AMPHIBIOUS WARPLANE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22709, 23 October 1935, Page 17

AMPHIBIOUS WARPLANE

WELL TESTED NAVAL RECONNAISSANCE (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, September 21. H.M.A.S. Australia has embarked the first of a batch of 24 Supermarine Seagull V biplane amphibians, which were ordered for the equipment of the Royal Australian Air Force. The. machines are being built at the Supermarine Works of Vickers (Aviation), Ltd., Southampton. Similar craft are in course of construction for the British Fleet air arm, in which they are known under the name Walrus; the first Walrus is already in service with the battleship Nelson. The Seagull V is a single-engined biplane deriving power from a single Bristol Pegasus engine, which is mounted to drive a "pusher" airscrew behind the mam planes, instead of in the more usual " tractor " position forward. Development of the engine to ensure satisfactory running in "pusher" form meant much intensive work and the Pegasus " pusher embodies the results of hundreds of hours test running and much research. The Seagull had to pass satisfactorily through extremely severe trials before the Australian authorities decided to place the contract. It was sent to sea for the strenuous Mediterranean spring cruise of the Royal Navy, forming part of the equipment of the aircraft carrier Courageous. It was tested thoroughly in every kind of service operation from land and water. Finally, it Avas launched bycatapult at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, thus becoming the first flying boat in the world to be so launched. Aluminium alloys and stainless steel are the materials chiefly employed in the structure of the Seagull V. It was designed especially for naval reconnaissance and fleet spotting work from aircraft carriers or cruisers. Instructional flying and aerial photography are other duties for which equipment may be readily installed. The amphibious landing gear suits it for coastal patrol and for working over "mixed" territory where a landplane or flying boat might be handicapped. This gear consists in a retractile hydraulically operated undercarriage which is withdrawn when the machine is flying into recesses in the under surfaces of the lower wings, where it does not interfere with smooth airflow over the structure and add thereby to head resistance. This detail of design is largely responsible for attainment by the Seagull V of performance in the air which is considerably better than that of earlier types of amphibian that suffered from excessive head resistance of the landing gear. The wings can be folded for compact storage in the hangar of an aircraft carrier.