The Supermarine Nanok was a British three-engined biplane flying boat built by

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 ...

. Built to meet a

Royal Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). O ...

requirement, the single prototype was rebuilt as a private air yacht and renamed the Supermarine Solent.

Development and design

The Nanok (

Inuit language The Inuit languages are a closely related group of indigenous American languages traditionally spoken across the North American Arctic and adjacent subarctic, reaching farthest south in Labrador. The related Yupik languages (spoken in weste ...

: " Polar bear") was a three-engined development of Supermarine's successful

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

flying boat, designed to meet a Danish requirement for a torpedo-carrying flying boat. A prototype was ordered on 17 June 1926, and the aircraft first flew on 21 June 1927. Testing was disappointing, and despite modifications the aircraft could not meet the specified performance and was rejected by the Danes. In 1928 the aircraft was renamed the Supermarine Solent, and offered for sale as a torpedo bomber, but failed to sell. It was therefore converted to a civilian 9 seater air yacht for the brewing magnate Ernest Guinness. This was registered as G-AAAB in August 1928. Guinness may have found the interior headroom of the hull too small, as he almost immediately ordered its replacement, the all-metal

Supermarine Air Yacht The Supermarine Air Yacht was a British luxury passenger-carrying flying boat. It was designed by Supermarine's chief designer R. J. Mitchell and built in Woolston, Southampton in 1929. It was commissioned by the brewing magnate Ernest Guinne ...

. The Solent was deregistered and scrapped in 1934. The name 'Supermarine Solent' was also applied to a separate aircraft design, using the Supermarine Southampton hull with the Nanok's larger wings, as a 14-seat civil transport. This design failed to sell though.

Operational history

The Solent was certified as airworthy on 5 September 1928, and was used to fly frequently between England and the owner's home near Lough Corrib in County Galway,

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 ...

. It remained in use until it was scrapped in 1934.

Operators

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Specifications (Nanok)

References

Bibliography

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External links

Photo

Supermarin
– British Aircraft Directory {{Supermarine aircraft 1920s British patrol aircraft Flying boats Nanok 1920s British airliners Biplanes Trimotors