Wight Converted Seaplane
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| Converted Seaplane | |
|---|---|
| Type | Biplane floatplane |
| Manufacturer | John Samuel White & Company Limited (Wight Aircraft) |
| Maiden flight | 1916 |
| Primary user | Royal Naval Air Service |
| Number built | 37 |
The Wight Converted Seaplane was a British twin-float patrol seaplane produced by John Samuel White & Company Limited (Wight Aircraft).
Contents |
[edit] Design and development
Developed from the unsuccessful Wight Bomber for use as an anti-submarine patrol aircraft, the "Converted" Seaplane was a straightforward adaptation of the landplane bomber to a seaplane. The aircraft was a three-bay biplane with unswept, unequal span, unstaggered wings. It had twin floats under the fuselage and additional floats at tail and wings tips. Initial production aircraft were powered by a 322 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle IV engine mounted in the nose driving a four-bladed propeller, with later production batches being powered by a 265 hp (198 kW) Sunbeam Maori engine owing to shortages of Eagles[1]. Fifty were ordered for the RNAS, of which only 37 were completed [2].
[edit] Operational history
The Converted Seaplane entered service with the RNAS in 1917 [1], operating from bases at Calshot, Dover, Portland and Cherbourg [2]. On 18 August 1917, a Wight Converted Seaplane flying from Cherbourg sank the German U-boat UB-32 with a single 100 lb bomb, the first submarine to be sunk in the English Channel by direct air action [1]. Seven remained in service with the RAF at the end of the First World War.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (Seaplane - Eagle engine)
Data from The British Bomber since 1914 [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 44 ft 8½ in (13.63 m)
- Wingspan: 65 ft 6 in (19.97 m)
- Height: 16 ft (4.88 m)
- Wing area: 715 ft² (66.4 m²)
- Empty weight: 3,758 lb (1,708 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 5,556 lb (2,525 kg)
- Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Eagle IV V-12, 322 hp (240 kW)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 73 knots (84 mph, 135 mph)
- Service ceiling 9,600 ft (2,900 m)
- Climb to 6,500 ft (2,000 m): 18 min 20 sec
- Endurance: 3½ hours
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Mason, Francis K (1994). The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. ISBN 0 85177 861 5.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
Related development Wight Bomber
Comparable aircraft Short 184
Related lists
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