Supermarine S.4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Supermarine S.4
Supermarine S.4.jpg
Role Racing seaplane
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Supermarine
Designer R.J. Mitchell
First flight 24 August 1925
Introduction 1925
Retired 1925
Status Destroyed
Number built 1

The Supermarine S.4 was a 1920s British single-engined single-seat monoplane racing seaplane built by Supermarine to compete in the 1925 Schneider Trophy. It crashed and was destroyed before the competition started.

Design and development[]

The Supermarine S.4 was designed by R. J. Mitchell to compete in the 1925 Schneider Trophy race and was the first Schneider Trophy entrant to be supported by the British government, who agreed to buy the aircraft if Supermarine and Napier covered the initial costs of development and construction.[1] Built by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton, the S.4 was an monoplane seaplane with an unbraced cantilever wing and semi-monocoque fuselage powered by a specially developed version of the Napier Lion delivering 680hp . It was primarily constructed from wood: the single-piece unbraced wing had two spars with spruce flanges and plywood webs and was covered with plywood braced by spanwise stringers; were inset into the lower surface of both wings.[2] The fuselage had a covering of diagonally-laid spruce planking over plywood formers[2] constructed around a pair of steel A-frames, to which the engine bearers and wing spars were attached and which carried the floats.[3] The single-step floats were metal[4] As an exceptionally "clean" aircraft, the S.4 design was in marked contrast to the biplane Supermarine Sea Lion flying boats which Mitchell had designed for previous Schneider Trophy races, which won in 1922 and came third behind the American Curtiss CR seaplanes in 1923.[5]

Operational history[]

Allocated the civil registration G-EBLP and the Air Ministry serial number N197,[6][7] the S.4 first flew on 24 August 1925.[8] On 13 September 1925 on Southampton Water, it raised the world's seaplane speed record (and the British speed record) to 226.752 mph (365.071 km/h).[6][9] With high hopes of a British victory, the S.4, together with two Gloster III biplanes, was shipped to the United States of America for the 1925 race.[10] During trials at Bay Shore Park, Baltimore on 23 October 1925, piloted by H. C. Biard, it was seen to sideslip into the water from 200 ft (61 m) and was wrecked.[11] Biard, who survived with two broken ribs, stated that he lost control following violent wing vibration.[12] The race was won two days later by Lieutenant James Doolittle, flying a Curtiss R3C at an average speed of 232.573 mph (374.443 km/h), faster than the S.4's world record of a month before.[13] Most sources have suggested the accident was due to flutter.[13][14]

Cultural references[]

Very little film and photographic evidence of the S.4 survives. Five minutes of film are preserved within Leslie Howard's The First of the Few (1942, released as Spitfire in the U.S.), in which he and David Niven star. Drawings and archival footage of the plane's construction, first takeoff and flight are preserved within the feature film.[15][page needed] The reason for the crash in the film was due to high-g blackout.

Specifications[]

Data from Supermarine Aircraft since 1914[16]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 26 ft 7+3⁄4 in (8.122 m)
  • Wingspan: 30 ft 7.5 in (9.335 m)
  • Height: 11 ft 8.75 in (3.5751 m)
  • Wing area: 139 sq ft (12.9 m2)
  • Empty weight: 2,600 lb (1,179 kg)
  • Gross weight: 3,191 lb (1,447 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Napier Lion VII W-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 680 hp (510 kW) at 2,000 rpm
  • Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 239 mph (385 km/h, 208 kn) [6]
  • Wing loading: 23 lb/sq ft (110 kg/m2)
  • Power/mass: 0.21 hp/lb (0.35 kW/kg)

See also[]

Related development

References[]

  1. ^ James 1981, pp. 197–198.
  2. ^ a b James 1981, p. 198.
  3. ^ Andrews & Morgan 1981, pp. 175–178.
  4. ^ James 1981, p. 200.
  5. ^ Green 1967, p. 744.
  6. ^ a b c Jackson 1988, p. 317.
  7. ^ Lewis 1970, p. 144.
  8. ^ Andrews & Morgan 1981, p. 175.
  9. ^ Andrews & Morgan 1981, p. 178.
  10. ^ Flight 24 September 1925, p. 609.
  11. ^ Flight 12 November 1925, p. 747.
  12. ^ Andrews & Morgan 1981, pp. 179–180.
  13. ^ a b Flight 29 October 1925, p. 703.
  14. ^ Andrews & Morgan 1981, p. 180.
  15. ^ Aldgate & Richards 1994.
  16. ^ Andrews & Morgan 1981, p. 203.

Bibliography[]

  • Aldgate, Anthony; Richards, Jeffrey (1994). 'Britain Can Take it: British Cinema in the Second World War (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 0-7486-0508-8.
  • Andrews, C. F.; Morgan, Eric B. (1981). Supermarine Aircraft since 1914. London: Putnam. ISBN 978-03701-0-018-0.
  • Green, William (July 1967). "Supermarine's Schneider Seaplanes". Flying Review International. Vol. 10, no. 11.
  • Jackson, A. J. (1988). British Civil Aircraft, 1919-1972. Vol. 3. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-818-6.
  • James, Derek N. (1981). Schneider Trophy Aircraft 1913-1931. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 30328 8.
  • Lewis, Peter (1970). British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-00067-6.
  • "The 1925 Schneider Trophy Race". Flight. Vol. XVII, no. 879. 29 October 1925. p. 703.
  • "The 1925 Schneider Trophy Race: Flight Correspondent's Special Account". Flight. Vol. XVII, no. 881. 12 November 1925. pp. 747–752.
  • "The Schneider Cup Seaplane Race: British Representatives Leave on Saturday". Flight. Vol. XVII, no. 874. 24 September 1925. pp. 609–614.

Further reading[]

  • Shelton, John (2008). Schneider Trophy to Spitfire - The Design Career of R.J. Mitchell (Hardback). Sparkford: Hayes Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84425-530-6.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""