The Parnall Peto was a small

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

designed to the British

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

's specification 16/24 in the early 1920s for use as a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

-carried

reconnaissance aircraft A reconnaissance aircraft (colloquially, a spy plane) is a military aircraft designed or adapted to perform aerial reconnaissance with roles including collection of imagery intelligence (including using photography), signals intelligence, as ...

Design and development

Two examples were designed and built by

George Parnall and Company Parnall was a British aircraft manufacturer that evolved from a wood-working company before the First World War to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s. It was based in the west of England and was originally known a ...

and were given serial numbers N181 and N182. The first prototype, N181, crashed at Gibraltar and was rebuilt as N255 before being lost with the submarine HMS ''M2'' when her hangar flooded. The Peto was one of the most challenging design projects that the Parnall company undertook, because of the very small hangar in which the aircraft had to fit. Of mixed wood, fabric, aluminium and steel construction, it had unequal span,

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

-braced folding rectangular wings. The first aircraft, ''N181'', was powered by a 128 hp

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Lucifer engine and had

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

plywood "Consuta" type floats. Performance was generally satisfactory but following crash damage, improvements were made and the machine was rebuilt with new wings, metal floats and a 169 hp

Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose The Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose is a British five-cylinder radial aero engine produced by Armstrong Siddeley. Developed in the mid-1920s it was used in the Hawker Tomtit trainer and Parnall Peto seaplane amongst others. With a displacement ...

engine. Tests both on the sea and in the air showed that designer, Harold Bolas, had met the requirements and it was officially judged to be exceptionally good. The aircraft was launched using a compressed air catapult mounted on the forward casing of the submarine and recovered using a crane. With the loss of ''M2'', the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

abandoned submarine-launched aircraft, although most other navies also experimented with the concept in the interwar years.Marriott pp.151–7

Aircraft

The two aircraft built were: ;N181 :Prototype which was wrecked at

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on 11 February 1930 and rebuilt as N255 with improved floats and lost with HMS ''M2''. ;N182 :Which crashed 29 June 1930 at Stokes Bay. It was acquired by F.C.H. Allen and prepared for civil use at Ford aerodrome in Sussex between 1933 and 1934. Issued with civilian Registration ''G-ACOJ'' but the project was abandoned.

Specifications

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

''Flight'' 1929 archive picturesParnall Peto
– British Aircraft Directory
Gulls of War, October 1931
article

Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...

{{Parnall aircraft 1920s British military reconnaissance aircraft Floatplanes

Peto Peto may refer to: People * Peto (surname), includes a list of people with the surname Peto * Kawu Peto Dukku (1958–2010), Nigerian politician, Senator for the Gombe North constituency of Gombe State, Nigeria Other uses * PETO, a German party * ...