Short S.32
| Short S.32 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Long-range transport monoplane |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers (Rochester and Bedford) Limited |
| Designer | Arthur Gouge |
| Number built | 3 (not completed) |
The Short S.32 was a British four-engined all-metal long-range transport monoplane designed by Short Brothers to Air Ministry Specification 14/38. The project was abandoned in May 1940.[1] If produced, it would have been one of the first British pressurised airliners.
Development
In 1938 the British Air Ministry issued two specifications (14/38 and 15/38) for large transport aircraft comparable in size with the Junkers Ju 90 and Focke Wulf Fw 200, with Specification 14/38 being for use on Empire routes and 15/38 for European routes.[2][3] The Ministry placed a contract with Shorts for three prototypes designated the Short S.32 against specification 14/38 and a production order for 14 Fairey FC1s against specification 15/38.
The S.32 was a four-engined mid-wing monoplane powered by Bristol Hercules radials. The S.32 had a tailwheel landing gear to overcome problems with a nose wheel retracting into a pressurised fuselage. The build of three prototypes for the Air Ministry was started at Rochester but due to the urgent need for the factory to build the Short Stirling construction was abandoned.
Specifications
Data from [4]
General characteristics
- Capacity: 16 day passengers or 14 night passengers with alternate high density layout for 24 passengers
Performance
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- ^ Barnes, Christopher Henry, James, Derek N. (1989). pg=344 Shorts Aircraft Since 1900. Naval Institute Press. pp. 341–344. ISBN 978-0851778198.
{{cite book}}: Check|url=value (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Barnes 1967, p. 341.
- ^ Brookes Flight 9 May 1958, p. 632.
- ^ Jackson 1974, page 442
- Barnes, C. H. (1967). Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London: Putnam.
- Brookes, Peter W. (9 May 1958). "Origins of the Modern Airliner: Part 3: In England and Germany, 1934–39". Flight. Vol. 73, no. 2572. p. 632.
- Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10014-X.
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