C.Andrews, E.Morgan Supermarine Aircraft since 1914 (Putnam)

Schneider Sea Lions

  One of the most influential competitions ever organized in aviation was that for the Jacques Schneider International Seaplane Trophy. In 1912, Jacques Schneider, a member of the family of French armament manufacturers, presented through the Aero-Club de France, a striking bronze trophy displaying a sea nymph kissing a wave, for an international seaplane contest, with the express intention of fostering marine aviation which at that time had tended to lag behind landplane development. This far-seeing act started perhaps the most emotive series of air races ever held and led to more technical development of the fixed-wing aeroplane and piston engine than any other agency, it could be said, until the evolution of the jet engine. In the history of the successive contests for this coveted trophy, Supermarine played one of the most notable parts, a participation which eventually led to a vital involvement in a later and much more serious contest, the Second World War. The story of Supermarine’s contribution to the history of the Schneider Trophy races starts here with the first of the racing Sea Lions.
  This was the Sea Lion I, developed from the Supermarine N.1B Baby. It took its name from the 450 hp Napier Lion engine which had replaced the Baby’s much lower-powered Hispanos and Sunbeams and raised the speed from 117 mph to over 140 mph. The design work was directed by F. J. Hargreaves, then in charge of the drawing and technical offices at Woolston. The wings of the Sea Lion I were of unequal span, with the interplane struts splayed outwards and with the engine on an independent pylon mounting. The engine was partly cowled with an oval car-type radiator mounted in the front. The T-tail resembled that of the Baby but the fin and rudder had been considerably increased in area. The hull was of the then familiar Linton Hope construction. The control surfaces all had aerodynamic horn-type balances.
  Sea Lion I was one of the four British seaplanes which were available to compete in the 1919 Schneider Trophy Contest. This was to be held in Britain, a privilege gained by the sensational win of the Sopwith Tabloid in the 1914 contest held at Monaco. As the organizing body under the direction of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the Royal Aero Club selected Bournemouth as the base for a triangular course of ten laps totalling 200 nautical miles, with Swanage and Hengistbury Head as the other turning points. A great contest was awaited in view of the vastly improved breed of aircraft generated during the 1914-18 War and their greatly improved performances. Indicative of this progress had been the direct flight of Alcock and Brown across the Atlantic in June 1919 in a Vickers Vimy.
  The other British competitors were the Fairey and Sopwith floatplanes, the entries being limited to three aircraft from any one nation, with the Avro floatplane as standby reserve. France had entered two Nieuports and a Spad, all floatplanes, while Italy’s one entry was a Savoia 13 flying-boat. In the event all had very mixed fortunes, some it must be admitted caused by bad organization which, with the choice of venue, came in for some severe criticism.
  With the worst of bad luck, the Royal Aero Club were confronted on the day of the contest, 10 September, 1919, by fog, which delayed the start of the race until tea time. The subsequent fiasco has been told in detail elsewhere but here only the career of the Supermarine contestant is recorded.
  The Sea Lion I arrived at one o’clock and tied up alongside the Supermarine launch Tiddleywinks, which was reputed to be the hull of one of Pemberton Billing’s original designs for a slip-wing aeroplane, probably of the prewar German order for P.B.7s. By late afternoon conditions were considered to be clear enough for the race to start and the Fairey was the first away at ten minutes to five, followed by the Sea Lion, the Sopwith and the Savoia. The Sea Lion’s engine was hand-started by Capt John Hoare for the pilot, Sqn Ldr Basil D. Hobbs, both Supermarine pilots. On ignition Hoare dived smartly overboard, being picked up by Tiddleywinks. The Sea Lion took off successfully and headed for the first turning point but ran into fog over Swanage Bay where the pilot lost his bearings, after having had a momentary sight of the Fairey machine and only just succeeding in avoiding a collision. Thinking that the visibility might be better lower down, he descended to near the surface where conditions were in fact just as bad. Realizing that he must be in the vicinity of Swanage Bay and thus in danger of running into the cliffs, he alighted to work out his position. In this he failed but decided to take off in the direction of Bournemouth in order to get out of fog and then make a fresh attempt to find the Swanage marker boat. Unfortunately, on take off and just at the moment of leaving the water he felt a terrific bang, caused by hitting an unseen object. From a flying point of view the machine behaved perfectly and so he decided to continue the race at a greater height. This he did. He still did not see the Swanage marker but from the position of the Purbeck Hills was able to satisfy himself that he had at least gone round it.
  Hobbs then flew to Hengistbury Head by compass course and found it clear of fog and rounded it safely to make his first alighting to the east of Boscombe Pier alongside the marker boat, as required by the rules. He made a perfect touchdown, but a hole in the bottom of the hull was so large that the boat almost immediately filled with water and there was no chance of beaching. The Sea Lion turned half over in an undignified position with the tail sticking up in the air. The motor launch picked up Hobbs, and when Tiddleywinks came up, Scott-Paine and Cdr James Bird of Supermarine secured the tail of the machine just before it sank and then towed it into shallow water where, with the help of rigging tackle, it was secured to Boscombe Pier and later salvaged and taken back to Woolston.
  The only pilot to circumnavigate the course was the Italian naval pilot Janello in the Savoia. He completed the required number of laps but missed the correct Swanage turning point on each lap, by mistaking a yacht for the marker boat, and was disqualified. The race was then declared void. The Italians protested and the Royal Aero Club consented that, as a compliment to Janello’s gallant effort, the 1920 contest would be held in Italy. The original decision that the race was void was upheld by the FAI.
  The hull of the Sea Lion I was loaned to the Science Museum at South Kensington in 1921 for exhibition so it must have been patched up or repaired to some extent. In 1928 the Science Museum was short of space for their exhibits (as they always are) and so they wrote to Supermarine regarding its return. Supermarine replied on 3 November, 1928, stating that the hull was now obsolete and could be disposed of, which the Museum did by breaking it up.
  

Sea Lion II

  The Schneider Trophy contest for 1920 was held at Venice where it was an uncontested fly-over for the Italians in a Savoia S.19 flying-boat, so notching up their first win. This meant that the Italians held the Trophy and so the 1921 contest was also held at Venice, which the Italians again won with a fly-over in a Macchi M.7 flying-boat. This was their second win. A third successive win would have meant that they could keep the Trophy. So for the 1922 contest held at Naples the entrants were three Italian aircraft, two French and one only from Great Britain, the Sea Lion II. Whereas by then the Italian and French teams had access to Government financial assistance, the Sea Lion was financed privately by Scott-Paine and Cdr James Bird of Supermarine, aided by the loan of a new 450 hp Napier Lion engine from Napiers. The British Government said that they could not afford to spend funds on this venture and pleaded the heavy financial burden caused by the 1914-18 War. The two French entries failed to put in an appearance and so the only challenger left was the Supermarine Sea Lion II.
  This was a high-speed pusher flying-boat designed by R. J. Mitchell. The new Sea Lion was originally the single-seat Sea King II amphibian of 1921, but rebuilt as a racing flying-boat and fitted with the Napier Lion engine between the Sea King mainplanes, which were reduced in area by modifying them to a narrower chord. To offset the greater torque of the engine the fin area above the low-mounted tailplane was increased, as was the rudder area.
  Scott-Paine, the managing director, took Biard aside one day in 1922 and asked him if he would like to fly in the Schneider Trophy race that year. He agreed and was then shown the actual aircraft almost completed in one of the building sheds. Before the race was completed Scott-Paine had spent over £6,000 so that Britain should have a worthy challenger. He also did wonderful work in getting together a real British team effort, for the loaned Napier engine would have cost £3,000 if purchased, another firm lent a high-speed propeller, the insurance company halved its rates to insure the machine, while Shell gave the petrol and Castrol the oil.
  About a week after Biard had seen the new Sea Lion, still unfinished, the Italian authorities, without any warning, suddenly put forward the date of the race by fourteen days, which meant that much less time to get ready. Supermarine however were determined to be in and men worked day and night until the Sea Lion was completed, leaving very little time to give it the number of flight tests needed before it could be flown in the race. To make matters worse, the English weather turned against them and gales prevented it taking off on its first flight, with Biard kicking his heels and just looking at the aeroplane. Late that day the gales subsided and he ordered her out and the engine was started up. He taxied out and was very quickly airborne but when a couple of hundred feet above Southampton Docks the engine suddenly cut out completely and he was gliding towards a forest of funnels and ships, but by skilful flying managed to alight safely between them without damage. The aeroplane was towed back to the works with Biard very despondent, where it was again worked on that night.
  The following day was again too windy for flying until just about sunset when Biard once more took the Sea Lion off. This time everything went according to plan and the pilot opened the engine flat out until the airspeed indicator was showing nearly 150 mph, which was faster than any flying-boat had ever flown before. Following this he turned and flew back again and did one or two sharp turns ready for the race itself with the machine answering sweetly to the controls every time. As it was getting dark, he alighted and taxied back to the slipway where at least a dozen eager operatives asked the same question, 'How fast?' Next day was reasonable at last and the Sea Lion was put through her paces, followed by more testing with only one or two final adjustments.
  With all that behind them Supermarine came upon another snag, for no continental railway would guarantee either the safety of the machine or that it would be delivered at Naples in time to take part in the race. At the critical moment the General Steam Navigation Company came with the offer of the loan of a steamship complete with crew, ss Philomel, Captain Field, was sailed into Southampton Water where the mechanics and sailors together packed the Sea Lion aboard as if it were made of glass. Scott-Paine also journeyed with the ship to Naples where the aircraft was just as gently unpacked, swung outboard and lowered on to the calm blue water accompanied by three rousing cheers for luck by the crew of the Philomel.
  As soon as everything was doubly checked Biard took off and immediately discovered that the cool breezes which came off the mountains surrounding the Bay of Naples created some surprising eddies of wind at about 3,000-4,000 ft where they met the hot air of the bay. From his boyhood he had always wanted to see Vesuvius so he decided to fly over it. He went steady at only 130 mph in order to have a good view but as he reached the volcano the hot-air blast from below promptly bumped him up 2,000 ft, going vertically upwards like a sailplane in a thermal, so that his view of the crater was distracted in jostling with the controls to avoid falling into it. By the time he had the aircraft again under control he was several miles from Vesuvius and wisely decided that the best way to see it was on foot, so flew back to Naples.
  Every time Biard flew the Sea Lion, the Italian pilots, Passaleva, Zanetti and Gorgolino, with their experts and many other onlookers, watched every movement he made, timed her over every stretch and studied her on the corners, and formulated their plans for the race. Whereas the Sea Lion was on view to all, the French aircraft, two CAMS, were wrapped in mystery. Biard was careful not to open the Sea Lion up too much and on the final trials over the actual course he even cornered rather widely round the pylons, partly from ordinary caution and partly because he wanted to keep something up his sleeve for the race itself.
  Before the main contest the participating aircraft had to pass strict navigation tests, including taxi-ing across the starting line, ascending, alighting, taxi-ing round buoys over two marked distances each of about half a mile at a minimum speed of 12 mph, covering the actual course in the air, alighting and finally taxi-ing across the finishing line. There was also a six hours’ mooring-out test where the machines were just left at their moorings unattended, whatever the weather. This was to prove that the machines taking part were fully seaworthy and airworthy and capable of participating in the actual race. The two French CAMS entries did not turn up for these tests and so could not take part in the actual contest. This left three Italian and one British contestant only. The British machine stood up perfectly to all the tests but the fastest Italian machine, Passaleva’s Savoia S.51, capsized at her moorings and later split her propeller plus other parts. This could and should have meant her disqualification but the Italians all showed up on the day and the British said nothing.
  The day was 12 August, 1922, and Biard, wanting to keep as cool as possible, turned out in shirt sleeves and a pair of old grey flannel trousers. At the start of the race he was so busy with the controls, and the fact that he had to taxi over the starting line before taking off, that the Italians were all ahead of him. The engine ran perfectly and he almost hit the marker balloon on the first turning point in chasing the Italians but succeeded in missing it and then let the engine full out until he was doing 160 mph indicated airspeed, faster than he or the Sea Lion had ever travelled before. This surprise was the result of the Napier mechanics’ tuning of the engine to absolutely top performance. After two circuits he had closed up on the Italians and they must have been watching him, because they teamed up closer to try to prevent him passing. Biard decided that he could not go round the outside of them because of the extra distance he would have to fly. Also he could not fly inside them in case he missed the line and be disqualified. This left him two choices, either to fly under them or over them and he decided on the latter course on one of the corners where they were not so bunched up. He waited for a quarter of an hour, holding the Sea Lion back before he decided to overtake, he got closer and closer with the wake from the machines in front threatening to turn him over, then he opened the throttle fully and pulled the nose up and over them. On looking down he could see the goggled faces of the Italian pilots below staring up over their shoulders, startled, grabbing at their controls, trying to urge their machines to greater efforts but to no avail. Biard was past and diving down in front of them at about 200 mph, wondering if the machine would hold together, and then round the balloon ahead of the Italians with them now rocking in his wake.
  He got well ahead and so could afford to ease off the engine somewhat, with the result that the Italians gradually caught him up but not close enough to worry him. After he had completed twelve laps he decided on what he described as a bit of fun and opened the throttle wide open so that on rounding the last marker and diving down to level off he was once again almost touching 200 mph, and so down the final straight, over the finishing line at probably the world’s fastest speed - certainly for seaplanes - and he had won for Britain. He did another couple of laps and then touched down where he could hear the tremendous yelling of the crowds.
  His time of 1 hr 34 min 51 sec over the 200-2 nautical miles (370-5 km) course gave him an average speed of 145-7 mph (234-5 km/h), and Passaleva, who was second, flew the course in 1 hr 36 min 22 sec at 143-5 mph in the Savoia S.51, Zanetti in the Macchi M.17 was third at 133 mph, and Gorgolino was fourth at 123-7 mph.
  The FAI granted the Sea Lion II the first World's Records in the marine aircraft class in January 1923 as follows:

   Duration of 1 hr 34 min 51-6 sec
   Longest distance accomplished 230 miles
   Fastest time for 100 km - (62 miles) in 28 min 41-4 sec at 130 mph
   Fastest time for 200 km - (124 miles) in 57 min 37-4 sec at 129-4 mph

  Before Biard left Naples, he visited Vesuvius with Scott-Paine as promised, accompanied by some Italian friends and found it even more active than when he had flown over it. On the triumphant return to Southampton the team was met by a tremendous reception from the crowds, ringing handbells, beating shovels, whistling, ships' sirens and so on, and it was obvious that everybody appreciated what Biard, and the Supermarine and Napier companies, had so recently accomplished. Even the Mayor and Corporation turned out in full ceremonial dress.
  The Sea Lion II on its return was purchased by the Air Ministry and allocated the serial number N157 and flown to Felixstowe where it was used for high-speed research on seaplanes.
  The Sea Lion hull was of the standard Linton Hope circular section, with built-on steps and was divided into watertight compartments. The engine was mounted in a faired nacelle which contained the oil-tank and frontal radiator, and was very accessible and easily replaced when required. The complete wing structure with power unit could be removed from the hull by withdrawing just eight bolts. The amphibian gear was attached by only ten bolts but was not carried during the contest. The main differences from the Sea Lion I were a redesigned bow and fin and rudder, reduced wing area and the undercarriage (when fitted) retracted under the wings instead of up the side of the hull, as on previous aircraft. The fin area had been further increased at Naples to improve directional control.


Sea Lion III

  For the 1923 Schneider Trophy race held at Cowes, Supermarine were not going to enter a machine. When Scott-Paine realized that the two British competitors, the Sopwith and the Blackburn Pellet, were inferior by his standards, and also influenced by the surprise entry of the US Navy Curtiss CR-3s, sponsored by the United States Government, he had second thoughts. The American floatplanes, powered by the new 465 hp Curtiss D-12 engines, were really lovely little machines and were amazingly streamlined. So at the last minute and under pressure because he did not feel able to spend £6,000 building another aircraft, he took over the old Sea Lion II. He knew it was not fast enough to beat the Americans in its existing form. He consequently decided to redesign and re-engine it to get at least another 15 mph over the previous year’s winner, and recovered it from the Air Ministry for this purpose. This gave R. J. Mitchell the worst job of his career, to get more speed out of an aeroplane that had originally been redesigned for high-speed racing and indeed was the fastest seaplane in the world only twelve months before, but one which possibly would be outclassed.
  Mitchell increased the wing area to cater for 400 lb weight increase, altered the lines of the bottom of the hull so as to offer less frontal air resistance with a slight increase in hull length. The wingtip floats were mounted on streamlined struts and once more there was a modified rudder with increased area. Napiers again supplied an engine, this time a Series III Lion of 525 hp, which was encased in a streamline cowling behind a circular nose radiator, in a much cleaner installation than those of the earlier Sea Lions.
  Naturally Henri Biard was selected as pilot. When he saw Sea Lion III for the first time he said, 'She is going to be a bit playful to get off the water', and he was proved right shortly after. He climbed into the cockpit, started up the engine and almost instantly found himself in the air. The machine had wanted to hydroplane into the air before flying speed was reached and this was not to his liking because, unless the pilot was careful, the aircraft would bump up and down on to the water at high speed and anything could happen. This no doubt was the old porpoising trouble again. The only thing as far as Biard was concerned was to open up the engine flat out from the start, take a phenomenally short run on the water and jump straight into the air with speed enough to climb straight away rapidly. This he considered was an asset for the race as long as he could manage the take off properly. After several flights he got the measure of the take off and the general handling characteristics in the air were really good, so that when he managed to get up to 160 mph he considered there seemed a chance against the Americans, however slim.
  For the 1923 race there were eleven entries but as the race date approached most of them began to develop trouble of one sort or another. Kenworthy in the Blackburn Pellet (a converted N.1B design contemporary with the Supermarine Baby) had two amazing escapes from drowning when the machine finished up under the water. The second time it was too late to do anything about reconstruction because the mishap occurred during the navigation tests of the contest. The Sopwith-Hawker entry had crashed previously so that this once again meant that the Supermarine entry was the only one competing for Great Britain, and the two Italian entries were withdrawn before the start. The third American entry, the Navy Wright biplane, also was in difficulties on test off Selsey Bill, when its high-power Wright T-2 engine of reputed 700 hp disintegrated after only 20 minutes flying. This led to the breaking up of the three-blade metal propeller, the puncturing of the floats and the capsizing of the machine, without harming the pilot. But the showing of the Curtiss CR-3s in practice was ominous. Thus, this seventh Contest, held 27-28 September, 1923, at Cowes over a five-lap course totalling 186 nautical miles, had only four competitors for the race itself on the second day of the contest, two American, the British Sea Lion III and one French CAMS 38.
  The two Americans took off first and the moment Biard saw them flying he doubted if the poor old Sea Lion could match them. He took off after them, the Sea Lion getting up so sharply off the starting line that the judges disqualified it but, on protests from General Brancker aboard the judges’ barge, the disqualification was quashed. However, Biard knew nothing at all about this and was trying to persuade the last ounce of speed out of the Sea Lion in chasing the Americans, with the lone Frenchman on his tail. On each turn at Selsey he cut his engine to get round more sharply and on the one leg with the wind behind him he could get up to over 170 mph, but to no avail. The Frenchman in the CAMS had engine failure on the first lap and so that left only three competitors. All finished the race, Lt D. Rittenhouse, US Navy, was the winner at an average speed of 177'38 mph, a new World Air Speed Record, Irvine, the second American did 173-47 mph, Biard coming in third at 157-17 mph. Just to give the crowd some consolation and the Americans a salute, as soon as Biard had crossed the line he zoomed to 5,000 ft over Cowes and descended round and round in a fast spiral to alight on the water. The aircraft was tied up and Biard went off to shake hands with Rittenhouse.
  Scott-Paine was very disappointed at the failure of the Sea Lion to win the race but under the conditions of a limited budget out of his own and the company’s funds, and the fact that the hull was originally built in about 1916, the aircraft had put up a good show against the Government-backed $2m high-speed flight of the Americans.
  After the race the Air Ministry once again wanted the aircraft back and Biard had to fly it to the Isle of Grain air station from Southampton, which he accomplished in less than an hour, and said goodbye to it there. Sqn Ldr Rea then flew it from there to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe after being warned by Biard about the take-off, of how it wanted to rise before sufficient flying speed had been reached. Rea managed to deliver it safely.
  The Sea Lion was then given over to Flg Off E. E. Pauli-Smith for tests. He too was warned about the quick take-off characteristic but he insisted that the danger was greater if the aircraft was taken off at full throttle from the start. He said he would rather try it at first more slowly, though once again being warned. On 5 July, 1924, Smith went out for a trial flight, started up the engine, taxied beautifully on the water, found himself rising without sufficient speed to climb, rose only a few feet and the machine came down on its nose, bounced up again to about forty feet, stalled and dived straight in.
  The Sea Lion was smashed into a mass of twisted metal and splintered wood and Flg Off Smith was killed instantly, the whole mass being taken to the sea bed with him pinned in it. The wreckage was salvaged but was not worth putting together again. A sad end to a fine aeroplane and a splendid pilot.
  For good reasons, this seventh Contest for the Schneider Trophy saw the end of the flying-boat as a contender in future races, however gallant the efforts of the Supermarine Sea Lions had been. The American combination of the outstanding Curtiss D-12 engine, with the highly streamlined Curtiss CR-3 airframe on floats, of low overall frontal area, was the deciding factor in the 1923 Schneider race. With the high-speed light alloy thin-bladed Reed propeller and the flush-mounted corrugated wing radiators, this sophisticated concept set a new pattern for highspeed flight in the next decade. In this context the single-seat flying-boat was out and floatplanes were the only answer from then on, and Supermarine were not behind in these ultimate developments.


Sea Lion I - One 450 hp Napier Lion IA. Single seat.
   Span (upper) 35 ft (10-66 m), (lower) 28 ft 3 in (8-61 m); length 26 ft 4 in (8-02 m); wing area 380 sq ft (35-3 sq tn).
   Empty weight 2,000 lb (907 kg); loaded weight 2.900 lb (1,315 kg).
   Maximum speed 147 mph (236-5 km/h); duration 21 hr.

Sea Lion II - One 450 hp Napier Lion II. Single seat.
   Span 32 ft (9-75 m); length 24 ft 9 in (7-54 m); wing area 384 sq ft (35-67 sq m).
   Empty weight 2.115 lb (959 kg); loaded weight (less undercarriage) 2,850 lb (1,292 kg). Maximum speed 160 mph (257-4 km/h); duration 3 hr.

Sea Lion III - One 525 hp Napier Lion III. Single seat.
   Span 28 ft (8-53 m); length 28 ft (8-53 m); wing area 360 sq ft (33-44 sq m).
   Empty weight 2,400 lb (1.088 kg); loaded weight 3,275 lb (1,485 kg).
   Maximum speed 175 mph (281-6 km/h); alighting speed 55 mph (88-5 km/h); duration 3 hr.
   Figures quoted are for aircraft in racing trim.

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

Supermarine Sea Lion I

   Single seat, wooden racing flying-boat, powered by one 450 h.p. Napier Lion driving a pusher airscrew, built at Woolston for the 1919 Schneider Trophy Race. One aircraft only: G-EALP, no c/n. piloted in the race, which was declared void through fog, 10.9.19 by Cdr. B. D. Hobbs. Struck flotsam and holed the hull when taking off from Swanage Bay after a precautionary landing and sank on alighting off Bournemouth Pier. Hull loaned to the Science Museum, South Kensington, 1921.
   Span, 35 ft. 0 in. Length, 24 ft. 0 in. A.U.W., 2,900 lb. Max. speed, 147 m.p.h.


Supermarine Sea Lion II

   Originally the single seat Sea King II amphibian scout powered by one 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza, built at Woolston 1921. One aircraft only: G-EBAH, c/n 1154, registered to the manufacturers 16.12.21, first flown by H. C. Biard 3.22. Rebuilt as flying-boat with 450 h.p. Napier Lion, wings of reduced area and renamed Sea Lion II. Winner of the Schneider Trophy contest at Naples 10-12.8.22 piloted by H. C. Biard, who averaged 145-7 m.p.h. over the course of 200-2 nautical miles.
   Span, 32 ft. 0 in. Length, 24 ft. 9 in. Tare wt., 2,115 1b. A.U.W., 2,850 lb.


Supermarine Sea Lion III

   The Sea Lion II G-EBAH, rebuilt with two bay wings and increased rudder area for the 1923 Schneider Trophy Race at Cowes. Piloted by H. C. Biard, it averaged 151-16 m.p.h. to come third. Transferred to the R.A.F. 4.12.23 as N170.
   Span, 32 ft. 0 in. Length, 27 ft. 6 in. Tare wt., 2,400 lb. A.U.W., 3,275 lb. Max. speed, 155 m.p.h. Cruise, 125 m.p.h.

D.James Schneider Trophy Aircraft 1913-1931 (Putnam)

Supermarine Sea Lion I

   The old Pemberton Billing Co. and its Supermarine Works at Woolston, near Southampton, were bought by Hubert Scott-Paine in 1916 when Noel Pemberton Billing became a Member of Parliament. It was renamed Supermarine Aviation Works and in 1918 designed and built the Baby, to Air Board specification N.1B, which was one of the very few single-seat fighter flying-boats to be produced during the First World War. The Baby was a biplane with a wing span of 30ft 6 in (9-29 m) and, powered by a 200 hp Hispano-Suiza engine, had a maximum speed of 116 mph (186-6 km/h). Two prototypes, N59-60, were built and flown, but the Baby did not go into quantity production because military requirements changed.
   When the Schneider Trophy contests were re-established in 1919 and the first postwar venue was to be Bournemouth, Scott-Paine decided that because of its proximity to the Supermarine factory his company would enter the lists. Since time was short, he obtained one of the Babies, whose forward hull had been modified to reduce spray while on the water as part of a programme to produce a civil Baby to be known as the Sea King. The Hispano-Suiza engine was replaced by a 450 hp Napier Lion twelve-cylinder broad-arrow engine driving a two-blade wooden pusher propeller. Although the redesign of this aircraft was to produce a purely racing machine, it was fully equipped with a bilge pump, sea anchor and mooring equipment. The hull, of Linton Hope design, was of similar construction to that used in the Blackburn Pellet. The single-bay mainplanes and centre section were built up around two spruce spars and wooden ribs which were fabric covered. The four mainplanes were built separately and were rigged without stagger but with dihedral from the flat centre section. Large balanced ailerons were carried on all four mainplanes. The interplane struts were sloped out toward the tops to support the longer-span upper mainplane. Deep, narrow, stabilizing floats were carried beneath the lower mainplanes. The tailplane was mounted on top of the fin and was braced on each side by a pair of steel-tube struts to the hull. A horn-balanced rudder, extended downward to act as a water rudder, was carried on the fin which was covered with wood sheeting. The remainder of the tail unit was of wood and fabric construction. The engine was mounted on four steel-tube struts carrying two ash engine-bearers and supported the upper centre section on four more struts. An oval-shaped radiator was mounted in front of the engine and was enclosed in an aluminium nacelle. The redesign work was entrusted to the young Reginald J. Mitchell, who in later years was to become renowned as the designer of a series of Supermarine racing floatplanes for the Schneider contests and of the Spitfire.
   The use of the Lion engine prompted the name Sea Lion for this little racer which received the civil registration G-EALP. The eliminating trials to select the British team were scheduled for 3 September, and while the Sopwith, Fairey, and Avro companies had flown their aircraft by the day before the trial, the Sea Lion’s first flight was delayed by the non-delivery of the propeller - due to a strike at the manufacturers. However, it arrived in time for engine running to begin at 8 p.m. in the evening before the trials; but torrential rain prevented these taking place. On 5 September Sqn Ldr Basil Hobbs, the Supermarine pilot, made the initial flight. Flight trials continued with all four British aircraft, the final decision to include the Sea Lion in place of the Avro entrant being delayed until 9 September when a new propeller gave the Sea Lion an additional five or six miles per hour.
   The events of the contest day are recorded elsewhere in this book, but afterwards the Sea Lion was dismantled and its hull was loaned to the Science Museum in London for an exhibition in 1921. Sadly it was broken up some years later when the Museum no longer required it.


   Single-seat racing biplane flying-boat. Wood and metal construction. Pilot in open cockpit.
   One 450 hp Napier Lion IA twelve-cylinder water-cooled normally-aspirated geared broad-arrow engine driving a 7 ft 10 in (2-38 m) diameter two-blade fixed-pitch wooden propeller.
   Span 35 ft (10-66 m); length 26 ft 4 in (8 02 m); height 11 ft 8 in (3-55 m); wing area 380 sq ft (35-3 sq m).
   Empty weight 2,000lb (907kg); loaded weight 2,900lb (1,315kg); wing loading 7-63 Ib/sq ft (37-22 kg/sq m).
   Maximum speed 147 mph (236-57 km/h).
   Production - one Sea Lion I built by conversion of Baby by Supermarine Aviation Works, Woolston, Southampton, in 1919.
   Colour - believed to have been dark blue hull and tailplane support struts, with remainder pale blue, grey or silver; engine nacelle natural aluminium; Supermarine in large white capital letters on hull sides forward of mainplanes with small Sea Lion above, white civil registration letters G-EALP on hull sides aft of mainplanes; white contest number 5 on fin.


Supermarine Sea Lion II

   Expedience and economy were ever the watchwords of British aircraft manufacturers in the years between the wars and, clearly, were observed by Hubert Scott-Paine at Supermarine when producing aeroplanes for the Schneider contests. Following the use of the N.1B Baby hull in the Sea Lion I, when the decision was made to build an entrant for the 1922 contest the company used an existing airframe on which to base it. During 1919 two civil sporting amphibian versions of the Baby, named Sea King I, had been built but neither had been sold. One of these became the Sea Lion I; in 1921 the second was developed as the Sea King II, an amphibian fighting scout with a single .303-in Lewis machine-gun and provision for light bombs, but when it, too, failed to win orders it was modified to become the Sea Lion II G-EBAH.
   The Sea King hull, constructed of circular-section wooden frames with wood skinning, was retained. The bow was modified, which shortened the Sea King hull to 24 ft 9 in (7-54 m) in its Sea Lion II form. A built-on wooden planing bottom and steps, which were divided into watertight compartments, were added. The upper surface was single-skin planking and the whole structure was covered with fabric and doped. The manually-operated wheeled undercarriage and all military equipment and fittings were removed. The Sea King’s mainplanes structure was retained, with four vertical interplane struts replacing the splayed-out struts of the Sea Lion I. The Sea King’s wing area was reduced by introducing a narrower chord in the mainplanes, and their span is believed to have been increased by 1ft 6in (45cm) to reach 32ft (9-75m). The mainplanes, built as four separate sections, were attached to the upper and lower centre sections. They were built up around two spruce spars with wooden ribs, all wire braced and fabric covered. In place of the earlier 300 hp Hispano-Suiza engine, a 450 hp Lion II, loaned by Napier, was installed, which drove a four-blade wooden pusher propeller of about 8 ft 6 in (2-59 m) diameter. To offset the increased torque and maintain stability, the fin area above the tailplane was enlarged by forward curvature of the leading edge. Because the engine was mounted high between the wings and produced a high thrust-line resulting in a pitching moment, the tailplane had a reverse camber to counteract this. Fuel was supplied to the engine by a high-pressure air system with all fuel lines being kept short and run as clear of the hull as possible.
   The earlier Sea King II had not only proved itself capable of aerobatics - Henri Biard, Supermarine’s test pilot had rolled and spun the aircraft - but it had also been very stable at all speeds. These characteristics were inherited by the Sea Lion II which was a very tractable aeroplane.
   The 1922 Schneider contest was scheduled to take place in Naples during the latter part of August, but the Italians decided to advance the date by some ten days. Unfortunately, the Sea Lion II was still incomplete when news of the change was received by the Royal Aero Club, and so the work was pressed ahead with all speed. When the day came for preliminary engine running the Lion started almost immediately and it was decided to make a preliminary test flight. With Biard aboard, the Sea Lion II got airborne very easily after a short take-off run - but suddenly, when it was some 200 ft over rows of luffing cranes and the masts of ships in Southampton Docks, the Lion engine stopped. Biard managed to pick out a stretch of clear water and glided down to alight safely. The Sea Lion was towed back to Woolston where a fault in the fuel system was diagnosed and corrected. But a precious day was used up.
   The following evening Biard again flew the Sea Lion and, finding all was going well, opened the throttle wide to achieve a speed in excess of 150mph, faster than any British flying-boat had then flown. There followed several days while final modifications were made to the airframe and flying time was built up, then the Sea Lion was dismantled and crated for its journey by sea to Naples.
   With the Sea Lion re-assembled, Biard and the Supermarine team launched a cloak-and-dagger operation, first to find out the strength of the French and Italian opposition, and then to conceal from their prying eyes and stop watches the capabilities of the British flying-boat. Accordingly, Biard confined his full-throttle runs to an area well clear of Naples Bay, and made sure that his practice circuits always included some cautious turns around the pylons. This plan worked so well that the Italians publicly proclaimed the inferiority of the Sea Lion when compared with the Macchi M.17 and Savoia S.51. But there was almost disaster, when he flew too close to Vesuvius in an attempt to look down into its crater, and a strong thermal suddenly lifted the Sea Lion some 2,000ft above its original flight path.
   In the contest Biard’s tactical flying, plus the Sea Lion’s speed, brought the Trophy to Britain; additionally they established world closed-circuit speed, duration and distance records, the first to be recognized for seaplanes.
   Soon after its return to the Supermarine factory, the Sea Lion II G-EBAH was bought by the Air Ministry for development flying work, but it has not been established whether it was moved to Felixstowe; it was not, however, removed from the Civil Aircraft Register.
   There was also a plan to fly G-EBAH in the 1922 King’s Cup air race. That a flying-boat should take part in a race flown entirely over land was a tribute to the reliability of the Lion engine. A report in Flight of 7 September records that 'at the moment of going to press we learn this machine will not start'. There were no other references to the Sea Lion in reports of the race.


   Single-seat racing biplane flying-boat. Wood and metal construction. Pilot in open cockpit.
   One 450 hp Napier Lion II twelve-cylinder water-cooled normally-aspirated geared broad-arrow engine driving an 8 ft 6 in (2-59 m) diameter four-blade fixed-pitch wooden pusher propeller. Fuel: 55 gal (250 litres).
   Span 32 ft (9-75m); length 24ft 9in (7-54m); height 12ft (3-65m) approx; wing area 384 sq ft (35 -67 sq m).
   Empty weight 2,115lb (959kg); loaded weight 2.850lb (1,292kg); wing loading 7-42 Ib/sqft (36-22 kg/sq m).
   Maximum speed 160mph (257-49 km/h).
   Production - one Sea Lion II (G-EBAH) converted from Sea King II by Supermarine Aviation Works, Southampton, in 1922.
   Colour - believed to have been overall blue hull, interplane and tailplane support struts; cream or white mainplanes and tailplane; white registration G-EBAH on rear hull sides and national letter G on rudder, black contest number 14 on white panel on hull sides aft of cockpit


Supermarine Sea Lion III

   For the 1923 Schneider contest the Air Ministry decided that the old Sea Lion II G-EBAH should participate again. Reginald Mitchell at Supermarine rapidly produced drawings to initiate a general modification programme aimed at cleaning up the hull and increasing its fineness ratio. As a result the hull length was increased by 2 ft 9 in (83 cm). A new planing bottom was attached to the hull and the bow section refined; in addition the wing span was reduced by 4 ft (1-21 m), and the area of the fin and rudder was increased by making them taller.
   During the flight-test programme the shoe-shaped floats were removed and oval-section stabilizing floats, with pairs of small hydrovanes at their forward end, were mounted on short struts and wire braced to the underside of the lower mainplanes near the tips. For the first time on a Sea Lion, a small glass windscreen was mounted in front of the open cockpit.
   Power for the Sea Lion III came from a 525 hp Napier Lion III which drove a four-blade wooden pusher propeller. The engine, in its aluminium nacelle with a circular-section radiator housed in a long-chord tubular cowling, was supported on a pair of N-struts; the fuel lines were carried up inside a streamlined radiator support strut from the hull fuel tank to the engine.
   A strange feature of this cleaning-up process was that the engine starting handle was permanently fixed to the power unit and protruded from the port side of the nacelle; moreover, the tailplane had no less than eight wire-braced support struts, and the original combined water-rudder/tailskid was retained.
   In the contest, although Biard and the Sea Lion III returned a speed some 12 mph faster than that at which they had won the previous year’s event, they were outclassed by the Curtiss CR-3s and could only take third place.
   During the first few weeks following the contest, Biard flew the Sea Lion III on some further flight trials; then during the first week of December it was taken on RAF charge, serialled N170 and moved to Felixstowe.


   Single-seat racing biplane flying-boat. Wood and metal construction. Pilot in open cockpit.
   One 525 hp Napier Lion III twelve-cylinder water-cooled normally-aspirated geared broad-arrow engine driving an 8 ft 8 in (2-64 m) diameter four-blade fixed-pitch wooden pusher propeller. Fuel: 60 gal (272 litres).
   Span 28ft (8-53m); length 28ft (8-53m); wing area 360sq ft (33-44sq m).
   Empty weight 2,400 lb (1,088 kg); loaded weight 3,275 lb (1,485 kg); wing loading 9-09 lb/ sq ft (44-4 kg/sq m).
   Maximum speed 175 mph (281-61 km/h); alighting speed 55 mph (88-51 km/h).
   Production - one Sea Lion III (G-EBAH) converted from Sea Lion II by Supermarine Aviation Works, Woolston, Southampton, in 1923.
   Colour - believed overall blue hull, silver mainplanes and tail unit, natural aluminium engine nacelle. Black registration letters G-EBAH on white panel on hull sides, and contest number 7 on white panel on nose aft of cockpit and on rudder. A sealion’s ‘face’ was painted in white on the noses of the hull and the two stabilizing floats as was the name Sea Lion III on the hull sides beneath the cockpit.

G.Duval British Flying-Boats and Amphibians 1909-1952 (Putnam)

Supermarine Sea Lion I (1919)

   After Great Britain’s victory in the 1914 Schneider Trophy race, the First World War intervened, and the contests were suspended until 1919 when the Royal Aero Club was charged with organising the contest on behalf of this country, as the Trophy holders. Bournemouth was chosen as the venue, with Cowes the headquarters for accommodation and servicing. Supermarine, in the advantageous position of having recent experience with small highspeed flying-boats and amphibians, and with the race virtually upon their doorstep, decided to enter a specially built racing flying-boat, and chose as the power unit the newly-developed Napier Lion engine of 450 h.p., hence the name - Sea Lion. Of slightly larger wing span than the Sea King and Baby, the Sea Lion was a mere 24 feet in length, the whole machine dominated by the large engine nacelle, strut-mounted high in the centre section, with the engine driving a four-bladed pusher propeller. The tailplane was mounted on the top of the single fin, and wing-tip floats attached directly to the undersurface of the short-span lower mainplane, which was carried over the hull top by short struts as in the Supermarine Baby. The designer was a brilliant young man named Reginald Joseph Mitchell, later designer of the immortal Spitfire. Registered G-EALP, the Sea Lion successfully passed its tests, and with Sqn. Ldr. Hobbs as pilot was prepared for the race. Unfortunately, the day chosen, 10 September, 1919, proved to be dull and misty, only four of the competitors attempting to complete the course. Hobbs was one of them, and had to alight in Swanage Bay to find his bearings, but without success, so he decided to return as best he could to Bournemouth. On taking off, he struck some object in the water, badly holing the Sea Lion’s hull. As a result, when an alighting was made between Christchurch and Boscombe, the machine began to sink. Both Hobbs and the Sea Lion were rescued, but the contest was abandoned. Following this, the Sea Lion was dismantled, its hull being loaned to the Science Museum for exhibition in 1921.


SPECIFICATION

   Power Plant: One 450 h.p. Napier Lion IA
   Span: 35 feet
   Length: 24 feet
   Weight Loaded: 2,900 pounds
   Total Area: Not known
   Max. Speed: 147 m.p.h.
   Endurance: 2-3 hours


Supermarine Sea Lion II (1922)

   The Schneider Trophy races of 1920 and 1921 were both won by Italy with no opposition, and a third win in the 1922 contest would have meant an outright victory and retention of the Trophy by that country. Fortunately for British prestige, Supermarine decided to enter one machine, the Sea Lion II, which, because of the non-appearance of the two French entries, became the sole challenger. The Sea Lion II was originally the single-seat Sea King II amphibian fighting scout of 1921, rebuilt as a flying-boat, with the 300 h.p. Hispano-Suiza engine replaced by a 450 h.p. Napier Lion. The Sea King mainplane structure was retained, the wing area being reduced by modification to a smaller chord, and to offset the greater torque the fin area above the tailplane was enlarged by a forward curvature. Apart from these modifications, the machine differed little from its original form, retaining the registration of G-EBAH. The actual contest, held at Naples on 10 and 12 August, 1922, was won by the Sea Lion, piloted by H. C. Biard, who employed airmanship and tactics of a high degree. During the preliminary trials, Biard had deliberately kept the Sea Lion throttled back, and banked somewhat clumsily on the turns, which lulled the three Italian competitors into a false sense of security. In the race itself, Biard was the first away, recording a first lap speed of over 150 m.p.h., and this was held for six laps. For the next few laps he nursed his engine, during which time the nearest Italian closed up to a mere 20 seconds behind. On the final lap, Biard gave the Sea Lion full throttle, crossing the finishing line one-and-a-half minutes ahead of his nearest rival, winning the Trophy for Great Britain at an average speed of 145-7 m.p.h. This victory was all the more noteworthy in that it was a private venture due to the individual enterprise of Mr Hubert Scott-Paine and Mr H. T. Vane of the Supermarine and Napier companies respectively. It also brought to public notice for the first time the name of R. J. Mitchell, by that time Supermarine’s chief engineer and designer and responsible for the Sea Lion.


SPECIFICATION

   Power Plant: One 450 h.p. Napier Lion II.
   Span: 32 feet
   Length: 24 feet 9 inches
   Weight Loaded: 2,850 pounds
   Total Area: Not available
   Max. Speed: Officially 125 m.p.h., but this was probably deliberately misleading for tactical reasons, as in the contest the machine attained a maximum speed of just under 160 m.p.h.
Endurance: 3 hours


Supermarine Sea Lion III (1923)

   After the 1922 success, the seventh Schneider Trophy contest was held at Cowes, Isle of Wight, on 27 and 28 September, 1923. For the first time a government-sponsored team of three aircraft, all Curtiss floatplanes, was entered by the United States Navy as the principal challengers to Great Britain, who entered a team of three aircraft from the manufacturers.
   The Italian teams and two of the British entries were victims of accidents and mechanical troubles, leaving just the Supermarine Sea Lion III to face the entire opposition, consisting of the Americans and a French machine.
   The Sea Lion III was the original Sea Lion II rebuilt with two-bay mainplanes, and having vertical tail surfaces of similar profile to the Sea King II but of slightly larger area. Hull modifications increased the overall length to 27 feet 6 inches, and the wing-tip floats were now mounted upon struts. The power unit was a Napier Lion III of 450 h.p., driving a four- bladed pusher propeller.
   The Sea Lion II registration, G-EBAH, was retained, and the racing number ‘7’ was allocated, the pilot being H. C. Biard. In the race, two of the Curtiss machines were the first to start, and their first lap speed indicated that unless mechanical trouble intervened the contest was a foregone conclusion. Outclassed, Biard and the Sea Lion nevertheless made a gallant effort, gaining third place at an average speed of 151-56 m.p.h. The Sea Lion III was transferred to the Royal Air Force on 4 December, 1923, receiving the serial N170.


SPECIFICATION

   Power Plant: One 450 h.p. Napier Lion III
   Span: 32 feet
   Length: 27 feet 6 inches
   Weight Loaded: 3,275 pounds
   Total Area: Not available
   Max. Speed: 165 m.p.h.
   Endurance: 3 hours

Журнал Flight

Flight, September 4, 1919.

THE JACQUES SCHNEIDER CUP RACE

The Machines

The Supermarine Flying-boat

   As it incorporates several new features, the flying-boat built by the Supermarine Aviation Co. is, up to the present, more or less of a "dark horse," and its makers do not wish any information published before the race. The machine is not, however, a freak built entirely for speed at any cost, and the makers are prepared to take it out in any sea that is likely to be encountered in that part of the world at this time of the year. It is a flying-boat more or less on the lines of previous Supermarine flying-boat scouts, and is fitted with a 450 h.p. Napier "Lion" engine. It is of interest to mention that this machine is capable of the evolutions of the small land scouts, such as looping, rolling, spinning, etc. It will be interesting to see how the seaworthy and necessarily heavier flying-boat will compare with the lighter-built float seaplanes.