Seaplane, also known as the "Seagull ASR-1", built by the British company Supermarine
Type 381 Seagull
|
|
The first Seagull prototype,
PA143
(1948)
|
Role
|
Air-sea rescue
amphibian
Type of aircraft
|
Manufacturer
|
Supermarine
|
First flight
|
14 July 1948
|
Retired
|
1952
|
Status
|
Prototypes only
|
Primary user
|
Royal Navy
|
Number built
|
2 (plus 1 uncompleted)
|
The
Supermarine Seagull
was a British
amphibious
, military
flying boat
and the last to be built by the
Supermarine
company. Design started during the
Second World War
but it did not fly until three years after the war had ended and the project was cancelled without it being adopted for service.
Development
[
edit
]
In October 1940, the British
Air Ministry
issued
Specification S.12/40
to Supermarine and
Fairey
for a catapult-launched,
amphibian
, reconnaissance and spotter aircraft to replace the
Supermarine Walrus
and
Supermarine Sea Otter
.
[1]
An order for three prototypes of Supermarine's aircraft was issued in March 1943.
[1]
There was an interruption in design due to the necessity of moving the Supermarine design office, after the bombing of the facility at
Woolston
. Further delays were caused by the extensive wind tunnel testing that was needed and the change from a
Rolls-Royce Merlin
to the more powerful
Rolls-Royce Griffon
. Also, the design specification was changed in 1944 to a new requirement, S.14/44 (later S.14/44/2
[1]
) - the role of the aircraft being changed from ship-based reconnaissance and gunnery spotting to land-based
Air-sea rescue
.
[2]
This change removed the four-gun turret the design had featured.
[3]
The first prototype - Seagull
serial
PA143
- first took off on 14 July 1948 from
Southampton Water
, flown by test pilot
Mike Lithgow
.
[4]
The second aircraft - PA147 - flew in September 1949, and was used for
carrier
trials on
HMS
Ark Royal
later in that year,
[4]
during which it demonstrated the capability to carry five passengers.
[5]
Experiments were also carried out with
rocket assisted
take-offs.
[6]
By the early 1950s, helicopters were taking over the air-sea rescue role. In 1952, the two completed prototypes and the partially built third aircraft, PA152, were scrapped.
[6]
Design
[
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]
The Seagull had an all-metal construction with a two spar
parasol wing
mounted on a pylon connecting it to the fuselage. The single engine, a
Rolls-Royce Griffon
drove
contra-rotating propellers
; radiators were mounted below the engine in the pylon. The rear of the pylon accommodated an observer's position with two windows. An eye bolt was fitted on the wing, behind the engine, so the aircraft could be easily lifted from the water by crane.
The wings were fitted with
slotted flaps
and full length
leading edge slats
and could be folded for compact, ship-board stowage. They also had a variable
angle of incidence
, pivoting at the front
spar
and actuated by an electrically driven
jackscrew
attached to the rear spar. This arrangement reduced stalling speed and increased lift, allowing the aircraft to use a smaller wing ? compactness being an important feature for a ship-borne aircraft.
[1]
Supermarine had tested this arrangement in the
Type 322
and its capability was demonstrated when test pilot Mike Lithgow flew a Seagull at only 35 miles per hour (56 km/h).
[4]
In July 1950, a Seagull, flown by
Les Colquhoun
[7]
competing in the
Air League
Cup Race gained the air-speed record for amphibian aircraft over a 100-kilometre (62 mi) course, by flying at an average speed of 241.9 miles per hour (389.3 km/h).
[6]
The hull was a normal frame and
longeron
design with
chines
. The
tailplane
, carried on top of the
fin
, had a very large
dihedral
, with smaller fins mounted on its tips perpendicular to its surface. A third fin was later added to the centre after testing of the first prototype had revealed an instability in yaw. This was added to the second prototype while it was still being constructed.
The
undercarriage
retracted into bays on either side of the fuselage and could be easily removed, saving 180 kilograms (400 lb) of weight when the aircraft was operating as a pure flying-boat.
[5]
The Seagull was also fitted with an
arrestor hook
for carrier landings; mounting points for
JATO
rockets were located just above the wheel wells.
The crew normally consisted of three.
[1]
During air-sea rescue work, a Seagull would be able to accommodate a pilot, navigator and medic, plus up to seven survivors.
[5]
Operators
[
edit
]
United Kingdom
Specifications (Seagull ASR.1)
[
edit
]
(performance - production aircraft estimated performance with Griffon 57 / RG30SM)
Data from
Supermarine aircraft since 1914,
[8]
Dumbo and Seagull,
[9]
General characteristics
- Crew:
3
- Capacity:
up to seven survivors (2 on bunks, one seated and four on "emergency stations" on floor)
- Length:
44 ft
1
+
1
⁄
2
in (13.45 m)
- Wingspan:
52 ft 6 in (16.00 m)
- Width:
23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) wings folded
- Height:
15 ft
10
+
1
⁄
2
in (4.84 m) on wheels, tail down
- Wing area:
432 sq ft (40.1 m
2
)
- Airfoil
:
root:
NACA 23018
;
tip:
NACA 3410
[10]
- Empty weight:
10,510 lb (4,767 kg)
- Gross weight:
14,500 lb (6,577 kg)
- Powerplant:
1 ×
Rolls-Royce Griffon 29
V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,815 hp (1,353 kW)
- Propellers:
6-bladed
Rotol
contra-rotating propeller, 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) diameter
Performance
- Maximum speed:
260 mph (420 km/h, 230 kn) at 11,800 ft (3,597 m)
- Cruise speed:
131 mph (211 km/h, 114 kn)
- Range:
875 mi (1,408 km, 760 nmi) at cruise speed
- Service ceiling:
23,700 ft (7,200 m)
- Rate of climb:
1,430 ft/min (7.3 m/s) at 7,000 ft (2,134 m) in MS supercharger gear ratio
- Take-off run from deck:
312 ft (95 m) with 31 mph (27 kn; 50 km/h) wind over deck
References
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
London 2003, p. 230.
- ^
Gunston 1976, pp. 620?621.
- ^
Andrews and Morgan 1981, p. 170.
- ^
a
b
c
London 2003, p. 231.
- ^
a
b
c
Nico Braas (16 October 2009).
"Vickers Supermarine Type 381 Seagull ASR-1"
. Let Let Let Warplanes
. Retrieved
21 October
2009
.
ppJATO
- ^
a
b
c
London 2003, p. 232.
- ^
"Here and There"
.
Flight
. Vol. LVIII, no. 2172. 10 August 1950. p. 104.
- ^
Andrews, C.F.; Morgan, Eric B. (1981).
Supermarine Aircraft Since 1914
(2nd ed.). London: Putnam Aeronautical. pp. 167?172.
ISBN
0370100182
.
- ^
Burnet and Morgan 1982, p.251.
- ^
Lednicer, David.
"The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage"
.
m-selig.ae.illinois.edu
. Retrieved
16 April
2019
.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Andrews, C.F. and Morgan, E.B.
Supermarine Aircraft Since 1914
. London: Putnam Books Ltd.,2nd revised edition 2003.
ISBN
0-85177-800-3
.
- Burnett, Charles and Eric B. Morgan. "Dumbo and Seagull:Two Pairs of Variable Incidence Prototypes".
Air International
, November 1982, Vol. 23 No, 5. ISSN 0306-5634. pp. 237?243, 251.
- Gunston, Bill
. "Last of the Seagulls".
Aeroplane Monthly
, December 1976, Vol. 4, No. 12. pp. 620?625.
- Kightly, James and Wallsgrove, Roger.
Supermarine Walrus & Stranraer
. Sandomierz, Poland/Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2004.
ISBN
83-917178-9-5
.
- London, Peter.
British Flying Boats
. Sutton Publishers Ltd. 2003.
ISBN
0-7509-2695-3
External links
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]
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