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Aviation History
1930
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FLIGHT, NOVEMBER 21, 1930 46 SUPERMARINE THE SUPERMARINE AVIATION WORKS, LTD., WORKS : WOOLSTON, SOUTHAMPTON LONDON OFFICE: VICKERS HOUSE, BROADWAY, WESTMINSTER, S.W.I *T*HE Supermarine Aviation Works were founded in 1913 by Mr. Pemberton •*• Billing, and for most of the period since then the firm has specialised in the production of marine aircraft of which a very large number of types have been produced from time to time, both Service and civil machines. It is likely that outside England the machines for which the firm are best known are the racing seaplanes designed and built for the various Schneider Trophy contests. It will be recollected that it was a Supermarine Type S.6 with Rolls-Royce racing engine which won the Schneider Trophy contest in 1929 and which later established a world's speed record by flying at an average speed over the 3-km. course, of 576 km./hr. It speaks well for the versatility of the Supermarine designers that they were able to design such successful racing aircraft, in view of the fact that the " bread and butter products " of the firm have, for many years, been large flying-boats, which have been as successful in their way as was the Schneider Trophy racer. The Supermarine " Southampton " is already well known to all readers of FLIGHT, as it has been in production for several years. At first the machine was built with wooden hulls, then a metal hull was substituted, and finally, the machine became constructed entirely of metal with the exception of the wing covering. The latest version of the " Southampton " is the Mark X. This is a 3-engined military flying-boat fitted with three Armstrong-Siddeley " Panther " engines arranged in-line abreast in the gap between the wings. The machine being of recent construction and the property of the Air Ministry, no per- formance figures may be given of it, but it may be said that it has a span of 79 ft., length of 55 ft. 6 in., and a total wing area of 1,235 sq. ft. The duralumin hull is of the two-step type, and the hull of the under- water boat is planked with stainless steel. Bulkheads extending to above the waterline divide the hull into a number of compartments. All fittings are of stainless steel. The wing floats, which are of normal Supermarine construction, are mounted close in to the hull. The Armstrong-Siddeley " Panther " engines are, as already mentioned, mounted in the gap between the wings. They are faired in by monocoque nacelles, which also contain the oil tanks. The main fuel tanks are in the top centre section and give direct gravity feed to all three engines. Hand starting gear is provided and the engine mountings have been so arranged that it is possible to change engines while the machine is afloat. In view of the military nature of the " Southampton X," but little may be 1310 Supermarine Southampton X. T A MAISON SUPERMARINE AVIA- *- TION WORKS fut fondee en 1914 par Mr. Pemberton-Billing. Pendant la guerre, Mr. Billing s'etant retire, 1'affaire fut reprise par le Commander J. Bird et Mr. Hubert Scott Paine. Le dernier ceda sa part il y a quelques annees, et. un peu plus tard, les etablissements de la Supermarine finirent par passer sous 1'egide du groupe Vickers A l'heure actuelle, les ateliers de Southamp- ton se consacrent exclusivement a la cons- truction des avions marins, tandis que tous les appareils terrestres se fabriquent aux usines Vickers. Les chantiers de la Supermarine Aviation Works, situes a Woolston, pres de South- ampton, ont sorti plusieurs grands moiri; coques d'une realisation tres heureuse. parmi lesquels le plus connu est probablement le " Southampton," appareil ayant fait l'objet de nombreuses livraisons non seulement a 1'Aviation Royale de Grande Bretagne, pour operations de" patrouille cotiere, mais aussi a differents 6tats etrangers. Le " Southamp- ton Mark X," variante la plus recente de ce type renomme, differe de son prototype a plusieurs points de vue, notamment par ia disposition des moteurs ainsi que par d autres details. Le " Southampton X est congu pour operations de reconnaissance en pituu- mer. et comporte trois moteurs Armstrong- Siddeley " Panther' ' a refroidissement.par 1'air. La coque est en duralumin, de meme que les ailes dont celles du bas sont reco vertes de metal. La partie mfeneure de a coque jusqu'a la ligne de flottaison, porte revetement en acier inoxydable. ^ ^ ^ Le Supermarine "Sea Hawk, -• replique du " Southampton X P tion civile, est muni de moteurs Amenage pour le transport des c des voyageurs, H peut emporter 10
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