Felixstowe F.2
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| F2A | |
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 Felixstowe F3 |
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| Type | Military Flying Boat |
| Manufacturer | S.E.Saunders Ltd Aircraft Manufacturing Co Ltd May, Harden & May |
| Designed by | John Cyril Porte |
| Maiden flight | February 1917 |
| Introduced | 1917 |
| Primary users | Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force United States Navy |
| Number built | 175 |
| Variants | Felixstowe F.3 Felixstowe F.5 Felixstowe_F5L |
The Felixstowe F.2 was a British First World War flying boat designed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN of the Seaplane Experimental Station, Felixstowe.
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[edit] Development
Before the war Porte had worked with American aircraft designer Glenn Curtiss on a flying boat in which they intended to cross the Atlantic. When he became commander of the naval air base at Felixstowe he acquired Curtiss flying boats of the H-4 type, a military version of their earlier "America" flying boat design.
Porte modified an H4 with a new hull with improved hydrodynamic qualities, as the Felixstowe F.1, of which four were built. Porte then designed a similar hull for the larger Curtiss H12 flying boat, the Felixstowe F.2a, which was greatly superior to the original Curtiss boat. This entered production and service as a patrol aircraft, with about 100 being completed by the end of World War I. Another seventy were built and these were followed by two F.2c which were built at Felixstowe
In February 1917, the first prototype of the Felixstowe F.3 was flown. This was larger and heavier then the F.2, giving it greater range and heavier bomb load, but poorer agility. Approximately 100 Felixstowe F.3s were produced before the end of the war.
The Felixstowe F.5 was intended to combine the good qualities of the F.2 and F.3, with the prototype first flying in May 1918. The prototype showed superior qualities to its predecessors but the production version was modified to make extensive use of components from the F.3, in order to ease production, giving lower performance than either the F.2A or F.5.
[edit] Operational service
The Felixstowe F.2A was widely used as a patrol aircraft over the North Sea until the end of the war. Its excellent performance and maneuverability made it an effective and popular type, often fighting enemy patrol and fighter aircraft, as well as hunting U-boats and Zeppelins. The larger F.3, which was less popular with its crews than the more maneuverable F.2a, served in the Mediterranean as well as the North Sea.
The F.5 did not enter service until after the end of World War I, but replaced the earlier Felixstowe boats (together with Curtiss flying boats) to serve as the RAF's standard flying boat until being replaced by the Supermarine Southampton in 1925.
[edit] Variants
- F.2a: Based on Curtiss H12 with new hull. Powered by two 345 hp Rolls Royce Eagle VIII engines. 4 to 7 machine guns and 460 lb of bombs.
- F.2c: Modified F2a with lighter hull. two built.
[edit] Operators
- Royal Naval Air Service
- Royal Air Force
- No. 228 Squadron RAF
- No. 230 Squadron RAF
- No. 231 Squadron RAF
- No. 232 Squadron RAF
- No. 234 Squadron RAF
- No. 240 Squadron RAF
- No. 247 Squadron RAF
- No. 257 Squadron RAF
- No. 259 Squadron RAF
- No. 261 Squadron RAF
- No. 267 Squadron RAF
[edit] Specifications (F2a)
Data from British Aircraft Directory
General characteristics
- Crew: 4
- Length: 46 ft 3 in (14.1 m)
- Wingspan: 95 ft 7 in (29.14 m)
- Height: 17 ft 6 in (5.34 m)
- Wing area: 1,133 ft² (105 m²)
- Empty weight: 7,549 lb (3,431 kg)
- Loaded weight: 10,978 lb (4,990 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce_Eagle VIII V12 piston, 345 hp (257 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 95 mph at 2,000 ft (153 km/h)
- Range: nm (mi, km)
- Service ceiling 9,600 ft (2,930 m)
- Rate of climb: 522 ft/min (3 min 50 s to 2,000 ft) (159 m/min to 609 m)
- Endurance: 6 hours
Armament
- Guns: 4 × Lewis Guns, 1 in nose, 3 amidships
- Bombs: Up to 460 lbs of bombs beneath wings
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Felixstowe Flying-Boats
- britishaircraft.co.uk - Felixstowe F.2
- britishaircraft.co.uk - Felixstowe F.3
- britishaircraft.co.uk - Felixstowe F.5
- Smithsonian National Air and Space article on the F5L
[edit] See also
Related development Felixstowe F5L
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