The Supermarine S.5 was a 1920s

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

single-engined single-seat racing

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 ...

built by

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

. Designed specifically for the

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded annually (and later, biennially) to the winner of a race for seaplanes and flying ...

competition, the S.5 was the progenitor of a line of racing aircraft that ultimately led to the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

Design and development

The Supermarine S.5 was designed by Reginald Mitchell for the 1927 Schneider Trophy. Following the earlier loss of the S.4 before the 1925 Schneider Trophy event Mitchell designed a new monoplane racer. Unlike the S.4's all-wood structure, the S.5 was of mixed construction with the semi-monocoque fuselage, including the engine cowlings, mainly duralumin; the wire-braced wings had spruce spars and spruce-ply ribs and a plywood skin. The horizontal tail surfaces were made of wood. Wing surface

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

s made up of corrugated copper sheets replaced the Lamblin type radiators of the S.4.: oil was cooled by corrugated steel radiators on either side of the fuselage. The entire fuel load was carried in the starboard float , which was eight inches (20cm) further from the aircraft's centreline than the port float.Lewis, P: ''British Racing and Record-Breaking Aircraft.'' London 1970, Putnam ISBN 0 37000067 6, P.175 Three aircraft were built, one with a direct drive 900 hp (671 kW) Napier Lion VIIA engine, and the other two with a geared 875 hp (652 kW) Napier Lion VIIB engine. Lumsden and Heffernan 1989, p. 290.

Operational history

The first aircraft flew for the first time on 7 June 1927. The S.5s came 1st and 2nd in the 1927 race held at Venice, the winning aircraft (

Serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

''N220'') was flown by Flight Lieutenant

Sidney Webster Air Vice Marshal Sidney Norman Webster, (19 March 1900 – 5 April 1984) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force and an aviator who flew the winning aircraft in the 1927 Schneider Trophy seaplane race. Early life Sidney Norman Webster was b ...

at an average speed of 281.66 mph (453.28 km/h). Andrews and Morgan 1987, p.186. One S.5, ''N221'', crashed on 12 March 1928 during an attempt on the world air speed record, killing the pilot

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

Samuel Kinkead Samuel Marcus Kinkead DSO, DSC & Bar, DFC & Bar (25 February 1897 – 12 March 1928) was a South African fighter ace with 33 victories during the First World War. He went on to serve in southern Russia and the Middle East postwar. Early life ...

, who had flown the

Gloster IV The Gloster IV was a British racing floatplane of the 1920s. A single-engined biplane, the Gloster IV was a development of the earlier Gloster III intended to compete in the 1927 Schneider Trophy race. One aircraft competed in the race, but re ...

in the 1927 Schneider Trophy Race. Concern over the unreliability of the supercharged Lion powering the

Gloster VI The Gloster VI was a racing seaplane developed as a contestant for the 1929 Schneider Trophy by the Gloster Aircraft Company. The aircraft was known as the ''Golden Arrow'', partly in reference to its colour, the distinctive three-lobed cowling ...

led to the High Speed Flight entering one S.5 (''N219'', fitted with a geared Lion engine for the event) along with the two S.6s for the 1931 Schneider contest. The S.5, flown by Flight Lieutenant D'Arcy Greig finished third in 46 minutes 15 seconds at a speed of 282.11 mph (454.20 km/h), behind the winning S.6 flown by Flying Officer H.

Richard Waghorn Henry Richard Danvers Waghorn, (6 September 1904 – 7 May 1931) was a British aviator and Royal Air Force officer who flew the winning aircraft in the 1929 Schneider Trophy seaplane race. Early life Waghorn was born on 6 September 1904 at Brom ...

and a

Macchi M.52 The Macchi M.52 was an Italian racing seaplane designed and built by Macchi for the 1927 Schneider Trophy race. The M.52 and a later variant, the M.52bis or M.52R, both set world speed records for seaplanes. Design and development M.52 Mario C ...

. Andrews and Morgan 1987, pp. 192–193.

Replica

Ray Hilborne of Leisure Sports designed and built a full-scale S.5 replica which flew for the first time on 28 August 1975. The replica, powered by a

Continental IO-360 The Continental IO-360 is a family of fuel-injected air-cooled, horizontally opposed six-cylinder aircraft engines manufactured by Continental Motors in the United States of America, now part of AVIC International since 2010. The engine is a ...

, used an all-wood construction and incorporated modifications to the wing to lower the stalling speed, water rudders, a slightly wider cockpit and overall weight reduction to an all-up weight of just 1,500 lb, less than 1/2 that of the S.5. Hall 1976, p. 576.

Popular culture

In the song "Bill Hosie" by

Archie Fisher Archie Macdonald Fisher (born 23 October 1939) is a Scottish folk singer and songwriter. He has released several solo albums since his first, eponymous album, in 1968. Fisher composed the song "The Final Trawl", recorded on the album ''Windwa ...

, the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

rebuilds an S.5 Supermarine that survived the 1927 Schneider Trophy Race. The aircraft, race, and trophy are referred to throughout the song.

Operators

; *

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 ...

** High Speed Flight

Specifications (N220)

References

; Notes ;Bibliography * Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. ''Supermarine Aircraft since 1914, 2nd edition''. London: Putnam, 1987. . * Green, William, ed. "Supermarine's Schneider Seaplanes." ''Flying Review International'', Volume 10, No. 11, July 1967. * Hall, John. "Supreme Supermarine." ''Aeroplane Monthly'', Volume 4, No. 11, November 1976. * ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1985. * Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919''. London: Putnam, 1988. . * Lewis, Julian
''Racing Ace - The Fights and Flights of 'Kink' Kinkead DSO DSC* DFC*.''
Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword, 2011. . * Lumsden, Alec and Terry Heffernan. "Per Mare Probare, Part 15," ''Aeroplane Monthly'', Volume 17, No. 5, May 1989. * Shelton, John
''Schneider Trophy to Spitfire - The Design Career of R.J. Mitchell''.
Yeovil, UK: Haynes Publishing, 2008. .

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110715143551/http://www.racingcampbells.com/content/campbell.archives/schneider.1927.asp 1927 Schneider Trophy
Supermarine S.5—A British Legend Reborn
the project to build a replica S.5 for the centenary of the 1927 contest {{Authority control Schneider Trophy 1920s British sport aircraft Floatplanes S.5 Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1927