The Fairey Firefly is a British World-War 2 era carrier-borne fighter and anti-submarine aircraft which was developed by Fairey Aviation Company. With more than 1.000 machines manufactured, the type saw service abroad in service with many countries, among them, the following ones:
- Ethiopia: Although Ethiopia was liberated in 1941 it wasn't until 1946 that the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force (IEAF) was established with help of a Swedish aristocrat. Until late 1940s the IEAF operated only communication and transport aircraft. Fireflies were chosen to form the first Ethiopian fighter squadron thanks to their suitability for defence duties in the high Ethiopian altitudes and temperatures. Initially, Ethiopia ordered 35 machines in December 1950, but only an initial batch of nine were delivered. All of them were stored as Royal Navy surplus at RNAS Abbotsinch and were finally reconditioned at Fairey's factory in Stockport.
The first of eight Fireflies F.1 and a single T.2 for the IEAF was accepted at RAF Ringway on 20th September 1951 and was flown to Ethiopia by easy stages. Thanks to the introduction of the Firefly, the first Ethiopian fighter unit was created and was supplemented by some Saab 17 light attack bombers, all of them based at Bishoftu Air Base, 30 milles (48 km) south from Addis Abeba, the capital.
Later, as the United Kingdom vetoed any further delivery to Ethiopia, the IEAF turned to Canada and acquired 15 additional Fireflies, consisting on 11 FR.1s, three T.1s and another T.2. It's also probable that a Canadian FR.4 reached Ethiopia as the Canadian Fireflies were ferried to the United Kingdom on board of the HMCS Magnificent in February 1954 and later they were sent to Ethiopia. They served officially until 1957-1958 when the IEAF was supplied with North-American F-86 Sabre and Lockheed T-33 fighters and trainers respectively, though unofficially they were still flying in 1960. Some wrecks were discovered in 1993. - Thailand: In spite of the Thai alliance with Japan during World War 2, the British aided and assisted in the creation of a modern Thai Air Force in the post-war period. Thailand ordered 30 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIVs and 12 Fireflies. The first delivery of Fireflies took place in the summer of 1951, with the batch consisting on 10 Fireflies F.1 and two T.2 trainers. Every Firefly had belonged previously to the Royal Navy and were reconditioned by Fairey in the second half of 1951, when they were dispatched by sea in crates. They were initially bought for the Royal Thai Naval Air Division but they entered service with the Royal Thai Air Force due to political disagreements. In March 1952, the No.1 Squadron, operating from Don Muang, was operational for a brief period of time because in 1954 they switched to American material.
Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairey_Firefly
2. https://www.valka.cz/Fairey-Firefly-F-Mk-I-t6589
3. https://issuu.com/mtaye/docs/the_long_life_of_ethiopian_fairey_fireflies
4. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 28 - Fairey Firefly
5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
