Misplaced Pages

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89-726: The Supermarine Stranraer is a flying boat designed and built by the British Supermarine Aviation Works company at Woolston, Southampton . It was developed during the 1930s on behalf of its principal operator, the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was the RAF's last and fastest biplane flying boat. Derived from the Supermarine Scapa , the aircraft's design was heavily shaped by Specification R.24/31 , issued in 1931. After an initial rejection by

178-562: A United States naval aviator in an M.5. The Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company modified the Felixstowe F.5 into Aeromarine 75 airliner flying boats which with Aeromarine West Indies Airways flew Air Mail to Florida, Bahamas, and Cuba along with being passenger carriers. The German aircraft manufacturing company Hansa-Brandenburg built flying boats starting with the model Hansa-Brandenburg GW in 1916. The Austro-Hungarian firm, Lohner-Werke began building flying boats, starting with

267-469: A five-seat Sanchez-Besa from 1 August 1912. The French Navy ordered its first floatplane in 1912. None of these crafts to date were flying boats. In 1911–12, François Denhaut constructed the first flying boat , with a fuselage forming a hull, using various designs to give hydrodynamic lift at take-off. Its first successful flight was on 13 April 1912. Throughout 1910 and 1911 American pioneering aviator Glenn Curtiss developed his floatplane into

356-698: A fully enclosed cabin. Trials of the America began on 23 June 1914 with Porte also as Chief Test Pilot; testing soon revealed serious shortcomings in the design; it was under-powered, so the engines were replaced with more powerful engines mounted in a tractor configuration. There was also a tendency for the nose of the aircraft to try to submerge as engine power increased while taxiing on water. This phenomenon had not been encountered before, since Curtiss' earlier designs had not used such powerful engines nor large fuel/cargo loads and so were relatively more buoyant. In order to counteract this effect, Curtiss fitted fins to

445-581: A further sum" from the Women's Aerial League of Great Britain. American businessman Rodman Wanamaker became determined that the prize should go to an American aircraft and commissioned the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company to design and build an aircraft capable of making the flight. Curtiss' development of the Flying Fish flying boat in 1913 brought him into contact with John Cyril Porte ,

534-585: A glide." At Felixstowe, Porte made advances in flying boat design and developed a practical hull design with the distinctive "Felixstowe notch". Porte's first design to be implemented in Felixstowe was the Felixstowe Porte Baby , a large, three-engined biplane flying-boat, powered by one central pusher and two outboard tractor Rolls-Royce Eagle engines. Porte modified an H-4 with a new hull whose improved hydrodynamic qualities made taxiing, take-off and landing much more practical, and called it

623-451: A greater extent from the Scapa, opting for an alternative thin-wing arrangement around a two-bay structure. The Stranraer's weight, and the surface area and span of its wings, were 12 per cent greater; the elevator was also 7 per cent larger, while the rudders featured trim tabs capable of holding the aircraft straight under single-engine flight. While some consideration towards adopting

712-493: A heavily modified Short Empire flying boat. The larger Maia took off, carrying the smaller Mercury loaded to a weight greater than it could take off with. This allowed the Mercury to carry sufficient fuel for a direct trans-Atlantic flight with the mail. Unfortunately this was of limited usefulness, and the Mercury had to be returned from America by ship. The Mercury did set a number of distance records before in-flight refuelling

801-459: A joint bid. A company under combined ownership was then formed, Qantas Empire Airways. The new ten-day service between Rose Bay, New South Wales (near Sydney ), and Southampton was such a success with letter-writers that before long the volume of mail was exceeding aircraft storage space. A better solution to the problem was sought by the British government during the early 1930s, who released

890-479: A maximum take-off weight of 19,000 pounds (8,600 kg). The all-metal frame was designed to avoid soakage. The hull was made of an inner layer of Duralumin and outer layers of pure aluminium , which provided resistance to corrosion. The enlarged diameter of the hull made it wide enough across to increase the internal space of the dual-control cockpit. As the design of the Stranraer progressed, it deviated to

979-409: A pair of interplane struts were introduced. The hull was considerably larger, its cross-section being increased by 18 per cent, yet still achieving virtually identical hydrodynamic performance . The forward gun was redesigned to be retractable, the middle gunner's position was lowered, and a tail gunner position was added just aft of the control surfaces, completed with a hooded windshield. In general,

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1068-401: A position which has the advantage that the propellers were well clear of any sea spray. Two petrol tanks, each of 250 imperial gallons (1,100 L; 300 US gal) capacity, were placed in the centre section of the top plane; petrol was fed by gravity, but fuel pumps were also incorporated. The two-bladed wooden propellers of the prototype were replaced by Fairey-Reed propellers when

1157-458: A publicity stunt. It flew to America in 1930–31, crossing the Atlantic via an indirect route over 9 months. It was the largest flying boat of its time, but was severely underpowered and was limited by a very low operational ceiling. Only three were built, with a variety of different engines installed, in an attempt to overcome the lack of power. Two of these were sold to Italy. The Dornier Wal

1246-598: A result of this action, British flying boats were dazzle-painted to aid identification in combat. The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company independently developed its designs into the small Model "F", the larger Model "K" (several of which were sold to the Russian Naval Air Service), and the Model "C" for the U.S. Navy. Curtiss among others also built the Felixstowe F.5 as the Curtiss F5L, based on

1335-449: A retired Royal Navy lieutenant, aircraft designer and test pilot who was to become an influential British aviation pioneer. Recognising that many of the early accidents were attributable to a poor understanding of handling while in contact with the water, the pair's efforts went into developing practical hull designs to make the transatlantic crossing possible. At the same time the British boat building firm J. Samuel White of Cowes on

1424-667: A single Sunderland operating off Norway was attacked by six German Junkers Ju 88C fighters; during the engagement, it shot one down and damaged another until it retreated and drove off the rest. The Germans reputedly nicknamed the Sunderland the Fliegendes Stachelschwein ("Flying Porcupine") due to its defensive firepower. Sunderlands in the Mediterranean theatre proved themselves on multiple high-profile occasions, flying many evacuation missions during

1513-489: A single overload fuel tank underneath the other one. Use of the Stranraer for such patrols came to an end on 17 March 1941. Stranraers saw service with No. 240 Squadron, and limited numbers were deployed at the No. 4 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit . The final Stranraer flight in RAF service was conducted by K7303 at Felixstowe on 30 October 1942. Having acquired a less than favourable reception by flight and ground crews alike,

1602-493: A specification calling for a new large aircraft capable of carrying up to 24 passengers in spacious comfort along with adequate room for airmail or freight while simultaneously being capable of a cruising speed of 170 mph and a range of at least 700 miles; the capacity for an extended range of 2,000 miles to serve the North Atlantic route was also stipulated. Originally intended for use by IAL, partner Qantas agreed to

1691-562: A weak hull and poor water handling. The combination of the new Porte-designed hull, this time fitted with two steps, with the wings of the H-12 and a new tail, and powered by two Rolls-Royce Eagle engines, was named the Felixstowe F.2 and first flew in July 1916, proving greatly superior to the Curtiss on which it was based. It was used as the basis for all future designs. It entered production as

1780-559: The Air Ministry , Supermarine persisted with development as a private venture under the designation Southampton V. During 1933, a contract was placed for a single prototype; it was around this time that the type was named after Stranraer . First flown on 24 July 1934, the Stranraer entered frontline service with the RAF during 1937; most examples of the type were in service by the outbreak of World War II . The Stranraers typically undertook anti-submarine and convoy escort patrols during

1869-538: The Felixstowe F.1 . Porte's innovation of the "Felixstowe notch" enabled the craft to overcome suction from the water more quickly and break free for flight much more easily. This made operating the craft far safer and more reliable, although similar devices had been in use in France since 1911. The "notch" breakthrough would soon after evolve into a "step", with the rear section of the lower hull sharply recessed above

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1958-564: The First World War , flying boats rapidly grew in both scale and capability during the interwar period , during which time numerous operators found commercial success with the type. Flying boats were some of the largest aircraft of the first half of the 20th century, exceeded in size only by bombers developed during the Second World War . Their advantage lay in using water instead of expensive land-based runways, making them

2047-683: The German seizure of Crete , each carrying as many as 82 passengers. One Sunderland flew the reconnaissance mission to observe the Italian fleet at anchor in Taranto before the famous Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm 's torpedo attack on 11 November 1940 . The largest flying boat of the war was the Blohm & Voss BV 238 , which was also the heaviest plane to fly during the Second World War and

2136-603: The Gnome Omega –powered Hydravion , a trimaran floatplane. Fabre's first successful take off and landing by a powered floatplane inspired other aviators and he designed floats for several other flyers. The first hydro-aeroplane competition was held in Monaco in March 1912, featuring aircraft using floats from Fabre, Curtiss, Tellier and Farman. This led to the first scheduled seaplane passenger services at Aix-les-Bains , using

2225-763: The Isle of Wight set up a new aircraft division and produced a flying boat in the United Kingdom. This was displayed at the London Air Show at Olympia in 1913. In that same year, a collaboration between the S. E. Saunders boatyard of East Cowes and the Sopwith Aviation Company produced the "Bat Boat", an aircraft with a consuta laminated hull that could operate from land or on water, which today we call an amphibious aircraft . The "Bat Boat" completed several landings on sea and on land and

2314-518: The Lion's Gate Bridge ", as well as a more genteel variant of its usual nickname, "Whistling Birdcage". The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Stranraers were exact equivalents of their RAF counterparts. In Canadian service, they were usually employed in coastal patrol against submarine threats in a similar role to the British Stranraers. Aviation author Dirk Septer stated that no enemy action

2403-648: The Lohner E in 1914 and the later (1915) Lohner L which was copied widely. In September 1919, British company Supermarine started operating the first flying boat service in the world, from Woolston to Le Havre in France , but it was short-lived. A Curtiss NC-4 became the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1919, crossing via the Azores . Of the four that made the attempt, only one completed

2492-602: The Rolls-Royce Kestrel was made, the moderately supercharged Bristol Pegasus IIIM radial engine was selected instead, as it was an air-cooled type , having no need of heavy radiators and pipes. While the airframe of the Stranraer was broadly similar to the Scapa, it was cleaner in terms of its aerodynamics . Much of the airframe was composed of alclad , while detailed fittings were fabricated from stainless steel ; metallic objects were anodised as an anti- corrosion measure. For additional structural strength,

2581-692: The Shin Meiwa US-1A and the Martin JRM Mars . In the 21st century, flying boats maintain a few niche uses, such as dropping water on forest fires , air transport around archipelagos, and access to undeveloped areas. Many modern seaplane variants, whether float or flying boat types, are convertible amphibious aircraft where either landing gear or flotation modes may be used to land and take off. The quest for an aircraft that could take off or land from water began with float planes, which are not flying boats. The Frenchman Alphonse Pénaud filed

2670-521: The 1930s, flying boats made it possible to have regular air transport between the U.S. and Europe, opening up new air travel routes to South America, Africa, and Asia. Foynes , Ireland and Botwood , Newfoundland and Labrador were the termini for many early transatlantic flights. In areas where there were no airfields for land-based aircraft, flying boats could stop at small island, river, lake or coastal stations to refuel and resupply. The Pan Am Boeing 314 Clipper planes brought exotic destinations like

2759-452: The 1950s. The Supermarine Stranraer, which was directly derived from the Supermarine Scapa , was the final aircraft in a series of flying boats designed by R. J. Mitchell , for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was produced by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton , in southern England between 1925 and 1936. Development of the series commenced during the early 1930s, with Supermarine's design team, headed by Mitchell. The project

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2848-600: The Curtiss Model E, and soon tested landings on and take-offs from ships using the Curtiss Model D. In Britain, Captain Edward Wakefield and Oscar Gnosspelius began to explore the feasibility of flight from water in 1908. They decided to make use of Windermere in the Lake District , England's largest lake to test their floatplane. The latter's first attempts to fly attracted large crowds, though

2937-518: The Far East within reach of air travelers and came to represent the romance of flight. By 1931, mail from Australia was reaching Britain in just 16 days – less than half the time taken by sea. In that year, government tenders on both sides of the world invited applications to run new passenger and mail services between the ends of the British Empire , and Qantas and IAL were successful with

3026-473: The Felixstowe F.2A, being used as a patrol aircraft, with about 100 being completed by the end of World War I. Another seventy were built, and these were followed by two F.2c, which were built at Felixstowe. The Felixstowe F.5 was intended to combine the good qualities of the F.2 and F.3, with the prototype first flying in May 1918. The prototype showed superior qualities to its predecessors but, to ease production,

3115-620: The L series, and progressing with the M series. The Macchi M.5 in particular was extremely manoeuvrable and agile and matched the land-based aircraft it had to fight. 244 were built in total. Towards the end of the First World War, the aircraft were flown by the Italian Navy Aviation, the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps airmen. Ensign Charles Hammann won the first Medal of Honor awarded to

3204-691: The Navy, as a member of the Royal Naval Air Service . Appointed Squadron Commander of Royal Navy Air Station Hendon , he soon convinced the Admiralty of the potential of flying boats and was put in charge of the naval air station at Felixstowe in 1915. Porte persuaded the Admiralty to commandeer (and later, purchase) the America and a sister craft from Curtiss. This was followed by an order for 12 more similar aircraft, one Model H-2 and

3293-454: The RAF on 16 April 1937. The final Stranraer was delivered on 3 April 1939. In addition, a total of 40 Stranraers were manufactured under licence in Canada by Canadian Vickers Limited , as both Supermarine and Canadian Vickers were subsidiaries of Vickers-Armstrongs . The Stranraer was a six-seater, twin-engined biplane flying boat. Its empty weight was 11,250 pounds (5,100 kg), with

3382-569: The River Seine with a towed kite glider on floats. The first of his unpowered flights was 150 yards. He later built a powered floatplane in partnership with Louis Blériot , but the machine was unsuccessful. Other pioneers also attempted to attach floats to aircraft in Britain, Australia, France and the USA. On 28 March 1910, Frenchman Henri Fabre flew the first successful powered floatplane,

3471-412: The Stranraer gained a large number of derisive nicknames during its service life. It was sometimes referred to as a "whistling shithouse" because the toilet opened out directly to the air and when the seat was lifted, the airflow caused the toilet to make a whistling sound. The Stranraer also acquired "Flying Meccano Set", "The Marpole Bridge ", "Seymour Seine Net", "Strainer", "Flying Centre Section of

3560-627: The Stranraer performed several challenging long-distance flights; one such flight, covering 4,000 miles (6,400 km), was performed during a single exercise during September 1938. No Stranraers saw action away from UK territorial waters during World War II. Immediately following the outbreak of the war in September 1939, Stranraers patrolled the North Sea , intercepting enemy shipping between Scotland and Norway. Aircraft assigned to such duties were typically armed with bombs underneath one wing and

3649-544: The US. After the end of World War II, 13 examples were sold through Crown Assets (Canadian government) and passed into civilian use; several served with Queen Charlotte Airlines (QCA) in British Columbia , operating until 1958. A re-engine project by the airline substituted 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) Wright GR-1820-G202GA engines in place of the original Pegasus units. Queen Charlotte Airlines became at one point

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3738-465: The aircraft crashed into the lake. Wakefield's pilot however, taking advantage of a light northerly wind, successfully took off and flew at a height of 50 feet to Ferry Nab, where he made a wide turn and returned for a perfect landing on the lake's surface. In 1913, the Daily Mail newspaper put up a £10,000 prize for the first non-stop aerial crossing of the Atlantic which was soon "enhanced by

3827-400: The aircraft failed to take off and required a re-design of the floats incorporating features of Borwick's successful speed-boat hulls. Meanwhile, Wakefield ordered a floatplane similar to the design of the 1910 Fabre Hydravion. By November 1911, both Gnosspelius and Wakefield had aircraft capable of flight from water and awaited suitable weather conditions. Gnosspelius's flight was short-lived as

3916-756: The aircraft on passenger flights until 1952, flying from Vancouver along the Pacific coast of British Columbia. It flew with several other private owners until it was damaged by a ship in 1966. In 1970, it was bought by the RAF Museum and transported to the UK. Parts of a second Stranraer, 915/CF-BYJ, are owned by the Shearwater Aviation Museum , Halifax , Canada. This aircraft also operated with Queen Charlotte Airlines until it crashed on Christmas Eve 1949 at Belize Inlet , British Columbia. Most of

4005-568: The aircraft was not well-received, with numerous pilots considering its performance being typically marginal. Others noted that it had superior seaworthiness to several aircraft in common use, such as the Consolidated PBY Catalina . As early as 1938, some Stranraer squadrons had begun to re-equip themselves with other aircraft, such as the Short Sunderland and Short Singapore flying boats. Early on in its career,

4094-423: The aircraft was recovered in the 1980s, with the exception of the forward fuselage and cockpit. Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Flying boat Though a flying boat’s fuselage provides buoyancy, it may also utilize under-wing floats or wing-like hull projections (called sponsons ) for additional stability. Ascending into common use during

4183-465: The aircraft went into production, which were made of metal and had three blades. The redesigned wings were fabric-covered. The wings were redesigned to incorporate twin bays; the greater number of struts and wires used for the bays, which would have caused an increase in drag, meant the wings had to have a thinner profile. The wings were swept back to correct the balance. The Stranraer was armed with three 0.303-inch (7.7 mm) Lewis guns , positioned in

4272-672: The basis for international airlines in the interwar period. They were also commonly used as maritime patrol aircraft and air-sea rescue , particularly during times of conflict. Flying boats such as the PBY Catalina and Short Sunderland played key roles in both the Pacific Theater and the Atlantic of the Second World War. The popularity of flying boats gradually tailed off during the Cold War era, partially because of

4361-555: The best flying boat of the conflict, the Kawanishi H8K . Its design was based upon its immediate predecessor, the Kawanishi H6K , but was a considerably larger and longer-ranged aircraft designed at the request of the Navy just prior to the outbreak of war. On the night of 4 March 1942, two H8Ks conducted the second raid on Pearl Harbor , refuelling en route by submarine at French Frigate Shoals in order to achieve

4450-413: The capabilities of the Scapa without enlargement. Thus, Supermarine submitted its initial response to the specification as a larger model of the Scapa; the company competed against a rival bid from Saunders-Roe . The Air Ministry favoured Saunders-Roe's proposal and rejected Supermarine's design. Despite the rejection, Supermarine opted to continue development work on the design as a private venture, which

4539-604: The change being made official on 1 April 1940. BOAC continued to operate flying boat services from the (slightly) safer confines of Poole Harbour during wartime, returning to Southampton in 1947. When Italy entered the war in June 1940, the Mediterranean was closed to allied planes, and BOAC and Qantas operated the Horseshoe Route between Durban and Sydney using Short Empire flying boats. The Martin Company produced

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4628-645: The collection of the Royal Air Force Museum London . This aircraft was built in 1940, one of 40 produced by Canadian Vickers. In service with the RCAF, it flew with several squadrons, on anti-submarine patrols, as a training aircraft and carrying passengers. In 1944, it was disposed of. It was flown by the civilian airline Canadian Pacific Airlines until 1947, then by Queen Charlotte Airlines, who replaced its original engines with American Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines. Queen Charlotte Airlines flew

4717-407: The difficulty in maintaining operations in inclement weather when sea conditions may easily prevent takeoffs and landings while land based aircraft are unaffected, and investments in airports during the conflict that eased the introduction of larger, and more efficient, land-based airliners. Despite being largely overshadowed, limited use of the type continued with some operators, such as in the case of

4806-993: The early years of the conflict. During March 1941, the model was withdrawn from frontline service, but continued to be operated in a training capacity until October 1942. In addition to the British-built aeroplanes, the Canadian Vickers company in Montreal , Quebec, also manufactured 40 Stranraers under licence for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). These Canadian Stranraers served in anti-submarine and coastal defence capacities on both Canada's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and were in regular service until 1946. Following their withdrawal from military service, many ex-RCAF Stranraers were sold off to fledgling regional airlines, with whom they served in various commercial passenger and freighter operations into

4895-672: The end of the conflict, the Navy opted to scaled back their order, buying only the five aircraft. The five Mars were completed, and the last delivered in 1947. The U.S. used several 4-engine flying boats during World War II, including those that had been operating as civilian airliners. This included five Boeing B-314 Clippers , four more as the C-98s; two Martin M-130 Clippers ,a Martin XPB2M-1/XPB2M-1R prototype, and one JRM-1 Mars ; three Sikorsky VS-44s (JR2S-1). However,

4984-401: The equipment of which the aircraft was to be fitted with were the result of lessons learnt from operations of the earlier Southamptons. The production model of the Stranraer was different in a few aspects from the first prototype, chiefly of which being the installation of the more powerful 920 horsepower (690 kW) Pegasus X engine. The engines were placed in nacelles under the upper wing,

5073-742: The final Porte hull designs and powered by American Liberty engines . Meanwhile, the pioneering flying boat designs of François Denhaut had been steadily developed by the Franco-British Aviation Company into a range of practical craft. Smaller than the Felixstowes, several thousand FBAs served with almost all of the Allied forces as reconnaissance craft, patrolling the North Sea, Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans. In Italy, several flying boats were developed, starting with

5162-449: The first patent for a flying machine with a boat hull and retractable landing gear in 1876 but failed to build one. Austrian Wilhelm Kress is credited by some with attempting to build the first successful seaplane Drachenflieger , a floatplane , in 1898, although its two 30 hp Daimler engines were inadequate for take-off and it later sank when one of its two floats collapsed. On 6 June 1905, Gabriel Voisin took off and landed on

5251-528: The flight plan; the aircraft was a conventional biplane design with two-bay, unstaggered wings of unequal span with two pusher inline engines mounted side-by-side above the fuselage in the interplane gap. Wingtip pontoons were attached directly below the lower wings near their tips. The design (later developed into the Model H ), resembled Curtiss' earlier flying boats, but was built considerably larger so it could carry enough fuel to cover 1,100 mi (1,800 km). The three crew members were accommodated in

5340-449: The flight. Before the development of highly reliable aircraft, the ability to land on water was a desirable safety feature for transoceanic travel. In 1923, the first successful commercial flying boat service was introduced with flights to and from the Channel Islands . The British aviation industry was experiencing rapid growth. The Government decided that nationalization was necessary and ordered five aviation companies to merge to form

5429-417: The forward lower hull section, and that characteristic became a feature of both flying boat hulls and floatplane floats. The resulting aircraft would be large enough to carry sufficient fuel to fly long distances and could berth alongside ships to take on more fuel. Porte then designed a similar hull for the larger Curtiss H-12 flying boat which, while larger and more capable than the H-4s, shared failings of

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5518-451: The initiative and undertook to purchase six of the new Short S23 "C" class or "Empire" flying boats as well. Being ordered from aviation manufacturer Short Brothers , the Empire was reportedly hailed as being "one of the world's boldest experiments in aviation", while early sceptics referred to the order less favourably as being a 'gamble'. IAL were so impressed by the Empire that it placed a follow-on order for another 11; when combined with

5607-430: The largest aircraft built and flown by any of the Axis Powers . Only the first prototype ever flew, commencing flight trials in April 1944. Months later, it was strafed and partially sunk while moored on Lake Schaal , to the east of Hamburg ; it never returned to flight, instead being intentionally sunk in deep water after the end of the conflict. The Imperial Japanese Navy operated what has been often described as

5696-490: The last example being withdrawn on 20 January 1946. From May 1935, the Stranraer was developed for civilian use into the Type 237. All the RCAF's Stranraers were struck off charge between June 1939 and January 1946. Of the 40 aircraft acquired by the RCAF, half survived being destroyed or damaged during the war. In November 1944, 20 aircraft that had been withdrawn from active service in February earlier that year were purchased for civilian use, before being registered in Canada or

5785-417: The main 4-engined flying boat of the U.S. forces was the PB2Y Coronado , of which nearly 220 were used in several versions:maritime patrol, bombing, medical/hospital transport, and for regular cargo; it also served with British forces in the Battle for the Atlantic . List of Air Ministry Specifications Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include

5874-444: The most notable of these flights was a 43,500 km (27,000 mi) expedition conducted during 1927 and 1928; it was carried out by four Southamptons of the Far East Flight , setting out from Felixstowe via the Mediterranean and India to Singapore . Both the RAF and Supermarine acquired considerable acclaim from these flights, as well as proving that flying boats had evolved to become reliable means of long-distance transport. In

5963-448: The necessary range; poor visibility caused this attack on Pearl Harbor to fail to accomplish any significant damage. An improved H8K2 variant of the type, featuring extremely heavy defensive armament, was also introduced. In November 1939, IAL was restructured into three separate companies: British European Airways , British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), and British South American Airways (which merged with BOAC in 1949), with

6052-466: The nose, dorsal and tail. The aircraft could carry up to 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of bombs. The Stranraer and its contemporary, the Saro London , were the last multi-engine, biplane flying-boats to see service with the RAF. The RAF operated 17 Stranraers from 1937, although they were already considered obsolete when they entered service. Before the war, the type served primarily with No. 228 Squadron , No. 209 Squadron and No. 240 Squadron . Generally,

6141-430: The original order for 28 flying boats, this was the largest single order to have ever been placed for a British civil aircraft at that time. Delivering the mail as quickly as possible generated a lot of competition and some innovative designs. One variant of the Short Empire flying boats was the strange-looking " Maia and Mercury ". It was a four-engined floatplane "Mercury" (the winged messenger) fixed on top of "Maia",

6230-424: The over-water sectors of the Deutsche Luft Hansa South Atlantic Airmail service. The military value of flying boats was well recognized, and every country bordering on water operated them in a military capacity at the outbreak of the Second World War . Flying boats such as the PBM Mariner patrol bomber, PBY Catalina , Short Sunderland , and Grumman Goose were procured in large numbers. The Sunderland, which

6319-516: The production version was modified to make extensive use of components from the F.3, which resulted in lower performance than the F.2A or F.3. The Felixstowe flying boats were extensively employed by the Royal Navy for coastal patrols, including searching for German U-boats . In 1918 they were towed on lighters towards the northern German ports to extend their range; on 4 June 1918 this resulted in three F.2As engaging with ten German seaplanes, shooting down two confirmed and four probables at no loss. As

6408-541: The prototype XPB2M Mars based on their PBM Mariner patrol bomber, with flight tests between 1941 and 1943. The Mars was converted by the Navy into a transport aircraft designated the XPB2M-1R. Satisfied with the performance, 20 of the modified JRM-1 Mars were ordered. The first of the five production Mars flying boats entered service ferrying cargo to Hawaii and the Pacific Islands on 23 January 1944. Following

6497-512: The remaining as Model H-4 's. Four examples of the latter were assembled in the UK by Saunders . All of these were similar to the design of the America and, indeed, were all referred to as America s in Royal Navy service. The engines, however, were changed from the under-powered 160 hp Curtiss engines to 250 hp Rolls-Royce Falcon engines. The initial batch was followed by an order for 50 more (totalling 64 Americas overall during

6586-406: The sides of the bow to add hydrodynamic lift, but soon replaced these with sponsons , a type of underwater pontoon mounted in pairs on either side of a hull. These sponsons (or their engineering equivalents) and the flared, notched hull would remain a prominent feature of flying boat hull design in the decades to follow. With the problem resolved, preparations for the crossing resumed. While the craft

6675-504: The state-owned Imperial Airways of London (IAL). IAL became the international flag-carrying British airline, providing flying boat passenger and mail transport links between Britain and South Africa using aircraft such as the Short S.8 Calcutta . During the 1920s, the Royal Air Force (RAF) Far East flight performed a series of "showing the flag" long-distance formation flights using the newly developed Supermarine Southampton . Perhaps

6764-540: The successful Curtiss Model D land-plane, which used a larger central float and sponsons. Combining floats with wheels, he made the first amphibian flights in February 1911 and was awarded the first Collier Trophy for US flight achievement. From 1912 his experiments resulted in the 1913 Model E and Model F , which he called "flying-boats". In February 1911, the United States Navy took delivery of

6853-699: The third-largest airline in Canada; it was popularly known as the Queer Collection of Aircraft . With limited money, it flew a mixture of types that were often the cast-offs of other operators. In QCA use, the Stranraer gained a more suitable reputation and was "well liked" by its crews. A total of eight surplus Stranraers were also sold to Aero Transport Ltd. of Tampa, Florida . Data from Supermarine Aircraft since 1914 , Database: Supermarine Stranraer General characteristics Performance Armament A single Stranraer, 920/CF-BXO, survives in

6942-532: The vast distances of the Pacific Theater and the Atlantic , locating enemy vessels and sinking numerous submarines. In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck was discovered by a PBY Catalina flying out of Castle Archdale Flying boat base , Lower Lough Erne , Northern Ireland. A flight of Catalinas spotted the Japanese fleet approaching Midway Island , beginning the Battle of Midway . On 3 April 1940,

7031-566: The war). Porte also acquired permission to modify and experiment with the Curtiss aircraft. The Curtiss H-4s were soon found to have a number of problems; they were underpowered, their hulls were too weak for sustained operations and they had poor handling characteristics when afloat or taking off. One flying boat pilot, Major Theodore Douglas Hallam, wrote that they were "comic machines, weighing well under two tons; with two comic engines giving, when they functioned, 180 horsepower; and comic control, being nose heavy with engines on and tail heavy in

7120-522: Was "easily the greatest commercial success in the history of marine aviation". Over 250 were built in Italy, Spain, Japan, The Netherlands and Germany. Numerous airlines operated the Dornier Wal on scheduled passenger and mail services. Wals were used by explorers, for a number of pioneering flights, and by the military in many countries. Though having first flown in 1922, from 1934 to 1938 Wals operated

7209-503: Was adopted. Sir Alan Cobham devised a method of in-flight refuelling in the 1930s. In the air, the Short Empire could be loaded with more fuel than it could take off with. Short Empire flying boats serving the trans-Atlantic crossing were refueled over Foynes; with the extra fuel load, they could make a direct trans-Atlantic flight. A Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow was used as the fuel tanker. The German Dornier Do X flying boat

7298-775: Was conducted. On 24 October 1934, the Stranraer prototype was delivered to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) at RAF Felixstowe for official trials. On 29 August 1935, quickly after the completion of proving flights, an initial order for 17 aircraft ( serial numbers K7287 to K7303 ) was placed by the Air Ministry to fulfil Specification 17/35 ; six more aircraft ( K9676 to K9681 ) were ordered in May 1936. The first production standard aircraft made its first flight in December 1936, and entered service operation with

7387-479: Was developed in parallel to the civilian Empire flying boat, was one of the most powerful and widely used flying boats throughout the conflict, while Catalinas were one of the most produced ASW of the war, with over 2,661 being produced in the US alone. Flying boats were commonly utilized to conduct various tasks, from anti-submarine patrol to air-sea rescue and gunfire spotting for battleships. They would recover downed airmen and operate as scout aircraft over

7476-478: Was duly awarded the Mortimer Singer Prize . It was the first all-British aeroplane capable of making six return flights over five miles within five hours. In the U.S. Wanamaker's commission built on Glen Curtiss' previous development and experience with the Model F for the U.S. Navy which rapidly resulted in the America , designed under Porte's supervision following his study and rearrangement of

7565-509: Was ever recorded by the RCAF's Stranraers. However, the crew of a 5 Squadron Stranraer, flown by Flight Lieutenant Leonard Birchall , were responsible for the capture of an Italian merchant ship, the Capo Nola , in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence , hours after Canada issued its declaration of war on Italy on 10 June 1940. The Canadian Vickers-built Stranraers served with the RCAF throughout the war,

7654-482: Was first known as the Supermarine Southampton V. In 1933, a contract was placed for a single prototype powered by two 820 horsepower (610  kW ) Bristol Pegasus IIIM engines and the type was named the Stranraer. On 27 July 1934, the first prototype, K3973 , conducted its maiden flight , piloted by Joseph Summers . Over the following months, a relatively intense initial flight test programme

7743-400: Was found to handle "heavily" on takeoff, and required rather longer take-off distances than expected, the full moon on 5 August 1914 was selected for the trans-Atlantic flight; Porte was to pilot the America with George Hallett as co-pilot and mechanic. Curtiss and Porte's plans were interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. Porte sailed for England on 4 August 1914 and rejoined

7832-508: Was noticeably different from its UK and U.S.-built counterparts. It had wing-like protrusions from the fuselage, called sponsons , to stabilize it on the water without the need for wing-mounted outboard floats. This feature was pioneered by Claudius Dornier during the First World War on his Dornier Rs. I giant flying boat, and perfected on the Dornier Wal in 1924. The enormous Do X was powered by 12 engines and once carried 170 persons as

7921-416: Was pursued in a response to the Air Ministry 's issuing of Specification R.24/31 , issued in 1931, which called for a general purpose coastal reconnaissance flying boat for the RAF. This specification listed various requirements, including a payload capacity 1,000 pounds (450 kg) greater than that of the Scapa and the ability to maintain level flight on only a single engine, neither of which were within

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