Supermarine Seagull (1948)
Type 381 Seagull | |
---|---|
The first Seagull prototype, PA143 (1948) | |
Role | Air-sea rescue amphibian |
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
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
The first prototype - Seagull
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
The Seagull had an all-metal construction with a two spar
The wings were fitted with
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
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
Specifications (Seagull ASR.1)
(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 m2)
- 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 29V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,815 hp (1,353 kW)
- Propellers: 6-bladed Rotolcontra-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
Notes
- ^ 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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