Supermarine Seamew
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The Supermarine Seamew was a British twin engined
amphibious aircraft An amphibious aircraft, or amphibian, is an aircraft that can Takeoff, take off and Landing, land on both solid ground and water. These aircraft are typically Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing, though Amphibious helicopter, amphibious helicopte ...
built by
Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer. It is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II. The company built a range of seaplanes and flying boats, winning the Schneider Trophy for seaplanes with three cons ...
at their works in Woolston, Southampton. It was intended as a small, shipborne
reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using Aerial photography, photography), signals ...
. It was designed in 19251927 by R. J. Mitchell to meet the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
's specification 29/24. It was the first aeroplane built by Supermarine to incorporate metal in the construction; two machines were built. Mitchell planned a civilian version of the aircraft, to accommodate up to six passengers. Higher priority projects meant that little was done on developing the Seamew until October 1926. It first flew on 9 January 1928. Tests showed that the aircraft was nose-heavy and its hand-starter gear was faulty. The propellers were poorly positioned, so that in time they sustained damage from sea spray. Further testing revealed that fittings had been made with an unsuitable material. Both aircraft were scrapped in 1930.


Design and development

In October 1924,
Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer. It is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II. The company built a range of seaplanes and flying boats, winning the Schneider Trophy for seaplanes with three cons ...
’s R.J. Mitchell prepared his initial drawing for a new
amphibious aircraft An amphibious aircraft, or amphibian, is an aircraft that can Takeoff, take off and Landing, land on both solid ground and water. These aircraft are typically Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing, though Amphibious helicopter, amphibious helicopte ...
designed for reconnaissance purposes. Mitchell designed the aircraft to have a crew of three; the pilot was located in the nose cockpit, a forward gunner was positioned behind the pilot but forward of the lower wing, and the rear gunner was aft of the lower wing. A second design, dated 5 January 1925, moved the rear gunner closer to the mainplanes and repositioned the tailskid. On the basis of Mitchell's drawings, the
Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...
placed a contract for two aircraft to meet  specification 29/24; these were given serial numbers ''N212'' and ''N213'', and the aircraft was given the name Seamew. In February 1926, Mitchell started to produce his final detailed drawings, during which time he redesigned the fin and rudder. He also proposed a new version of the aircraft, to accommodate up to six civilian passengers. The design incorporated two geared Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV
radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...
s driving wooden
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...
propellers. The fuel, stored in a tank mounted on the top plane, was fed by gravity to the engines. According to a 1929 article in ''Flight'', the fuel load of of
petrol Gasoline (North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When formul ...
was estimated as providing the aircraft with a range of around . The Seamew's wings, which had a span of , were designed to fold backwards along the hull. Mitchell designed them to have a thick high-lift
aerofoil An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is a streamlined body that is capable of generating significantly more lift than drag. Wings, sails and propeller blades are examples of airfoils. Foils of similar function designed ...
section—he selected the Göttingen 387 design—so as to enable the fully loaded Seamew to fly at low speeds without stalling. It was the first aeroplane built by Supermarine in which metal was included in the construction, as the spars were made of
Duralumin Duralumin (also called duraluminum, duraluminium, duralum, dural(l)ium, or dural) is a trade name for one of the earliest types of age hardening, age-hardenable aluminium–copper alloys. The term is a combination of ''Düren'' and ''aluminium'' ...
, an aluminium–copper alloy. The wooden hull was effectively a scaled-down version of the
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, having a length of and a height of . The mainplanes were fabric-covered. During 1925, Supermarine focussed on the development and construction of the Southampton, the Seagull V, and the S.4, and little was done on developing the Seamew. The following year, the Supermarine S.5, Nanok, and Sparrow II projects, as well as the need to make modifications to the Southampton, all caused further delays, so that work on the Seamew only began in October 1926. The first machine was eventually flown by Supermarine’s test pilot Henri Biard on 9 January 1928, by which time it was close to becoming obsolete.


Testing and operational history

The Seamew was sent to be tested by the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, the Air Ministry's facility at RAF Felixstowe. It emerged that the hand-starter gear was prone to failure, and when the aircraft was full loaded, the propellers sustained damage when they hit sea spray during take-off. As the aircraft proved to be nose-heavy, which prevented it from gaining altitude at its best climbing speed, Supermarine modified the tailplane by fitting balanced rudders. After flying for 66 hours, N212's mainplane fitting failed, a fault later discovered to have been caused by the
stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
used for the fittings. In March 1930, Supermarine considered replacing the Seamew's engine type to increase its power, but the idea was abandoned. On 12 April 1930, N212 crashed when
taxiing Taxiing (rarely spelled taxying) is the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or pushback (aviation), pushback where the aircraft is moved by a tug. The aircraft usually moves on wheels, but the term ...
on the
slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...
at Felixstowe. This incident, as well as the potential expense involved in making new mainplane fittings and rebuilding the
airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aeros ...
, led to both aircraft being scrapped that year. The Seamew provided Mitchell with new information about aerofoil design, which was later used in the design of the
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
wing. N213 had been fitted with smaller propellers, but this had resulted in a loss in rate of climb. To alleviate this problem, Supermarine consequently designed the Seagull V and the
Sea Otter The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of ...
with a single engine.


Specifications


References


Sources

* * * * {{Supermarine aircraft 1920s British military reconnaissance aircraft Flying boats Seamew Biplanes Amphibious aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1928 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft