The Avro 510 was a two-seat racing

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

designed by Avro to compete in the 1914 Circuit of Britain Race. It was a conventional two-bay biplane of greatly uneven span, equipped with two large central floats and two outriggers. The race was called off at the outbreak 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 ...

, but the British Admiralty was aware of the type and ordered five examples, with modified floats and tail. In service, these proved completely unsuitable, and it was discovered that with a second person aboard, the aircraft could barely fly. In October 1915, the 510s in service were sent to

Supermarine Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that is most famous for producing the Spitfire fighter plane during World War II as well as a range of seaplanes and flying boats, and a series of jet-powered fighter aircraft after World War II ...

for modification and improvement, but by March the following year all were removed from service.Jackson 1990, pp.136–138.

Specifications

Notes

Most sources give the powerplant of the 510 as a

Sunbeam Nubian The Sunbeam Nubian, also called the Sunbeam 155 hp, was a British 8-cylinder aero-engine that was first run in 1916. Design and development In March 1916 Louis Coatalen, the chief designer at Sunbeam, responded to the Admiralty's request ...

, an engine that would not yet exist until all the 510s had been withdrawn from service in 1916. The Wolverhampton Museum of Industry website cites Eric Brew's ''Sunbeam Aero Engines'' and identifies the 510's engine as a Crusader.

Specifications

See also

Notes

References

Further reading