COLLECTORS’ ARCHIVE Golden Age of Flying-boats Cutaways and archive images Pioneering British fl ying-boat development 5 9 . 7 £ First flown on March 28, 1938, Stranraer I K7293 ‘S’ (furthest from the camera), joined 228 Squadron at Pembroke Dock the same day. The flying-boat went on to see service with 209 Squadron and BOAC before settling with 240 Squadron in December 1940. In February the following year the aircraft sank in a gale at Stranraer and despite being salvaged and allocated to Scottish Aviation for repair, K7293 was struck off charge in April 1941 INTRODUCTION 3 T HIS EDITION OF our Aeroplane Collectors’ Archive concentrates on of a fl ying-boat, which often had to perform better on the water than early British fl ying-boat development from 1913, through to the in the air, if it stood any chance of being developed or ordered by a RAF’s last biplane fl ying-boat to enter service – the Supermarine civilian or military customer. Stranraer in 1937. The original concept for this issue was to focus on As always, with any form of military technology, advances happen biplane fl ying-boats but we have included such types as the Inverness, quicker during a war and the First World War did no harm in Prawn and Windhover. accelerating this process. The post-war period saw the RAF employing As with previous issues, technical information is kept to a minimum Felixstowe type-machines in quantity and the demand for the and attention is paid to photographs drawn from The Aeroplane’s archive. fl ying-boat did not relent during the 1920s when the Supermarine The time period covered in this issue is little more than 20 years but Southampton ruled the roost. Hull design continued to evolve and, the range of types and the technical advances achieved in this time is reluctantly, designers gave in to fl ying-boats being made from metal. astonishing. It is hard to believe that ‘Tommy’ Sopwith’s Bat Boat, which The Southampton saw the end of larger orders by the RAF and, up to fi rst fl ew in 1913, helped to germinate a seed that would grow, within a the arrival of the Sunderland, the big multi-engined fl ying-boats were generation, into the Short Singapore III or the Supermarine Stranraer. only ordered in relatively low numbers. Those pioneering designers who fi rst envisaged a fl ying-boat faced I hope that this issue of Aeroplane Collectors’ Archive gives the considerably more problems than their land-based counter-parts. reader a taste of a pioneering and bygone age of which we shall never However, the rewards and the fl exibility of such a machine saw the see the likes again. fl ying-boat era continuing on into the 1950s. The hull design and suffi ciently powerful and reliable engines were always key to the success Martyn Chorlton, Editor Oswald Short (second from right) shows dignitaries around a Short S.8 ‘Calcutta’ on the River Medway at Rochester in 1929. Aeroplane Aeroplane Collectors’ Archive Golden Age of Flying-Boats Editor Martyn Chorlton Digital Image Manager (cid:51)(cid:70)(cid:67)(cid:70)(cid:68)(cid:68)(cid:66)(cid:1)(cid:40)(cid:74)(cid:67)(cid:67)(cid:84)(cid:1)(cid:116)(cid:1)Scanning assistant (cid:46)(cid:74)(cid:68)(cid:73)(cid:66)(cid:70)(cid:77)(cid:1)(cid:41)(cid:86)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:73)(cid:74)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:84)(cid:1)(cid:116)(cid:1)Image restoration Paul Sanderson Published by Kelsey Publishing Group, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG. Telephone 01959 541444 Fax 01959 541400 www.kelsey.co.uk Printed by William Gibbons & Sons Ltd., Willenhall, West Midlands. © 2012 all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with prior permission in writing from the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor or Publisher. ISBN 978-1-907426-71-1 Golden Age of Flying-boats 36 6 NORMAN THOMPSON N.T.4 AND 4A The fi rst British-built ‘America’ fl ying-boat 10 FELIXSTOWE PORTE BABY The RNAS’s fi rst big patrol fl ying-boat 12 NORMAN THOMPSON N.T.2B Mass produced side-by-side fully-enclosed trainer 14 SHORT S.8 CALCUTTA A new three-engined fl ying-boat for the Imperial Airways fl eet 18 SHORT S.17 KENT The luxurious Mediterranean cruiser 23 FELIXSTOWE F.1 (PORTE) The pioneering aircraft which helped to launch Britain as a world leader in aviation 24 FELIXSTOWE F.2, F.2A AND F.2C Long and loyal service for the RNAS and the RAF 27 FELIXSTOWE F.3 More power, bigger war load and a longer range 30 FELIXSTOWE F.5 Cdr John Porte’s last in a successful line of military patrol fl ying-boats 34 VICKERS VIKING, VULTURE AND VANELLUS A very successful series of amphibians 36 SHORT S.19 SINGAPORE III The back-bone of RAF fl ying-boat units throughout the 1930s up to the early stages of the Second World War 43 SUPERMARINE SOUTHAMPTON MK I AND MK II 52 R J Mitchell’s classic 1920s design 48 SUPERMARINE SEAGULL MK I TO MK III The amphibian fl ying-boat family developed from the Seal 52 SARO LONDON I AND II A ‘General Purpose Open Sea Patrol Flying-Boat’ for the RAF 56 SUPERMARINE WALRUS The ubiquitous ‘Shagbat’! 63 SUPERMARINE SCAPA Mitchell returns to the tried and tested design philosophy 66 SHORT S.14 SARAFAND Short Brothers’ giant, which was the largest aircraft in Britain at the time CCoonntteennttss 43 68 BLACKBURN IRIS MK I TO MK IV The largest aircraft in service with the RAF during the 1930s 70 BLACKBURN PERTH A comfortable, self-suffi cient, upgrade of the Iris 72 SHORT S.8/8 RANGOON The military version of the S.8 Calcutta 76 SUPERMARINE STRANRAER II Biplane fl ying-boat development fi nally comes to an end 81 BRISTOL PEGASUS ENGINE One of the fi nest British aero engines of the inter-war period LIMITED PRODUCTION MODELS 84 SOPWITH BAT BOAT TYPE 1, 1A AND 2 27 85 SUPERMARINE A.D. NORMAN THOMPSON N.2C 86 FELIXSTOWE F.4 FURY (PORTE ‘SUPER BABY’) SUPERMARINE CHANNEL I AND II 87 PHOENIX P.5 CORK I/ ENGLISH ELECTRIC P.5 KINGSTON SAUNDERS KITTIWAKE 88 SUPERMARINE SEA KING I AND II SUPERMARINE COMMERCIAL AMPHIBIAN 89 VICKERS-SAUNDERS BS.1 VALENTIA SUPERMARINE SEAL I AND II 48 90 FAIREY N.4 ATALANTA AND TITANIA SUPERMARINE SEA LION I-III 91 ENGLISH ELECTRIC M.3 AYR SUPERMARINE SEA EAGLE 92 SUPERMARINE SWAN I AND II BEARDMORE BERO 2 INVERNESS (ROHRBACH RO IV) 93 SHORT SINGAPORE I SAUNDERS A.4 MEDINA 34 94 SAUNDERS A.3 VALKYRIE SUPERMARINE NANOK/SOLENT 95 SUPERMARINE SHELDRAKE PARNALL P.1 PRAWN 96 SAUNDERS A.7 SEVERN SARO A.21 WINDHOVER 97 SHORT SINGAPORE II SUPERMARINE SEAGULL V 6 Norman Thompson N.T.4 & 4A THE N.T.4 WAS the Norman Thompson Aircraft Company’s fi rst were designated as the N.T.4A. By mid-1917, Norman Thompson design following the departure of Douglas White in late 1915. The had 50 orders on the books but, by the summer of 1918, with N.T.4 appeared on the scene at the same time as Curtiss H.4 and in the end of the war approaching, the order was cancelled and a confusing custom of the day, both fl ying-boats were referred to only 30 aircraft were built. as the ‘America’ and later the ‘Small America’. As a result, the The N.T.4 was used exclusively for anti-submarine operations historical records for the Curtiss machine are stronger and the from stations stretching from Calshot in the south to N.T.4 has been unfairly sidelined in the archives. Scapa Flow in the Orkneys. Armament was one The N.T.4 was designed to operate as a patrol fl ying-boat. free-mounted Lewis machine-gun with bombs that Powered by two Hispano-Suiza engines, it had the novelty of a could be carried on racks under the wings. One N.T.4, fully-enclosed, glazed cockpit, a luxury that not even aircraft No.8338, was fi tted with a 2lb Davis recoilless during the 1920s enjoyed. The fi rst versions did suff er from poor gun mounted on top of the cockpit; visibility for the pilot but this was later improved when the cockpit the idea never progressed beyond roof was glazed. the experimental stage. The RNAS placed an initial order for ten aircraft in December 1915; the fi rst six of this order (8338-8343) were powered by 150hp Hispano-Suiza engines. All subsequent aircraft (9061-9064 and N2140-N2159) were powered by the 200hp geared version and Main image: staff of the Norman Thompson Flight Company during happier times in front of N.T.4 No.9064. Following a sudden change in RNAS requirements, which resulted in the cancellation, 20 N.T.4As, combined with continuous problems with the N.T.2Bs engines, the company went into receivership on April 19, 1918. Liquidated in July 1919, the company’s remaining assets were bought by Handley Page Limited The prototype Norman Thompson N.T.4 No.8338, the fi rst of only ten built (8338-8343 and 9061- 9064) pictured at Grain, Isle of Sheppey during trials with a 2lb Davis recoilless gun 7 NORMAN THOMPSON N.T.4A ENGINES: Two 200hp Hispano-Suiza WING SPAN: 78ft 7in LENGTH: 41ft 6in HEIGHT: 14ft 10in LOADED WEIGHT: 6,469lb MAX SPEED: 95mph CREW: 4 N.T.4 ‘Small America’ No.9061 off Calshot on September 24, 1917. By 1918, all of the RNAS’s N.T.4s were used for training, operating from Calshot, Killingholme and Cattewater. The exceptions were No.8339 and No.8340, which were used for anti-submarine patrols over the North Sea from Dundee 8 The NT.4A, of which only 20 were built (N2140-N2159), featured a modified hull, increased cockpit glazing and an improved fuel system for its 200hp Hispano-Suiza engines NORMAN THOMPSON N.T.4 ANd 4A 9 Norman Thompson N.T.4 No.8343 pictured at Killingholme where it was delivered in March 1917. Note the substantial twin wheel beaching chassis on which the 6,469lb flying-boat rests Dominated by a large, centrally mounted control wheel, the cockpit of N.T.4 No.9063 is furnished with only the most basic of flight instruments. These include two air speed indicators, one in mph and one in knots, plus a pair of engine rpm gauges rated to a maximum of 2,200 revs. A warning, visible through the control wheel, states ‘engine revs not to exceed 2,100’ First delivered to the RNAS on June 23, 1917, N.T.4 No.9063 was allocated to the Grain Test Depot on July 14, 1917 (where it is pictured) for experiments with the Type 52B Wireless Transmitter. The flying-boat was then transferred to Westgate Air Station, west of Margate, where it sprang a leak whilst moored to a buoy and sank. On January 7, 1918, the wreck was towed ashore and four days later was struck off charge 10 Felixstowe Porte Baby DESIGNED BY SQN Cdr J C Porte and built by May, Harden and May Douglas, (later Marshal of the Royal Air Force) and F/L B D Hobbs of Southampton, the Felixstowe Porte Baby was a three-engined forced landed near the North Hinder Light Vessel off the Dutch flying-boat, two in the tractor position and one in the pusher. coast. After a brave fight, the enemy aircraft were seen off and the Another design with an enclosed cockpit, the Porte Baby was a Porte Baby began the long ‘seaward’ journey back to the English three-bay biplane of unequal span. Early versions of the flying- coast to arrive at Sizewell Gap, Suffolk at 0130hrs on October 2. boat were powered by a pair of 250hp Eagles in the outer position After this incident, the Porte Baby was removed from this duty. and a single 260hp Green in the centre. Later, three 345hp Eagle or One idea to help with self-defence was for the flying-boats to three 360hp Eagle VIII were fitted. carry their own fighter protection. No.9080 was used for Only 11 were built (9800-9810) of which all saw service with the experiments with a Bristol Scout or Bullet mounted on the upper RNAS from November 1916 and operated from Felixstowe and wing which could be released in flight to help deal with an enemy Killingholme on patrols over the North Sea. The aircraft’s attack. This was first carried out successfully on May 17, 1916 at pondering performance made it particularly vulnerable to attack 1,000ft, with Sqn Cdr Porte at the controls of the flying-boat and by enemy aircraft and one Porte Baby was forced down into the F/L M J Day flying the Bristol Scout. Despite the success of the sea on October 1, 1917. The flying-boat, flown by Flt Cdr N Sholto experiment, the combination never entered operational service. Bristol Scout C3028 perches neatly on top of the No.9800 during fighter defence trials, which were carried out from Felixstowe in the spring of 1916. The Scout was successfully ‘air-launched’ on May 17, 1917 FELIXSTOWE PORTE BABY ENGINES: Three 360hp Rolls-Royce Eagle VII WING SPAN: 124ft LENGTH: 63ft HEIGHT: 25ft LOADED WEIGHT 18,600lb MAX SPEED 87.5mph CREW: 5