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Other titles in the Crowood Aviation Series

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Airco - The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Avro Lancaster BAC One-Eleven

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Bell P-39 Airacobra Boeing 737 Boeing 747 Boeing 757 and 767 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Consolidated B-24 Liberator Douglas AD Skyraider English Electric Canberra English Electric Lightning Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II Fokker Aircraft of World War One Hawker Hunter Hawker Hurricane JunkersJu 87 Stuka Junkers Ju 88 Lockheed C-130 Hercules Lockheed F-l 04 Starfighter Luftwaffe - A Pictorial Hi tory McDonnell Douglas A-4 kyhawk McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle Messerschmitt Bf 110 Messerschmitt Me 262 ieuport Aircraft of World War One orth American B-25 Mitchell North American F- 6 abre orth American T-6 Panavia Tornado Short Sunderland V-Bombers Vickers VC I0

Peter C. Smith Mick Davis Ken Delve Malcolm L. Hill Robert F Dorr with Jerry Scutts Malcolm L. Hill Martin W. Bowman

AVRO

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Thomas Becher Martin W. Bowman Martin W. Bowman Peter C. Smith Barry Jones Martin W. Bowman Peter . Smith Paul Leaman

Barry Jones

Barry Jones Peter Jacobs Peter C. Smith Ron Mackay Martin W. Bowman Martin W. Bowman Eric Mombeek Brad Elward Peter E. Davies and Tony Thornborough Ron Mackay David Baker Ray Sanger Jerry cutts Duncan Curti Peter C. mith Andy Evans Ken Delve Barry Jones Lance Cole

I~~cl The Crowood Press

First published in 2002 by

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The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough

Dedication

Wiltshire S 82HR

[n memory of Judy.

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Contents

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© The Crowood Press Ltd 2002

All rights reserved.

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parr of this publication may

be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

4

Introduction

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meClIlS, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

That the Shackleton was a legend in it own lifetime is a fact that has inspired many people to assist me in the preparation of this book. [n particular I would like to express my gratitude to Revd Peter Allen, Chri Ashworth, Gordon G. Bartley, Ray Deacon, Peter Dunn, George Hart, David

Hill, Harry Holmes, Derek James, Ian Mactaggart, M ick Oakey, George Pennick, Gerry Roberts, The Shackleton Association, William H. leigh, ick Stroud, Peter M. Thomas and Dean Wingrin. I trust they will feel that their input ha been worthwhile.

TO MAl TAl

2.

LAST OF THE MANCHESTER LINEAGE

23

3.

THE EXPLORER RECALLED

31

4.

MARK 1 AND ITS DERIVATIVES

37

5.

MARK 2 - 1951 to 1972

67

6.

I B I 6126 449 6

D&

Publishing

Baydon, Marlborough, Wiltshire. Prioted and bound in Great Brirain by oookcraft, Midsomer Norton.

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TABLE MOU TAl'S 0 TET

109

8.

VARIETY IS THE PICE OF LIFE

119

9.

AEW - THE ROUNDABOUT YEARS

135

10.

AEW - THE 6,848-DAY 'INTERIM SOLUTION'

149

11.

0

161

CE UPO

A TIME ...

Appendix

I

Shackleton Squadrons

170

Appendix

II

Shackleton Production

175

Shackl ton Conservation

189 190

Index

Typeset and designed by

0 E-WHEELS, TIP TA K A D COMFORT

7.

Append ix III

Typefaces used: Goudy (text), Cheltenham (headings).

THE LlFELI ES

8

1.

Introduction In 19 I9, A. V. Roe's Chief Designer, Roy Chadwick, created the Avro Type 534 Baby, which wa built in several forms and powered by various engine. The final variant was the Type 554, powered by an Ohp Le Rhone engine, specifically to meet the requirements of the Anglo-Irish polar pioneer, Sir Ernest Shackleton.

The association forged between Chadwick and Shackleton through the Type 554, which was known as the Antarctic Baby, became a firm friendship that was enhanced when Chadwick married a distant member of the great trail-blazer's family. The aircraft was transported aboard the auxiliary ship Quest for the 1921 South Polar Expedition,

but a diversion to Rio de Janeiro for repairs to the ship's engines meant that Sir Ernest was unable to collect pre-de patched parts for the Type 554 from Cape Town. Consequently it was not employed on this expedition, and as he suffered a fatal stroke during the exploration, Shackleton never saw Chadwick's design in action.

A Shackleton MR.2 of No. 224 Squadron at Gibraltar in March 1954. Aeroplane

WR957/U of No. 228 Squadron. in its natural element. photographed in the 1950s. before receiving its Phase I update. Author's collection

6

As he contemplated the harshnes of the Antarctic environment prior to hi death, it is doubtful that the explorer guessed that Avro's Chief Designer would recognize their friendship by naming an aircraft after him. The doubt would have turned to di belief had he known the configuration of this aircraft and the fact that there were those who would say that, with the wind in the right quarter, he could have heard it take off from Woodford while huddled in his polar tent! Four of Rolls-Royce's last reciprocating engine, the Griffon, propelled Shackleton's memorial around planet Earth for over four decade and it retirement saw the RAF relinquish the multi-pistoncngined aeroplane for ever. Its service went

far beyond the original long-range maritime reconnaissance role, to the extent that for twenty years during the uneasy political climate of the 1970s and 1980s it constituted the United Kingdom's first line of Airborne Early Warning defence. Just why ertain aeroplanes endear themselves to those who operate them is sometimes difficult to define, and it is often those that have few star qualitie in terms of being 'user friendly' that are held with the greatest affection. Such an aeroplane is the Shackleton. Furthermore, the strange quirk of the British character, together with the sense of humour that appears to cast derision upon, or make disparaging remarks about, something held in great esteem, is exemplified by the Shackleton

7

being known as 'The Growler' and' 10,000 rivets in formation'. However, Roy Chadwi k's final extension of the 'theme' that began with the Avro Manchester of 1937 was a fine aeroplane, and at the time of writing one is till flying in South Africa, while another, in the United States, flew for several years and it is hoped will do so again. That there is an airworthy hacklcton in South Africa is quite appropriate, a thi i geographically a lot nearer to ir Ernest' last re ting place on remote outh Georgia than the aircraft's birthplace in the northwe I' of England. Barry Jones Warwick, December 200/

TO MAINTAI

CHAPTER ONE

To Maintain the Lifelines Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, together with his wife, were assassinated by nineteen-yearold Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 23 July 1914. Through a treaty with Serbia, Russia mobilized her troops the following day, which precipitated Germany to follow suit and invade Belgium. By 4 August, Britain's 1839 treaty of protection with Belgium was honoured and a state of war was declared between the British Empire and Germany. Despite this change in the World's political situation, the British Isle's dependence on merchant shipping for its very existence, with all oil plus a large percentage of food and raw materials being imported, the merchant shipping companies continued to operate independently for over two and a half years. The Unterseeboot (U-boat)

arm of the German Navy capitalized on the situation 0 that, by the end of the winter of 1916-17, over 2,500 merchant ships had been sunk and Britain faced the real possibility of being starved into submission. This desperate situation forced the Admiralty heSitantly to acc pt a convoy system, and losses through U-boat operations were impressively reduced. Convoy escorting by the Royal Navy was helped by aerial patrols flown by both the Royal Flying Corp (RFC) and the Royal aval Air Service (RNAS). It was becoming evident that aviation could become a practical weapon in the battle to protect the shipping lanes. In particular, the RNAS provided overseas patrols, employing float planes as well as flying boats, to deter German submarine activi-

ties, wh ile protecti ng inshore convoys from attacks by surface raiders and from the air. These patrols were not just confined to the coastal waters of the British Isles: a substantial number of operations were conducted around the vast area of the Mediterranean Sea throughout the last couple of years of the conflict. The importance of the U-boats and the need to keep watch for all their activities brought into existence aircraft specifically designed for the role. In the United States, Curtiss had the HA in production and Britain purchased a small number for operating from the Naval Air Station at Felixstowe, on the east coast of Suffolk. The station commander at that time was Squadron-Commander J. C. Porte, who quickly detenTlined that the aircraft had a

poorly-designed hull and inadequate engines. The 'Anglicizing' of the HA, by designing a new hull and fitting HispanoSuiza engines, produced the Felixstowe Fl. Curtiss followed the HA on the production line with the H.12 and imported examples received Porte's attention, to hecome the Felixstowe F2 and F2A, powered by Rolls-Royce engines. With a speed of 95mph (153km/h), an endurance of six hours and the ability to carry 460lb (210kg) of bombs, the Felixstowe E2A was acknowledged as the best of its type in World War One, a reputation enhanced on 20 May 1917, when an E2A sunk the UC-36, the first time that a submarine had been destroyed by an aeroplane. The SS non-rigid type of airship, known as the 'Blimp' after 'Colonel Blimp', the proponent of reactionary establishment opinions, was also used: destroyers could he summoned up by the airship's radio to Jeal with submerged intruders. By the time that the Armistice was signed on II November 1918, versions of the SS airships that could remain airborne for over forty hours were operating.

Birth of the RAF It was inevitable that the end of hostilities would bring about a reduction of the armed forces, but in the case of the Royal Air Force it approached annihilation. Only a year earlier, Prime Minister Lloyd George had appointed the South African Boer War veteran Jan Christian Smuts to lead a committee, whose brief was to recommend the future of aviation in Britain. The findings became known as Smut's Air Report, which advocated the promotion of the existing Air Board to an individual Air Ministry and the formation of a separate air arm. These recommendations were endorsed by ir Hugh Montague Trenchard, who had commanded the RFC in France from August 1915. Having served in the Army in India and the Boer War prior to transferring to the Corps, he engaged in a formative post-war period at the Central Flying chool to acclimatize himself of the requirements of the new force, with the result that he has become accepted as the 'Father of the Royal Air Force'. This Force was established in the Air Force Act, promulgated by King George V on 7 March 1918 and the RAF came into existence on 1 April of that year, with Trenchard as the first Chief of the Air Staff.

A Felixstowe F.2c on its beaching ramp. with RNAS personnel and cat. Aeroplane

8

THE LIFELINES

Therefore, the Service was only seven months old when the war ended and its future appeared somewhat tenuous. Born of conflict, its position in peacetime was undetermined, and within just over a year a strength of more than 27,000 officers and 260,000 non-commissioned ranks was reduced to little more than 1,200 officers and 36,600 non-commissioned men. Even more important was the fact that well over 50 per cent of the wartime officers were fully trained pilots. At the time of the Armistice, ninety-nine quadrons were operational on the European mainland, but within a year this was reduced to five and at the first anniversary of the war's ending only No. 12 Squadron existed. The loss of pride suffered by the War Office and Admiralty when they lost their individual air arms to the RAF was still far from forgotten. It was only the appointment of Winston Churchill as Secretary of State for Air on 1 January 1919 that really saved the Service from being voted out of existence. Churchill gave Trenchard the task of writing a memorandum, declaring his proposals for the future of the post-war RAE This had to be compiled against a Cabinet-imposed financial limit of £15 million per annum for the next five year. Comerstone of Trenchard's foundation for the RAF's expansion wa the policing of overseas territories that carne under British jurisdiction, many of which had intemal political and territorial feuds that belied the term 'peacetime'. At horne, he proposed establishing an RAF College at the former RNAS ailfield of Cranwell for training future officers, plus a School of Technical Training at Halton in Buckinghamshire where three-year cour es would give teenage cadets the technical skills required to fill permanent posts in the Service. On 5 February 1920 the RAF College was officially opened, while Halton had full courses of apprentice, who were affectionately known as 'Trenchard's Brats'. The number of RAF squadrons was increased and a future based on an existence without full-scale war was established, although overseas 'policing' operations kept the training requirements for combat operations fully honed.

The Forming of Coastal Command The RAF's standing increased in the early 1930s through organized air displays, as

9

well as such prestigious events as the winning of the Schneider Trophy for the third time in 1931, to give Britain its permanent possession. Following the announcement in 1935 that Germany wa forming the Luftwaffe, the British Government released funds to allow further squadrons to be formed for the defence of the United Kingdom and Trenchard exercised his long-held belief that the RAF should be divided into separate commands. In 1925, the Home Defence Force had been placed under one unified command as the Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB), with the Auxiliary Air Force and the Special Reserve inaugurated within its orbit. Trenchard's proposals saw the dissolution of the ADGB in July 1936, to be replaced by Fighter Command - which incorporated the Observer Corps and Army Co-operation units - Bomber Command, Coastal Command - encompassing flying boats as well as land-based units - plus the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and Training Command. The expansion of the RAF gathered momentum to the point where 126 squadrons nominally existed, as well as twenty FAA squadrons. However, strong Admiralty lobbying that anything pertaining to operations in the vicinity of water should be their province brought about a change. On 30 July 1937 the FAA was placed under Admiralty command, which was in reality only a form of appeasement, as the Sea Lords' undisguised ambitions lay in the complete controlling of Coastal Command. The Air Ministry stood its ground and retained the Command, while agreeing to the proviso that it would co-operate with Admiralty operations when requested. Adolf Hitler was by now demonstrating his desire to encompass states beyond his country's borders, and the increa ingly apparent inevitability of outright war in Europe encouraged the RAF's expansion to include imported aircraft. In 1937 the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation of Burbank, California, put the fir t of it Type 14 Super Electras into ervice. This twelvepassenger airliner, with a maximum design speed of 235mph (378km/h), was operated by British Airways and was in fact the type that carried Prime Minister Neville hamberlain back from his meeting with Hitler on 30 September 1938, together with the comparatively useles sheet of foolscap that constituted the signed declaration which Chamberlain promoted as 'Peace in our time', which in reality only bought time, but was useful for that reason.

TO MAl TAl

The Air Ministry saw a military converion of the Type 14 as a maritime patrol and navigational training aircraft and, de pite critical comments from many quarters, the Briti h Purchasing Commission placed an initial order for 200 in th summer of 1938, to which the name Hudson wa a igned, after the river that carried the name of English explorer Henry Hudson. He it was who had been commissioned by the Dutch East India Company and, after ailing into ew York Bay in 1609, navigated 150 miles upriver to meet the chiefs of the Mohican nation. The maiden flight of this first American aircraft to be ordered for th RAF was made on 10 December 1938, and the first Hudson arrived by sea at Liverpool Docks two months later, on 15 February 1939. Lockheed established a base at peke (now Liverpool Airpon) for the type' assembly, during which a substantial Boulton Paul two-gun power-operated dor al turret was installed. Designated Hudson Mk I, the aircraft began to equip os 224 and 233 quadron at Leuchars in corland during the middle of 1939, with 0.220 quad ron at Thomaby in County Durham being convened to the type by 3 eptember.

The 'Faithful Annie' During th early 1930s, the appearance of high performance commercial monoplanes in the United States induced Imperial Airways to place a requirement with A. V. Roe for a small, long-range, twin-engined passenger monoplane. Roy Chadwick adapted

THE LIFELINES

TO MAl TAIN THE LIFELINES

Although photographed later than 1939, Hudson Mk III FK745 is representative of the type and carries the Coastal Command finish of that era. Aeroplane

an existing three-engined, high-wing, collaborative design produced by Avro and V. ederlandsche Vliegtuigen[aiYrik (Fokker) of Holland in 1928, into the Type 618. The wing was moved to a lower position and a pair of2 70hp Armstrong iddeley Cheetah V radial engine gave the four-pa senger aircraft a maximum speed of 188mph (302km/h) over a range of 725 miles (l,167km). With a retractable undercarriage and revised fuselage shape, the new design emerged as the Type 652. During the Type 652's design stage, Avro received an Air Ministry request to tender for a twin-engined oastal Command General Reconnai san e landplane meet-

ing pecification G.18/35, and Chadwick saw a variant of the Type 652 a a logical contender. On 19 May 1934, a militarized development, the Type 652A, was presented to the Air Mini try, the principal changes being 295hp Cheetah VI engine, a dor al gun turret housing a single Lewis machine-gun, an increased window area and the ability to carry a 360lb (163kg) bomb load in the centre section. A ingle fixed Vickers machine-gun in the port side of the nose was provided for the pilot. Although several manufacturers entered designs to the specification, only Avro with their Type 652A and de Havilland's twinengined biplane submission, the D.H.

H9M, were awarded contracts to build a prototype, with March 1935 being set as their delivery date. The Avro prototype, K4 771, was evaluated by the oa tal Defence Development Unit ( DDU) at (Jospon, against D.H. 89M K4772, during the middle of May 1935, following which trials at Marrlesham Heath were held and Chadwick's design was accepted for production. A 25 per cent increase in tailplane span and alterations to the rudder mass balance were implemented to meet the main pilot's criticisms levied after the trials, and Avro re eived an order for 174 aircraft. The first, K6152, was given its maiden flight at Woodford, by (Jeof(rey Tyon, on 31 December 1935, with the name Anson Mk 1 being hestowed upon the aircraft. In February 1936, No. 48 quad ron at Man ton in Kent started to receive the Anson, thereby giving the RAF its first operational monoplane and its fir t type to he fitted with a retractable undercarriage. Thi was activated by more than 100 tums of a low-geared manual winch handle situ,Hed beside the pilot' scat, and the author IS one of thousands of 1942-43-era Air Training Corp (ATC) cadets who was given the ta k of winding up an Anson's undercarriage during air-familiarization flights. An experience never forgotten! Service colloquialism being what it i , the Avro 652A became known as the 'Annie' and its reputation was such that this was enhanced by the prefix 'Faithful'. Its Jesign role changed with the arrival of the I ludson, and the Anson became a training aircraft for a large proportion of the pi lots, navigators and air gunner destined to serve with Bomber Command. Anson production was such that on 26 June 1937, Nos 206, 220, 224, 233 and 269 quad ron were each able to put up a full complement of aircraft for the RAF HenJon Air Display. Together they formed the central core of Coastal Command, with five more squadrons being An on-equipped by the outbreak of World War Two.

The Flying Boats

N4877, one of the few Ansons extant today, was photographed at Staverton in 1966, when it was part of the Skyframe collection. Ray Deacon

70

After its formation, Coa tal Command became the recipient of several type of biplane flying boats and some were still in squadron service in eptember 1939. The twin-engined Saunders Roe London, originally built to pecification R.24/31, was updated to its Mk II variant by Specifica-

tion RJ/35, of which twenty-three were manufactured. Th y flew with os 201, 202, 204 and 240 quadrons, while o. 209 quadron, by March 1939, had completed re-equipping with twin-engined Supermarine Stanraer , having previously flown the four-engined Shon ingapore. All three types had been on operational coastal patrol dutie around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean, which were extended by nearly two more years

biplane predecessors. Another advance was its armament of eight Browning machineguns, di tributed a two in a Frazer-Nash power-operated nose turret, four in a similar tail turret and hand-operated machinegun ited at hatches either side of the upper fuselage, aft of each wing root. An internal 2,0001b (900kg) load of bomb, depth charges, mines or various pyrotechnics could be winched out on rails to release positions under each wing centre ection.

Anson Mk 1 K6298 of No. 233 Squadron flies over the River Forth shortly before the beginning of World War Two. Harry Holmes

with the outbreak of war, when some of them joined No.4 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit (OTU). During the mid-1930s, Short Brothers at Rochester in Kent produced the S.23 Empire 'C' Class passenger-carrying flying boat. This wa a four-engined monoplane for Imperial Airways, the prototype of which made it maiden flight in 1936. While .23 design work was still on the drawing board, pecification R.2/33 was issued, for an ocean patrol and anti-submarine flying boat, for which Short Brother drew up a d velopment of their S.23, to be called the .25. Powered by four 65hp Bristol Pegasus 22 radial engine, it had a design maximum speed of 210mph (3 8km/h) and range of well over 2,000 miles (3,200km), which was an immense improvement over its

77

The .25 was christened Sund r1and Mk I, and following the first flight of prototype K4774, on 16 October 1937, deliveries from the fir t order for eleven aircraft for oastal ommand started during May 193. o. 210 quadron, based at Pembroke Dock in omh Wales, was the first unit to rec ive them, followed in June by o. 230 quadron at eletar on ingapore Island. The next year, o. 204 quad ron at Mount Batten, outside Plymouth in Devon, received its fir t, together with o. 22 quad ron, so that the declaration of war aw the Command with four underland squadrons, three of them in home waters. In eptember 1939, Coa tal ommand also had 0.22 Squadron at Thomey I land in Sussex and No. 42 Squadron at Bircham Newton in Norfolk as 'strike units', which was rather a complimentary description for

TO MAINTAII THE LIFELINES

(Above) The first four Singapores that were built had been withdrawn from service before 1939. K4577 was the first of the subsequent thirty-three aircraft built that saw RAF service early in World War Two. Aeroplane

(Above) Two london Mk lis of No. 201 Squadron, with K5909/R nearest to the camera, fly in formation during the late 1930s. Aeroplane The prototype Stranraer, K3973, during its acceptance trials at Felixstowe in 1935. Aeroplane

12

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(Below) Fundamentally similar to the Short Sunderland Mk I, RN284 was a late-production Mk V, built by Blackburn Aircraft, seen here during its service with No. 201 Squadron, based at Pembroke Dock. Aeroplane

Principal Aircraft in Squadron Service with Coastal Command. 3 September 1939 Avro 652A Anson Mk I General and coastal reconnaissance landplane, built to Specification G.18/35. Dimensions: Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Performance:

Armament:

Span 56ft 6in (17.22m); length 42ft 3in (12.88m); height 13ft 1in (3.98ml; wing area 463sq ft (43sq ml Two 270hp Armstong Siddeley Cheetah V radial engines Empty 5,375lb (2A37kgl; loaded 7,665lb (3A76kgl Three One OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in dorsal turret; one fixed 0.303in Vickers machine-gun in nose; maximum 360lb (163kg) bomb load Maximum speed 188mph (302km/hl at 7,OOOft (2,OOOm); service ceiling 19,500ft (6,OOOml; range 725 miles (l,200kml

Performance:

In service with No. 203 Squadron, with Nos 209 and 210 Squadrons each holding a small number. Short S.25 Sunderland Mk I Ocean patrol and anti-submarine flying boat, built to Specification R.2/33.

In service with Nos 48, 206, 217, 220, 224, 233, 269, 500, 608 and 612 Squadrons.

Dimensions:

Lockheed 414 Hudson Mk 1 Reconnaissance bomber landplane purchased from United States of America.

Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Dimensions: Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Performance:

Span 65ft 6in (19.96m); length 44ft 4in (13.51 ml; height 11 ft lOin (3.62ml; wing area 551 sq ft (51.2sq m) Two 1.1 OOhp Wright Cyclone R-1820 radial engines Empty 12,OOOIb (5AOOkg); loaded 18,500lb (8AOOkg) Five Two OJ03in Browning machine-guns in dorsal turret; two fixed 0.303in Browning machine-guns in nose; three OJ03in Browning machine-guns in beam windows and ventral hatch; maximum 750lb (340kg) weapons load Maximum speed 246mph (397km/h); service ceiling 24,500ft (7,500m); range 1,960 miles (3,150km)

Performance:

Supermarine Stranraer General purpose coastal reconnaissance flying boat, built to Specification R.24/31. Dimensions:

Saunders Roe A.27 London Mk /I General purpose coastal patrol flying boat, built to Specification R.3/35.

Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Powerplant: Weights: Crew: Armament:

Performance:

Span 80ft Din (24.38ml; length 57ft Din (17.37m); height 20ft 3in (6.17ml; wing area lA27sq ft (132.5sq ml Two 920hp Bristol Pegasus Xradial engines Empty 12.2851b (5,571 kg); loaded 22,OOOIb (1 O,OOOkg) Five One 0.303 Lewis machine-gun on Scarff mount in open nose position; one Lewis machine-gun on Scarff mount in open dorsal position; one OJ03in Lewis machine-gun on Scarff mount in open rear position; maximum l,600lb (725kg) weapons load Maximum speed 155mph (249km/hl at 6,OOOit (1 ,800m); service ceiling 18,OOOft (5,500m); maximum range 1.740 miles (2,800km)

Performance:

Vickers 267 Vildebeest Mk 11/ Torpedo-bomber landplane, built to Specification 15/34. Dimensions:

Short S.19 Singapore Mk 11/ General purpose reconnaissance flying boat. originally designed to Specification R.3/33 but produced to revised Specification R.14/34.

Powerplant: Weight: Crew: Armament:

Powerplant: Weights: Crew:

Span 85ft Din (25.9ml; length 54ft lOin (16.7m); height 21ft 9in (6.64m); wing area 1A57sq ft (135sq m) Two 920hp Bristol Pegasus Xradial engines Empty 11,2501b (5,11 Okg); loaded 19,OOOIb (8,600kg) Five One OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in open nose position; one OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in open dorsal position; one 0.303in Lewis machine-gun in open rear position; maximum l,160lb (530kgl weapons load Maximum speed 165mph (266km/hl at 6,OOOft (1 ,800m); service ceiling 18,500ft (5,600ml; maximum range 1,000 miles (l,600km)

In service with No. 209 Squadron.

In service with Nos 201, 202 and 240 Squadrons.

Dimensions:

Span 112ft 9.5in (34.39m); length 85ft 4in (26m); height 32ft 1O.5in (lO.lm); wing area lA87sq It (138sq m) Four 865hp Bristol Pegasus 22 radial engines Empty 34,500lb (15,700kg); loaded 58,OOOIb (26,OOOkgl Thirteen Two OJ03in Browning machine-guns in nose turret; four 0.303in Browning machine-guns in rear turret; two 0.303in Browning machine-guns in upper fuselage open hatches; maximum 2,OOOIb (900kgl weapons load Maximum speed 210mph (338km/hl; service ceiling 17AOOft (5,300ml; maximum range 2,900 miles (4,640km)

N230. the prototype Vildebeest, carrying the number '10', indicating that it was from the new aircraft park It 8 Hendon Air Display in the late 1920s. This particular aircraft later went on to the civil aircraft register IS G-ABGE. Aeroplane

In service with Nos 204, 210, 228 and 230 Squadrons.

In service with Nos 220, 224 and 233 Squadrons.

Dimensions:

One OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in open nose position; one 0.303in Lewis machine-gun in open dorsal position; one OJ03in machine-gun in rear position; maximum 2,OOOIb (900kg) weapons load Maximum speed 105mph (169km/h) at 2,OOOft (600ml; service ceiling 15,OOOft (4,600ml; maximum range 1,000 miles (l,600km)

Span 90ft Din (27.4m); length 64ft 2in (19.5ml; height 23ft 7in (7.18m); wing area l,834sq ft (170Jsq ml tractor engines; two 560hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel IX in-line pusher engines Two 560hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel VIII in-line tractor engines; two 560hp Rolls-Royce Kestrel IX in-line pusher engines n/a Six

Performance:

Span 49ft Din (14.9m); length 36ft 8in (11.18m); height 14ft 8in (4.48m); wing area 728sq ft (67.63sq ml One 635hp Bristol Pegasus IIMS radial engine Empty 4,7731b (2,165kgl; loaded 8,500lb (3,900kgl Two One fixed OJ03 Vickers machine-gun in nose; one OJ03in Lewis machine-gun in open dorsal position; maximum 1,1 OOlb (500kgl bomb load or one 2,OOOIb (900kgl torpedo Maximum speed 143mph (230km/hl at 1O,OOOft (3,OOOml; service ceiling 19,OOOft (5,800m); maximum range 1,250 miles (2,OOOkml

In service with Nos 22 and 42 Squadrons.

74

two squadrons equipped with the obsolete Vickers Vildebeest biplane, first conceived to Specification 24/25. Powered by a ingle Bristol Per eus or Pegasus radial engine, the two-seat Vildebeest carried one 18in (45.7cm) torpedo between the fixed underL