, February 1943. During 1938, by which point British authorities were preparing for the likelihood of a
great war, the
Air Ministry issued a pair of specifications calling for naval fighters, a conventional and a "
turret fighter". The performance requirements for both was to be able to attain a speed of while flying at and carrying an armament, for the conventional fighter, of eight
Browning machine guns or four
Hispano cannon. This aircraft would replace the
Fairey Fulmar, which had been viewed as an interim design. These specifications were updated during the following year, while several British manufacturers
tendered their ideas. Further changes to the official specification followed, such as the turret fighter specification being eliminated, while a modified specification was issued to cover single and dual-seat fighters capable of respectively. Fairey offered designs that could accommodate either a single or twin-seat arrangements, either powered by the
Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, or combining a larger airframe with a
Napier Sabre engine. After consideration of the manufacturer's responses,
Specification N.5/40 replaced the earlier specifications. Due to the necessity of navigating over open sea, it was decided to opt for a two-seater aircraft alone. The Firefly was designed by a team led by H.E. Chaplin at
Fairey Aviation which reportedly used the Fulmar as a starting point. During June 1940, the
Admiralty placed an initial order for 200 aircraft "off the drawing board", the first three of which were to function as prototypes. On 22 December 1941, the first prototype of the Firefly performed its
maiden flight. Although the aircraft was heavier than the preceding Fulmar (largely due to the adoption of the heavier Griffon engine and the armament of two
Hispano cannon in each wing), the Firefly was faster due to improved
aerodynamics, as well as the increased power of the Griffon IIB engine, being capable of generating a maximum of . The Firefly was a low-wing
cantilever monoplane, featuring an oval-section metal semi-
monocoque fuselage and a conventional tail unit with forward-placed
tailplane. Four 20 mm
cannon were buried within the wings, which was considered to be relatively heavy armament for the era. Further testing with two 90 gallon (410 L) drop tanks or two
bombs deemed acceptable albeit with "...a small adverse effect on handling..." while "...handling with a single bomb was unpleasant, but manageable." ==Operational history==