C.Barnes Short Aircraft since 1900 (Putnam)

Short Admiralty Type 184 Seaplanes

   The failure of the Green-engined Circuit of Britain seaplane in 1913 must have been a great disappointment to Horace Short, not so much because it had to be scratched from the race but because Short Brothers were more concerned with the improvement of the art than with public acclaim and never allowed their products to compete in events unless there was some experimental value in doing so. In modifying the special seaplane for Frank McClean to fly in the Daily Mail’s competition, Horace Short had introduced several new features, the most striking being the arrangement of high aspect ratio equal-span wings with an unusually small gap. Although he employed the same camber for upper and lower wings, it seems probable that he intended later to try the effect of reducing nose camber on the lower wing, as proposed in patent No. 23,708 of 20 October, 1913; such an arrangement offered in theory less interference between the planes, and consequently lower drag. The usual way of minimising interference was by staggering the planes, but this conflicted with easy wing-folding. Horace’s views on high aspect ratio no doubt stemmed partly from observations of the albatross during his early voyages in the Pacific, and also from his experience in designing cascades of blades for Parsons steam turbines; he would not have overlooked the space saving afforded by narrow-chord wings when folded, particularly on a seaplane-carrier.
   The fatal vibration encountered when the 100 hp six-cylinder Green was run at full power was partly due to its insufficiently stiff crankcase, and it was otherwise a sound design which later won the first prize of £5,000 in a rigorously supervised competition at Farnborough in 1914; no doubt the massive test bench masked resonance peaks which showed up in a much less rigid airframe installation. At all events, the Air Department of the Admiralty was not discouraged from developing six-in-line engines, and William Beardmore & Co took up the licensed manufacture of the very successful 120 hp Austro-Daimler (designed by the eldest Ferdinand Porsche) some months before war began; the Royal Aircraft Factory had specified it for their R.E.5 biplane, and the Admiralty had gained a good impression of the smaller 90 hp four-in-line version in several prototypes, including a trial in the Short Sociable pusher 145 at Eastchurch. About the same time Louis Coatalen began work on the 12-cylinder version of his 150 hp V-8 engine, and Capt Murray Sueter, Director of the Air Department, saw this as an excellent power plant for a long-range torpedo-carrier, with a substantially better performance than the 200 hp Salmson could offer. Capt Sueter, with Lieut Hyde-Thomson, had drawn up a detailed specification for a seaplane to carry a 14-in Whitehead torpedo, with a crew of two and wireless, and the Short Type 166 and Sopwith Type C seaplanes had shown this task to be too much for the Salmson. So in September 1914 a revised specification based on the 225 hp Sunbeam was drafted for issue to Short Brothers, Sopwith and J. Samuel White, each of whom was invited to submit proposals. When Murray Sueter first explained his requirements to Horace Short, the latter replied, ‘Well, if you particularly wish this done, I will produce a seaplane that will satisfy you’, and on the strength of that statement two prototypes were ordered, for which serials 184 and 185 were reserved; from this the type became officially known as the Short Type 184 Seaplane, though quite as frequently called the Two-Two-Five from the horsepower of its engine.
   The Short 184 was a direct development of the 1913 Circuit seaplane, strengthened but not much enlarged, with its weight-lifting ability enhanced by a robust engine of more than twice the power. It had the block-type radiator introduced for the 200 hp Salmson, equal-span wings of small chord and gap, improved wing-folding arrangements designed by Horace Short and large compartmented sprung twin floats designed by Oswald Short. Not only could the wings be swung and locked into flying position by means of a cockpit windlass but the front spar lock was a splined and threaded spigot and socket, locked or unlocked by a quarter-turn like the breech-block of a field-gun (patents Nos. 5,290/14 and 20,537/14); when folded, the wings were supported and locked by a cross-shaft in the rear fuselage with upturned ends engaging in slots in the rear middle wing struts; these ends could be rotated, after engagement, by a lever in the cockpit, so that the whole operation could be done single-handed by the pilot (patent No. 9,276/15). The usual cylindrical air-bags served as wing-tip floats, and the wooden tail-float was supported on struts which permitted a limited fore-and-aft movement as well as rotation about a transverse axis, both movements being restrained by rubber cords. The small water-rudder at the stern of the tail-float was actuated from the main rudder through sliding telescopic torque-tubes of oval section. The float chassis comprised a pair of main struts attached to the front cross-tube and two pairs to the rear cross-tube; the cross-tubes were arched in the middle to accommodate the torpedo crutches, and their centres were braced by auxiliary struts to the bottom longerons, the torpedo release strop being mounted on the rear tube centre. A feature peculiar to this and one other type of Short seaplane was that the rear main struts did not meet on the centreline of the float but straddled it, relying on the stiffness of the cross-tube to take care of the eccentric loading; thus both resilience and redundancy were obtained without weight penalty at a highly stressed point where a collapse due to a single failure could not be risked; it also simplified assembly and repair by avoiding a built-up V-strut. The floats themselves were slotted to move vertically relative to the cross-tubes and were suspended on rubber cords.
   The wings were braced in three bays by stranded cables, with jury-struts at the front spar root-ends to maintain tension while folded. In the outermost bays the anti-lift cables were deflected upwards by bobstays to clear the tailplane and elevators when folded; this requirement had not arisen in earlier designs, whose outer bays when folded did not enclose the tailplane. The lower wing had constant chord and no ailerons; the upper wing was inversely tapered from the root to two-thirds of the semi-span and parallel from there to the tip. The ailerons were of wide span and uncompensated, and the wing struts were of round steel tube with wood and fabric fairings. The fuselage was a conventional four-longeron wire-braced girder, entirely of spruce with manganese-steel fittings of high strength. The longerons were spindled-out where possible to save weight and were carried forward to the front of the engine, which was mounted on separate bearers carried by pressed-steel transverse frames, thus providing a stiff and accessible installation. The engine cowling was readily detachable and also had large side doors for daily servicing, the magnetos and carburettors being easily reached without risk of contact with hot spots such as the exhaust manifolds; since the exhaust ports faced inwards, the manifold lay centrally between the cylinder banks and the exhaust pipe was swept down the front of the engine to terminate just outside the bottom cowling panel. The remainder of the fuselage was fabric-covered, and alongside the cockpits the bottom longerons were reinforced on both sides by side-plates having foot-steps cut in them. The tail unit was of standard Short pattern, with a balanced rudder and a large dorsal fin. The pilot’s controls, with a handwheel for the ailerons, were in the front cockpit, with the fuel tank in the next bay forward; the rear cockpit contained the observer’s seat and stowages for all his varied gear, including the W/T transmitter and receiver, signalling lamp, smoke flares, Very pistol, sea anchor and basket of pigeons, to which were later added a Lewis gun with spare trays of ammunition and even two more small bombs, stowed loose.
   Before the two prototypes flew, orders for trial batches of ten more seaplanes were placed with Short Brothers, similar orders being given also to Sopwith for ten of their Type 860 and to J. Samuel White for ten of the Wight Type 840 designed by Howard T. Wright. From the beginning the superiority of the Short design was obvious, and when the two prototypes (S.106-7) emerged at Rochester in the early spring of 1915 they certainly looked like redeeming Horace Short’s promise to Murray Sueter. Furthermore, they were delivered punctually, and the initial order for ten (S.120-128 and 130, 841-850) was quickly followed by massive contracts (for those days) too big to be undertaken in Shorts’ own two factories. So with Rochester fully occupied with a main order for 75 (S.173-247, 8031-8105), a batch of 30 was ordered from S. E. Saunders Ltd of Cowes (8001-8030) and batches of 12 each from Mann, Egerton & Co of Norwich (8344-8355), the Westland Aircraft works of Petters Ltd of Yeovil (8356-8367), Phoenix Dynamo Co, Bradford (8368-8379) and Frederick Sage & Co, Peterborough (8380-8391), all for delivery in 1915. In fact, Sages, under the energetic direction of Eric Gordon England, got their first machine away in November, followed by Mann Egerton in December and Phoenix and Westland in January 1916.
   This was a very stout effort, because early flights of 184 at Grain revealed the need for modifications, the most serious of these being to improve lateral control. The large uncompensated ailerons were unmanageable when taxying downwind and hardly adequate for control at low speeds; so balancing rubber cords were introduced above the top wing to hold them up in the neutral position, except when pulled down by the pilot’s control, when each aileron moved separately in the downward direction only, because the design of the hinges did not permit up-float. Lateral control was still marginal, so next narrow-chord ailerons were added to the lower wings; these were linked to the upper ailerons by separate cables running in pulleys at the top and bottom of the middle and outer front struts and vertically down the front of these struts, the rubber cords being transferred from the upper wings to the top of the rear struts, from which they pulled up the bottom ailerons and maintained tension in the link cables; cumbersome though it appeared by comparison with the more orthodox closed spanwise circuit, it was preferred because it suited the existing folding gear, and the prevention of up-float probably reduced the risk of dropping the inside wing during a turn close to the sea. Later the aileron circuit was altered to the orthodox layout in a batch of Eastchurch-built 184s, but the old system was retained in the latest subcontracted batches, even when they had been improved in many other respects. Incidentally, Sopwith was willing to pay a royalty to use the Short wing-folding patents, but Howard Wright designed a heavier and less-satisfactory worm-and-rack spar-locking device to avoid infringement; later on, the Short patents were successfully challenged on the grounds that gates had hinges and birds had folding wings, and it became unprofitable to contest infringements. Other modifications included bomb-racks and compressed-air starting; at some point in its career, 184 itself had its tail damaged and was repaired with the fin and rudder from a spare airframe (S.129), with the balance portion of the rudder deleted and the fin extended back to the hinge line, but this seems to have been an improvisation rather than a modification.
   By the time Phoenix Dynamo began deliveries, on 21 January, 1916, a second round of orders had been placed for 20 each from Robey & Co, Lincoln (9041-9060), and Sage (9065-9084). Meanwhile the Short 184 had been in action and acquitted itself well. In October 1914 the original R.N.A.S. depot ship Hermes had been fully refitted as a seaplane-carrier, but within a few weeks of commissioning she was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel. The stop-gap conversion of Engadine, Empress and Riviera and their exploits on Christmas Day 1914 have already been mentioned, and more extensive conversions were made of the old Cunard liner Campania and several Isle of Man packets. One of the latter, Ben-my-Chree, had been commissioned about the same time as the first flight of 184, and on 21 May, 1915, left Harwich for the Dardanelles carrying 184,185 and one spare airframe (S.129) unassembled, together with two Sopwith Schneiders. She arrived at Mitylene on 12 June, and two months later both 184 and 185 launched their torpedoes in anger and with effect. Horace Short had just succeeded in meeting Murray Sueter’s specification, but with insufficient margin to make up for the high temperature and humidity of the Aegean climate. When Flt Cdr C. H. K. Edmonds took off in 184 from the Gulf of Xeros on 12 August, 1915, he had to fly solo and with petrol for only 45 minutes. With his torpedo he could not climb above 800 ft, nevertheless he crossed the Bulair peninsular into the Straits, where he found an enemy transport off Gallipoli; coming down to 15 ft above the water, he launched his torpedo from 300 yards and scored a direct hit; later he was told the ship had already been crippled by a submarine, but on 17 August he repeated his exploit and torpedoed the middle one of three transport ships off Ak Bashi Liman, leaving her on fire. On that day Flt Cdr G. B. Dacre, who was flying 185, had to alight in the Straits with a failing engine, but then saw an enemy tug which he torpedoed while taxying. Lightened of its load, the seaplane managed to take off, cleared Bulair very low and got back safely to Ben-my-Chree. These, however, were the only successes the 184 ever had as a torpedo-carrier, although trials continued with 8349 at Felixstowe during 1916 and 1917; this machine also was flown solo, with the rear cockpit stripped of equipment and faired over. Loss of power through low atmospheric density, oiled-up sparking plugs, burnt exhaust valves and boiling radiators in the Aegean environment made full-throttle sorties with torpedoes impracticable except with nearly new aircraft and engines, and all future attacks were made with two 112-lb bombs, which allowed a crew of two as well as a useful increase in range. Thus equipped on 8 November, 1915, Edmonds and Dacre flew their 184s more than 100 miles overland to bomb the Maritza railway bridge on the enemy’s main supply route from Germany through Bulgaria. Less spectacularly, but more continuously, the 184s shared with earlier Short seaplanes the task of directing the gunfire of naval monitors, which shelled enemy shipping out of sight in the Straits with sufficient accuracy and persistence to persuade the Turks to stop reinforcing the Dardanelles forts by sea.
   Nearer home, the enemy had begun to mount their U-boat blockade soon after capturing Ostend and Zeebrugge in October 1914, using them as bases for submarines built in the Antwerp shipyards. Short seaplanes of earlier types operated from new bases at Dover and Dunkerque, but were relatively ineffective, and 184s were brought in as soon as possible to take on longer-range patrols after the sinking of the Lusitania and Arabic in May 1915. Even in the cooler climate of the North Sea and English Channel, engine trouble occurred frequently, and forced landings were rarely successful in anything but a dead calm; in such events many crews owed their lives to the carrier pigeons always taken on patrol, whose prompt delivery of SOS messages was more reliable than W/T. 184s were included in the complement of most of the seaplane-carriers, from one of which, Vindex, three of them attempted on 25 March, 1916, to bomb the Zeppelin sheds at Tondern, but without success. Some of them led charmed lives, and 8086, which had gone out from Grain on 1 March, 1916, to search for the Curtiss H.4 1230 missing from Felixstowe, was still on the strength of the Nore Patrol at Grain in April 1918, together with 8354. At Grain they were widely employed for armament experiments and in April 1916 8364 undertook trials of a 2-pounder Davis gun fitted with a Hamilton sight; six rounds were fired (on six successive flights, since the gun could not be reloaded in the air) with fair success at an obsolete Wight seaplane towed by two motor-boats; bombing trials were also made by 184s on an armoured roof target at Kingsnorth, on which a 500-lb bomb was dropped for the first time on 9 May, 1916, by 8052 from 4,000 ft using a C.F.S. bomb-sight designed by Bourdillon and Tizard. One was sent up from Engadine on 31 May, 1916, just before the Battle of Jutland, but on many other occasions, as on 18 August, the sea was too rough for take-off.
   In home waters 184s could at least rely on being able to take-off from their base in fair weather, which was more than Cdr Samson found possible when he took Ben-my-Chree and two smaller seaplane-carriers to the eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea and Indian Ocean in 1916 and 1917. In May 1916 he had not previously flown the 184, and after some experience of its marginal performance in a hot climate, even with a four-bladed airscrew and a 240 hp engine, he decided to reduce the lower wing span and fin area of one of them, with encouraging results; in fact, he claimed to have gained ‘six knots in speed and about 15 per cent in climb’ with the ‘Cut-Short’, as Murray Sueter called it; this machine has not been positively identified, but may have been Rochester-built 8070; apart from reducing the wing and fin area, Samson replaced the wing-tip floats by simple ‘surf-boards’, which saved a bit more drag. In March Samson was ordered to Aden to seek out and destroy the German raider Wolf and took the ‘Cut-Short’ into the Indian Ocean on board the carrier Raven II, which he commanded after Ben-my-Chree was sunk at Castellorizo in January 1917. It made several patrol flights in the Laccadive Islands in search of Wolf, but finally its floats collapsed in a heavy swell off Kalpeni, and its crew were rescued just in time from shark-infested waters. Possibly as a result of Samson’s earlier dispatches, the second batch of Short 184s ordered from Mann, Egerton & Co was required to incorporate a modified wing arrangement somewhat resembling that of Type 166; this was called 184 Type B, and Mann Egerton were asked to help in detailing and stressing the modifications, which comprised an increase in the upper wing span to 72 ft, new lower wings without ailerons, increased gap, raised engine bearers and deletion of torpedo gear. Known in Norwich as the Mann Egerton Type B, the first of these ten seaplanes (9085-9094) was delivered in mid-1916 from Norwich to Felixstowe, where it was test-flown by Sydney Pickles before being handed over to the Admiralty; according to Mann Egerton’s aircraft manager, George Wilford, who was present on that occasion, it ‘put up an exceptional performance, and subsequently broke the then existing records for seaplanes, both for climbing speed and height’. So evidently Samson had something when he increased the gap and reduced the aspect ratio, and although only these ten were built, one or two of this variant were still in service when the war ended.
   The last three of the main Rochester batch were retained there and at Grain for experimental work. In July 1916, S.245 {8103) was converted into a single-seat bomber (known as Type D) with the front cockpit deleted and its space occupied by internal stowage for nine 65-lb bombs slung from their noses; this gave a useful reduction in drag, and a few others were similarly converted, but the variant did not go into production; possibly the real intention was to carry a 500-lb bomb internally as an insurance against late delivery of Handley Page O/100s. In January 1917, S.246 {8104) was flown with a 250 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle IV installed, which gave it an enhanced performance; the engine cowling was taller than normal, and side radiators were used instead of the central block; extra fuel was carried in a tank faired into the underside of the fuselage between the lower wing roots. Although tested with some success at Grain, it did not go into production. The last of the batch, S.247 {8105), eventually went into regular service at Great Yarmouth, but before delivery was tested at Rochester and Grain in July 1916 with a four-bladed airscrew and high chassis; in fact, it appeared somewhat higher than it actually was, because of the reduced diameter of the airscrew. Apparently the purpose of this installation was to compare the spray pick-up of two- and four-bladed airscrews in preparation for the standardisation of the 260 hp Sunbeam engine for final 184 production. Before this engine became available in quantity, a few 184s were fitted with 240 hp Sunbeams, while an interim variant produced in some numbers had the 240 hp Renault engine (dubbed ‘Renault-Mercedes’ because of a coincidental resemblance to the contemporary German Mercedes in the design of its cylinders and valve-gear). The Renault rotated the opposite way to the Sunbeam and had a bulbous central exhaust manifold with a stubby stack outlet; at first this installation had side radiators, but later the standard central block was reinstated; on some production lines a change was made from the Renault to the 260 hp Sunbeam before the latter installation had been finalised, and in these cases the Renault manifold had to be adapted to the Sunbeam, with the result that the radiator was raised higher than usual. The full 260 hp Sunbeam modification included a level manifold with a sloping stack pipe forward of the radiator; both the Renault and later Sunbeam versions carried bombs on a long central rack under the fuselage and had a Whitehouse or Scarff ring for the observer’s Lewis gun; the arched float cross-tubes for the torpedo gear had been replaced by straight tubes on production aircraft some time previously.
   Twenty (S.314-333, N1080-1099) were built at Eastchurch early in 1917, and in N1089 the engine bearers were lightened and the tail-float was enlarged by 30 per cent and mounted closer to the fuselage; this form, with either engine, was officially called the Improved 184 and also had an orthodox aileron circuit and Rafwire bracing instead of stranded cables, but shortages inevitably brought about reversions to the older designs, of which there were plentiful supplies already in stock; sometimes this state of affairs was acknowledged in the contract papers by use of the term Intermediate Type 184, but there was considerable flexibility in determining the actual acceptance standard of each aircraft; S.332 (N1098) was evaluated with a neat ‘car-bonnet’ hinged cowling and frontal honeycomb radiator for its 260 hp Sunbeam, which drove a four-bladed airscrew, always used with this engine; those intended to cope with the rough seas and heavy swells of the Dover Patrol stations at Newhaven and Cherbourg also had larger main floats and streamlined wing-tip floats and were known as the Dover Type 184. Only ten more 184s were built by Short Brothers (S.389-398, N1580-1589), and these all had Renaults, but production by other contractors continued up till the Armistice, when the total number built outside Rochester and Eastchurch amounted to 829; in addition to the firms already mentioned, the Brush Electrical Engineering Co of Loughborough built no fewer than 190 in five batches, and the Supermarine Aviation works built 15 at Woolston, Southampton; orders for a further 145 were cancelled after the Armistice.
   Testing of 184s built at Rochester, or delivered there by sub-contractors, was normally done by Ronald Kemp, who had succeeded Gordon Bell in August 1914; Bell had become an official A.I.D. test pilot and was killed in France in July 1918 in this capacity. Ronald Kemp’s elder brother, William Pitcairn (invariably called Peter) Kemp was Admiralty overseer at several aircraft firms, including the Bristol Tramway works at Brislington; when Bristol Scout contracts were completed he came to Rochester and stayed on after the war as Oswald Short’s works manager, although Ronald himself left the firm early in 1918. By 1916 Ronald Kemp was having to receive occasional help from other freelance pilots, including Sydney Pickles, Clifford Prodger and John Lankester Parker, all of whom tested aircraft at other factories and belonged to the Prodger-Isaacs Syndicate managed by Bernard Isaacs, prewar manager of Hendon Aerodrome for Grahame-White; most of the 184s built at Eastchurch were first flown by Parker from Queenborough Pier. It was a tribute to Shorts’ methods of manufacture and supervision that production could be so widely and successfully undertaken by firms entirely new to the aircraft industry; Short Brothers’ own production of the 184 amounted to no more than 117, including the prototypes, but there were 312 on R.A.F. charge at the Armistice, all but 30 having 260 hp Sunbeams. They remained in service at least until the end of 1920, and Felixstowe still had several in store in 1921, but all had been struck off charge by the time of the Geddes ‘Axe’ Report in 1922. Short Brothers received a royalty of 3 per cent on all aircraft of their design built by other firms during the war, including spares supplied therewith; the agreement, drawn up by Horace Short, was intended to cover all spares, but when Oswald Short put in his claim after the Armistice the Treasury held that the words ‘spares supplied therewith’ meant only those supplied at the same time, and not subsequently; had the word been ‘therefor’ Short Brothers would have received a further £170,000 in royalties.
   Short 184s served in all European waters on essential but unspectacular duties and penetrated to the Arctic Circle in the Archangel campaign of 1919, when they were embarked in the carrier Pegasus; at the other extreme they had carried supplies to the beleaguered troops in Kut-al-Amara in the Mesopotamian desert. After the Armistice they were mainly employed for spotting mines in the shipping lanes; many of the last deliveries were fitted with 275 hp Sunbeam Maori III engines, and in March 1919 N9135 was flown at Grain with a 300 hp Sunbeam Manitou. A small number were sold abroad to Chile, Estonia, Greece and Japan, and five came on to the British civil register after conversion to five-seaters for seaside joy-riding; all these had the latest Maori III engines with outside exhaust ports and were certificated for one year only; four were built by J. Samuel White (G-EAJT, G-EBGP, G-EALC and G-EBBN, ex N2968, N2996, N2998 and N9118 respectively) and one (G-EBBM ex N9096) by Brush. The eight supplied to the Estonian Air Force in 1919, also built by J. Samuel White, remained in service until November 1933, during which time only two were lost in crashes.
   Excluding armament development and trials of experimental floats, there were only two major experimental variants of the Short 184. One was the use of a version of the G.R.W. wheel gear to permit take-off from the deck of an aircraft carrier, to avoid the danger from submarine attack incurred by stopping the ship to lower the seaplane overside. The first deck take-off with a 184 was made from Campania on 3 June, 1916, and in July 1917 flights were made from the fore-deck of Furious soon after she was commissioned as an aircraft carrier. At first the wheels remained attached to the floats and were jettisoned after take-off, but an improved scheme was devised whereby the wheeled trolley was retained in a slot in the deck with a buffer at the forward end; the pilot for these trials, which took place near Scapa Flow, was Flt Lieut Gallihawk and the observer was Warr Off Flemming. The other experiment was the installation of Martin stabilisers on the upper wing-tips of 8016 at Grain; these were a form of pendulum control claimed by the American inventor to ensure automatic lateral stability, but were not a success.
   The last surviving Short 184 was Westland-built 8359, flown by Flt Lieut F. J. Rutland and Asst Pmr Trewin from Engadine at the beginning of the Battle of Jutland on 31 May, 1916, when three enemy cruisers and ten destroyers were spotted and reported shortly before action began; further reconnaissance was hampered by fog, which fortunately also prevented Admiral Scheer from getting any information from his Zeppelins. This seaplane was exhibited at the Crystal Palace after the war ended and was earmarked for permanent preservation in the Imperial War Museum, where it remained until 1940, when it was badly damaged during an air raid. After a survey it was decided that the remains could be restored but only the fuselage of 8359 is now exhibited in the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton.

Type 184 - Span 63 ft 6 in (19-7 m); length 40 ft 7 in (12-3 m); area 688 sq ft (64 m2); empty weight 3,500-3,800 lb (1,588-1,725 kg); all-up weight 5,100-5,560 lb (2,315- 2,480 kg); max speed 75-88 mph (121-142 km/h); duration 4-5 - 2-75 hr.

F.Manson British Bomber Since 1914 (Putnam)

Short Admiralty Type 184

   When approached by the Admiralty's Air Department in September 1914 to tender proposals for a torpedo-carrying seaplane powered by the 225hp Sunbeam engine (as were Sopwith and J Samuel White), Horace Short proposed submitting a development of his abortive 1913 Circuit of Britain seaplane, which had been withdrawn owing to a lack of power from its 100hp Green engine. Within a few months two prototypes, Nos 184 and 185, were ordered from Short Bros.
   The Short Admiralty Type 184 was not significantly larger than the former aircraft but, with more than twice the power available, could be strengthened considerably so as to lift a much greater weight. The equal-span, three-bay wings were of high aspect ratio and featured large-area, single-acting ailerons on the upper surfaces only. The wing folding arrangement was improved, the entire folding and locking operation being carried out by the pilot in his cockpit by means of a hand-operated winch and lever-controlled locking bar in the rear fuselage. The fuselage structure was the customary four-longeron box-girder of spruce members with wire bracing, the longerons extending forward to the front of the engine which itself was carried on pressed-steel cross frames.
   The sprung floats were not mounted directly on the attachment struts but were slotted so as to ride vertically relative to the front and rear crossmembers, being retained by stout elastic cords. Wingtip and tail floats were fitted, the latter including a small water rudder linked to the main rudder, this being a balanced surface with large fin.
   The upper wing was inversely tapered from the aircraft centreline to two-thirds of semi-span, and of parallel chord outwards thereafter; the lower wing was entirely of parallel chord. Apart from the front fuselage, the whole airframe was fabric-covered.
   An evaluation batch of ten further Short 184s was ordered before the prototypes flew in about March 1915. Early flights by Nos 184 and 185 disclosed the need to improve the lateral control, the large-area single-acting ailerons making the seaplanes almost unmanageable while taxying downwind, with the result that rubber cords were fitted to retain the ailerons in the neutral position, except when actuated by the pilot; this did not prove to be a complete remedy, and ailerons were then added to the lower wings, being connected to the upper surfaces by cables. Trials with bombs and torpedoes were also carried out, and No 184 was at some point fitted with an unbalanced rudder, although this is said to have been 'an improvisation rather than a modification'.
   Meanwhile, conversion of a number of Isle of Man packet steamers into seaplane carriers had been put in hand, and on 21 May 1915 one of these, Ben-my-Chree, sailed from Harwich for the Dardanelles with the two Short 184 prototypes embarked (as well as a spare airframe, unassembled, and two Sopwith Schneiders), arriving at her destination on 12 June. On 12 August Flt-Cdr Charles Humphrey Kingsman Edmonds (later Air Vice-Marshal, CBE, DSO, RAF), flying solo in No 184, torpedoed and sank a Turkish transport off Gallipoli - only to be told that the ship had already been damaged by a submarine; five days later this pilot torpedoed another Turkish transport, leaving it on fire, and on the same day Flt-Cdr George Bentley Dacre (later Air Cdre, CBE, DSO, RAF), flying No 186, had to alight in the Straits with a failing engine; however, he sighted a large enemy tug, which he torpedoed while taxying on the water. He was then able to fly back to Ben-my-Chree.
   These were the only successes with torpedoes achieved by Short 184s, principally on account of the difficulty they had in taking off with a heavy load in the hot, humid conditions of the Aegean. Instead, the seaplanes were employed, like the other Shorts, in bombing and gunnery spotting work. For the former, bombs were carried in tandem on a long beam attached beneath the fuselage which incorporated shackles for up to four 65 lb or two 100/112 lb bombs; with these loads the 184 could at least carry a two-man crew aloft as well as a somewhat greater fuel load. Indeed, on 8 November 1915 Edmonds and Dacre bombed a railway bridge at Maritza in Bulgaria, a round trip of over 200 miles.
   By this date, and probably encouraged by the isolated achievements o f the Short 184s in the torpedo attack role, the Admiralty had placed what were, for the time, large orders for the aircraft. However, Shorts became fully extended after receiving a contract for 75 aircraft, and further orders, totalling 78 Type 184s, were placed with five other manufacturers. In addition to twelve ordered from Mann, Egerton of Norwich, a further ten two-bay derivatives of the basic Short 184 were built as the Mann, Egerton Type B.
   At about this time it was a Short 184 that first dropped a 500 lb bomb during trials with the Short-built No 8052. On 8 May 1916 this weapon was dropped at Kingsnorth from 4,000 feet using a special bombsight designed by Lieut R B Bourdillon and Henry Thomas Tizard (later Sir Henry, GCB, AFC, FRS); it is said that the redoubtable Cdr C R Samson was the pilot on this occasion, before being posted to the Mediterranean.
   In June 1916 Cdr Samson was given command of Ben-my-Chree as well as two smaller seaplane carriers, Anne and Raven II for operations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Realising that the Shorts of his small force were severely handicapped by the need to operate only in the cooler temperatures of the early morning and late evening, Samson had one of his aircraft extensively modified by reducing the lower wing span, removing the outboard interplane struts, replacing the cylindrical wingtip floats by small planing hydrofoils, and reducing the tail fin area. Samson, who claimed that these modifications resulted in a seven-knot speed increase, was ordered to Aden to locate and destroy the German raider Wolf at large in the Indian Ocean early in 1917. The modified Short made numerous search patrols until, at the end of March that year, the floats collapsed in a heavy swell and the seaplane sank.
   Short 184s were despatched to Mesopotamia in February 1916 to serve with an RNAS detachment operating from the Tigris at Ora; at one time they were used to drop supplies to the beleaguered garrison at Kut, each aircraft being loaded with about 200 lb of containers.
   In home waters 184s flew many patrols over the Channel and North Sea, and HM Seaplane Carrier Engadine embarked two Short 184s with the Battle Cruiser Squadron prior to the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. One of the Shorts, flown by Flt-Lt F J Rutland RN, with Asst Paymaster G S Trewin RN, as observer, was used to shadow an enemy force of light cruisers and destroyers, their position and course being transmitted back to the British fleet. This was history's first occasion on which an aeroplane was used in a major fleet action.

   Type: Single-engine, two-seat, three-bay biplane, twin-float torpedo-bomber patrol seaplane.
   Manufacturers: Short Brothers, Rochester, Kent; The Brush Electrical Engineering Co Ltd, Loughborough; Mann, Egerton & Co Ltd, Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, Norfolk; The Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Co Ltd, Bradford; Robey & Co Ltd, Lincoln; Frederick Sage & Co Ltd, Peterborough; S E Saunders Ltd, East Cowes, Isle of Wight; The Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd, Woolston, Southampton; Westland Aircraft Works, Yeovil, Somerset; J Samuel White & Co Ltd, Cowes, Isle of Wight.
   Powerplant: One 225hp, 240hp or 260hp Sunbeam engine; 275hp Sunbeam Maori III; 300hp Sunbeam Manitou; 250hp Rolls-Royce (Eagle IV); 240hp Renault.
   Dimensions; Span, 63ft 6 1/4in; length, 40ft 7 1/2in; height, 13ft 6in; wing area, 688 sq ft.
   Weights: Standard Type 184. Tare, 3,500 lb; all-up, 5,100 lb. Improved Type 184. Tare, 3,703 lb; all-up, 5,363 lb.
   Performance: Standard Type 184. Max speed, 75 mph at 2,000ft. Improved Type 184. Max speed, 88 mph at 2,000ft; climb to 2,000ft, 8 min 35 sec; service ceiling, 9,000ft; endurance, 2 1/4 hr.
   Armament: Single Lewis gun on rear cockpit, later provided with Scarff or Whitehouse ring mounting. A 810 lb 14in torpedo could be carried between the floats, or a bomb load comprising one 520 lb or 500 lb bomb, four 112 lb or 100 lb bombs or one 264 lb and one 100 lb bomb carried on external racks; single-seat bombers could carry nine 65 lb bombs internally.
   Prototypes: Two, Nos 184 and 185, both probably first flown at Rochester in March 1915; both flown operationally at the Dardanelles.
   Production: A total of 944 Short 184s, excluding prototypes, was built: Short, 115 (Nos 841-850, 8031-8105, N1080-N1099 and N1580-N1589); Brush, 190 (N1660-N1689, N2600-N2659, N2790-N2819, N9060-N9099 and N9260-N9289); Mann, Egerton, 22 (Nos 8344-8355 and 9085-9094*); Phoenix, 62 (Nos 8368-8379, NT 630-N1659 and N1740-NT759); Robev, 256 (Nos 9041-9060, NT220-NT229, NT260-NT279, NT820-NT839, N2820-N2849, N2900-N2949, N9000-N9059, N9140-N9169 and N9290-N9305); Sage, 82 (Nos 8380-8391,9065-9084, N1130-N1139, N1230-N1239, N1590-N1599 and N1780-N1799); Saunders, 80 (Nos 8001-8030, NT140-NT149, N1600-N1624 and N1760-N1774); Supermarine, 15 (N9170-N9184); Westland, 12 (Nos 8356-8367); White, 110 (1240-1259, N2950-N2999 and N9100-N9139). Orders for 159 further aircraft were cancelled at the end of the War.
   (*) The latter batch often aircraft, being modified to the design of Mann, Egerton as Type B aircraft, is also listed under the entry for the Mann, Egerton Type B.
   Summary of Service: Short 184s operated from the following seaplane and aircraft carriers: HMS Ark Royal, Anne, Ben-my-Chree, Campania, Empress, Engadine, Furious, Nairana, Pegasus, Raven II, Riviera and Vindex, and from HM Light Cruisers Arethusa and Aurora. They also served in the bombing, coastal patrol and anti-submarine roles at the following RNAS Stations in the United Kingdom: Westgate (becoming No 219 Squadron, RAF, on 1 August 1918), Dover (No 233 Sqn), Newlyn (No 235 Sqn), Cattewater (Nos 237 and 238 Sqns), Torquay (No 239 Sqn), Calshot (No 240 Sqn), Portland (No 241 Sqn), Newhaven (No 242 Sqn), Fishguard (No 245 Sqn), Seaton Carcvv (No 246 Sqn), Hornsea Mere (No 248 Sqn), Dundee (No 249 Sqn), and Bembridge (No 253 Sqn); and overseas at Alexandria, Egypt (Nos 202, 269 and 270 Sqns), Oudezeele, France (No 229 Sqn), Cherbourg, France (No 243 Sqn), Otranto, Italy (Nos 263 and 271 Sqns), Suda Bay, Crete (No 264 Sqn), Gibraltar (No 265 Sqn), Mudros, Aegean (No 266 Sqn) and Kalafrana, Malta (No 268 Sqn). They served on the East Indies Station, and with the RNAS Detachment, Basra, Mesopotamia, as well as the Torpedo Training School, Felixstowe.

   General recognition that the Type 184 was a fundamentally sound aeroplane and popular with its crews, so long as it was required to fly in no more than fairly docile weather and water conditions, prompted the Admiralty to pursue development of the aircraft with progressively more powerful engines. Some aircraft were fitted with the 240hp Sunbeam, while one example, Short-built No 8104, was powered by a 250hp Rolls-Royce Eagle, but no wartime production with the latter engine followed (although some aircraft, supplied to Estonia after the War, were so powered). Short 184s also appeared in production with 240hp Renault 12-cylinder water-cooled in-line engines, and some were powered by the 275hp Sunbeam Maori III. However, the best and most popular version was said to be the 260hp Sunbeam Maori I-powered Dover Type 184, so called on account of it being used primarily at the Dover Patrol stations at Newhaven and Cherbourg. The engine installation of this version featured a flat frontal honeycomb radiator immediately behind the propeller. Full-travel, double-acting ailerons were fitted on upper and lower wings, and wingtip floats of improved shape were introduced. When rigged with Rafwires throughout, in place of stranded cables, the aircraft was officially referred to as the Improved Type 184, and was the subject of late production orders.
   The Short Type 184 remained in service after the Armistice (even though 159 aircraft were cancelled at the end of the War), being widely used for mine-spotting over coastal waters, and a small number was embarked in the carrier HMS Pegasus for service at Archangel in 1919. A few were sold to Chile, Estonia, Greece and Japan,

P.Lewis British Bomber since 1914 (Putnam)

The assiduous pursuance of the Navy’s aggressive bombing policy brought in its train a steady demand for the means of delivery both of bombs and of torpedoes. Voice was given by Commodore Murray F. Sueter, head of the Air Department at the Admiralty, to requests for new machines to be developed, capable of taking the war to the enemy ever more effectively. The torpedo constituted a most potent weapon for dealing with enemy shipping, and it was considered that an improved version of the Short Type 166 would prove a worthwhile investment. Horace Short was consequently approached by Commodore Sueter to evolve the new torpedo-carrier to take the 14 in. weapon.
   The result, the Short Type 184, was destined to become one of the most ubiquitous and successful in its category during the 1914-18 War. In appearance the new machine perpetuated the established lines of Short seaplanes, with three-bay, equal-span, unstaggered wings attached to the typical style of fuselage set by its predecessors. Folding wings had become an integral feature of the larger shipborne types and were applied automatically to the Type 184. The prototype 184 underwent several modifications to its lateral control system. Ailerons were fitted at the outset, but in unbalanced form to the upper planes only. They were eventually given the benefit of a balancing cable, then finally superseded by cable-connected ailerons on all four wingtips, a feature carried on through the production machines. The prototype 184 flew with the 225 h.p. Sunbeam engine driving a two-blade propeller and fully cowled. The rectangular box-style radiator occupied its usual view-obscuring position ahead of the pilot on the fore-deck. The standard three pontoon floats made up the undercarriage, augmented by wingtip cylindrical air-bags. The Type 184 carried its torpedo suspended beneath the arched spacers connecting the main floats and its bomb load borne in a rack mounted on the underside of the front portion of the fuselage. On operations the Type 184 achieved its greatest success in the Dardanelles when one of three which had arrived there in the seaplane-carrier Ben-my-Chree took-off on 12th August, 1915, piloted by Flt. Lt. C. H. K. Edmonds and sank a Turkish steam vessel with its 14 in. torpedo. To the Short Admiralty Type 184 thus went the honour of being the first aircraft to sink a ship by air-launched torpedo in action. Five days later, on 17th August, Flt. Lt. Edmonds repeated his success by sinking another Turkish ship from an increased range. Encouraged by these successes, another Type 184 attack in the Dardanelles was made on 17th August, this time by Flt. Lt. G. Bentley Dacre, resulting in the sinking of a Turkish tug. These first-class results, obtained at such an early stage in the torpedo-carrier’s career, were not achieved easily. The Type 184 was not by any means endowed with a surfeit of power and was able to lift its torpedo only when flown solo from calm water with the assistance of a breeze and with a reduction in fuel aboard. These shortcomings inevitably led to a lower rate of use of the machine as an operational torpedo-carrier, but the Type 184 performed valiant service as a bomber, particularly in the Dardanelles, the Mediterranean, in raids on the Belgian coast and on patrol against U-boats. A solitary Type 184, 8359, piloted by Flt. Lt. F. J. Rutland, achieved prominence as the aircraft which reconnoitred the German warships for the British Grand Fleet in the Battle of Jutland on 31st May, 1916.
   It was natural that, in the course of its production life, modifications should be made to the Type 184. 8103 appeared as the Type D, a single-seat bomber seaplane with the original front cockpit area transformed into an internal bomb-bay housing nine 65 lb. bombs stowed vertically. The 250 h.p. Rolls-Royce Eagle displaced the Sunbeam engine in 8104, and 8105 was perched some distance above its main floats on extended undercarriage struts. A good view for the pilot had not been a strong point in the Type 184, but a decisive improvement was effected in the Dover Type equipped with the 260 h.p. Sunbeam cooled by a frontal radiator in place of the obstructive box-style unit hitherto installed on the coaming. Total production of the Short Type 184 in its various forms reached over six hundred and fifty.

J.Bruce British Aeroplanes 1914-1918 (Putnam)

Short Seaplane, Admiralty Type 184

  SQUADRON Commander A. M. Longmore had proved the feasibility of dropping a torpedo from an aeroplane in July, 1914, and his accomplishment confirmed Commodore Murray F. Sueter, then Director of the Air Department of the Admiralty, in his opinion that the torpedo-carrying aeroplane had considerable potentialities and was worth developing.
  Short Brothers had produced the Short 166 seaplane, equipped with torpedo-carrying gear, soon after the outbreak of hostilities, but it appears that the Air Department of the Admiralty wanted a larger and more powerful torpedo-carrier, and regarded the development of such an aircraft as a matter of urgency. Commodore Sueter therefore sent for Horace Short and explained the new requirements to him. Within a few weeks design work on a new seaplane type was well advanced, and early in 1915 there emerged a large Short seaplane, powered by a 225 h.p. Sunbeam engine, and capable of carrying a torpedo between the main floats of its undercarriage. This machine bore the official number 184, and by that number the type was known: namely, as the Short Type 184. Unofficially, however, it was popularly known as the “Two-two-five”, a name derived from the horse-power of its engine.
  The long three-bay wings were of equal span, and were arranged to fold; there was a small float under each lower wing-tip. The main floats were typical pontoon structures, and the fin and rudder had the characteristic form which had already been seen on the Short 166. When No. 184 first appeared it had ailerons on the upper wings only, and they had no balancing cable to interconnect them: they therefore hung down limply when there was no airstream to support them. A balancing cable was later fitted, and finally interconnected ailerons were fitted to both upper and lower wings: all production machines were built in that form. No. 184 itself later had a plain rudder without balance area, and the fin was modified accordingly.
  The Short Type 184 made history during the Dardanelles campaign, for it became the first aircraft in the world to sink an enemy ship at sea by means of a torpedo. On June 12th, 1915, the seaplane carrier Ben-my-Chree arrived at lero Bay, Mitylene; her equipment included three Short Type 184 seaplanes, one of which was the original No. 184 itself. On August 12th, one of the carrier’s Shorts took off, loaded with a 14-inch torpedo; its pilot was Flight-Commander C. H. K. Edmonds, and his orders were to attack enemy shipping. No observer was carried, but the Short would not climb higher than 800 feet. Off Injeh Burnu Edmonds sighted a large steamer. He glided down to a height of fifteen feet, released his torpedo at a range of 300 yards, and saw the missile strike his target squarely.
  On August 17th Edmonds sank another Turkish ship, this time from a range of 800 yards; and on the same day Flight-Lieutenant G. B. Dacre sank a large steam tug in False Bay.
  Apparently the Short 184 had justified itself in a short time, and indeed these successes must be recognised for the wonderful achievements which they were. In practice, however, the machine was difficult to operate. When loaded with a torpedo the Short could take off only in ideal weather: a calm sea and a slight breeze were essential, and the engine had to be running perfectly. Moreover, the weight of the torpedo was so great that only a limited amount of fuel could be carried, and the flight endurance was little more than three-quarters of an hour.
  So it was that the Short 184 was no more heard of as a torpedo-carrying aircraft - save in somewhat ignominious circumstances in January, 1918. Then the German cruiser Goeben lay aground south of Nagara after an abortive sortie from the Dardanelles, and strenuous efforts were being made to disable her completely. Bombing proved fruitless, and an attempt was made to fit a 14-inch torpedo to one of the old Short 184s of the Ark Royal: it was probably the only available aircraft fitted with torpedo crutches. However, the old machine refused to rise from the water with its load.
  During the war other torpedo attacks by Short 184s were attempted, and the type was used for torpedo experiments and for training in torpedo dropping at Felixstowe; but the first fine successes were never repeated. At least one of the Felixstowe Shorts was flown solo, and had the rear cockpit faired over.
  But if it did not again shine as a torpedo aircraft, the Short 184 still had a brilliant war record in several theatres of war and in several capacities. It participated in many bombing raids, made spotting flights for ships’ guns, carried out a vast amount of patrol work in many waters, and even attempted anti-Zeppelin patrols.
  If we continue the story of the Ben-my-Chree’s Shorts we find that they had a distinguished history. On November 8th, 1915, Edmonds and Dacre each flew a Short 184 overland to bomb the railway bridge over the River Maritza. In May, 1916, Commander C. R. Samson took over command of the Ben-my-Chree and himself flew her aircraft on several of their sorties. One of the Shorts was lost on May 22nd: one of its floats collapsed and the machine sank before it could be hoisted in.
  Flying conditions were difficult. Commander Samson described them thus in his book Fights and Flights:
  “I knew that our only chance of being able to fly with the Shorts was to try to get off very early in the morning or late in the afternoon, as the severe heat would inevitably not only boil all our cooling water away, but probably affect our lift.
  “As it was, we had a terrible time getting the Shorts off the water under the existing conditions, and being unable to ascend beyond about 1,500 feet we soon began to lose our water whilst flying.
  “On several trips it was touch and go whether we could get back before the engine seized up through this cause.”
  In spite of these difficulties, one of the carrier’s Shorts took off on May 26th, 1916, loaded with two 65-lb bombs, one 16-pounder, six petrol bombs, and one incendiary bomb; the bombs were dropped on the enemy aerodrome and camp at El Arish.
  In October, 1916, Commander Samson made some rather drastic modifications to one of his Shorts in an attempt to improve its performance. He removed part of the lower wing and made other alterations: the result was a seaplane known on the Ben-my-Chree as the Experimental Short. The modified machine was six knots faster than the standard Short 184 and had a better rate of climb. This Experimental Short survived until the end of March, 1917, when its floats gave way and it sank.
  Commander Samson also had under his command the two smaller vessels Raven and Anne, each of which carried Short 184s. Other Shorts from other carriers gave a good account of themselves. Those of the Empress made many spotting and bombing flights in the Mediterranean; the Empress had come to Port Said in January, 1916, equipped with two Short 184s and four Sopwith Schneiders.
  In home waters, the Shorts of the carriers Engadine and Riviera participated in several actions against the enemy coast, but these were not attended by success. Engine failure was a frequent occurrence, chiefly caused by magneto trouble.
  When the Grand Fleet put to sea on May 31st, 1916, to engage the enemy in the Battle of Jutland, the Engadine sailed with the Battle Cruiser Fleet from Rosyth. She had on board two Short 184s and two Sopwith Baby seaplanes. At 2.40 p.m. Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty ordered Engadine to send off a seaplane to carry out a reconnaissance to the north-north-east. At 3.08 p.m. the Westland-built Short 184, No. 8359 was airborne, manned by Flight-Lieutenant F. J. Rutland and Assistant Paymaster G. S. Trewin. Forty minutes later Rutland was forced down with a broken petrol feed pipe; he repaired it with a piece of rubber tubing torn from his life-saving waistcoat and reported his readiness to continue. He was told to return to his ship and was hoisted in at 4 p.m. During the flight, Rutland and Trewin had been under heavy fire, but had sent in clear and important observations. Their Short was the only aircraft of any type to participate in the Battle of Jutland.
  This might not have been so had another carrier, the Campania, received her sailing signal when the Grand Fleet left Scapa Flow. She left 2 1/4 hours after the flagship, only to be ordered to return to port at 4.37 a.m.
  At that time Campania’s complement of aircraft included three Short 184s. All large seaplanes had had to be hoisted out before taking off, but the small single-seat Sopwith Babies had been successfully flown off the forward flight deck, using a special wheeled trolley under the floats. By adapting this device a Short 184 flew off Campania’s deck on June 3rd, 1916. No serious use was made of this method of deck take-off, but the experience provided valuable data for the design of future deck-flying aircraft.
  Short seaplanes played a part in the R.N.A.S. 5th Wing’s bombing campaign of late 1916. Six went to attack Ostend and Zeebrugge by night on November gth, 1916, an action which even in the official history of the war in the air evoked no praise for the men who brought their seaplanes back to rest on darkened waters in the full knowledge of the flimsiness of their floats. Two of the six did not return. In April, 1917, several night attacks on Zeebrugge Mole were made by Short seaplanes.
  On anti-submarine patrol the Shorts attacked several U-boats, but generally had an effect which was deterrent rather than destructive. They were not infrequently attacked by enemy fighting seaplanes, and on such occasions were seldom victorious.
  Five Short 184s, including No. 8047, were sent to Mesopotamia in February, 1916; they went as reinforcements to the R.N.A.S. detachment which was operating under the orders of the G.O.C. in Mesopotamia. The Shorts operated from the waters of the River Tigris at Ora, and were later used to drop food to the beleaguered garrison of Kut-al-Imara: each seaplane carried 200-250 lb of supplies.
  The Short 184 was built in large numbers by several contractors, both in its basic form with the 225 h.p. Sunbeam engine and in its developed forms with other engines.
  It seems probable that one of the first alternative power units to be installed in the Short 184 was the 250 h.p. Rolls-Royce engine which was later known as the Eagle. This engine was fitted to Short No. 8104, but no production of this version of the type was undertaken. After the war, however, some of the Short 184s which were used by the Esthonian Air Force were powered by Rolls-Royce Eagle engines.
  The Shorts numbered 8103 and 8105 were also modified. The former was converted into a single-seat bomber with the designation Short 184, Type D; it was flown from what would have been the rear cockpit of a standard machine. In the space normally occupied by the forward cockpit there was stowage for nine 56-lb bombs suspended vertically within the fuselage. There was no provision for carrying a torpedo, but a single-seat torpedo-carrying version did exist, as mentioned above.
  No. 8105 was fitted with a special high undercarriage, presumably with a view to minimising the risk of airscrew damage in rough water. In March, 1917, this Short was on the strength of Great Yarmouth R.N.A.S. Station.
  Detail modifications had, of course, been made from time to time. Later production Short 184s had a Scarff ring-mounting for the observer’s Lewis gun; and the transverse connexions between the floats consisted of straight tie-rods in place of the arched struts which were fitted to the earlier machines to enable a torpedo to be carried. When bomb racks were fitted they were usually mounted below and well clear of the fuselage.
  Some of the contractors for the Short 184 introduced modifications of their own. These were usually confined to the disposition of internal equipment and instruments, but Mann, Egerton & Co. produced a version of the Short 184 which differed considerably from the standard machine. This modified type was designated the Mann, Egerton Type B by its makers.
  As the war progressed, more powerful engines were fitted to production Short 184s. A more powerful version of the Sunbeam engine delivering 240 h.p. was fitted in some cases, and many Shorts were powered by the 240 h.p. Renault, a liquid-cooled vee-twelve engine. The appearance of the Renault installations varied somewhat. The first Short-built 184s with the new engine had side radiators, but the machines built by other contractors had a large box-shaped radiator just in front of the wing but some distance above the fuselage.
  Finally the 260 h.p. Sunbeam was fitted. For this engine Shorts made a greatly improved installation, which was much neater than any other used on the Short 184 and must have improved the pilot’s view considerably. In this case a flat frontal radiator was fitted immediately behind the airscrew, and a neat, simple cowling, liberally supplied with louvres, enclosed the engine.
  Some of these later Shorts had revised aileron control runs, with the main cable actuating the lower ailerons direct instead of running over pulleys to actuate the upper ailerons, as was the case on the earlier machines.
  The 260 h.p. version of the Short 184 became known as the Dover Type, and was widely used. In some cases modifications were incorporated while aircraft were being constructed: batches which had begun with Shorts powered by the 240 h.p. engine would end with 260 h.p. machines.
  All the Sunbeam engines which have been mentioned had their exhaust valves on the inboard side of the cylinders, and all had a large single exhaust stack mounted centrally above the engine. Some Short 184s were powered by the Sunbeam Maori III, an engine which was nominally of 275 h.p.; it delivered 265 h.p. at 2,100 r.p.m., whereas the 260 h.p. Sunbeam delivered 258 h.p. at 2,000 r.p.m. The Maori III could be identified by its outside exhausts, and when fitted to the Short 184 it had twin exhaust stacks leading up from outside manifolds. The radiator was the usual box-like affair above the engine.
  After the Armistice the Short 184 remained in service for a few years, during which time the type was used for mine-spotting patrols. Some went abroad to other countries: Short 184s were used by Esthonia, Greece and Japan.


SPECIFICATION
  Manufacturers: Short Brothers, Rochester.
  Other Contractors: The Brush Electrical Engineering Co., Ltd., Loughborough; Mann, Egerton & Co., Ltd., Prince of Wales Road, Norwich; The Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Bradford; Robey & Co., Ltd., Lincoln; Frederick Sage & Co., Ltd., Peterborough; S. E. Saunders, Ltd., East Cowes, Isle of Wight; The Supermarine Aviation Works, Ltd., Woolston, Southampton; Westland Aircraft Works, Yeovil, Somerset; J. Samuel White & Co., Ltd., Cowes, Isle of Wight.
  Power: 225 h.p. Sunbeam; 240 h.p. Sunbeam; 260 h.p. Sunbeam; 275 h.p. Sunbeam Maori III; 250 h.p. Rolls-Royce (Eagle); 240 h.p. Renault.
  Dimensions: Span: 63 ft 6 1/4 in. Length: 40 ft 7 1/2 in. Height: 13 ft 6 in. Chord: upper 6 ft 6 in., lower 5 ft. Gap: 5 ft 6 in. Stagger: nil. Dihedral: 1° 45'. Incidence: 5°.
  Areas: Wings: 688 sq ft.

  Weights (lb) and Performance:
Aircraft Short 184 Improved 184 Improved 184 (Sage-built) Improved 184 (Phoenix-built) Improved 184 (Robey-built) Improved 184
Engine 225 h.p. Sunbeam 240 h.p. Renault 240 h.p. Renault 240 h.p. Renault 260 h.p. Sunbeam 260 h.p. Sunbeam
Date of Trial Report - May 30th, 1917 July 17th, 1917 July 17th, 1917 June 25th, 1917 August 30th, 1917
Weight empty - 3.798 3,514 3,496 3,638 3,703
Military load - 668 650 650 653 660
Crew - 360 360 360 360 360
Fuel and oil - 734 666 738 636 640
Weight loaded 5,100 5.560 5.190 5,244 5,287 5,363
Maximum speed (m.p.h.) at
2,000 ft 75 80 85 765 - 88-5
6,500 ft 70 78 69-5 82 84
m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s. m. s.
Climb to
2,000 ft - - 8 15 9 20 9 05 6 00 8 35
6,500 ft - - 42 30 51 30 46 35 29 30 33 50
Service ceiling (feet) - 5,700 5,000 5,500 6,900 9,000
Endurance (hours) - 4 1/2 5 - 5 1/4 2 3/4

  Armament: One Lewis machine-gun on movable mounting for observer; later machines had a Whitehouse or Scarff ring-mounting for this gun. A 14-inch torpedo could be carried between the floats. The bomb-load varied considerably, and the standard two-seat Short 184 could take any of the following loads of bombs: one 520-lb; one 500-lb; four 100-lb; four 112-lb; three 65-lb plus several 16-lb; one 264-lb plus one 100-lb. The Type D single-seat version carried nine 65-lb bombs within the fuselage, suspended by their noses.
  Service Use: R.N.A.S. Seaplane Stations at Bembridge (later No. 253 Squadron, R.A.F.), Calshot, Cattewater, Dover, Dundee (No. 257 Squadron), Felixstowe, Fishguard (No. 245 Squadron), Great Yarmouth (No. 229 Squadron), Hornsea, Houton Bay, Killingholme, Lee-on-Solent, Newhaven (No. 242 Squadron), Newlyn (No. 235 Squadron), Portland (No. 241 Squadron), Scilly Isles (No. 234 Squadron), Scapa Flow, Seaton Carew (No. 236 Squadron), South Shields, Strath Beg, Torquay (No. 239 Squadron), Westgate (No. 219 Squadron). France: R.N.A.S. Seaplane Stations at Cherbourg (No. 243 Squadron) and Dunkerque. Italy: R.N.A.S. Seaplane Stations at Otranto (No. 223 Squadron), Taranto (No. 271 Squadron) and Santa Maria di Leuca. Malta: R.N.A.S. Seaplane Station (No. 266 Squadron) and Torpedo School. Aegean: R.N.A.S. Seaplane Stations at Mudros, Suda Bay and Syra. Egypt: R.N.A.S. Seaplane Stations at Alexandria and Port Said. Mesopotamia: R.N.A.S. detachment at Basra. Aircraft Carriers: three Short 184s on Ben-my-Chree, two on Raven II, one on Anne, three on Campania, three on Empress, two on Engadine, three on Furious, four on Nairana, four on Pegasus, four on Riviera, and three on Vindex. Also used on aircraft carrier City of Oxford, and from light cruisers Arethusa and Aurora. Training: Torpedo Seaplane School, Felixstowe. One Short 184 was given to Japan.
  Production and Allocation: More than 650 Short 184s of all types were built. On October 31st, 1918, the R.A.F. had on charge 282 Short 184s with the 260 h.p. Sunbeam engine, and thirty with the 225 h.p. or 240 h.p. Sunbeam or 240 h.p. Renault. The 225/240 h.p. machines were distributed as follows: at various home seaplane stations, thirteen; with the Grand Fleet, six; in the Mediterranean, eleven. Distribution of the 260 h.p. Shorts was as follows: at various home seaplane stations, 161; with the Grand Fleet, six; with the 5th Group, nine; en route to the Middle East, thirty-five; in the Mediterranean, sixty-three; with contractors, eight.
  Serial Numbers: 184-185: built by Short. 841-850: built by Short. 8001-8030: built by Saunders. 8031-8105: built by Short. 8344-8355: built by Mann, Egerton. 8356-8367: built by Westland. 8368-8379: built by Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Co. 8380-8391: built by Frederick Sage. 9041-9060: built by Robey. 9065-9084: built by Sage. 9085-9094: Mann, Egerton Type B seaplanes (developed from Short 184). N. 1080-N.1099: Improved 184 (240 or 260 h.p.) built by Short. N. 1130-N.1139: built by Sage with 240 h.p. Renault engine (N.1130-N.1134 were Improved 184s, N.1135-N.1139 were basic Short 184s). N.1140- N.i 149: Improved 184 (240 h.p. Renault) built by Saunders. N. 1220-N.1229: Improved 184 built by Robey. N.1230-N.1239: Improved 184 (240 h.p. Renault) built by Sage. N.1240-N. 1259: Improved 184 built by J. S. White (N.1240-N.1249 had the 225 h.p. Sunbeam, N.1250-N.1255 the 240 h.p. Renault, and N.1256- N.1259 the 260 h.p. Sunbeam). N.1260-N.1279: Improved 184 (240 h.p.) built by Robey. N.1580-N.1589: Improved 184 built by Short with 240 h.p. Renault. N.1590-N.1599: Improved 184 built by Sage. N.1600-N.1624: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by Saunders. N.1630-N. 1659: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by Phoenix. N. 1660-N. 1689: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by Brush. N. 1740-N. 1759: Improved 184 (260 h.p. Sunbeam) built by Phoenix. N.1760-N. 1774: Improved 184 built by Saunders. N. 1780-N.1799: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by Sage. N.1820-N.1839: built by Robey (N.1820-N.1826 with 240 h.p. Renault, remainder with 260 h.p. Sunbeam). N.2600-N.2629: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by Brush. N.2630- N.2659: built by Brush with 260 h.p. Sunbeam. N.2790-N.2819: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by Brush. N.2820-N.2849: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by Robey. N.2900-N.2949: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by Robey. N.2950-N.2999: Improved 184 (260 h.p.) built by White. N.9000-N.9059: built by Robey with 260 h.p. Sunbeam. N.9060-N.9099: built by Brush with Maori III. N.9100-N.9139: built by White with 260 h.p. Sunbeam. N.9170-N.9181: built by Supermarine with Maori III. N.9260-N.9289: built by Brush with Maori III. N.9290-N.9305: built by Robey.
  Notes on Individual Machines: Short 184s of R.N.A.S. Station, Bembridge: N.1611, N.1613. R.N.A.S. Station, Calshot: 8027, 8365, N.1274, N-I279 (240 h.p. Renault), N.1686, N.2827. Cattewater: N.1099, N.1142, N.i257, N.i258, N.i601, N.1621, N.1624, N.1790, N.1796, N.2832, N.2836. Cherbourg: N.1793, N.1795, N.2805, N.2823, N.2900, N.2964, N.2981, N.9017, N.9170. Dundee: N.1276, N.1661, N.1831. Dunkerque: 8013, 9042, 9050, 9057. Fishguard: N.1086, N.1149, N.1242, N.1683, N.1684, N.2795, N.2830, N.2908. Great Yarmouth: 8066, 8105 (experimental high undercarriage), 8368, 8370, 8378, 8385, 8389, N.i250, N.1599, N.1675. Houton Bay: N.1592, N.1645, N.2652. Lee-on-Solent: N.2976, N.2984, N.9051, N.9104, N.9106, N.9108, N.9142, N.9178, N.9181. Newhaven: 8348, N.1244, N.1246 (formerly used at Newlyn), N.2827. Newlyn: N.1246 (later to Newhaven), N.1255, N.1604, N.1605, N.1606, N.1607, N.1616, N.1618, N.1767, N.2958. Portland: N.1259, N.1794, N.2965. Westgate: N.1229, N.2938, N.2939, N.2977, N.9001, N.9007. H.M.S. Riviera: N.1588, N.1678. Malta: 9053, N.1096, N.1097, N.i823. Eastern Mediterranean Station: N.i582 (used on H.M.S. Empress), N.1668. East Indies Station: 8080; the following Short 184s were used at various times on H.M.S. Empress: 8004 (also used on Raven II), 8018, 8021, 8022, 8091, N.1091, N.1582. Other machines: 184: used on H.M.S. Ben-my-Chree. 8052 had racks for four bombs under the wings: two bombs were carried under the innermost interplane struts on either side; the torpedo crutches were retained. 8103: Short 184 Type D. 8104: 250 h.p. Rolls-Royce (Eagle) engine. 8359: H.M.S. Engadine; used at Battle of Jutland. N.1232: H.M.S. Vindex. N.1234: R.N.A.S., Mudros. N.1591: H.M.S. Ark Royal. N.2962 : R.N.A.S., Torquay. N.2986: became G-EAJT. N.2996: became G-EBGP. N.2998: became G-EALC. N.9096: became G-EBBM. N.9118: became G-EBBN.
  Costs:
   Short 184 airframe without engine, instruments and armament £3,107 10s.
   260 h.p. Sunbeam Maori engine £1,391 10s.

M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)

O.Thetford British Naval Aircraft since 1912 (Putnam)

Short Type 184 Seaplane

   In any history of the development of British naval aviation the Short Type 184 must occupy an honoured place. It was to the First World War what the Swordfish became in the Second World War; both types made history as torpedo-carrying aircraft and earned reputations in every theatre of war for solid reliability. More than 900 Short Type 184 seaplanes were built for the RNAS. They served at practically every coastal air station round Great Britain, as well as in the Mediterranean, the Aegean, the Red Sea, in Mesopotamia and on the French coast. The most important fact about the Short Type 184, however, is that it was the first aircraft in the world to sink an enemy ship at sea by means of a torpedo attack. It was also the only aircraft to play an active part in the Battle of Jutland.
   As was the case with a number of key types of British naval aircraft, the Short Type 184 owed its existence to the fertile brain of Commodore Murray F Sueter (later Rear-Adm Sir Murray Sueter), who was Director of the Air Department of the Admiralty in the formative years of the RNAS. Commodore Sueter, from the earliest days a keen advocate of the torpedo as a RNAS weapon, had had his hand strengthened by the success of the experiment, on 28 July 1914, when a 14-in Whitehead torpedo of 810 lb had been dropped from a Short seaplane with 160 hp Gnome engine. With the outbreak of war, Commodore Sueter pressed his theories about the value of a powerful torpedo-carrying seaplane, and talked over his plans with Shorts. The outcome, early in 1915, was the Short Type 184. It took its designation from the curious Admiralty custom of those days whereby types were referred to by the number allocated to the first aircraft. Later, the type became known in general service by the more colloquial '225', which was the horse-power of the engine, though more powerful engines were subsequently fitted.
   Some of the first Short 184s delivered to the RNAS (including the original No.184) went aboard the seaplane carrier Ben-my-Chree to serve in the Dardanelles campaign from June 1915. Within a few weeks it seemed that the optimism about the torpedo had been justified, for, on 12 August, FICdr C H K Edmonds made his historic flight, during which he sank an enemy ship. Flying from the Gulf of Xeros, he spotted a 5,000-ton Turkish merchant vessel, glided down from 800 ft to 15 ft, and launched his Whitehead torpedo at a range of 300 yards, striking the ship abreast the mainmast. On 17 August FlCdr Edmonds took his Short seaplane out again and repeated his success; his torpedo hit one of three steamers making for Ak Bashi Liman. The steamer was set on fire and had to be towed back to Constantinople, a burnt-out hulk. Meanwhile, FlLt G B Dacre in another Short 184 had succeeded in sinking a large steam tug whilst taxying on the water after a forced alighting due to engine failure. Afterwards he coaxed his Short into the air again under heavy Turkish fire.
   These early successes with air-launched torpedoes were not to be repeated, but the Shorts from Ben-my-Chree were far from inactive. They performed a vital reconnaissance function, spotting for a naval monitor which shelled enemy transports, and bombing Turkish harbours. On 8 November 1915 Short seaplanes bombed the railway bridge over the River Maritza, and they were still hammering away at enemy communications as late as 27 August 1916, when Cdr C R Samson (who had taken over command of Ben-my-Chree the previous May) led a raid on Chikaldir Bridge, with FICdr England and Lt Clemson in the other Shorts. As Cdr Samson recalls in his book Fights and Flights, these raids were not without their difficulties; engines gave a lot of trouble due to overheating, as the coolant water boiled readily in the hot climate.
   In February 1916 five Short 184s were sent to Mesopotamia, where they operated from the River Tigris. During the seige of Kut they dropped supplies to the garrison, each seaplane carrying about 250 lb of food.
   In home waters Short 184s did a vast amount of routine anti-submarine patrol, and on one occasion (9 November 1916) even participated in a night-bombing raid on Ostend and Zeebrugge. For these operations they flew from coastal air stations, but they were also embarked in seaplane carriers, and it was one of these latter aircraft that achieved immortality in the Battle of Jutland. The Short 184 in question (No.8359, a Westland-built aircraft) was serving in Engadine and operating with the Battle Cruiser Fleet under Sir David Beatty. Piloted by FILt F J Rutland (who later pioneered the flying of Pups from gun-turret launching platforms), and with Assistant Paymaster G S Trewin as observer, the Short took off just after 3 p.m. on 31 May 1916. Within 40 min it had reported the presence and course of three enemy cruisers and ten destroyers. To make this observation, the Short had to fly low, under enemy gun-fire, as the clouds were at 900 ft and the visibility was poor. Continued bad weather made further air activity impracticable during the Battle of Jutland, and Engadine returned to Rosyth on 2 June. Limited as it was, the reconnaissance of 31 May was a milestone in naval air warfare equal in significance to the torpedo attack of the previous August.
   The Short 184 was progressively improved throughout its career, some of the changes being introduced by the sub-contracting firms, of which there were many. In 1915, after only 12 Short 184s had been completed by the parent company, contracts were issued to S E Saunders Ltd, Mann, Egerton & Co Ltd, Westland, the Phoenix Dynamo Company and Frederick Sage & Co Ltd. Some of these firms had never previously built aircraft; nevertheless the first sub-contracted aircraft (from Sage) was ready in September 1915, and was followed by deliveries from Mann, Egerton in November 1915 and from Westlands and Phoenix early in 1916. Meanwhile the type continued in production at Shorts, and still more contractors were brought in later. As mentioned earlier, total production reached over 900, of which more than 300 were still in service in October 1918.
   The power of the Short 184 was progressively increased from the 225 hp of the original Sunbeam to the 275 hp of the Sunbeam Maori III. This latter engine was fitted in some late production models, which could be distinguished by their twin exhaust stacks. Other standard installations were the 240 hp Sunbeam, the 240 hp Renault and the 260 hp Sunbeam.
   The late production 260 hp Short became known as the Dover type; it differed from its fore-runners in having a car-type radiator immediately behind the airscrew and dispensed with the ugly box-type radiator above or at the sides of the engine which had characterised other Short 184s. Most of the later Short 184s had a bomb-beam below the fuselage, between the float struts, and a Scarff ring for the observer in the aft cockpit.
   By late 1918 the 184s were being steadily replaced in the Grand Fleet at sea by Fairey Campania seaplanes and at shore stations by the Fairey IIIB, but they continued to form the sole equipment of Nos.235, 237 and 239 Squadrons based at Newlyn, Cattewater and Torquay. The 184 saw only brief post-war service and was mostly withdrawn during 1919. The last Short 184s in service were most probably those with No.202 Squadron at Alexandria which were retained until May 1921.
   It is interesting to note that the unique historic remains of Short 184 No.8359 (built by Westlands), which served from the seaplane-carrier Engadine at the Battle of Jutland arrived on public display at the FAA Museum at Yeovilton on 27 January 1976.

UNITS ALLOCATED
   Seaplane carriers: Embarked in Anne, Bell-my-Chree, Campania, Cily of Oxford, Empress, Engadine, Furious, Nairana, Pegasus, Raven n, Riviera and Vindex. Units at RNAS coastal air stations re-designated after formation of RAF as follows:- No.202 Squadron (Alexandria), No.219 Squadron (Westgate), No.229 Squadron (Great Yarmouth), No.233 Squadron (Dover), No.234 Squadron (Tresco), No.235 Squadron (Newlyn), NO.237 Squadron (Cattewater), NO.238 Squadron (Cattewater), NO.239 Squadron (Torquay), No.240 Squadron (Calshot), No.241 Squadron (Portland), No.242 Squadron (Newhaven). No.243 Squadron (Cherbourg), No.245 Squadron (Fishguard), No.246 Squadron (Seaton Carew), No.248 Squadron (Hornsea), No.249 Squadron (Dundee), No.253 Squadron (Bembridge), No.263 Squadron (Otranto), No.264 Squadron (Suda Bay), No.266 Squadron (Mudros and Petrovsk), No.267 Squadron (Kalafrana), No.286 Squadron (Kalafrana), NO.269 Squadron (Port Said), NO.270 Squadron (Alexandria) and No.271 Squadron (Taranto).

TECHNICAL DATA (SHORT 184)
   Description: Two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo-carrying seaplane. Wooden structure, fabric covered.
   Manufacturers: Short Bros, Rochester, Kent (Nos.184, 185,841 to 850,8031 to 8105, N1080 to 1099, N1580 to 1589). Sub-contracted by Brush Electrical Engineering Co Ltd, Loughborough (N1660 to 1689, N2630 to 2659, N2790 to 2819, N9060 to 9099 and N9260 to 9289); Mann, Egerton & Co Ltd, Norwich (Nos.8344 to 8355); Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Co Ltd, Bradford (Nos.8368 to 8379, N1630 to 1659 and N1740 to 1759); Robey & Co Ltd, Lincoln (Nos.9041 to 9060, N1220 to 1229, N1260 to 1279, N1820 to 1839, N2900 to 2949, N9000 to 9059 and N9290 to 9317); Frederick Sage & Co Ltd, Peterborough (Nos.8380 to 8391,9065 to 9084, N1130 to 1139, N1230 to 1239, N1590 to 1599 and N1780 to 1799); S E Saunders Ltd, Isle of Wight (Nos.800l to 8030, N1140 to 1149, N1600 to 1624 and N1760 to 1774); Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd, Southampton (N9170' to 9199); Westland Aircraft Works, Yeovil (Nos.8356 to 8367) and J Samuel White & Co Ltd, Isle of Wight (N1240 to 1259, N2950 to 2999 and N9100 to 9139).
   Power Plant: One 225 hp or 240 hp or 260 hp Sunbeam; 240 hp Renault or 275 hp Sunbeam Maori III.
   Dimensions: Span, 63 ft 6 1/4 in. Length, 40 ft 7 1/2 in. Height, 13 ft 6 in. Wing area, 688 sq ft.
   Weights (with 260 hp Sunbeam): Empty, 3,703 lb. Loaded, 5,363 lb.
   Performance (with 260 hp Sunbeam): Maximum speed, 88 1/2 mph at 2,000 ft; 84 mph at 6,500 ft. Climb, 8 min 35 sec to 2,000 ft; 33 min 50 sec to 6,500 ft. Endurance, 2 3/4 hr. Service ceiling, 9,000 ft.
   Armament One free-mounted Lewis machine-gun aft and provision for one 14-in torpedo or various loads of bombs up to a maximum of 520 lb.

O.Thetford Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918 (Putnam)

Short 184

   Many of these classic seaplanes were taken over from the RNAS by the RAF in April 1918, and continued in service well into 1919 with many units. Squadrons so equipped were: Nos 219 (Westgate), 229 (Yarmouth), 230 and 231 (Felixstowe), 233 (Dover), 234 (Tresco), 235 (Newlyn), 237 and 238 (Cattewater), 239 (Torquay), 240 (Calshot), 241 (Portland), 242 (Newhaven), 243 (Cherbourg), 245 (Fishguard), 253 (Isle of Wight), 263 (Taranto), 264 (Crete), 266 (Russia), 268 (Malta) and 269 (Port Said). Powerplant: One 260hp Sunbeam engine. Span, 63ft 6in; length, 40ft 7in. Loaded weight, 5,363lb. Max speed, 88mph at 2,000ft; service ceiling, 9,000ft. Carried one 14in torpedo or 520lb of bombs.

H.King Armament of British Aircraft (Putnam)

Type 184. This type - the 'Short 225', by reason of its original horsepower - was designed in 1914 specifically for operation with a 14-in torpedo, with which it achieved an early, spectacular and variously chronicled success in the Dardanelles campaign of 1915 (Flt Cdr C. H. K. Edmonds and Flt Lieut G. B. Dacre). Aircraft of the type were also employed in pioneering experiments with heavy bombs and operated with various forms of bomb installations and gun mountings.
   The first examples had arched cross-bracing tubes to accommodate a torpedo, as on the early Type 166s. The release-strop was at the centre of the rear tube. One experimental Type 184 had the rear cockpit faired over, and standard RAF torpedo aircraft were to be single-seaters until the adoption of the Blackburn Ripon and Hawker Horsley.
   In the early phases of the war at least, bombs were sometimes carried loose, for example, one of 16 lb plus six petrol bombs plus one incendiary bomb in addition to two bombs of 65 lb on carriers. A number of 16-lb bombs were in one instance carried loose in addition to three of 65 lb on carriers. Experiments were made with an installation of four 65-lb bombs under the wings, in line with the inner pair of interplane struts, but the carriers were normally installed in tandem on a long bomb-beam slung well below the fuselage. Identified loads include the following: four 65-lb, 100-lb or 112-lb; three 100-lb + one 112-lb; two 230-lb + one 100-lb; one 500-lb or 520-lb; and - aimed at the German cruiser Goeben when a Type 184 had failed to leave the water with a complete torpedo - an 18-in torpedo warhead. In May 1916 a 500-lb bomb was dropped experimentally at Kingsnorth, being aimed with a C.F.S. sight, and there appears to have been some intention of carrying such a bomb internally. In the Type D single-seat bomber variant, nine 65-lb bombs were slung nose-up internally, forward of the cockpit.
   Mountings for a Lewis gun were improvised, but a Scarff ring-mounting was eventually standardised. A number of aircraft had a Whitehouse mounting. As in the usual installation of the Scarff mounting this was set considerably below the top line of the fuselage. It appears that the gun-arm was associated with a semi-circular bow, and, although the precise characteristics of the mounting are not known, they were apparently such that a recommendation was made that aircraft having this type of mounting should have a sliding panel in the floor to permit downward fire under the tail float. From one machine, in April 1916, tests were made with a 2-pdr Davis gun fitted with a Hamilton sight.

R.Mikesh, A.Shorzoe Japanese Aircraft, 1910-1941 (Putnam)

Navy Short Reconnaissance Seaplane (Short 225 Seaplane, Type S.184)

   Recognizing the capability of the Royal Navy's Short 184 seaplane, the japanese Navy dispatched Capt Shiro Yamauchi to England to purchase one, as well as a Sopwith fighter seaplane. The Short arrived in Japan in November 1916 and was referred to as the Short Reconnaissance Seaplane, even though the British used it as a torpedo bomber from 1915 to the end of the First World War.
   The japanese Navy used the aeroplane extensively for testing various engines such as the 230hp Salmson A9, 220hp Renault V8, 225hp Sunbeam V 12, and the 200hp Peugeot V8. As an experiment, the Aeroplane Factory, Department of Ordnance, Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, built a few of these aeroplanes with various engine installations but it was not put into quantity production.

   Single-engine twin-float reconnaissance three-bay biplane. Wooden structure with fabric covering. Auxiliary floats beneath wingtips and tail. Rearward folding wings for stowage. Crew of two in open cockpits.
   One dorsal flexible 7.7mm machinegun. Bomb load: Maximum 235kg (518Ib), or one 14in torpedo.
   Various engines driving two-bladed wooden propellers. The data here are for the 230hp Salmson powered aircraft.
   Span 19.50m (63ft 11 3/4in); length 12.735m (41ft 9 1/4in); heIght 3.76m (12ft 4in); wing area 63.9sq m(687.836 sq ft).
   Empty weight 1,472kg (3,245Ib); loaded weight 1,976kg (4,356Ib).
   Maximum speed 63kt (72.5mph); climb to 1,000m (3,280ft) in 11 min 20sec.
   Three built.

A.Jackson British Civil Aircraft since 1919 vol.3 (Putnam)

Short 184

   Two seater designed by Short Bros. Ltd. in 1915 and widely sub-contracted. Five British civil aircraft only, all with 260 h.p. Sunbeam Maori III, converted to five seaters for one season’s seaside pleasure flying: G-EAJT, N2986, C. of A. 8 8.19 and G-EALC, N2998, C. of A. 17.6.19, the Eastbourne Aviation Co. Ltd., scrapped 8.20; G-EBBM, N9096, C. of A. 24.8.22 and G-EBBN, N9118, C. of A. 1.6.22, Seaplane and Pleasure Trip Co. Ltd.; G-EBGP, N2996, Manchester Airways, not converted.
   Span, 63 ft. 6 1/4 in. Length, 40 ft. 7 1/2 in. Tare wt., 3,638 lb. A.U.W., 5,287 lb. Max. speed, 82 m.p.h.