The WW2 Fighter with a Jet Stuffed in Its Tail - Ryan FR Fireball
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
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The unconventional Ryan FR Fireball was the only fighter in operational service to be powered by both piston and jet engines: a true blend of old and new technologies. The fireball was also the first carrier aircraft designed with a laminar-flow airfoil and to have a fully flush-riveted exterior and metal skinned moveable control surfaces. A radial engine was fitted in the nose while a turbojet was fitted in the rear fuselage. In flight, it was able to fly with either engine or with both at the same time.
The Fireball made headlines when it became the first US aircraft to land under jet power on an aircraft carrier, the USS Wake Island. The end of the war made the US Navy lose interest with the result being that most contracts were cancelled and only one squadron flew until 1947 without ever seeing combat.
The last surviving aircraft example of this aircraft of only 71 built is on public display at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA.
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The Ryan FR Fireball was simultaneously a ground-breaking development and a terrible failure. This fighter was the first effort by the U.S Navy to develop a jet-propelled aircraft during World War 2. Eventually, it became the first fighter powered by a jet engine to land on a carrier.
From the outside, the FR looked like nothing exceptional. But its looks betrayed its innovative technology, which combined piston and jet engines. This made the fighter more than capable of taking off from a carrier and chasing after Kamikaze aircraft.
The Fireball could fly, climb, and pull away with its radial engine shut down. It could also land in a carrier with nothing but its jet engine turned on. For other pilots, the new technology seemed like magic.
Despite its technological wonder, however, the Fireball was late to the war. A thousand of them were ordered, but Japan’s surrender after the atomic bomb limited production to only 66 fighters.
The aircraft also earned the infamous nickname of “The Widow Maker” after several fatal accidents while landing on carriers. Catastrophic structural failures eventually led to the Fireball being scrapped.
Although the marriage of piston and jet engines was innovative at the time, all-jet technology proved superior, and the Fireball’s career came to a quick end.
- As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -
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The unconventional Ryan FR Fireball was the only fighter in operational service to be powered by both piston and jet engines: a true blend of old and new technologies. The fireball was also the first carrier aircraft designed with a laminar-flow airfoil and to have a fully flush-riveted exterior and metal skinned moveable control surfaces. A radial engine was fitted in the nose while a turbojet was fitted in the rear fuselage. In flight, it was able to fly with either engine or with both at the same time.
The Fireball made headlines when it became the first US aircraft to land under jet power on an aircraft carrier, the USS Wake Island. The end of the war made the US Navy lose interest with the result being that most contracts were cancelled and only one squadron flew until 1947 without ever seeing combat.
The last surviving aircraft example of this aircraft of only 71 built is on public display at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino, CA.
You should do a video about the fire aboard the USS Forrestal (CV-59) in Vietnam, 1967. Every sailor learns that story in boot camp and damage control training. It changed the way the Navy does everything: from how ships are built, how fires are fought, munitions are stored, and flight deck operations. That was a huge learning experience and turning point.
I am from India
I always waiting for your video sir
correction it is not a barrel roll it is a aileron roll
Why does this guy talk like he is constantly having a dry stick with sandpaper around it stuck up his asshole?
@@belligerentinstigator944 if you can't do anything good please stop saying anything to others
History channel: Who are you?
Dark Skies: I am you but with less aliens
yeah... its simillary faulty in every fucking way.. is it really that hard to get footage and facts right? dont believe everything they say at dark skies and all the other dark-something channels just because hes takling in that serious voice. the only serious thing here are the errors!
@@schore69 Alot of seriious punktuation ande speeling errrors in that psot.
@@drmodestoesq thanks for noting... did my best to correct them / if there still are some left let me know ;)
Less aliens aswell as less ethics and facts.
Dark: I am you but with less aliens and reality shows.
Slightly dangerous plane: *exists*
Military: you'll be nicknamed Widowmaker!
@Mr. Clean I’m pretty sure that nick name already belongs to abortionists
A lot of confusion on this. It wasn't its nickname, it was an adjective to describe it.
Pilots and crew would call it "A" widow maker, not "the" widow maker. Same goes for the F-104, which eventually ended up sticking as its actual nickname.
how ' bout late bloomer.
@@niixodus Only the Germans called it that due to them using it in a ground attack role even though it was a high altitude interceptor
They are not wrong tho
"Fireball" is a TERRIBLE name for an airplane, especially a fighter. That's what happens after you get shot down. I suppose it was prophetic though.
Sadly prophetic was Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts of NASCAR fame. th-cam.com/video/5n6kIlYU5AE/w-d-xo.html&feature=emb_logo
It's like saying it had the nickname "Widowmaker"...lots of aircraft have.
F-104
B-26
F7U
F4U
SB2C
MiG21
the cockpit ejection system on the F-111
Yes. It's like Bruce McCall named it.
Or like calling a motorcycle the Sudden Death.
Right? The moment I saw it was named "Fireball" I was surprised any pilot ever climbed into it. Add on "widowmaker" and yeah, no way I'd have ever gone near one.
"hey bill, want to fly this new plane called the fireball?"
"so much no"
With hindsight, I think it was not the best choice of name. It's a bit like people who decide to register marine vessels under the name "Titanic" (I believe there have been some). Though I am not a superstitious person, the choice of such names would not instill me, at least, with much confidence!
Fireball was slang for high performance.
Yeah, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to nope out on this one.
When I was in the Navy I heard a sea story about this plane. On a cross country flight it stopped at a Naval Air Station that was near an Army or Air Force base. While talking at the Officer's Club the talk was about a P-38 Lightning coming up to a slower Navy plane, stopping one engine and keeping up with the Navy plane. Plans were made and the next day this plane went to the area where this happens. Up came the P-38, and kept pace with one engine. Now the Navy plane fired up the jet, stopped the propeller, and zoomed ahead.
Sounds like a drinking story from the Happy Bottoms Ranch.
Ha!
Kinda flipped the script
Dark Skies, could you do a audio of Little Red Riding hood? It would really be an insomnia killer and I mean that in a good way.
That sounds- like one of the best ideas ever
He should narrate horror stories
@douglas steel That would only work if it was Tim Burton's daughter.
The dark docs guy would be better
@@dimitripopovgurlukivich4166 i think hes the same guy
The name "Fireball" goes right along with its reputation, but it was innovative. we had to start somewhere.
Eric Brown (Fleet Air Arm) landed the first jet on a carrier. His aircraft is on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton, Somerset.
That’s nice, but he was no Chuck Yeager.
@@petersouthernboy6327 Right, Brown was the better one.
@@herbertclaasen1796 - Brown thought that Scott Crossfield and Neil Armstrong in the X-15 and Apollo were the best but he was being modest
Capt. Eric Brown was a Pilot's Pilot. He had seat time in more, different aircraft than any other "western" test pilot. It was a sad day for all pilots when "Winkle" passed. He spoke at the USNA when I was 2nd class. He was an amazing man who hit the world of airplanes at precisely the right time.
@@petersouthernboy6327 He holds the records for the most carrier landings and the most different aircraft flown such as the Messerschmitt jet fighter under full power. He took a joy flight with Ernst Udet who then gave him career advice. He studied German at university, learnt to fly with the RAF then transferred to the Royal Navy. He was in Germany when war broke out, survived the sinking of HMS Audacity, had a long and distinguished test pilot record (including testing Luftwaffe aircraft) and interviewed several Nazi war criminals. He commanded several naval bases. He also helped get the Vought Corsair onto carriers when the US Navy was having problems with it. He was a great man and one of the best pilots history has ever known.
Because "Pilot Death Machine" and "Flying Coffin" were taken?
Flying coffin actually is taken
No, at the time fireball was a term that meant fast.
and dont forget the whistling death
I love how you do an introduction with highlights, then dive down in the full history.
Well done.
Pilot: So why are you calling it "Fireball?"
Engineer: You're happier not knowing
I may be incorrect but I believe Eric winkie brown was the first jet carrier landing. Or maybe the first British pilot. He was a top British test pilot. A great documentary on him should be on TH-cam or Amazon. Either way, this combo jet/piston fighter with the unfortunate name was a beauty.
You are correct. Eric brown landed a Dehalliand venom to land on a carrier in 1945 early 46.
Ryan friefly was not the first to land on a carrier
@@dragoflight2noname952 thank you sir for the information
That’s nice, but he was no Chuck Yeager.
@@petersouthernboy6327 true but he flew more types of aircraft then any other person ever
I had the impression this channel was just click-bait but I've been pleasantly surprised with it's massive quality. I have subscribed to it now.
At the Museum in downtown Glen Rose Texas is a history of the pilot and Glen Rose native that made the first landing and takeoff of a fireball on an aircraft carrier.
I don't want to complain, I love your videos, but you speak so fast that I get worked up for no reason so I can't sleep. Great videos ! Thank you DS!.
agree. you could try using a reduced playback speed; in settings
@@daviddavids2884 yeah I usually do that, but then it sounds like listening to a drunk.
@@maxdefranker i get it. cheers
I watched this one at 85% and it sounded OK.
One of my favorite transitional aircraft, with the MiG I-250 being my top favorite.
I think the xf-15 is better then the fireball and it should’ve won the competition
I like the appearance of it and the fact that my local airport has the only remaining one
This Ryan didn't build the Spirit of St
Louis. That Ryan had it's name and reputation transferred.
Thank you!
Yep. Mr. Ryan sold the business and started a new company before the Spirit was built. They're speciality has always been unmanned aircraft. Of all sizes. reconnaissance drones. Target drones. They also built the majority of the airframes of the AH64 Apache helicopter.
Love the videos Keep them coming Dark
Narration is so much better. Easy to understand. Good job.
First Pure jet landing was done by Captain Eric "winkle" Brown.
The first jet landing on a carrier was made by Lt Cdr Eric "Winkle" Brown who landed on HMS Ocean in the specially modified de Havilland Vampire LZ551/G on 3 December 1945. (Wikipdia).
Brown was probably the best test pilot.
Was reading his book..."Wings on my sleeves"- He has more lives than 100 cats!
That’s nice, but he wasn’t in the same league as Chuck Yeager
Oh.... I think you'll find he was the daddy, piloted more aircraft types than any man who has ever lived.
It was actually a good idea to develop a hybrid jet/prop fighter to put a jet on the CVE carriers. At the same time, the Navy was goosing the production of the Commencement Bay class CVEs and needed a high-performance fighter to operate from their decks, and they were used almost exclusively for the Fireball's carrier trials. If the war had lasted until 1946 and the aircraft had been more rugged, they and the Grumman F8F Bearcat would have been the fighters of choice for most of the CVEs, though some Commencement Bay units would have carried Navy or Marine F4U fighter-bomber (VBF) air groups. Except for some initial trials and training on CV4 Ranger, all the remaining trials and working-up involved CVEs.
The first problems indicated that the nose wheel strut was too weak.
As the first Fireball air group was getting ready to go operational, several aircraft began falling apart in flight or on landing, and inspections showed metal fatigue in the wings,and the aircraft was retired barely a year after entering service.
The main problem of the Fireball was that the plane was too fragile for a carrier-based fighter.
And nowadays prop-driven fighters are looked at again. Not as air superiority fighters, but for more "budget" options. Things like the EMB 314 Super Tucano.
Couldn’t they have named it “Smoking Crater” instead?
Nah, wasn’t well engineered, like almost every American aircraft shot fo small civilian aircraft.
Navy: We don't trust these newfangled jets. Put a prop on it.
Also Navy: We're only interested in all-jet fighters.
It happened when steam engines were put on ships,the ships still had the sails.The technology was so new,the reliability was in question.
McDonnell had already been engaged for an all-jet Navy craft (FH Phantom) when the Fireball project went sideways. Mac ( the founder) said they would have flown a lot sooner in 1944 but Westinghouse was delayed in getting the engines to St Louis. Finally when the first one came, they installed it but the contract banned flight with just 1 engine. Anxious, the crew would taxi it back and forth and once it got off the ground. A lot of grief was passed around by the boss and there were no more taxi tests until the 2nd engine arrived.
It wasn't a matter of trust, early jet engines would burst into flames if the throttle was advanced too fast, and were slow to spool up and down. When landing on a carrier rapid continuous throttle changes are needed to adjust the glide slope.
@@kdrapertrucker The fuel consumption of jet engines was also a problem - a piston engine burns half the fuel for the same thrust.
Actually they did this because the early jet engines were intolorant of rapid throttle changes. (Intolorant as in they'd burst into flames if you made rapid throttle adjustments) to land on a carrier you must control your decent by adjusting your throttle up and down as needed. So that is why they initially went with the hybrid jet/piston design. Jet engine improvments and the invention of the angled deck aircraft carriers made jet operation from carriers routine.
Great voice. Great cadence. Great timing.
Man, I'm always vibing to your music. This, in my opinion is some of the most engaging ways to learn about history. Keep up the good work man.
Everybody gangsta until they lands a jet on a boat
They put physiology monitors on the pilots. Even considering life or death combat, the heart rates were never as high as landing on the carrier at night.
I did mention the deck (landing plane/runway) may be heaving vertically as much as 80 feet, right?
@@bryanst.martin7134
80 feet is well outside of the parameters for conducting flight operations on a carrier.
Look it up, the Navy lists the safe operation conditions for launch and recovery operations as roll angle's of less than 8° and pitch angles of less than 3°.
Nobody could land an aircraft on a deck heaving 80 feet in the air, that's just ridiculous.
Add in early jet engine with sluggish spool up time and tendency to flame out or caught fire. A nightmare. Kudos to first jet aviators ...
Want better than that? I worked with an AC rated Sailor once who described handling a stricken aircraft at sea. The pilot was disoriented, as it was a moonless foggy night, and he was at 265 knots, and crying. His instruments weren't reading correctly, and no matter what he did they didn't respond right. My acquaintance looked at the altimeter his plane was indicating and it was all zeros. Realizing the problem he took control of the plane and ordered the pilot to execute an immediate 180 degree roll. Which the pilot executed and suddenly came to his senses, and returned to the carrier safely. They don't let dummies do these jobs.
Ok Gaijin, now slap this into WT
I can't wait to go back to the planes of Fame Museum to see this aircraft.
Yes Royal Navy Pilot Lt. Eric Brown did land his Vampire LZN551 on 3rd Dec, 1945 whilst the Fireball trapped via jet power on 6th Nov, 1945 hence making the Ryan Fireball the first jet powered to trap OK-3.
The aeroplane that Lieutenant ‘Winkle’ Brown landed on a carrier was the first pure jet to do so. He did not have a second, piston engine as back up in case it all went pear shaped, like the Fireball did.
Those small lightweight jet engines they fit on gliders for self take-off, great pieces of kit.
In the 1960's my father built a scale model Ryan Fireball. It was a control line model and I flew it with a fireworks rocket in the tail and a 2.5cc diesel in the nose. I bit of fun but the rocket didn't contribute significantly to the thrust and burnt out rapidly. Just a bit of fun!
Never heard of this aircraft. Thanks DS for an eye opening episode in history of flight
He has slowed down a little. Still needs to chill a little more to sound normal. Playback speed 0.75 makes it easier to listen to.
This is one of my favorite planes from ww2, at least the allied side
In my opinion the xf15 was better and should’ve won the competition
I am lucky enough to be a 30 minute drive from The Planes Of Fame Museum. I have seen the Fireball there many times. The trip to Chino Ca. is worth the trip.
I grew up as an Air Force dependent. I saw the likes of the Constellation, KC-97, B29s, B50s and everything that came after them. I had never heard of this aircraft before. A very interesting video and an innovative transition design.
81 people flew solo across the Atlantic before Lindbergh, won the Orteig Prize for making the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris
why did I read this as the first jet powered aircraft carrier. that would be cool though
Jet powered tanks exist so why not
S.H.I.E.L.D.
There has never, to my knowledge, been a carrier powered by gas turbines, but a lot of cruise ships are.
@@AubriGryphon Most of the current non-nuclear carriers are gas turbine.
Nyoom
Since your doing prop jet engines combination I'd suggests doing one on the Martin P4M Mercator
Sounds like a good idea to select a company that has no carrier based aircraft experience.
Sounds like the fireball killed more Navy pilots than bad guys.
Military industrial complex.
Well with a name like fireball the plane can really only end up one way
You are correct as in my opinion Ryan Company had simply no experience whatsoever on carrier based aircraft probably the most stressful environment for an airplane. Well evidenced by rivets kept popping partially amended by doubling the rivets but also suffered structural failures as wing structure was not strong enough to resist compressibility effects and losing the canopy in a dive killing the pilot. It must be said that also the pilots contributed as they had no or little experience with tricycle landing by often landing on the rear wheels then slamming on the front wheel. But among various fatal accidents one pilot even lost a wing when diving. No wonder that the pilots was extremely reluctant to fly them, In fact the navy got rid of those "widow makers"...
Well. Grumman was swamped building Hellcat and Avengers, bought was swamped with orders for corsairs. They had GM building Wildcats for crying out loud.
Basically like the A10 today.
Awesome video. I’ve studied WW2 aircraft for 20 years and I’ve never heard of the fireball or the shark!
Very impressed by your ability to find these gems of history. I never realized that they created a hybrid. The wing issue was mainly due to stresses that might have been minimized by a swept wing. This innovation was found by the Germans in the ME262.
The ME262s wing sweep was done for center of gravity reasons, not aerodynamic reasons
KSP tells me it can be useful for both.
Had never heard of this Fireball. I had a summer intern job at Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego in the early '70's. The Firebee target drone was a large Air Force contract. And knew also about the Firefish motorboat drone. So, they stuck with the 'Fire' prefix, even though that Fireball was never sorted out, apparently. Another name I remembered was Firefly, but had to Google it. It was the same Firebee drone, modified for film and signals intelligence. The Firefly was used extensively over Vietnam, and some over China. Later versions were remotely piloted from their C-130 launch planes. "Ryan Model 147" page on Wiki is very detailed. Lots of special purpose variants, such as a "sniffer" to seek out SAM missile site radars.
AMAZING content! Can we get a video on the P-38 Lightning?
Thanks for the history lessons! =D
The Fireball looks alot like an Oscar!
81 people flew solo across the Atlantic before Lindbergh won the Orteig Prize for making the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris.
I live in Ridgecrest which is the non-military town next to NWS China Lake (that is its current name). I love any and all stores about China Lake. My step-father was a high-explosives physicist at China Lake during the war..
I love this channel! Well done content sir!
One of my favorite WWII fighters despite it’s flaws.
Hey - another thing I didn't know about.!! Keep them coming.
The first jet powered aircraft to land on a Carrier was the McDonnell FH-1 Phantom on August 23, 1945
Not sure what that jet engine animation is at 3:07. Anybody recognize that? Kind of bizarre. The Fireball got an I-16 (later renamed J31). It was a very short and stubby centrifugal jet engine.
Beautiful presentation!❤👏👏👏👏
Dark you need to find better information.
The first jet landing on a carrier was made by Lt Cdr Eric "Winkle" Brown who landed on HMS Ocean in the specially modified de Havilland Vampire LZ551/G on 3 December 1945.
That’s nice, but he was no Chuck Yeager.
@@petersouthernboy6327 no coz he flew far more aircraft than Yeager
I too wondered about this, thinking Eric Brown's Vampire landing was the first by a jet powered aircraft. If you listen to the video, it seems that the March Fireball landings were done under piston power. The first jet powered Fireball carrier landing was 6th November 1945. So, arguably, the Fireball's landing beat Eric Brown's by about a month. Conversely, you could argue the Vampire was a jet aircraft whereas the Fireball was a hybrid. Semantics perhaps but, even as Brit, I would have to give the honour to the Fireball as having first jet powered carrier landing?
However, according to the article below the 6th November 1945 Fireball landing under jet power was unplanned. The pilot had intended to make a piston powered landing and only engaged the jet engine to abort the landing then complete an emergency landing. So we can perhaps conclude that Eric Brown made the first planned jet powered carrier landing?
www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36750/the-forgotten-fireball-made-the-first-jet-powered-carrier-landing-by-accident
3:30, Charles Lindbergh was not the first to cross the Atlantic, it was two men named John Alcock and Arthur Brown done in 1919
Actually said ".... became the first person to make a solo ...." but, darn it, you made me look. Good point the first two, flying together, should receive their recognition.
@@davidburroughs2244 Shit my bad
@@AmmoRacks no worries, bro, it's hard to guess exactly what people mean. If you meant, those first, even though there were two of them, definitely deserve the credit for their achievement, that is totally correct and cool. I also think that's why we over here say "the first solo" and I'll bet plenty of us stop with that and never learn about those earlier and courageous guys.
1:21 footage from the Forrrestal fire, taken in the 1960's. With jets all over the deck.
2:17. That is not a jet powered aircraft, that is the old P-39 or maybe a P-63. Not a jet at all.
Also at :52 is a landing on an angle deck aircraft carrier. I'm sure there were only straight deck carriers in the U.S. Navy's fleet when the Ryan FR-1 "Fireball" was operational.
You must be new here nobody cares... Its all about the narration
@@epapa737 Guess no one cares about accuracy. Oh well. Anyway, also at 5:36 is a shot of a Vought F4U Corsair taking off, not a Ryan FR-1 "Fireball" as implied in the "nobody cares" narration.
stop a kamikaze ? the only thing that stopped a kamikaze was either the flight deck or the water.
@@epapa737 Which is also often incorrect.
Great stuff! Just when I didn't think I could learn more about WWII aircraft, you deliver!
Do the P-75 Eagle please, its an often forgotten and very interesting looking craft.....both futuristic and obsolete at the same time!
Wow what a Bird....I've never heard of one till I read your comment. Designed by Fisher Body of General Motors. Interesting indeed. I agree I'd like to see a Video of the P-75 Eagle.......
You should do some on 1920s and 30s pioneering planes like Spirit of St. Louis.
I always waiting for your video sir
I saw that plan at the museum and its awesome to now know its history, the plane in chino is airworthy by the way
Wow, that's awesome!
Wow, being a prototype test pilot back in those postwar years was a very quick way to go sleeping with the Angels!
Cool never heard of these planes.
Didn't know about these two airplanes, thank you!
Correction: VADM John S. McCain Sr. (Sen. McCain's grandfather) was the person that initiated the proposal, not (then)LCDR John S. McCain Jr.
Great episode as always! However, @5:36, that's an F-4U. Cheers!
Planes of fame in Chino, Ca has one of these on display.
Great channel and videos!! You discussed planes about which I have never heard
10:09 I can see F-4s in the back round! But with no propellers, Darn!
'back round' equals background
Cool stuff. 5:35 footage is a Corsair though.
Watched and loved all your videos,
can you make more videos about the Cold War jets?
Very interesting and good video.
9:23 Is that "Echoes of the Resonance Cascade" from HL2 I hear?
I believe so. Great music choice
Tricycle landing gear was needed for jet powered planes. The Germans originally configured the ME262 as a tail-dragger --- but it kept burning up the runways until it reached enough speed to lift the tail. You sure would not want on a carrier with wooden decking.
great video
There's a number of planes that showed up too late for WWII which are impressive. The Boeing XF8B stands out as a total beast of a piston-engined plane. Using a 3000 HP Pratt and Whitney R 4360 radial, this monster was fast, long-legged, and heavy. It never stood a chance against the Grumman F8F Bearcat though. The Grumman was cheaper, plenty fast, maneuverable, and took up less deck space on the carrier. A look back might have put this into production as a close air support attack bomber to complement the Douglas A1D Skyraider, but it didn't happen. Martin built another plane around the R 4360, but it was slower, heavier, and had a lighter bomb load than the Douglas A1D which could carry seven tons of ordinance at speed with 1000 less horsepower.
Not sponsored, but check out the Planes of Fame Air Museum! With so much shut down this year, it is important to support your local museums and help them preserve these important parts of our history. th-cam.com/users/POFmuseum
It's like my grandpa used to say "if we were born to fly, we would have propellors on our nose or jets on our... hey I am not your grandparent"
Back around 1990 I saw one at the museum at the airport in Hartford. Probably the same one at Chino as mentioned.
Sou fã dos Caças da segunda guerra mais ainda não conhecia esse lindo avião!
This topic is one of my favorites because my local airport has the only remaining xf-15 which was a competitor to the fireball
I also believe the Xf-15 Had better performance than the fireball there are also several notable examples from this competition for a mixed proportion Navy fighter
I wish this video was on the competition instead of just one plane as there were really cool aircraft in it
That's a cool fighter name, "The Dark Shark." 🤙
I love these docs. Soooo damn interesting.. thanks
Fireball by name Fireball by nature.
actually the base idea was pretty smart if you think about it, early jet turbines didn't have good acceleration. But combined with the torque of a piston engine for acceleration and lower speeds it would be a great way to get rid of these problems, and then for the high speed and top speeds the jet engine would support the piston engine.
yeah. but, two systems Doubles the complexity; and was probably, a bit heavy.
The Hickory Regional Airport has a Curtis XF15 on display. Of three built this is the only surviving example of the aircraft.
Another attempt by the Navy to merge jet and prop technology in the late 40’s was the North American built, twin prop, one jet engined AJ “Savage”. It was the first Naval aircraft specially designed to carry an atomic bomb. Assigned to Navy “VC” squadrons, it had many operational crashes and earned the nickname “Aeronautical Junk-piles” for the AJ designation. I know this because my father was one of the 3 man crewman who flew aboard them between 1949 and 1953.
5:36 that's a clip of a F4U Corsair tail dragger taking off.
the jet engine,ran on avgas?
Even up to the Korean War, piston engines had more power than the latest jet engines. The only good reason for going to jet was that planes with jet engines did not experience aerodynamic compression so early, because the blade tips of a piston engine were going approaching the speed of sound before the whole plane was.
You may remember the novel and movie, The Bridges at Toko-Ri, where F2H Banshee pilots were trying to knock out truck and railroad bridges in the most heavily defended (anti-aircraft) locations of the war. In fact James Michener (author) gained inspiration for that story from F4U Corsair pilots doing the same thing. The reason was that while the Banshee was much faster than a Corsair, it did not have nearly the bomb load capability.
So this Fireball abortion would have been better off with a bigger, supercharged radial engine than sticking a jet up its tail.
bla-bla-bla-blade tips -bla-bla-bla '...before the whole plane was.' was WHAT. your statement is less-than clear. if there was a relationship between a supersonic prop tip speed and airspeed, you have NOT stated it.
@@daviddavids2884 , I suspect you really got your rocks off, typing that. That's what trolls do, right? Here you go.
www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/q0031b.shtml
@@donaldbadowski290 oh, and, YOU should read it AGAIN. cuz your comment is still GIBBERISH.
@@daviddavids2884 , un-Troll yourself and write a better one.
@@donaldbadowski290 get SMARTER. do it YOURSELF or SHUTup. your comment is a TOTAL loss.
One of the Fireballs is parked, moldering away, outside of a hangar in Idaho Falls, Idaho (if you are travelling down I-15 going south and look towards the runway at the IF airport it is parked by one of the hangars, depending on the day they will have the gate open.......
Good topic selection.
This is news to me 😊 thanks!
i knew it! @8:47 Benadryl Cucumbersnatch is a time traveler
Actually, you can see elements of the Sabre in this plane.
That was fascinating, thank you!
"No experience in carrier borne aircraft"
(Can anyone smell the kickbacks, even after all these years?!)
Hmmm....seems a McCain, is a McCain, is a McCain!!
Seems like "Its a, family tradition", as the song goes...
Just to look at her, she looks like a slick conventional monoplane. Imagine the surprise of an enemy pilot who just got in behind her and is lining up a
kill shot and watches in dismay as she lights her jet and just runs away from her pursuer.
I saw two Fireballs at Planes of Fame