Supermarine Seagull ASR-1

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Supermarine Seagull ASR-1 was the last flying boat to be built by the Supermarine company.

It should not be confused with the Supermarine Seagull V, which was the forerunner of the Supermarine Walrus

1 History
2 Construction
3 Specification
4 Performance
5 Reference
6 Related content

[edit] History

In 1940 consideration was made at Supermarine to design a replacement for the Walrus and Sea Otter. There was a slight interuption in design due to the necessity of moving the Design Office after the bombing of the facility at Woolston. The Aircraft was to be an amphibian monoplane combining the experience gained on the Walrus and Spitfire. A go-ahead from the British Air Ministry to build three protypes was given in April 1943. There were many delays includinng having the required power plant change from a Rolls-Royce Merlin to a Rolls-Royce Griffon. The first prototype did not first fly until 14 July 1948. The second aircraft performed carrier trials on HMS Ark Royal in 1949. Only two prototypes were built, the third being in construction. All were sold for scrap in 1952.

[edit] Construction

The Seagull had an all metal construction with a two spar wing, parasol mounted on a structure on top of the hull, known as a pylon. The single engine drove contrarotating propellers. The whole wing had variable incidence pivoted at the front spar with an actuator attached to the rear spar. The hull was a normal frame & longeron design with chines. The tailplane, on top of the main fin, had a very large dihedral, with smaller fins mounted on its tips perpendicular to its surface.