1 August 1947), redesignated VF-1E on 15 November 1946.

Survivors

Only a single example, FR-1 BuNo 39657, still survives. Deployed first to the NASA Ames Research Center, the aircraft served as an instructional airframe at a technical school before being acquired by the Planes of Fame Air Museum at Chino, California in the 1960s. After restoration to static display condition, 39657 was rolled out at Chino on 13 June 2009.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Ryan FR Fireball of Wikipedia ( authors )

Ryan FR Fireball

  • Role : Fighter.
  • 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.
  • Variant : XF2R Dark Shark.

    • Specifications (FR-1)

  • Crew : one.
  • Length : 32 ft 4 in (12.19 m).
  • Wingspan : 40 ft (12.19 m).
  • Height : 13 ft 11 in (4.24 m).
  • Wing area : 275 ft² (25.6 m²).
  • Empty weight : 7,689 lb (3,488 kg).
  • Loaded weight : 11,652 lb (5,285 kg).
  • 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).
  • Powerplant :
  • One General Electric J31-GE-3 turbojet, 1,600 lbf (7.1 kN, 700 kgf).
  • One Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone radial engine, 1,350 hp (1,060 kW).
  • Armament :
    • Four .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun with 300 rpg.
    • Two 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs.
    • Eight 5-inch (127 mm) rockets under wings.

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Ryan FR Fireball of Wikipedia ( authors )
Ryan FR Fireball : Your comments on this subject
Powered by Disqus
Top
Legal Credits FAQ Help Site Map

Terms of use for the services available on this site

By using this Website, Users agree to the following terms of use and rules :

Definitions

  • Webmaster : Head Administrator with all authority over the management and development of the Website.
  • Administrator : Anyone that was given by the Webmaster full or partial access to the Website's structure or with moderation rights on messages posted by Users.
  • User or Visitor : Any person visiting the Website pages.
  • Website : The following provisions apply to a single Website accessible via the www.aircraftube.com, www.aircraftube.org, www.aircraftube.net and www.all-aircraft.com. URL's
  • Service : All free informations and tools contained on the Website.
  • Comments : All text written by users on Blogs and comment pages available on the Website.
  • Media : All media available on or through the Website. One must distinguish the local media (photos, curves, drawings) and the external media (videos) which the Website refers.

    • Purpose of this site

    The purpose of this non-commercial site is purely educational. Reflecting a passion, it is also there to preserve the memory of all those who gave their lives, their health or energy in the name of freedom, aviation safety or simply our passenger comfort.

    Copyright

    Some media may have escaped the vigilance of Administrators with regard to copyrights. If a user reports copyright infringement, he will be asked to prove that he is indeed the rights's owner for the concerned media. If so, his decision on the Administrator's next action will be respected: A total suppression of the Media on the Website, or the addition of some owner's reference. The publication of a media on the internet normally having as a goal to make it visible to many people, the Administrators expect in any case that the second option will be most often chosen.

    Pursuant to the Law on copyright and related rights, the user has the right to download and reproduce information on the Website for personal use and provided that the source is mentionned. They cannot however be used for commercial or advertising purposes.

    Using Blogs and filing comments

  • Moderator : The Administrator reserves the right to prevent the publication of comments that are not directly related to the Service without providing any explanation. Similarly, all insults, out of scope or unethical material will be banned.
  • Identification : Persons wishing to post a comment or use any form of contact are required to provide identification by the means of a valid e-mail address.
  • Responsibilities : Comments are posted on the Website under the unique responsability of their authors and the Administrators may in no case be liable for any statements or claims that the users might have issued.

    • As the comment system is hosted and maintained on servers external to the Website, the Administrators may in no circumstances be held responsible for the use that administrators of these servers or other third parties may have with those comments or filed data.

    Content Liability

    The Administrators carefully check the reliability of the sources used. They cannot, however, guarantee the accuracy of any information contained on the Website, partly because of the multiple sources from which they come.

    JavaScript and cookies - Storing information

    This Website imperatively uses JavaScript and cookies to function properly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Website for the retention or disclosure of personal information about Visitors. Exceptions to this rule will involve storing the Users banned for inappropriate comments they might have given as well as contact information for Users wishing to subscribe to future newsletters.

    When a user accesses the Website, the corresponding servers may automatically collect certain data, such as IP address, date and time of Website access, viewed pages and the type of browser used. This information is kept only for the purpose of measuring the number of visitors to the different sections of the site and make improvements.

    Donations - Advertising

    To continue providing the Service for free, the Webmaster reserves the right to insert advertising or promotional messages on any page of the Site. In the same idea, any donations will only by used to cover the running costs of the site, such as hosting, connection fees, hardware and software necessary for the development and maintenance of the Website.

    Links and other websites

    Administrators shall in no case be liable for the non-availability of websites operated by third parties to which users would access through the Website.

    Administrators assume no liability for any content, advertising, products and/or services available on such third party websites. It is reminded that those sites are governed by their own terms of use.

    Placing a link to third party sites or authorize a third party to include a link on their website refering to this Website does not mean that the Administrators recommend in any way the products or services offered by these websites.

    Modifications

    The Webmaster reserves the right to modify at any time without notification the present terms of use as well as all content or specific functionality that the Website offers.

    The modified terms and conditions immediately apply to the using Visitor when changes come online. Visitors are invited to consult the site regularly on the most current version of the terms and conditions

    Governing Law and Jurisdiction

    These general conditions are governed by Belgian law.

    In case of dispute regarding the interpretation and/or execution of the above terms, the parties agree that the courts of the district of Nivelles, Belgium shall have exclusive jurisdiction power.

    Credits page

    Wikipedia.org

    Wikipedia is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free Internet encyclopedia.

    Youtube

    YouTube is a video-sharing website on which users can upload, view and share videos.

    Special thanks to all Youtube quality aviation vids providers, specially (Those I forgot, please excuse me or report) :

    Airboyd
    Andys Video
    Aviation videos archives
    Bomberguy
    Classic Aviation TV
    Historical Aviation Film Unit
    Horsemoney
    Jaglavaksoldier
    Joluqa Malta
    Just Planes
    Koksy
    Classic Airliners & Vintage Pop Culture
    Memorial Flight
    Octane130
    Okrajoe
    SDASM archives
    Spottydog4477
    The Aviators TV
    Valentin Izagirre Bengoetxea
    Vexed123
    VonBerlich
    Zenos Warbirds

    Bundesarchiv

    The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv are the National Archives of Germany.

    FAQ

    I don't see my comments any more!

    Please note that each page has it's own comment entry. So, if you enter a comment i.e. on the B-747, you will only see it on that related page.

    General comments are accessed via the "BLOG En" button.

    Comments are moderated, so please allow some delay before they appear, specially if you are outside Europe.

    Menus are developing below the page, because they are too long!

    But they remain accessible, for example by scrolling the mouse wheel, or with your finger (on the menu) on a smartphone or tablet.

    I see adds on all videos.

    Use a good free add remover software.

    The site is loading random pages at startup.

    We think it is a good way to bring back the memory of aircraft, persons or events sometimes quite forgotten.

    HELP PAGE

    Why this site?

    Discovery

    This website is dedicated to one's aeronautical passion (which I hope we share) and was realised mainly as an educationnal tool. Knowing that, you'll notice that each new visit brings random topics for the purpose of making new discoveries, some achievements or characters certainly not deserving the oblivion into which they have sometimes fallen.

    By these pages, we also want to pay tribute to all those who gave at one time or another, their lives or health in the name of freedom, aeronautical security or simply our comfort.

    Centralisation

    Internet is full of websites dedicated to aviation, but most are dedicated to subjects or periods that are very limited in space or time. The purpose of this site is to be as general as possible and thus treats all events as well as characters of all stripes and times while putting much emphasis on the most significant achievements.

    The same years saw birth of technologies like photography and cinema, thus permitting illustration of a large part of important aeronautical events from the start. Countless (and sometimes rare) media recently put online by enthousiasts finally give us access to these treasures, but the huge amount of information often makes things a little messy. A centralization effort is obviously most needed at this level.

    All persons who directly or indirectly contributed to the achievement or posting of such documents are here gratefully acknowledged.

    General

    Fluid website

    This site automatically fits the dimensions of your screen, whether you are on a desktop computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

    Bilingual website

    You can change the language by clicking on the flag in the upper left or via "Options" in the central menu. Of course, the videos remain in the language in which they were posted ...

    Browser compatibility

    The site is not optimized, or even designed to run on older browsers or those deliberately deviating from standards. You will most probably encounter display issues with Internet Explorer. In this case, it is strongly recommended installing a modern (and free!) browser that's respecting the standards, like Firefox, Opera, Chrome or Safari.

    Cookies and Javascript

    This site uses cookies and JavaScript to function properly. Please ensure that your browser is configured accordingly. Neither of these technologies, or other means shall in no case be used on the Site for the retention or disclosure of personal information about its Visitors. See the "Legal" page for more on this subject.

    Website layout

    Left menus

    Because of the lack of space on smartphones and small tablets, these menus are hidden. Everything is nevertheless accessible via the main menu option, located between the video and photo sections. This menu is placed there for compatibility reasons with some browsers, which play the videos over the menus.

    "Search" and "Latest" :
    The link "In Titles" restricts the search to the titles of different forms. Use this option if you are looking for a plane, a constructor, a pilot or a particular event that could have been treated as a subject.

    The link "In Stories" will bring you to a search in all texts (the "Story" tab) and will take more time. The search term will appear highlighted in green when opening the corresponding story.

    Would you believe, "Timeline" will show all subjects in chronological order.

    "Random" will reload the entire page with a new random topic.

    The bottom section keeps you abreast of the latest five entries. New topics are added regularly. Don't hesitate to come visit us often : add bookmark.

    Blogs and Comments central section

    Under the photos section comes the comments tabs window :

    You can enter general comments in your own language via one of the two buttons on the left (BLOG EN and BLOG FR). Note that these buttons are accessible regardless of the language to allow some participation in the other language.

    All comments are subject to moderation and will be published only if they comply with the basic rules of decorum, while remaining relevant to the purpose of this site.

    The third tab allows you to enter comments on the shown topic and is bilingual. Personal anecdotes, supplements and other information questions will take place here.

    The "Story" tab shows the explanatory texts. They are most often taken from Wikipedia, a site where we participate regularly.

    The "Data" tab is reserved for list of features and specifications.

    Right menus

    On a smartphone, the lack of space is growing and this menu is moved to the bottom of the page to give priority to videos and pictures.

    The top right icons are links to videos posted by third parties (on their own responsabilities) or by ourselves. The link below these icons will take you to the channel of the one who posted the video. Feel free to suggest other videos if you think they are of some interest (Use the BLOG button or the "Contact" link).