S.8 Calcutta & Rangoon @·AIRCRAFTUBE

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Short S.8 Calcutta

The Short Calcutta or S.8 was a civilian biplane airliner flying boat made by Short Brothers.

Design and development

The Calcutta biplane flying boat originated from an Imperial Airways requirement to service the Mediterranean legs of its services to and from India. Derived from the Short Singapore military flying boat, the Calcutta was noteworthy for being the first stressed skin, metal-hulled flying boat. It was equipped with three Bristol Jupiter engines mounted between the wings. The two pilots flew the plane from an open cockpit while the radio operator shared the main cabin with 15 passengers.

Operational history

The S.8 Calcutta made its first flight on 14 February 1928, having been launched the previous day and left at its mooring overnight to assess the hull for signs of leakage. Shorts' Chief Test Pilot, John Lankester Parker was at the controls, with Major Herbert G. Brackley of Imperial Airways as co-pilot. On 15 March 1928, this aircraft (registered as G-EBVG) was delivered by Parker and Brackley to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, Felixstowe, for its airworthiness and sea handling checks; these were successfully completed on 27 July of the same year and the aircraft was flown back to Shorts on the same day. G-EBVG was handed over to Imperial Airwayson 9 August 1928.

The S.8 Calcutta was introduced in 1928 and was used by Imperial Airways flying the Mediterranean-to-Karachi leg of the Britain-to-India route.

A total of seven aircraft were built. A military version of the Calcutta, originally known as the Calcutta (Service type), was built as the Short Rangoon. In 1924, a Calcutta was purchased by the French Breguet Company from which they developed a military version for the French Navy known as the Breguet S.8/2, which was similar to the Rangoon version. Four aircraft were built under licence by Breguet at Le Havre. Breguet later developed an improved version, the Breguet 521 Bizerte.

On 1 August 1928, Parker, accompanied by Oswald Short, flew G-EBVG to Westminster, setting it down on the Thames between Vauxhall and Lambeth Bridges; it was moored off the Albert Embankment for three days for inspection by Members of Parliament (including the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Churchill), members of the House of Lords and others.

Accidents and incidents

The City of Rome (registration G-AADN) made a forced landing in high winds and poor weather in the Ligurian Sea off La Spezia, Italy, during a scheduled passenger flight from Naples International Airport in Naples, Italy, to Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport outside Genoa, Italy, on 26 October 1929. It sank during efforts to tow it to shore, killing all seven people on board.

The City of Khartoum (G-AASJ) suffered a catastrophic failure of all three engines shortly before the end of its flight between Crete and Alexandria, Egypt, just after nightfall on 31 December 1935. The pilot was the only survivor; nine passengers and three crew were killed either by the impact with water or by drowning when the aircraft was overwhelmed by heavy waves. An inquiry by the British Air Ministry found that the carburettors had been altered in a way which increased fuel consumption, resulting in the aircraft running out of fuel.

Operators

Short Rangoon

Background

In 1929, the Royal Air Force needed urgent replacements of the Supermarine Southampton IIs then operated by No. 203 Squadron RAF based at Basra, Iraq. The Air Ministry issued Specification S.18/29 to specifically cover the procurement of a military variant of the Short S.8 Calcutta, similar to the S.8/2 Calcutta then being designed in collaboration with Breguet for Aviation Navale (French Naval Aviation). The new RAF version had Shorts designation S.8/8 and RAF designation Rangoon, and three examples were initially ordered.

Design and development. The Rangoon was a straightforward military adaption of the Calcutta. The main structure was assembled from duralumin formers, spars, ribs and stringers; the fuselage was skinned with duralumin, and the flying surfaces were partly skinned and partly fabric-covered. The major changes were the provision of an enclosed cockpit for the pilots, rest bunks, enlarged fuel tanks in the upper wing, three Lewis guns (one mounted forward of the cockpit, and two in the fuselage behind the wings), underwing bomb racks, and a large fresh water tank (for intended use in tropical conditions).

Operational history

On 24 September 1930, the first Rangoon (S1433) was flown from the River Medway at Rochester by Shorts' Chief Test Pilot, John Lankester Parker. In early 1931, the first three Rangoons were delivered to the RAF for training at Felixstowe, then in April 1931 they were flown in formation to No. 203 Squadron RAF at Basra. They were used for surveying and anti-smuggling patrols over Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Over the following three years, three more Rangoons (built to a higher specification R.19/31) were delivered to No. 203 Squadron at Basra, where they served without problem until 1935, when they were replaced by Short Singapore IIIs.

In September and October 1934, three Rangoons of No. 203 Squadron visited Australia as part of the celebrations of the centenary of the state of Victoria and of the centenary of Melbourne.

In August 1935, five Rangoons were transferred to No. 210 Squadron RAF at Pembroke Dock. In September 1935, they were temporarily deployed to Gibraltar during the Abyssinia Crisis, and all were retired from service at the end of 1935. Meanwhile, the first Rangoon (S1433) was stripped of military equipment by Shorts at Rochester, registered G-AEIM, then used by Air Pilots Training Ltd for training crews of Imperial Airways at Hamble, until it was retired in late 1938.

Operators

  • United Kingdom :
    • No. 203 Squadron RAF.
    • No. 210 Squadron RAF.
    • Air Pilots Training Ltd.
  • Japan : Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Koukuu-tai (Kawanishi H3K variant).

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Short S.8 Calcutta of Wikipedia ( authors )

Short S.8 Calcutta

  • Role : Flying boat airliner.
  • Manufacturer : Short Brothers.
  • First flight : 14 February 1928.
  • Introduction : 1928.
  • Primary user : Imperial Airways.
  • Number built : 7.
  • Developed from : Short Singapore.
  • Variants :

    • Specifications (S.8 Calcutta)

  • Crew : three.
  • Capacity : 15.
  • Length : 66 ft 9 in (20.35 m).
  • Height : 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m).
  • Wingspan : 93 ft (28.35 m).
  • Wing area : 1,825 ft² (170 m²).
  • Empty weight : 13,845 lb (6,293 kg).
  • Max. takeoff weight : 22,500 lb (10,227 kg).
  • Maximum speed : 118 mph (103 kts, 190 km/h).
  • Cruise speed : 97 mph (84 kts, 156 km/h).
  • Range : 650 mi (565 nmi, 1,046 km).
  • Service ceiling : 13,500 ft (4,120 m).
  • Rate of climb : 750 ft/min (3.8 m/s).
  • Powerplant : Three Bristol Jupiter IXF radial engine.
  • Power : 540 hp (403 kW) each.

Short Rangoon

  • Role : Flying Boat.
  • Manufacturer : Short Brothers.
  • First flight : 24 September 1930.
  • Introduction : 1931.
  • Retired : 1935.
  • Primary user : Royal Air Force.
  • Number built : 6.
  • Developed from : Short S.8 Calcutta.
  • Variants : Kawanishi H3K.

    • Specifications (S.8/8 Rangoon)

  • Crew : five.
  • Length : 66 ft 9½ in (20.35 m).
  • Height : 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m).
  • Wingspan : 93 ft (28.35 m).
  • Wing area : 1,828 sq ft (169.8 m).
  • Empty weight : 14,000 lb (6,350 kg).
  • Loaded weight : 22,500 lb (10,206 kg).
  • Maximum speed : 100 kts (115 mph, 185 km/h).
  • Cruise speed : 83 kts (92 mph , 148 km/h).
  • Range : 565 nm (650 miles, 1046 km).
  • Service ceiling : 12,000 ft (3,658 m).
  • Rate of climb : 550 ft/min (2.8 m/s).
  • Endurance : 7 hrs at 92 mph.
  • Powerplant : Three Bristol Jupiter XIF.
  • Power : 540 hp (403 kW) each.
  • Armament :
    • Guns : Three 0.303 in Lewis guns.
    • Bombs : Up to 1,000 lb (455 kg).

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Short S.8 Calcutta of Wikipedia ( authors )
Short S.8 Calcutta & Rangoon : Your comments on this subject
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