The shorthand description of the Firefly as an improved Fulmar is misleading. The two aircraft drew on related earlier design work, but their relationship was not a direct parent-and-successor line. They are better understood as cousins with common ancestors. Their similar appearance also reflected the Fleet Air Arm missions and available technologies shaping both designs. The distinction warns against treating visual resemblance as proof of a simple development lineage.
Notable Point · 37:09-38:09
The Firefly was not simply an improved Fulmar
The two aircraft shared older design influences and a strong family resemblance, but the Firefly was not a direct development of the Fulmar.