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Страна: Великобритания

Год: 1914

P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)

White and Thompson Single-engine Flying-boat

   Among the nine entrants in the 1914 Daily Mail Circuit of Britain Contest, the two White and Thompson machines were unique as flying-boats, the remainder being floatplanes.
   Entered as No. 6 in the race, for piloting by Captain Ernest C. Bass, the single-engined flying-boat was designated Seaplane No. 2 by the Company and was fitted with a 120 h.p. Beardmore-built Austro-Daimler on loan, which was mounted as a pusher. The design was based broadly on the American Curtiss type of flying-boat, for which White and Thompson had been granted the rights in the United Kingdom. Various modifications were made to the original Curtiss design, and among the less obvious of these was a change in wing section to one close in profile to R.A.F.6.
   The two-bay wings were mounted on a hull 24 ft. long which was constructed by S. E. Saunders Ltd., at Cowes, Isle of Wight, and consisted of an ash and spruce frame covered with their Consuta skin composed of mahogany plywood sewn with copper wire. The crew of two were seated side-by-side, and the fuel was pumped to the engine from a tank situated in the hull. A cut-out was made in the upper wings to accommodate the four-bladed propeller, and the lower wings carried rectangular-section tip floats fitted with springboard protectors. Lateral control surfaces consisted of ailerons on the upper planes, on the centre section of which was fixed a single central fin which was carried in addition to the main tail fin which extended forward well along the hull. The rudder was metal-covered at its base and was used in the water for taxying.
   The advent of the 1914-18 War caused the cancellation of the Circuit of Britain for which the machine was intended, but the flying-boat was completed and flown successfully on 9th August, 1914, proving that it possessed a brisk performance and good flying qualities. Few subsequent modifications were called for, and the prototype was bought by the Admiralty, later production versions seeing service with the R.N.A.S. as the White and Thompson No. 3, armament consisting of a Lewis gun for the observer. On the first production batch of six, the single fin above the wings was replaced by a pair of surfaces of lower aspect ratio which were mounted above the inboard interplane struts. On the next batch, these two fins were moved outboard so that they were over the outer wing-struts.
  
SPECIFICATION

   Description: Two-seat pusher biplane flying-boat. Wooden structure, fabric covered.
   Manufacturers: White and Thompson, Co. Ltd., Middleton-on-Sea, Bognor, Sussex.
   Power Plant: 120 h.p. Beardmore-built Austro-Daimler.
   Dimensions: Span, 45 ft. Length, 27 ft. 6 ins. Wing area, 400 sq. ft.
   Weights: Empty, 1,600 lb. Loaded, 2,400 lb.
   Performance: Maximum speed, 85 m.p.h. Endurance, 6 hrs.

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Описание:

  • P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)
  • M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)
  • Журнал Flight