| Short S.27 | |
|---|---|
| Short S.27 | |
| Role | Training and experimental |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers |
| First flight | 1910 |
| Primary user | Royal Naval Air Service |
The Short S.27 and its derivates, the Short Improved S.27 series, were important early British aircraft used by the Royal Navy and its first air arm, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The S.27 and Improved S.27 were used for training of the Royal Navy's first pilots as well as in early naval aviation experiments. An Improved S.27 airplane bearing Admiralty number 38, widely but incorrectly referred to the Short S.38, became famous for achieving a number of aviation firsts over a period of several months in 1911 and 1912.
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The aeroplane bearing the Short Brothers number 27 first appeared in 1910, and became known as the "Short S.27." It was a biplane built to a box kite design, with a monoplane tail and an elevator mounted on booms forward of the wings. It had a single V-eight-cylinder E.N.V. type F engine and a single propeller mounted in a pusher configuration.[1]
The S.27's design served as the basis of various Short aircraft which followed. They differed from the S.27 in having strut-braced extensions to their upper wings, making their upper wingspan 12 feet 3 inches (3.73 m) wider than that of the S.27. Their powerplant also differed from that of the S.27; each mounted a 50- or 70-horsepower (37- or 52-kilowatt) Gnome rotary engine. At least one of them had a nacelle for the pilot and passenger.[2]
Much confusion exists over the identities and proper designations of these modified S.27s because each of them received multiple, uncoordinated identification numbers under various numbering systems. Each received a Short company number, which sometimes changed in an aircraft that underwent extensive reconstruction; some owned by Frank McClean and employed by the RNAS for pilot training also received a number from McClean himself; some which received one or both of these numbers also received an Admiralty number in 1911; and some which received various combinations of these numbers also received a number under the standard British numbering system adopted late in 1912. More confusing, aviation observers and writers of the time sometimes used the same "S" designation for two different aircraft which coincidentally shared a number under these differing systems even though the aircraft were of different design. Adding to the problem of the identification of the aircraft has been the loss of some early Short company records. What is clear, however, is that the modified S.27 aircraft all shared the increased upper wingspan and that all were referred to as "Improved Short S.27 series" aircraft, and "Improved Short S.27" appears to be the most consistent and least confusing way refer them even though some have since been referred by numbers such as "S.34" and "S.38."[3]
Further confusion has arisen in later years as Short aircraft of later decades numbered with "S" numbers under the standard British numbering system received "S" numbers identical to those unofficially ascribed to the early Short biplanes, including Improved S.27s.
After the S.27 appeared in 1910, Cecil Grace (1880-1910) flew it with distinction, notably at the Midland Aero Club's meeting at Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton, between 27 June and 2 July 1910. Frank McClean also purchased S.27 and Improved S.27 aircraft for private use.[4]
In early 1911, McClean loaned two of his biplanes to the Royal Navy for use at Eastchurch in training its first four pilots, and the aircraft probably were an S.27 and an Improved S.27. The pilots, Lieutenants Charles R. Samson (1883-1931), R. Gregory, and Arthur M. Longmore (1885-1970) of the Royal Navy and Lieutenant E. L. Gerrard of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, reported for flight training at Eastchurch airfield on 1 March 1911 and earned their wings in six weeks. In October 1911, the Royal Navy purchased the two aircraft and established the Naval Flying School, Eastchurch, at Eastchurch airfield.[5]
Besides training, S.27 and Improved S.27 aircraft also were used in various early naval aviation experiments. The most famous S.27 was one of the two belonging to the Naval Flying School, Eastchurch,[6] an Improved S.27 assigned the Admiralty number 38. This aircraft is often referred to as the “Short S.38”, not its official designation and confusingly the name used for a later aircraft design. Improved S.27 No. 38 achieved a number of aviation firsts over a period of a few months in 1911 and 1912.
In 1911, Lieutenant Longmore worked with Oswald Short of Short Brothers to install streamlined air bags on the undercarriage struts and under the tail of Improved S.27 No. 38 to provide flotation for a water landing. On 1 December 1911, Longmore used No. 38 to become the first person in the United Kingdom to take off from land and make a successful water landing when he landed in the River Medway off Sheerness, after which No. 38 was brought ashore and flown back to Eastchurch. A flying-off platform was constructed over the foredeck and forward 12-inch (305-mm) gun turret of the battleship HMS Africa, and on 10 January 1912 while Africa was anchored off Sheerness, Samson, piloting No. 38, used the platform to make the United Kingdom's first successful aeroplane take-off from a ship. The platform was transferred to the battleship HMS Hibernia, and Samson flew No. 38 off it while Hibernia was making 10½ knots (19 km/h)[7] in Weymouth Bay at the Royal Fleet Review, during which King George V witnessed a number of flights at Portland over a period of four days in early May 1912. Sources differ on whether the date of the flight was 2 May,[8] 4 May,[9] or 9 May 1912,[10] but regardless it was the world's first launch of an aeroplane from a moving ship.[11] After the ramp was again transferred, this time to the battleship HMS London, Samson repeated the feat, flying No. 38 off of London while she was underway on 4 July 1912. After the standard British numbering system was adopted later in 1912, No. 38 received the designation "RNAS No. 2."[12]
| This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them. |
Data from Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Sixth Revised Edition. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991. ISBN 1-55750-076-2.
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
None
| This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them. |
Data from Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Sixth Revised Edition. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991. ISBN 1-55750-076-2.
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
None
List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
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