The primary variant of the aircraft used during the Second World War was the Firefly Mk I, which was used in all theatres of operations. During March 1943, the first Firefly Mk Is were delivered to the FAA but these did not enter operational service until July 1944, at which point they equipped 1770 Naval Air Squadron aboard . The first operations were flown in the European theatre where Fireflies carried out numerous armed reconnaissance flights and anti-shipping strikes along the Norwegian coast. That year, Fireflies also provided air cover and aerial reconnaissance during attacks on the German battleship .