Ryan FR Fireball

what is it?

The Ryan FR Fireball is an American 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 war's end, but did not see combat.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 12.2 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 650 km/htop speed
• size 5,285 kgmax take-off weight
• built 71made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 82 years ago, in 1944.
• 🏎️Top speed is 5.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 12.2 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.5× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1944-06-25

introduced

1945

retired

1947

status

retired

number built

71

role

fighter

origin

🇺🇸 United States

engines

2× Wright R-1820-72W Cyclone / General Electric J31-GE-3

crew

1

length

9.9 m

wingspan

12.2 m

height

4.2 m

max take-off weight

5,285 kg

top speed

650 km/h

cruise speed

245 km/h

range

—

ceiling

13,137 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.