MILITARY FLYING BOATS
FASTEST YET CONSTRUCTED TOUR OF MEDITERRANEAN. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, April 20. Years of experience in the operation of military flying boats over the waterways of four continents, coupled with recent important aerodynamical and metallurgical developments, have culminated in the design and construction of new British flying ships which set new standards of performance in the air and on the water. '
Early next month a multi-engined craft which is expected to prove itself the fastest military flying boat yet constructed will leave Mount Batten, the Royal Air Force marine station near Plymouth, for extended service trials which may take it as far east as Aden, the British port which guards the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The itinerary provides evidence of the notable abilities' of the aeroplane. Starting from Mount Batten in the morning, the new boat is planned to fly non-stop to the Etang de Berre, near Marseilles, a distance of nearly 800 miles. From Plymouth the aeroplane will be steered along the west coast of France as far as-the mouth of the Gironde, whence it will fly by way of the river valleys across the south of France to its destination at Berre, From Berre a second nonstop journey of approximately the same length will take the machine to Malta, where it will be based for service trials over the Mediterranean, which are expected to last about three months. Later, the flying boat will probably go to Port Sudan, on the western shore of the Red Sea, for thorough testing in the great heat of that region. Styled provisionally the VickersSupurmarine “ Southampton IV,” the new boat owes much of its design to the famous twin-engined “ Southampton ” craft which have been standard equipment of Royal Air Force flying boat squadrons for the past seven years and have accomplished some of the finest formation cruises in the history of aviation. But the differences are marked, those immediately perceptible being the location of the two RollsRoyce “ Kestral ” engines in streamlined nacelles slung bejow the upper wings and the remarkable “cleanness”; of the external structure. Nothing is there to give avoidable resistance to movement through the air. The biplane wings are supported by a single pair of struts on either side of the hull instead of by the two pairs, and every detail of wings, tail unit, power-plant installation and hull is beautifully streamlined. An enclosed cockpit is provided for the pilots—a new feature in British military boats. FOUR-ENGINED BOATS FOR R.A.F. Other important new steps are contemplated in the equipment of British flying boat squadrons. It is reported that an order is to be placed immediately with the Short Company for multiengined “ Singapore 111 ” biplane boats, which will be sent to displace obsolescent machines now at the R.A.F, base at Pembroke dock. These machines, powered each with four “ Kestrel ” water - cooled engines, will be improved versions of the “ Singapore II ” boat which in the last three years has gone through extensive trials under service conditions, in eluding a journey to Port Sudan in 11)31. The four engines are mounted tandem fashion in two nacelles located between the wings on either side of, but above, the hull. Employing horse power aggregating more than 2000, the “ Singapore III” will be at least 30 miles an hour faster than any military flying boat at present in the British service. Features of the design arc the novel engine mountings on a single strut, a daring idea which was first tested thoroughly in the original “ Singapore II ” boat, the all-metal hull, which is constructed entirely of the duralumin alloy known as alclad, and the extensive “ cleaning up ” which is largely responsible for the improved performance.- Each of these craft carries normally a crew of six—two pilots, three gunners, and wireless operator. All of the men can live on board in comfort when the ships are away on long cruises. There is sleeping accommodation and a separate
kitchen in the roomy hull. A partition divides the officers’ quarters from those of the aircraftmen.
Four' machine gun emplacements carry the defensive armament. One gun ring is mounted in the nose of the hull, two are staggered one on either side of the hull aft of the wings, and the fourth is located in the extreme tail behind the rudders. SPEED AND RANGE. An idea of the performance of the “ Singapore 111 ” may be gathered from figures which may now he cited about the “ Singapore II.” In official trials, with full load on board, this “ prototype ” boat attained a speed of 116.5 knots (134.15 m.p.h.) at a height of 6500 feet above sea level. The newer version is confidently expected to reach a high speed of 140 m.p.h.; the comparison serves as an indication of the improvement expected in other details of performance over those achieved by the Singapore Hi”
Fully laden, the older machine weighs 27.7521 b. Its wings measure from rip to tip 90 feet. It is 64 feet in length and 24 feet 3 inches in height. With full load up, it climbs to 6500 feet iu 114 minutes. Ten thousand feet is reached in 22 minutes and there the aeroplane can fly at a speed of 108.8 knots. At its service “ ceiling ” of 12,200 feet (that is, the height at which the rare of climb has fallen to 100 feet a minute) the “ Singapore II ” attains 102.6 knots. “ Ceiling ” is reached in 35 minutes from take-off at sea level.
Practical range in still air exceeds 1000 miles, with the usual fuel supply on board and all.four motors running at normal cruising speed. Much expert argument has centred on the tandem engine arrangement, some holding that the performance of the aft, or propeller, airscrews .is seriously affected because they have to rotate in the slipstream of the forward tractor screws. Largely for this reason big British commercial flying boats have been built with the four engines mounted in line abreast, all of them driving tractor airscrews each of which is unaffected by the slipstream from the others. Those who favour the tandem idea point to the advantages of two engine nacelles instead of four, the consequent lessened “parasitic” resistance, and the greatly diminished “torque” (or turning moment). Behaviour of the now “ Singapore 111 ” craft in service will provide useful information on this subject. ' EMPIRE DEFENCE. Among military strategists there is a growing conviction that the multiengined flying boat offers a means of coastal defence and patrol which in many circumstances is even more efficient than is obtainable with surface cruisers. The speed and range of the big (lying boat, the ease with which a single cruft can sweep in a few hours an immense area, and the ,seaworthiness of the modern British aeroplanes of this kind are the bases for this belief. And there is much to support the theory in the record of the activities of Royal Air Force boats in many parts of the world. A single example which has not received sufficient attention may be quoted here. Last year the British authorities guaranteed support to the Sultan of Muscat, a State bordering on the Gulf of Oman, at the south-eastern corner of the Arabian peninsula, in the suppression of unruly tribesmen in the region of Sur. A combined force of naval sloops and flying boats arrived simultaneously in the disaffected area. The naval vessels threatened the shore position held by the insurgents, and the flying boats made a demonstration flight over the inland fortress of Bani'bu All, which up to that time had been considered inaccessible. The mere demonstration was sufficient to bring about the submission of the ringleaders of the threatened rising. Points to remark about this incident are the instant effect of air action, its humanity, and that the naval forces, though able to menace the shore positions, were quite unable to bring pressure to bear on the real stronghold inland short of landing a party which would have been obliged to face a difficult and ‘perilous march through hostile country.
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 21982, 17 June 1933, Page 19
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1,335MILITARY FLYING BOATS Otago Daily Times, Issue 21982, 17 June 1933, Page 19
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