(Short) S.25 Sunderland @·AIRCRAFTUBE

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    Short Sunderland Mk.I - Sqn 210
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    Short S.25 Sunderland
  • Sunderland Mk.III - Aquila Airways Sunderland Mk.III - Aquila Airways
    Sunderland Mk.III - Aquila Airways
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    Short S.25 Sunderland
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    Sunderland Mk.I
  • S.25 Sunderland Mk.V - RAF_Seletar (205 Sqn) S.25 Sunderland Mk.V - RAF_Seletar (205 Sqn)
    S.25 Sunderland Mk.V - RAF_Seletar (205 Sqn)
  • Sunderland Mk.IIIa Sunderland Mk.IIIa
    Sunderland Mk.IIIa
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    Sunderland Mk.V
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    Short S.25 Sunderland Mk.V
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    Short S.25 Hythe

Short S.25 Sunderland

The Short Sunderland was a four-engine general-purpose flying-boat designed during 1933-34 in response to Specification R.2/33, which spelt out the needs of Operational Requirement 8 as a replacement for the biplane 'boats' then in service. Designed under direction of Arthur Gouge, S.25 retained overall configuration and geometry of Scion Senior, and was in many respects the military counterpart of S.23 Empire Boat, which was the first to fly. A single prototype S.25 ordered in 1934 for competitive evaluation against Saro A. 33. Powered by four 950 hp Bristol Pegasus X engines, prototype K4774 first flew on October 16, 1937. After four flights, sweepback of 4.5 deg introduced on the mainplanes, and 1,010 hp Pegasus 22's fitted; testing in this form resumed on March 7, 1938.

Sunderland Mark 1

Initial production version of S.25, the first 11 being ordered to Specification 22/36 and OR.42 at the same time as 11 Saro A.31s ordered to Specification 21/36 (the later being cancelled after A. 31 prototype was damaged beyond repair on October 25, 1938). Further contracts brought total of Short Sunderland 1s built to 74 by Shorts at Rochester and 15 by Blackburn at Dumbarton. First of development batch flew on April 21, 1938 and 42 Short Sunderland 1's flying by September 1939; first by Blackburn flew late-1941. Short Sunderland 1 was powered by four 1,010 hp Pegasus XXII engines and carried a crew of 9 to 10. Armament comprised a single (later two) guns in FN11 nose turret, four guns in FN13 tail turret and (on later aircraft) two Vickers 'K' guns in dorsal hatches, all of .303 in (7.7 mm) calibre'. A 2,000 lb bomb load was carried. Service use began June 1938 with No 230 Sqn at Seletar and No 210 Sqn at Pembroke Dock, the latter unit flying the first wartime sortie - a convoy patrol - on September 3. At that time, No 228 Sqn also flying Short Sunderlands at Alexandria, Egypt, and No 204 at Mount Batten. Nine Mk.1's released by RAF to equip No 10 Sqn, RAAF, still in UK when war began, becoming operational with Australian crews (but retaining RAF serials in place of A18-1 to A18-9 allocated). Two further squadrons, Number 95 and 201, were equipped from 1940.

Sunderland Mark 2

Operationally-improved Mk.1 with 815 hp Pegasus XVIII engines and two-speed superchargers, FN7 two-gun dorsal turret in place of open 'K' gun mounts, and FN4A tail turret with double gun mounting. Most Mk. 2's were also fitted with ASV Mk.2 radar, indicated by aerial masts and transmitter loops on rear fuselage, and central and underwing Yagi homing aerials. Prototype conversion of (first Blackburn-built) Mk.1, T9083, followed by 23 by Shorts at Rochester, five by Blackburn and five by Short & Harland in Belfast (where first flew on April 24, 1942). Served alongside Mk.1's in four squadrons and as initial equipment of four more.

Sunderland Mark 3

Principal war-time production and service version, featuring improved low-drag hull design and faired main step. Other features as Mk.2 prototype (Mk.1 conversion) T9042 flown at Rochester on June 28, 1941, and first production Mk.3, also at Rochester, on December 15, 1941. Production totals, 186 from Rochester, 71 from Belfast, 170 from Blackburn Dumbarton and 35 from Short operated factory on Lake Windermere in the English Lake District. The Windermere factory also did some conversion work upgrading Mk.3 Sunderlands to Mk.5.
Early in 1943, centimetric ASV Mk.3 replaced ASV Mk.2; later, ASV Mk.6C, with fairings for underwing scanners, was fitted in Short Sunderland 3As. From late 1943, Mk.3's fitted with four additional forward-firing machine guns in the nose, and a further modification provided pairs of .50 in (12.7 mm) guns to fire through beam hatches aft of dorsal turret, bringing the total to 18 machine guns. Short Sunderland 3's served with some 15 squadrons of the RAF, including one French manned, one Norwegian, two Canadian, one Australian and one New Zealand. Also, No 10 Sqn, RAAF, progressed from Mk.1's to Mk.3's. Between January 1943 and August 1944, BOAC received 24 Short Sunderland 3's diverted from RAF contracts, stripped of armament and military equipment, and fitted with austere bench-and-mattress seating. First conversion flew at Rochester on December 26, 1942, and these aircraft, in camouflage and with civil registrations, used initially on the UK-West Africa route to Lagos. Operating later on the route through Egypt to Karachi, they acquired RAF roundels and Transport Command style four letter codes. Four similar austere transport conversions diverted from RAF to RNZAF late-1944 for use by the Flying Boat Transport Flight in the Pacific.

Sunderland Mark 4 (or S.45 Seaford)

The Seaford was an improved Sunderland variant responding to O.R. 118 (which stressed the need for more range) and as defined by Specification R.8/42 issued at the end of 1942. Featured lengthened hull with improved hydrodynamics; dihedral tailplane; 1,700 hp Bristol Hercules XIX engines with four-bladed propellers, and armament of two 20-mm cannon in Bristol B.17 dorsal turret plus .50 machine guns in nose'and tail twin gun turrets and one in each beam hatch, and two .30 guns fixed forward-firing in nose. Two prototypes ordered as Short Sunderland 4's; first (MZ269) flown at Rochester on August 30, 1944, after which enlarged tailplane, taller fin and dorsal fin fitted. Initial production order for 30 reduced to eight, all completed post-war, with name Short Seaford.

Sunderland Mark 5

As Mk.3 but fitted with 1,200 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90 engines. Prototype conversions of Mk.3s by Shorts at Rochester (ML765) and by No 10 Sqn (RAAF) at Mount Batten (ML839), flown in March and May 1944 respectively. Existing Mk.3 contracts switched to Mk.5's, with deliveries starting late-1944, all with A.S.V. Mk.6C and full 18-gun armament. Short built 47 at Rochester where the last one flew on September 27, 1945; Short and Harland built 47 at Belfast, completed June 1946; and Blackburn built 60 at Dumbarton, where last Mk.5 flew on November 8, 1945. Entered service February 1945 and used (mostly post-war) by nine RAF squadrons.

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

Specifications of the Sunderland Mk.III :

  • Crew : 8 to 11 (two pilots, radio operator, navigator, engineer, bomb-aimer, three to five gunners)
  • Length : 85 ft 4 in (or 26 m).
  • Height : 32 ft 10 in (or 10 m).
  • Wingspan : 112 ft 9 in (or 34.39 m).
  • Wing area : 1,487 sq ft (or 138 sq m).
  • Wing loading : 39 lb/ft² (or 191 kg/m²).
  • Empty weight : 34,500 lb (or 15,663 kg).
  • Loaded weight : 58,000 lb (or 26,332 kg).
  • Powerplant : 4 Bristol Pegasus XVIII nine-cylinder radial engines, 1,065 hp (or 794 kW) each.
  • Maximum speed : 210 mph (or 336 km/h) at 6,500 ft (or 2,000 m).
  • Cruise speed : 178 mph (or 285 km/h) at 5,000 ft (or 1,500 m).
  • Stall speed : 78 mph (or 125 km/h).
  • Range : 1,780 mi (or 2,848 km).
  • Service ceiling : 16,000 ft (or 4,900 m).
  • Rate of climb : 720 ft/min (or 3.67 m/s).
  • Power over mass : .018 hp per lb (or .030 kW per kg).
  • Armament : 8 .303 calibre machine guns. Various munitions, including bombs and depth charges, carried internally and winched out beneath the wings.

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Short Sunderland of Wikipedia ( authors )
Short S.25 Sunderland : Your comments on this subject
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