This Day in Aviation History
February 27th, 1942
First flight of the Blackburn Firebrand.
 
The Blackburn Firebrand was a single-engine strike fighter for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy designed during World War II by Blackburn Aircraft. Originally intended to serve as a pure fighter, its unimpressive performance and the allocation of its Napier Sabre piston engine by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for the Hawker Typhoon caused it to be redesigned as a strike fighter to take advantage of its load-carrying capability. Development was slow and the first production aircraft was not delivered until after the end of the war. Only a few hundred were built before it was withdrawn from front-line service in 1953….
 
Source:
Wikipedia, Blackburn Firebrand: http://gstv.us/1TJcKbR
 
MUST WATCH: Rare footage of the Firebrand. The rocket-assisted takeoff of the Seafire III is spectacular as well!
 
YouTube, AIRCRAFT DISPLAY: http://gstv.us/2mgGm6F
 
YouTube, Aircraft Carrier HMS ‘eagle’ (1952): http://gstv.us/1TJcLfE
 
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Photo from: http://gstv.us/2mgOjJ5
 
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