The Ryan FR Fireball was a composite propeller and jet-powered aircraft designed for the United States Navy during World War II. The Fireball entered service before the end of the war, but did not see combat. The FR-1 Fireball was the U.S. Navy's first aircraft with jet propulsion.
Design began in 1943 to a proposal instigated by Admiral John S. McCain, Sr. for a composite-powered fighter; early jet engines had sluggish acceleration which was considered unsafe and unsuitable for aircraft carrier takeoff and landing. Ryan aeronautical engineer Benjamin Tyler Salmon was tasked with designing an aircraft to meet these criteria. His solution was a composite design that allowed for conventional piston-powered flight but gave a jet for higher speeds.
The first prototype flew on 25 June 1944, but it was lost in a crash at China Lake NAS in October that year. Investigation showed that the wing rivets were insufficiently strong, a problem cured by doubling the number of rivets, but not before the other two prototypes crashed in similar fashion.
Source wikipedia
