The

Short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

S.26 G-class was a large transport

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

. It was designed to achieve a non-stop

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...

capability, increasing the viability of long distant services/duties. The S.26 had been developed from the preceding

Short Empire The Short Empire was a medium-range four-engined monoplane flying boat, designed and developed by Short Brothers during the 1930s to meet the requirements of the growing commercial airline sector, with a particular emphasis upon its usefulness ...

, a large flying boat developed during the early-to-mid 1930s. Unlike the Empire, it was even larger and designed to cover longer distances before needing to refuel. It had been developed at the request of the British airline

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passenger ...

, as well as at the encouragement of the

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 ...

, who anticipated its potential use as a

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles ...

and other military purposes. First flown on 21 July 1939, a total of three S.26 flying boats were constructed on behalf of Imperial Airways, but these were only briefly operated by the airline in a training capacity due to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. During 1940, all three S.26s were impressed into military service, leading to the type being used by both the

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 ...

(RAF) and the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF). They were reconfigured into a more suitable arrangement for military transport duties, after which individual flying boats transported mixed cargoes around the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. In December 1941, two examples were released to the national airline

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

(BOAC) and commenced civilian services shortly thereafter between the UK and

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Continuing to be flown after the end of the conflict, the S.26 fell out of use during the late 1940s and the last example of the type being scrapped during the following decade.

Development

Background

During the early-to-mid 1930s, the aircraft manufacturer

developed the

, a large civilian flying boat, on behalf of its primary customer, the British airliner

. According to aviation author C.H. Barnes, due to the Empire's considerable size, some figures within the

Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Serv ...

(MAEE) has been sceptical of its development, some even doubting that such a flying boat would even be capable of lifting off. Despite this, it was also recognised that any aircraft of such dimensions would be of considerable value for a variety of military and civilian purposes. One concept that gained particular attention was the development of a large flying boats with sufficiently strengthened hulls to withstand the forces involved in catapult-assisted takeoffs from dedicated naval auxiliary refuelling barges. It was speculated that a such-configured flying boat would be suitable for long-distance

air mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

flights and for long range

maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

missions.Barnes 1967, p. 334. During the late 1930s, two separate opportunities were presented that attracted Short's attention. Imperial Airways, being keen to maintain its competitive advantage, requested the company conduct a design study into an enlarged derivative of the Empire, suitable for carrying both mail or passengers along a

route without refuelling between

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Meanwhile, the

had also invited Shorts to tender for the recently issued Specification 14/38, which sought a long-range high-altitude monoplane transport/airliner that would feature

cabin pressurisation Cabin pressurization is a process in which conditioned air is pumped into the cabin of an aircraft or spacecraft in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for passengers and crew flying at high altitudes. For aircraft, this air is ...

to enable high-altitude flight. The company designed to concurrently work on both designs, which featured considerable overlap with one another, including the use of an identical powerplant arrangement in the form of four

Bristol Hercules The Bristol Hercules is a 14-cylinder two-row radial aircraft engine designed by Sir Roy Fedden and produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1939. It was the most numerous of their single sleeve valve ( Burt-McCollum, or Argyll, typ ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...

s. Confidence on the endeavour was greatly bolstered as the Empire flying boat proved itself to be quite capable, receiving the endorsement of officials such as Harry Garner, the MAEE's chief technical officer; suggestions by Garner for improving the Empire's performance were also explored during the design study.Barnes 1967, pp. 334-335.

Launch

The S.26 design study benefitted greatly from enhancements trialled by the aircraft designer

Arthur Gouge Sir Arthur Gouge (3 July 1890 – 14 October 1962) was a British engineer and aircraft designer from Kent, who worked notably for Short Brothers where he designed the "C-class" Empire and Sunderland flying boats. Early life He was born in North ...

, who had experimented with flush-fitting extendible

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

s as an alternative to the stepping of the hull on the Empire flying boat.Barnes 1967, p. 335. Having been suitably convinced, even though a large order for the Empire was still in progress, Imperial Airways opted to order three S.26s, which the airline referred as of the 'G-class'. Around the same time, the Air Ministry had lost interest in the catapult concept and decided not to proceed with the thus-configured S.27; instead, it decided to

subsidise A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...

Imperial Airway's purchase of the three S.26s under the stipulation that the airline make them available to the

(RAF) in the event of a major military conflict.Barnes 1967, pp. 335-336. The Air Ministry also ordered the

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

flying boat as well, with which the S.26 would share numerous design features.Barnes 1967, p. 336. On 17 June 1939, ''G-AFCI "Golden Hind"'', the first of the S.26s, was launched from Shorts' No.3 Shop, being the largest flying boat to ever emerge from the facility at that time. Following four days of final inspections and engine runs, on 21 July 1939, ''Golden Hind'' conducted its

maiden flight The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets. The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...

, piloted by Shorts' chief

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

John Lankester Parker John Lankester Parker OBE FRAeS Hon. MSLAE (1896 – 22 August 1965) was Chief Test Pilot for Short Brothers from 1918 until his retirement in 1945. He joined Shorts in 1916 as a part-time test pilot and assistant to then Chief Test Pilot Rona ...

. Proving to be free of any issues, the handling schedules was completed on its second flight four days later, thus the flying boat was delivered to Imperial Airways on 24 September 1939 after only two further test flights.

Design

The Short S.26 flying boat was designed as an enlarged Short C-Class Empire flying boat, also incorporating features from the

. Greater use of extrusions in the structure, rather than bent sheet sections, compared to the C-Class aircraft, helped to keep the weight down. It was designed with the capability of crossing the Atlantic without refuelling, and was intended to form the backbone of

' Empire services. The airline's plan was for the first aircraft to perform long range runs, while the second would operate medium length (2,000 miles) flights with a dozen passengers, and the third would conduct short range (1,000 miles) trips with 24 passengers. It could fly up to 6,000 miles unburdened, or carry up to 150 passengers for a "short hop". However, the hulls were deliberately delivered with an unfinished interior as they were intended to be initially used solely to carry air mail. Propulsion consisted of four 1,400 hp (1,044 kW)

sleeve valve

radial engines The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is cal ...

. Up to 3,600 gallons of fuel was accommodated across six drum-like tanks housed within the wing truss, similar to the Empire, except their greater depth made access to the wing's interior considerably easier for inspection and maintenance purposes. As initially delivered, the S.26 featured a relatively vast hold that was partitioned by water-tight doors that were to be locked during take off and landing. In comparison to the earlier Empire, the S.26 featured an expanded cockpit with a dedicated position for a

flight engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air me ...

. In typical operations, it had been envisioned to carry around two tonnes of mail bags along with a crew of five. The militarised version, commonly referred to as the ''S.26/M'', was a conversion of the existing civilian flying boats. It featured new defensive armaments, consisting of 12 0.303 inch machine guns in two dorsal, and one tail,

Boulton Paul Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that was incorporated in 1934, although its origins in aircraft manufacturing began earlier in 1914, and lasted until 1961. The company mainly built and modified aircraft under co ...

BPA Mk II four-gun turrets. It was also provisioned with an offensive capability, the armament for which comprised eight 500 lb (227 kg) bombs that were held under the wings. The internal volume provided stowage for up to 20 reconnaissance flares, 28 flame floats and eight smoke floats. Furthermore, an Air to Surface Vessel (ASV) radar set was installed along with armour plating for key areas, which included the internal fuel tanks and the crew stations.Barnes 1989, pp. 334–341.

Operational history

While the first S.26 flying boat had been handed over to Imperial Airways to commence crew training during late September 1939, only days following its delivery, the airline was informed that all three were to be impressed, along with their crews, into military service with the RAF before any could conduct an operational service.Barnes 1967, pp. 336-337. On 24 February 1940, the second (G-AFCJ "Golden Fleece") flew, and the third (G-AFCK "Golden Horn") flew on 8 July 1940.Barnes 1967, p. 337. They were modified by Shorts to S.26/M military configuration before delivery to the RAF as ''X8275'', ''X8274'' and ''X8273'' respectively. After modification at

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, Air to Surface Vessel (ASV) RDF (later called

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

) was fitted by

Blackburn Aircraft Limited Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north- ...

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

in Scotland. Following a series of evaluation flights and remedial work to address instability, the conversion work was deemed to be complete during late 1941.Barnes 1967, pp. 337-338. From 1941, the S.26/M flying boats (occasionally referred to as 'G-Boats') served with

No. 119 Squadron RAF No. 119 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, flying with RAF Coastal Command during the World War II, Second World War. It was the only Royal Air Force, RAF unit flying the Short S.26, Short G class and Short Empire, Short C class ...

and

No. 10 Squadron RAAF No. 10 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) signals intelligence squadron based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia. It is part of No. 42 Wing RAAF. The squadron was formed in 1939 as a maritime patrol unit. It saw active service ...

, flying supplies to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

and the

. Typical cargoes included ammunition and spare parts for

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

s stationed throughout the region. On 20 June 1941, X8274 (''Golden Fleece'') was lost off

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...

, when it broke up following a heavy forced landing, due to the simultaneous failure of two engines. In December 1941, ''Golden Horn'' and ''Golden Hind'' were returned to

(BOAC) (created in November 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and

British Airways Ltd. British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman's ...

), and fitted out for 40 passengers in 'austerity' seating, then operated between Britain and

.Jackson 1988, pp. 150, 151.Barnes 1967, p. 338. On 9 January 1943, S.26/M ''Golden Horn'' was lost over

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

when an engine seized and caught fire on a test flight after having received an engine overhaul.Barnes 1967, p. 339. ''Golden Hind'' was employed on other routes between Britain and

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

until the end of the conflict, and remained in service with BOAC until retired in 1947. During its

postwar In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

years, its wartime austere interior was replaced with first class furnishings, reducing the seating capacity to a maximum of 24 passengers. From 1947 until 1954, it lay moored in Rochester Harbour near its birthplace, where the flying boat had made its first flight.Barnes 1967, pp. 339-340. In 1954, ''Golden Hind'' ran aground at Harty Ferry on the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is derived ...

whilst on tow to a new anchorage. It was eventually scrapped due to hull damage."On The Beach."
''Flight'', 14 May 1954, p. 623.

Operators

; *

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

; *

Specification

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Barnes, C. H. ''Shorts Aircraft since 1900.'' London: Putnam, 1967. * * * *

External links

Photo G-AFCK Golden Horn at Lisbon, Portugal after maintenance, in LIFE archive
{{Short Brothers aircraft S.26 1930s British airliners Flying boats Four-engined tractor aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1939 Four-engined piston aircraft