Great Britain Seaplanes

Type:

Max Speed:

Climb Rate:

Service Ceiling:

Range:

Armament:

Photo:

Type: Short Type 184 two seat torpedo bomber floatplane.

Max Speed: 88 mph at 2,000 ft.

Climb Rate:

Service Ceiling: 2,000 ft in 8 minutes 35 seconds.

Range: endurance 2 hours 45 minutes.

Armament: one 0.303 in 7.7 mm trainable machine gun, and one 810 lb torpedo or up to 520 lb of bombs increased 585 lb if type was flown as a single seater.

Photo: S. H. A. A.

Type: Fairey IIID three seat reconnaissance and spotter floatplane.

Max Speed: 106 mph at optimum altitude.

Climb Rate: 5,000 ft. in 6 minutes 40 seconds.

Service Ceiling: 16,500 ft.

Range: 550 miles.

Armament: one fixed and one trainable 0.303 in 7.7 mm machine guns.

Photo:

The Royal Dutch naval air service deployed its four float equipped Fairey IIIDs to the Dutch East Indies. They were used for anti-smuggling patrols in the Indonesian archipelago.

Type: Blackburn Iris Mk III five seat maritime reconnaissance flyboat.

Max Speed: 118 mph at sea level.

Climb Rate: 630 ft per minute.

Service Ceiling: 10,600 ft.

Range: 800 miles.

Armament: three 0.303 in 7.7 mm machine guns in bow, mid-ships, and tail positions, and up to 2,000 lb of bombs.

Photo: Musee de 1' Air

The three Iris Mk III flying goats were on the strength of No 209 Squadron based at Mount Batten near Plymouth during the early 1930s.

Type: Blackburn Perth five seat general reconnaissance flying boat.

Max Speed: 132 mph at sea level.

Climb Rate: 800 ft per minute.

Service Ceiling: 11,500 ft.

Range: 1,500 miles.

Armament: one 37 mm gun three 0.303 in 7.7 mm machine guns, and up to 2,000 lb of bombs.

Photo: Musee de 1' Air

Only four Perths were built. Three of these served with No 209 Squadron at Mount Batten and Felixstowe, and the fourth was used by the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe for trials work.

Type: Supermarine Seagull ASR.Mk 1 three crew air/sea
rescue and coastal reconnaissance Amphibian.

Max Speed: 225 mph at optimum altitude.

Climb Rate:

Service Ceiling:

Range: endurance 6 hours 30 minutes.

Armament: none.

Photo: RAF Museum

The Seagull ASR.Mk 1 was a handsome plane in its prototype form, and its speed range (down to 35 mph) and good range would have made it a better rescue plane than contemporary helicopter.

Type: Short Shetland Mk 1 eight crew transport flying boat.

Max Speed: 263 mph at 6,500 ft.

Climb Rate:

Service Ceiling:

Range: 4,000 miles

Payload:

Photo: RAF Museum

Intended as a replacement for the Sunderland, the Shetland Mk 1 appeared to late for its role and also suffered a number of development problems such as inadequate longitudinal stability and poor control harmonization.

Type: Saunders Roe SR.A/1 single seat fighter seaplane.

Max Speed: 512 at high altitude.

Climb Rate:

Service Ceiling:

Range:

Armament: four 20 mm cannon.

Photo: RAF Museum