Percival Prince

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Prince
Type	Transport aircraft
Manufacturer	Percival Aircraft Limited
Designed by	Edgar Percival
Maiden flight	13 May 1948
Number built	75 of all variants[1]
Developed from	Percival Merganser

The Percival Prince was a British light transport of the early post-war period. It was a twin-engine, high-wing, cantilever monoplane of all-metal stressed-skin construction; the undercarriage was of retractable, tricycle type.

Contents 1 Development 2 Operational history 3 Variants 4 Aircraft markings 5 Operators 5.1 Civil Operators 5.2 Military Operators 6 Specifications (Sea Prince T.1) 7 References 8 External links 9 Related content

[edit] Development

The design of the Prince followed on from the solitary Merganser. Further development of the type led to the Survey Prince survey aircraft and the Sea Prince. An improved version of the Prince 3 with an increased wingspan and engine and undercarriage modifications was developed for the Royal Air Force as the Percival Pembroke.

[edit] Operational history

The Prince was produced in six marks for the civil market.

The Sea Prince operated in two roles: in T.Mk.1 form it served as a navigation and anti-submarine trainer; the C.Mks. 1 and 2 were flown in the transport role, though it should be noted that these were landplanes and not COD (carrier on-board delivery) aircraft. Sea Princes operated in both roles from 1954 to 1972. The Sea Prince T.1 was replaced by the Handley Page Jetstream

[edit] Variants

^[1]

• P.50 Prince 1 - prototype based on Merganser with modified fin and undercarriage and two 520hp Alvis Leonides 501/4 engine, one built.
• P.50 Prince 2 - As Prince 1 with sloping windscreen, stronger mainspar, 5 built.
• P.50 Prince 3 - As Prince 2 with Alvis Leonides 502/4 engine and lengthened nose on some aircraft, 12 built.
• P.50 Prince 4 - Conversions to Alvis Leonides 503 engines, 10 converted.
• P.50 Prince 5 - original designation of the Percival President.
• P.50 Prince 6 - Conversions to Alvis Leonides 504 engines.
• P.54 Survey Prince - Prince 2 with lengthened transparent nose and camera hatches, 6 built.
• P.57 Sea Prince C1 - Prince 2 for Royal Navy use, 3 built.
• P.57 Sea Prince T1 - Prince 3 with long nosem twin wheeled main undercarriage and lengthened engine nacelles for ant-submarine training, 41 built.
• P.57 Sea Prince C2 - Transport version of Sea Prince T1, 4 built.

[edit] Aircraft markings

[edit] Operators

[edit] Civil Operators

•  Australia
•  Brunei Darussalam: Brunei Shell Petroleum Company
•  Brazil
•  France
•  Kenya
•  New Zealand
•  Singapore
•  Switzerland
•  Tanganyika
•  South Africa
•  United Kingdom
•  United States
•  Venezuela

[edit] Military Operators

 Thailand

• Thai Air Force

 United Kingdom

• Fleet Air Arm^[1]
  • 700 Squadron FAA
  • [[

702 Squadron FAA]]

• • [[727 Squadron FAA]]
  • [[744 Squadron FAA]]
  • [[750 Squadron FAA]]
  • [[781 Squadron FAA]]
  • [[831 Squadron FAA]]
• Royal Naval Reserve
  • 1830 Squadron RNVR
  • 1840 Squadron RNVR
  • 1841 Squadron RNVR
  • 1844 Squadron RNVR

[edit] Specifications (Sea Prince T.1)

Data from British Aircraft Directory^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Capacity: 3 students
• Length: 46 ft 4 in (14.12 m)
• Wingspan: 56 ft in (17.07 m)
• Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.9 m)
• Wing area: 365 ft² ()
• Empty weight: 8,850 lb (4,015 kg)
• Loaded weight: 11,850 lb (5,377 kg)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 194 knots (223 mph, 359 km/h)
• Range: 400 nm (460 mi, 740 km)
• Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,706 m)
• Rate of climb: 1,400 ft/min ()

Armament

none

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} PER50 PRINCE PEMBROKE.
2. ^ British Aircraft Directory.

[edit] External links

[edit] Related content

Related development

• Percival Merganser
• Percival Pembroke
• Percival President