Short Shetland

Last updated

S.35 Shetland
RoleReconnaissance flying boat
Manufacturer Short Brothers
First flight14 December 1944
Number built2

The Short Shetland was a British high-speed, long-range, four-engined flying boat built by Short Brothers at Rochester, Kent for use in the Second World War. It was designed to meet an Air Ministry requirement (defined in Specification R.14/40) for a very-long range reconnaissance flying boat. The design used the company's experience with large scale production of the Short Sunderland. The end of World War II prevented the Shetland from entering production. It was the first aircraft designed with a 110 volt electrical system.

Contents

Design and development

Specification R.14/40 replaced an earlier specification R.5/39 which was an up-armed revision of specification R.3/38 for a faster flying boat than the Short Sunderland. Shorts, among others, had tendered a design for R.5/39 but the ministry had changed its mind about the need for an immediate replacement for the Sunderland. R.5/39 had considered a maximum weight up to 84,000 lb (38,102 kg) – R.14/40 allowed for a maximum takeoff of nearly 100,000 lb (45,359 kg) with a bomb load of 20,000 lb (9,072 kg). The projected engines were the Bristol Centaurus radial or the Napier Sabre inline.

Shorts and the other British manufacturer of big flying boats, Saunders-Roe (Saro), were involved in the competitive tender for R.14/40; Saro proposed the Saunders-Roe S.41. Rather than selecting either company's design, the Air Ministry asked the companies to submit a combined project, stipulating the terms under which the work was to be shared between them. The detailed design was performed by Saro, its experience with the Saro Shrimp contributing to the hull shape, as well as building the wing. Shorts built the hull, tail and the final assembly.

Variants

Short S.35 Shetland I

The first prototype and what was to be the only Shetland I (Serial Number DX166) first flew on 14 December 1944, piloted by Shorts' chief test pilot John Lankester Parker as captain and Geoffrey Tyson as co-pilot. The aircraft flew without gun turrets (its role having been revised to that of unarmed transport before its maiden flight. [1] It was delivered to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) at Felixstowe in October 1945. Testing indicated satisfactory water handling but the stabilising floats were mounted too low and did not offer sufficient clearance for takeoffs with maximum load. [2] Flight testing revealed problems with the harmonisation of controls and marginal longitudinal stability. Before the trials were complete, the aircraft burnt out at its moorings on 28 January 1946 as a result of a galley fire.

Short S.40 Shetland II

With the end of the war, the second prototype (Serial Number DX171) was completed as a civil transport and designated Shetland II. It was designed to carry 70 passengers but only 40 seats were fitted. Registered G-AGVD, the Shetland Mk.II's first flight took place on 17 September 1947. After trials, it was delivered to Short's factory at Belfast, but no orders were forthcoming and it performed only limited flight trials before being scrapped in 1951.

Specifications (S.35)

Data from British Flying Boats [3]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Stirling</span> British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War

The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saunders-Roe Princess</span> Type of aircraft

The Saunders-Roe SR.45 Princess was a British flying boat aircraft developed and built by Saunders-Roe at their Cowes facility on the Isle of Wight. It has the distinction of being the largest all-metal flying boat to have ever been constructed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blohm & Voss BV 138</span> 1937 flying boat family by Blohm & Voss

The Blohm & Voss BV 138Seedrache, but nicknamed Der Fliegende Holzschuh was a World War II German trimotor flying boat that served as the Luftwaffe's main seaborne long-range maritime patrol and naval reconnaissance aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Sunderland</span> WWII era flying boat patrol bomber

The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in North East England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blohm & Voss BV 238</span> 1944 military flying boat by Blohm & Voss

The Blohm & Voss BV 238 was a German flying boat, built during World War II. It was the heaviest aircraft ever built when it first flew in 1944, and was the largest aircraft produced by any of the Axis powers during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Empire</span> British Flying Boat of the 1930s

The Short Empire was a medium-range four-engined monoplane flying boat, designed and developed by Short Brothers during the 1930s to meet the requirements of the growing commercial airline sector, with a particular emphasis upon its usefulness upon the core routes that served the United Kingdom. It was developed and manufactured in parallel with the Short Sunderland maritime patrol bomber, which went on to serve in the Second World War; a further derivative that was later developed was the piggy-back Short Mayo Composite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saro London</span> British flying boat built from 1934

The Saunders Roe A.27 London was a British military biplane flying boat built by the Saunders Roe company. Only 31 were built, entering service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1936. Although due for replacement by the outbreak of World War II, they saw some active service pending the introduction of the ultimately unsuccessful Lerwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saunders-Roe A.36 Lerwick</span> Type of aircraft

The Saunders-Roe A.36 Lerwick was a British flying boat built by Saunders-Roe Limited (Saro). It was intended to be used with the Short Sunderland in Royal Air Force Coastal Command but it was a flawed design and only a small number were built. They had a poor service record and a high accident rate; of 21 aircraft, 10 were lost to accidents and one for an unknown reason.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Seaford</span> Type of aircraft

The Short S.45 Seaford was a 1940s flying boat, designed as a long range maritime patrol bomber for RAF Coastal Command. It was developed from the Short S.25 Sunderland, and initially ordered as "Sunderland Mark IV".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn B-20</span> Type of aircraft

The Blackburn B-20 was an experimental aircraft, first flying in 1940, that attempted to drastically increase the performance of flying boat designs. Blackburn Aircraft undertook an independent design study based on a patent filed by their chief designer, John Douglas Rennie for a retractable pontoon float that formed the planing hull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Singapore</span> A British multi-engined biplane flying boat

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aichi H9A</span> Japanese flying boat trainer

The Aichi H9A was an Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service flying boat used during the first years of World War II for crew training. An uncommon type, it was not encountered by Allied forces until spring 1945, and was never assigned an Allied reporting name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short S.26</span> Type of aircraft

The Short S.26 G-class was a large transport flying boat designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers. It was designed to achieve a non-stop transatlantic capability, increasing the viability of long distant services/duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saro Shrimp</span> Type of aircraft

The Saunders Roe A.37 Shrimp was a 1930s British two-seat four-engined experimental flying boat built by Saunders-Roe Limited ("Saro") at Cowes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn Perth</span> 1933 flying boat

The Blackburn Perth was a British flying boat which was in service during the interwar period. It was essentially an upgraded Iris, and hence the largest flying-boat to serve with the Royal Air Force at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Knuckleduster</span> Type of aircraft

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburn Sydney</span> Type of aircraft

The Blackburn R.B.2 Sydney was a long-range maritime patrol flying boat developed for the Royal Air Force in 1930, in response to Air Ministry Specification R.5/27. It was a parasol-winged braced monoplane of typical flying boat arrangement with triple tailfins and its three engines arranged on the wing's leading edge. After evaluation, it was not ordered into production and no further examples were built.

The Latécoère 611 was a French four-engined maritime reconnaissance flying boat of the Second World War. Although only a single prototype was completed, this served throughout the war, being used by both the Vichy French and Free French navies.

The Saro A.33 was a British prototype flying boat built by Saunders-Roe Limited in response to a British Air Ministry Specification R.2/33 and in competition with the Short Sunderland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short Cromarty</span> Type of aircraft

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.

References

Notes

  1. Barnes & James 1989, pp. 393–394.
  2. 1 2 3 Green 1972, p. 110.
  3. London 2003, pp. 264–265

Bibliography