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Aviation History
1953
1953 - 1318.PDF
474 •**>• s. Southampton (Kestrels). Stranraer. Above, S.5. Mow, S.6B. FLIGHT, 2 October 1953 SIRES OF THE SWIFT . . . flying-boats and was originally called Southampton Mk V. The hull was similar in design to that of the Scapa but larger, and had an additional gun position in the extreme stern. The wing struc ture had an extra bay. A feature was a self-contained slinging gear for engine changing, and provision was made for carrying a spare engine or torpedo on the lower centre-section. The span was 85ft, length 55ft, and gross weight 19,000 lb. Supermarine's contemporary brochure avers: "The outstand ing feature of this flying-boat is that the performance obtained during a series of extended service trials, whether in respect of speed, climb, ceiling or take-off, is unequalled by any other British flying-boat. All the specification requirements were exceeded by large margins. The severe test of flying with one engine stopped was easily accomplished." Schneider Seaplanes S.4.—This cantilever mid-wing monoplane racer was principally of wooden construction with three-ply covering taking a share of the stresses. Inboard of the ailerons were traiUng-edge flaps which reduced the landing speed to about 90 m.pii. (still decidedly "hot" for the period). The wooden floats were attached to the fuselage by four high-tensile tubes in streamline fairings and the direct-drive Napier Lion was cooled by two Lamblin radiators under the wing. A duralumin airscrew was fitted. S.5.—Essential differences between the S.5 and the S.4 were that the S.5 had a low-set wire-braced wing, the fuselage and floats were of duralumin construction, and the cockpit was placed further forward. The special Lion engine gave a higher speed, 283,66 m,ph. having been clocked over 100 km. Three examples of this extremely pretty little racer were built. S.6.—Somewhat resembling the S.5, the S.6 was larger and heavier, having been built to take the Rolls-Royce R-Type engine, specially developed for racing; thus, the cowling lines were very different from those of the S.5. The radiators, as on the S.5, formed the wing covering and added no drag. Construction was all metal. Whereas the S.5 had a cantilever engine mounting, on the S.6 the front float struts were moved forward to provide a support. The oil tank was in the tin. S.6A.—Two S.6s were modified to S.6As for the 1931 Schneider contest. They had new floats, giving improved water handling characteristics and carrying an increased fuel load. More cooling surface was added by utilizing the tops of the floats, and the control surfaces were mass-balanced. The gross weight was 5,250 lb and the wing loading 36.2 lb/sq ft. S.6B.—The two 1931 Schneider Trophy S.6Bs had, like the S.6 As, new and larger floats, wherein the fuel was redistributed to balance the torque of the more powerful Rolls-Royce R engine, especially at take-off. The entire upper and lower surfaces of the wings and the upper surfaces of the floats were used as water radiators, and the oil coolers down the sides of the fuselage were of improved type. Various components were strengthened. Indicative of the problems attending the development of these historic racers is the curious point which arose in connection with the airscrews in 1931. The new screws produced by Faireys were of 8ft 6in diameter, as compared with 9ft 6in for the 1929 S.6. With these it proved impossible to take off, owing to the fact that at an early stage the machine swung violently to port, even with full starboard rudder. With the old 9ft 6in airscrews, however, take-off was easy—in fact, a great improvement owing to revised float design. Eventually 9ft l£in airscrews were found to give satisfactory take-off, while with an 8ft lOin screw it was only just possible to get off under very favourable conditions.
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