The Short Type 320, also known as the Short Admiralty Type 320,
archived from the original a
/ref> was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
-carrying "folder" 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 ...
of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Design and development
The Short Type 320 was designed to meet an official requirement for a seaplane to carry a Mark IX torpedo. It was larger than the earlier Short 184
The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...
, and was a typical Short folder design of the time, with two-bay uneven span wings. Two prototypes were built, powered by a 310 hp Sunbeam Cossack
The Sunbeam Cossack was a British 12-cylinder aero engine that was first run in 1916. The Cossack spawned a family of engines from Sunbeam.
Design and development
As the First World War raged through 1914 and 1915, The Admiralty demanded en ...
engine, and initially known as the Short 310 Type A from the engine fitted to the prototypes. When the torpedo bomber went into production, it was powered by a 320 hp (238 kW) Cossack engine which was the origin of the name, ''Type 320''.[Bruce ''Flight'' 28 December 1956, p. 1002]
/ref>
At the same time as Shorts was designing the 310 Type A torpedo bomber, it produced a similar design for a patrol floatplane, powered by the same Cossack engine and using the same fuselage, but with equal-span three-bay wings, instead of the uneven- span wings of the torpedo bomber, known as the Short 310 Type B or North Sea Scout, and two prototypes were ordered.[Barnes 1967, p. 130][Bruce, ''British Aeroplanes 1914–18'', pp. 502–503]
Priority was given to the torpedo bomber; the first was ready in July 1916, the second in August that year, and the prototypes were rushed to the Adriatic.[Barnes 1967, pp. 130–131] In September 1916, the first prototype patrol aircraft was finished, but it proved to be little better than the Short 184 already in service, and was not ordered into production.[Barnes 1967, p. 133] The second prototype, Type B, was completed as a type A torpedo bomber.[Barnes 1967, p. 132]
As with conventional biplane floatplane
A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
s, the torpedo was carried between the bottom of the fuselage and the floats. Unusually, the aircraft was flown from the rear cockpit, although this did cause a problem for an observer in the front seat. The observer had to stand on the coaming to use the machine-gun, which was level with the top wing. When a torpedo was carried, the aircraft could not fly with an observer at the same time.[Bruce ''Flight'' 28 December 1956, p. 1003]
/ref>
The first order placed with Shorts was for 30 aircraft, followed by orders for a further 24 and 20 aircraft, together with orders for a further 30 and 20 placed at Sunbeam. Together with the three prototypes, this gave a total production of 127 Short Type 320s.[Barnes 1967, pp. 132–133]
Operational history
In February 1917, 25 aircraft were ordered, and before the end of April 1917, examples were delivered to the Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
in Italy. Two accidents with the aircraft, when the fuselage collapsed after the torpedo was released, delayed its use on operations. The cause was later found to be the method of securing the fuselage bracing wires.
The first operational use was on 2 September 1917, when six aircraft (five with torpedoes and one with bombs) were towed on rafts fifty miles south of Traste Bay to enable them to attack enemy submarines lying off Cattaro
Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative ...
. They had to be towed into position as they could not carry enough fuel with a torpedo for the mission. The operation did not go well; with a gale-force wind and heavy seas, two of the aircraft failed to take off, so the operation was abandoned. On the return journey, one aircraft was lost and the others were damaged. It appears that the Type 320 never launched a torpedo in action.[
In February 1918, due to the lack of operational experience, four aircraft were operated from ]Calshot
Calshot is a coastal village in Hampshire, England at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent.OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013).
History
In 1539, Henry VIII order ...
for experiments with launching the torpedoes. Forty drops were made, and proved a valuable source of information about torpedoes entering the water when dropped at different heights and speeds. The aircraft continued to be used as reconnaissance seaplanes until the end of the war.[
]
Operators
;
*Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
, one only
;
*Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
[Jefford 1998, p. 138]
**No. 229 Squadron RAF
No. 229 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, and is an officially accredited Battle of Britain Squadron. It became No. 603 Squadron RAF in January 1945.
History
Formation and World War I
No. 229 Squadron RAF was formed on 20 A ...
[
**]No. 240 Squadron RAF
No. 240 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force flying boat and seaplane squadron during World War I, World War II and up to 1959. It was then reformed as a strategic missile squadron, serving thus till 1963.
History
Formation and World War I
No ...
[
**]No. 248 Squadron RAF
No. 248 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, active immediately after World War I, and again during World War II.
Service history
First World War
248 Squadron RAF was formed at Hornsea Mere in the East Riding of Yorkshire in August 1 ...
[
**]No. 263 Squadron RAF
No 263 Squadron was a Royal Air Force fighter squadron formed in Italy towards the end of the First World War. After being disbanded in 1919 it was reformed in 1939 flying mainly strike and heavy fighter aircraft until becoming No 1 Squadron ...
[
** No. 266 Squadron RAF][
**]No. 268 Squadron RAF
No. 268 Squadron RAF was a Second World War Royal Air Force squadron that operated the North American Mustang on missions over occupied Europe and in support of the D-Day landings.
History First World War
No.268 Squadron Royal Air Force was orig ...
[
*]Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
** No. 6 Wing - Italy
Specifications
See also
References
Sources
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{{Admiralty aircraft type numbers
1910s British bomber aircraft
Floatplanes
Type 320
Biplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1916