Supermarine Aircraft Since 1914

Ref: 4507

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{detailed description}Supermarine is one of the great names in British aviation. The name itself was originally chosen by Noel Pemberton Billing as his telegraphic address when he decided to start his own aircraft company, because it was the opposite of submarine.
Following the design of a number of different Pemberton Billing, or P.B., aircraft, Super-marine embarked on a series of single-engined biplane flying-boats and amphibians — the Channel Type and Sea Eagle seeing early airline service, and the Sea Lions initiating Super-marine's association with the international Schneider Trophy contests.
For the 1925 Schneider race, Supermarine's R. J. Mitchell decided that a streamlined thin-wing monoplane with absolute minimum drag was needed, and to meet this requirement he produced the S.4 seaplane. The S.4 did not achieve the success it deserved but led to the S.5 which won in 1927, the S.6 winner of 1929, and the S6B which won the Trophy outright for Britain in 1931.
Supermarine also established a reputation for multi-engined flying-boats with the Southampton, Scapa and Stranraer, and its Type 179 six-engined passenger flying-boat could have put British air transport years ahead, if the Government had not cancelled it on grounds of economy.
The Spitfire, arguably the world's best known aeroplane, owed its existence to Supermarine's Schneider seaplane experience and the highly successful collaboration with Rolls-Royce. Supermarine's successful Schneider Trophy involvement was thus destined to play a major role in the winning of the Second World War.
After that war Supermarine played a major part in the development of jet aircraft for both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy.
This book traces this entire development, and is illustrated with some 300 photographs and with nearly 80 general arrangement drawings which include some hitherto unpublished projects.
Jacket photograph: Prototype Swift F.4 WK198 (A Vickers-Armstrong photograph)
{Author / Publisher / Date}by C. F. Andrews, & E. B. Morgan
1981 1st edn. 400pp
{condition}fine, including d/j.
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