Fairey Firefly by Grand Phoenix

1/48 scale
Kit No. KT002
Retail: $40.00 and up (Aftermarket, out-of-production)
Decals: Three versions by Eagle Strike – one Royal Canadian Navy; two Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy
Comments: Engraved panel lines, resin cockpits and wheel wells, photo etch details, film insert for instrument panels

History

The Fairey Firefly was the Royal Navy’s most capable two-seat fighter of World War II, entering service in late 1943. Designed to fulfill Naval Specification N.5/50, the Fairey Firefly arose from the need to replace both the aging Sea Gladiator biplane and the relatively modern yet still obsolete Fulmar two-seat fighter. It was the first British plane to overfly Japan and later saw service during the Korean War. Conceived early in 1940 as an advanced two-seat naval fighter, the Fairey Firefly saw action during World War II, and was to remain a standard Fleet Air Arm (FAA) type, in much-altered form, until the late 1950’s.

The prototype (Z 1826) first flew in December 1941 and greatly resembled the Fulmar. Like its predecessor, the Firefly was a low-wing, all-metal monoplane, with folding wings for carrier storage. The pilot sat up front near the leading edge while the radio operator/observer was located some distance aft. Like the earlier Fairey Barracuda, it employed broad Youngman flaps on the wings’ trailing edges, and these were mechanically recessed into the wing when not in use. The powerful Rolls-Royce Griffon 61 engine also required a large “chin” radiator that gave the craft a distinctly pugnacious profile.

Tests were entirely successful, and the Fairey Firefly exhibited lively performance that belied its size. Three further prototypes were completed, and deliveries of production Firefly F Mk Is began in March 1943, although it was July 1944 before the type became operational with No. 1770 Squadron aboard HMS Indefatigable, participating in the attacks upon the German battleship Tirpitz. In the Pacific, the Firefly also harassed Japanese aircraft and ground installations throughout the East Indies, launching from HMS Indefatigable, Victorious and Indomitable to take part and in attacks on oil refineries in Sumatra, Palambang, and other locations. It also joined the U.S. 5th Fleet in the fighting at Truk, and spent the final two months of the war flying missions against the Japanese Home Islands. In July 1945 a Firefly became the first British aircraft to overfly Tokyo.

The Firefly saw action in Korea with the Royal Australian Navy, No. 817 Squadron, which sailed for the Korean peninsula aboard HMAS Sydney along with two Sea Fury squadrons in late August 1951. The RAN aircraft flew their first sortie on October 4, 1951 and over the next four months 2,366 sorties were flown from the carrier. A total of four Fireflies were lost, or damaged beyond repair, on operations in Korea before the last sortie was flown on January 25, 1952, but not a single member of an aircrew was lost. The dramatic loss of WB393, shot down on October 26, 1951 near Chaeryong, North Korea saw her two-man crew recovered by a rescue helicopter from the Sydney while under enemy fire and flown to Kimpo Airfield in failing light and with low fuel.

Four hundred and twenty-nine Fairey Firefly F Mk Is, built by Fairey and General Aircraft Ltd, were followed by three hundred and seventy-six FR Mk Is officially designated as fighter-reconnaissance aircraft carrying ASH detection radar. During production of the Mk I series, modifications included a revised front cockpit hood, fully faired gun barrels and, from the four hundred and seventy-first aircraft onward, substitution of the 1,765 hp Griffon XII engine. Meanwhile, thirty-seven examples had been completed of a night fighter model, the NF Mk II, with twin leading-edge fairings housing the scanners of their AI radar, and a slightly longer fuselage. They were superseded by the NF Mk I, with an improved radar carried in a single under-nose pod but otherwise structurally similar to the other Mk Is.

The proposed Fairey Firefly III was abandoned, after one aircraft had been tested with a Griffon 61 series engine, in favor of the Fairey Mk IV which, with a 2,330 hp Griffon 72, was flown in 1944. This version was further modified in 1945 and fought in Korea with the Royal Navy and Australian forces. Successive modifications kept the Firefly in front-line service as an antisubmarine aircraft until the appearance of the Fairey Gannet in 1956.

The Kit

Grand Phoenix’ Fairey Firefly Mk. I is injection molded in grey plastic and consists of 52 plastic parts (including three that are clear plastic for the cockpits) on two sprues, 26 resin parts, plus an estimated 27 rolled metal parts on a photo etch fret. The kit bears engraved panel lines and detailed resin parts for the two cockpits housing the pilot and radar operator, inserts for the wheel wells, and the engine exhausts. The cockpits are richly detailed with resin seats and sidewalls, with the seats augmented by PE seat straps, rounded out by PE parts for the main instrument panel.

The airscrew is a five-part assembly with a separate spinner and individually mounted propeller blades. The landing gear feature above average raised and engraved detail on the main gear doors; the wheels themselves bear engraved detail and, although they each consist of two halves and are injection molded plastic, they are realistically flattened along part of their circumference, much like aftermarket replacement resin parts. There is a separately mounted arrestor hook and parts for four 20mm cannon that, once cemented in place will protrude from the leading edge of each wing. These are passable in their level of detail but some modelers may want to seek metal aftermarket replacements. While there is a paint guide, colors are called out in plain language without corresponding manufacturer’s numbers or other designations.

Markings

The decals by Eagle Strike exhibit the excellent quality modelers have come to expect from this manufacturer, fully in register with realistic color and minimal surrounding film which will cut down on the possibility of silvering. If there were any criticism of them, it would be that the red in the roundels and the fin flashes for the tail should perhaps be a little brighter, as it looks more maroon than bright red. Decals are provided for three versions, the first being for a machine of the Royal Canadian Navy, Firefly FR.1 PP4402, call letters AB. This aircraft is painted in Sea Grey overall (including the spinner) with the upper third of the fuselage and the upper surfaces of the wings painted Extra Dark Sea Grey. It served with No. 826 Squadron aboard HMCS Magnificent, circa 1950, and was tasked with anti-submarine duties. 826 Squadron would later be absorbed back into the Royal Navy.

The second aircraft is Firefly FR.1 MB 636, call letters V4D, and served with Royal Naval Air Squadron Katukurunda based in Ceylon as of May 1946. It is painted in a camouflage scheme of Extra Dark Sea Grey anad Dark Slate Grey over Sky, and has a red and white spinner.

The third aircraft is Firefly NK.1 MB 736, call letters 04B, and served with 1792 Squadron aboard HMS Ocean in the Mediterranean Sea, 1946. It is also painted in a camouflage scheme of Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate Grey over Sky, and has a black spinner.

Conclusion

Looking at the two sprues containing the plastic parts, the kit looks deceptively simple, but there will be a fair amount of work preparing and painting the resin parts as well as working with the PE parts. This is a highly detailed kit of a mid- to late-war Fleet Air Arm fighter and strike aircraft. Highly recommended.

References

• https://history.scale-model-aircraft.com/wwii-aviation/fairey-firefly
• https://www.navy.gov.au/aircraft/fairey-firefly-as5as6
• Fairey Firefly Mk. I instructions