Supermarine Sea Lion II

The Supermarine Sea Lion II was a British racing flying boat designed and built by the Supermarine Aviation Works for the 1922 Schneider Trophy at Naples, Italy which it went on to win. The earlier racing flying boat for the 1919 Schneider Trophy the Sea Lion I was a different design.

For the 1919 Schneider Trophy entrant, see Supermarine Sea Lion I.

Sea Lion II
The Sea Lion II
Role Racing flying-boat
Manufacturer Supermarine Aviation Works
First flight 1922
Number built 1

Development

In need for a contender for the 1922 Schneider Trophy race, Supermarine developed a racing flying boat as a modification of their Sea King II fighter. The Sea King was a single-seat biplane amphibian powered by a 300 hp (224 kW) Hispano Suiza engine in pusher configuration that had first flown in 1921. Modified as a flying boat with a 450 hp (336 kW) Napier Lion engine, G-EBAH was entered into the 1922 race. Flown by Henri Biard, it won the race at an average speed of 145.7 mph (234.48 km/h).

For the 1923 Schneider Race to be held at Cowes, England, the aircraft was re-engined with a 550 hp (410 kW) Napier Lion and redesignated Sea Lion III. The aircraft only managed third place behind the American Curtiss CR-3 seaplanes. The aircraft was transferred to the Royal Air Force in 1923.

Operators
 United Kingdom

Specifications (Sea Lion II)

Data from Supermarine Aircraft Since 1914.[1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Length: 24 ft 9 in (7.54 m)
  • Wingspan: 32 ft (9.8 m)
  • Wing area: 384 sq ft (35.7 m2)
  • Empty weight: 2,115 lb (959 kg)
  • Gross weight: 2,850 lb (1,293 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1 × Napier Lion II W-12 water-cooled piston engine, 450 hp (340 kW)
  • Propellers: 4-bladed fixed-pitch wooden pusher propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 160 mph (260 km/h, 140 kn)
  • Endurance: 3 hours

See also

Related lists

References
  1. Andrews, C.F.; Morgan, Eric B. (2003). Supermarine Aircraft Since 1914 (2nd Revised ed.). London: Putnam Aeronautical. pp. 56–68.

Further reading
  • Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972:Volume IIILondon:Putnam, London, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-818-6.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985), 1985, Orbis Publishing, Page 2992
  • Shelton, John (2008). Schneider Trophy to Spitfire – The Design Career of R.J. Mitchell (Hardback). Sparkford: Hayes Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84425-530-6.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.