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The Supermarine Southampton Biplane History
Designed by Reginald J. Mitchell and
built by Supermarine Aviation Works, the Supermarine Southampton was
developed from the Supermarine Swan. During the interwar period this
twin engine biplane was one of the successful flying boats. The
MkI biplanes were built with a wooden hull
and wooden wings, however the later MkII version was built with a
duraluminium hull and wooden wings. Both wings were fitted above the
fuselage, and the engines were mounted on pylons between the upper
and lower wings. Later models were fitted with metal wings as well
as metal hulls. Eighty Three Supermarine Southampton biplanes were
built in total, plus the three engine prototype Southampton X.
The Supermarine Southampton Biplane
Operations
The maiden flight of the production aircraft took
place on March 10, 1925, with distribution to the Royal Air Force
commencing in the middle of 1925, and entering RAF service with 480
flight at RAF Calshot in August the same year. Initially used for
coastal reconnaissance, the Supermarine Southampton gained fame for
it’s long distance flights, effectively used to ‘fly the flag’.
Perhaps the most significant of these flights was carried out
between 1927 and 1928 by four of these aircraft. They flew
27,000 miles (43,500km) from Felixstowe to Singapore via the
Mediterranean and India.
Other operators of the Supermarine
Southampton biplane included: Argentine Naval Aviation, the Royal
Australian Air Force, the Royal Danish Navy, the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Turkish Air Force, Japan Air Transport and Imperial
Airways.
A single fuselage
of this biplane is on display at the Royal Air Force Museum in
London.
Various scale
models, model kits and plans of this aircraft have been available in
the market place.
Supermarine Southampton
II Biplane Specifications:
Supermarine Southampton Crew: 5
Supermarine Southampton Length: 49ft 8½in (15.15m)
Supermarine Southampton Wingspan: 75ft 0in (22.86m)
Supermarine Southampton Height: 17ft 6in (5.34m)
Supermarine Southampton Wing area: 1,448ft² (134.5 m²)
Supermarine Southampton Empty weight: 9,697lb (4,180kg)
Supermarine Southampton Loaded weight: 15,200lb (7,680kg)
Supermarine Southampton Engine: Twin Napier Lion VA inline W-block, 500 hp (373 kW)
each
Supermarine Southampton Maximum speed: 95mph (153 km/h)
Supermarine Southampton Range: 544 mi (876 km)
Supermarine Southampton Service Ceiling: 5,950ft (1,814m)
Supermarine Southampton
II Biplane Armament:
Bombs:
1,100lbs
Guns:
3 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis guns
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