The Fairey Firefly is a single-engine low wing cantilever monoplane carrier-based fighter/torpedo bomber and aerial reconnaissance operated by the FAA. It was designed loosely around the existing Fairey Fulmar. The Firefly was introduced in March 1943 but did not enter operational service until July 1944 aboard HMS Indefatigable and served with the Royal Navy until 1956. Only 1,702 were built. It was powered initially by a Rolls-Royce Griffon piston engine with a four blade Rotol propeller. The large chin radiator was necessary for cooling the large engine. The two-man crew sat in a large cockpit, pilot at the front and navigator/wireless operator in the rear section. It was armed with four Hispano V 20mm cannon in the wings and either two 1,000lb bombs on underwing pylons or sixteen RP-3 rockets on underwing racks. The wings could be manually folded for ease of storage. Maximum speed was around 370mph with a cruising speed of 210mph.

The Firefly was used initially in Europe for anti-shipping strikes off Norway but were soon relocated to the far East as part of the British Pacific Fleet. Fireflies carried out regular attacks on Japanese oil refineries and airfields as well as island strongholds up until VJ day.

After hostilities ceased it remained in service and was used with great effect during the Korean War finally being retired in 1956.

There are 24 surviving aircraft around the world including 2 airworthy examples. One in Canada and the other in the USA. The UK did have an airworthy Firefly WB271, but it crashed and was destroyed in 2003 at Duxford. The Imperial War Museum has the oldest Firefly on static display built as a Mk.I in 1944, Z2033.