Wight Seaplane
| Seaplane | |
|---|---|
| |
| Wight Type 840 on anti-submarine patrol 1915 | |
| Role | Biplane floatplane |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | J Samuel White & Company Limited (Wight Aircraft) |
| Designer | Howard T Wight |
| Introduction | 1915 |
| Retired | 1917 |
| Primary user | Royal Navy |
| Number built | 52 |
The Wight Seaplane was a British twin-float seaplane produced by J Samuel White & Company Limited (Wight Aircraft). It was also known as the Admiralty Type 840.
Design and development
Designed by Howard T Wright and built by the aircraft department of the shipbuilding company J Samuel White & Company Limited, the Wight Seaplane was a slightly smaller version (61 ft (18.59 m) span) of the Wight Pusher Seaplane. The aircraft was a conventional two-float seaplane with tandem open cockpits and a nose-mounted 225 hp (168 kW) Sunbeam engine. Fifty-two aircraft were built and delivered, and an extra 20 were produced as spares production being undertaken by Portholme Aviation and William Beardmore & Co., Ltd.[1]
Operational history
The Wight Seaplane served with the RNAS at Dundee Felixstowe, Scapa Flow and Gibraltar, being used for anti-submarine patrols between 1915 and 1917.[2]
Operators
Specifications (Seaplane)
Data from The British Bomber since 1914 [1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Length: 41 ft 0 in (12.50 m)
- Wingspan: 61 ft 0 in (18.59 m)
- Wing area: 568 sq ft (52.8 m2)
- Empty weight: 3,408 lb (1,546 kg)
- Gross weight: 4,810 lb (2,182 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Sunbeam 225hp V-8 water-cooled piston engine, 225 hp (168 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propeller
Performance
- Maximum speed: 81 mph (130 km/h, 70 kn)
Armament
- Bombs: 1x 810 lb (367 kg) Whitehead Mk.IX 14 in (356 mm) aerial torpedo or equivalent weight in bombs.
See also
Related development
References
- ^ a b Mason, Francis K (1994). The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
- Mackay, Chales Edward (2012). Beardmore Aviation: The Story of a Scottish Industrial Giant's Aviation Activities. A Mackay. ISBN 978-0957344303.
*The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.