Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particularly notable for its flying boat designs manufactured into the 1950s.
The Curtiss NC was a flying boat built by Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and used by the United States Navy from 1918 through the early 1920s. Ten of these aircraft were built, the most famous of which is the NC-4, the first airplane to make a transatlantic flight. The NC-4 is preserved in the National Museum of Naval Aviation, at NAS Pensacola, Florida.
In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with its propulsion device(s) after its engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, which places them in front.
The Vickers F.B.5 was a British two-seat pusher military biplane of the First World War. Armed with a single .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun operated by the observer in the front of the nacelle, it was the first aircraft purpose-built for air-to-air combat to see service, making it the world's first operational fighter aircraft.
The Blackburn Iris was a British three-engined biplane flying boat of the 1920s. Although only five Irises were built, it was used as a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft by the Royal Air Force, where it equipped a squadron for four years, being used to carry out a number of notable long-distance flights. The final version of the Iris, the Iris Mark V was developed into the aircraft that replaced it in Squadron service, the Blackburn Perth.
The Short Singapore was a British multi-engined biplane flying boat built after the First World War. The design was developed into two four-engined versions: the prototype Singapore II and production Singapore III. The latter became the Royal Air Force's main long-range maritime patrol flying boat of the 1930s and saw service against the Japanese with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War.
The Felixstowe Porte Baby was a British reconnaissance flying boat of the First World War, first flying in 1915.
The Short R.24/31 was a British twin-engined, high-wing cantilever gull winged monoplane flying-boat designed and built by Short to Air Ministry specification R.24/31 for a "General Purpose Open Sea Patrol Flying Boat". The contract also specified the use of the experimental Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine. The Saunders-Roe London and the Supermarine Stranraer competed successfully for this contract.
The Short S.8/8 Rangoon was a 1930s British three-engined biplane flying boat, designed and built by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force.
The Kawanishi H3K, also known as Navy Type 90-2 Flying Boat (九〇式二号飛行艇), was a Japanese biplane military flying boat from the interwar period. The H3K was a development of the Short S.8/8 Rangoon. The first of the H3Ks was built by Short Brothers and the remaining four by Kawanishi in Japan.
The Felixstowe F.4 Fury, also known as the Porte Super-Baby, was a large British, five-engined triplane flying-boat designed by John Cyril Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe, inspired by the Wanamaker Triplane/Curtiss Model T. At the time the Fury was the largest seaplane in the world, the largest British aircraft, and the first aircraft controlled successfully by servo-assisted means.
The Hall XP2H-1 was an American prototype four-engined biplane flying boat of the 1930s. Intended as an experimental very-long-range maritime patrol aircraft, a single example was built. The XP2H-1 was the largest four engine biplane aircraft ever procured by the US Navy.
The Short N.3 Cromarty was a prototype British twin-engined biplane flying boat, designed towards the end of the First World War. Only a single example was built, which first flew in 1921 and was wrecked in 1922.
The Short S.6 Sturgeon was a prototype single-engined biplane naval reconnaissance aircraft, built to an Air Ministry specification but mostly intended as a demonstrator of the corrosion resistance of duralumin aircraft structures. Two were made.
The Short Gurnard was a single-engined two-seat biplane naval fighter, built in the United Kingdom to an Air Ministry specification in 1929. It failed to win production orders and only two flew.
The Short S.41 was a British single-engined biplane built for the Royal Navy in 1912. Capable of being operated either on wheels or floats, it was successful enough for a further two similar aircraft to be built, with the type remaining in use until the early years of the First World War.
The Royal Aircraft Factory C.E.1 was a prototype British flying boat of the First World War. It was a single-engined pusher configuration biplane intended to carry out coastal patrols to protect shipping against German U-boats, but only two were built, the only flying boats to be designed and built by the Royal Aircraft Factory.
The Short S.27 and its derivative, the Short Improved S.27, were a series of early British aircraft built by Short Brothers. They were used by the Admiralty and Naval Wing of the Royal Flying Corps for training the Royal Navy's first pilots as well as for early naval aviation experiments. An Improved S.27 was used by C.R. Samson to make the first successful take-off from a moving ship on 9 May 1912.
The Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.II was a biplane flying boat, designed by Claudius Dornier as a follow-on to his Zeppelin-Lindau Rs.I and built during 1914–1915 on the German side of Lake Constance. Initially this aircraft was powered by three engines mounted inside the hull driving three pusher propellers via gearboxes and shafts. The later version was powered by four engines in two push-pull nacelles mounted between the wings.
The Short S.80 was an early British floatplane built by Short Brothers for Frank McClean to undertake an aerial expedition up the Nile to investigate the cataracts between Aswan and Khartoum. After a successful flight to Khartoum it was returned to England, where it was used for training by the RNAS. When built it was the largest successful aircraft that had been constructed in Britain. It was also known as the Short Nile Pusher Biplane Seaplane.
