Short S.38
Template:Infobox Aircraft The Short S.38 was an early British aircraft built by Short Brothers.
Design and development
The Short S.38 was originally a Short S.27 with the manufacturer's number S.38. After an accident when hoisting this aircraft aboard HMS London the remains were returned to Shorts, where the aircraft was rebuilt with extensive modifications, the resulting design becoming known as the Short S.38 type
The rebuilt S.38 had the same basic layout as the original aircraft, being an unequal-span pusher biplane with a forward-mounted elevator and an empennage carried on wire-braced wooden booms behind the wing. It differed in having new wings of increased span, a nacelle to accommodate the two crew members seated in tandem, and modified tail surfaces, the tailplane being enlarged and twin rudders fitted. The front elevator was mounted on booms, as in the original aircraft.
Production aircraft differed in having the front elevator mounted on an upswept outrigger on the front of the nacelle. Additionally the outer panels of the upper wing had a swept back leading edge, and were rigged with a slight dihedral.
Service History
The aircraft was first flown by Lt. C.R. Samson on 30 August 1912.[1].
Shorts subsequently built nine production aircraft (c/n S.54-62) and other examples were built by Pemberton-Billing Ltd and White and Thompson, some remaining in service with the RNAS after the outbreak of World War One, being used for coastal patrol work at RNAS Great Yarmouth and later for training purpoes at RNAS Eastchurch.[2]
Specifications
Data from Barnes 1967, p.70
General characteristics
- Crew: 2 (pilot and observer)
- Length: 35 ft 6 in (10.82 m)
- Wingspan: 52 ft (16 m)
- Wing area: 500 sq ft (46 m2)
- Empty weight: 1,100 lb (499 kg)
- Gross weight: 1,500 lb (680 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Lambda 7-cylinder air-cooled radial
Performance
- Maximum speed: 58 mph (93 km/h, 50 kn)
- Endurance: 5 hours
- Wing loading: 3.0 lb/sq ft (15 kg/m2)
Notes
References
- Barnes, C.H. Shorts Aircraft Since 1900. London: Putnam, 1967.
- Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914–18. London: Putnam, 1957.
- Goodall, Michael H. The Norman Thompson File. Tunbridge Wells, UK: Air Britain (Historians), 1995. ISBN 0 85130 233 5.
- Thetford, Owen British Naval Aircraft Since 1912. London: Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0 370 3002 1