Short Mayo Composite
| Short Mayo Composite | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 20 Mercury on 21 Maia before the first transatlantic flight, August 1938 |
|
| Type: | Post plane ( mistletoe team ) |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
July 27th 1937 (p.21 Maia ) |
| Commissioning: |
1938-1942 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Short Mayo Composite was a combination of a four-engine flying boat and a four-engine floatplane on its back. It should be used for transatlantic airmail transport.
history
There was no British aircraft in the early 1930s that could have safely and reliably airlifted across the Atlantic . But it was known that an airplane can fly with more load than it can take off. So the aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers was commissioned to build two corresponding aircraft. In 1935, the technical director of Imperial Airways , Major R. H. Mayo founded the Mayo Composite Aircraft Company Ltd.
The Short S.21 Maia served as the carrier aircraft, a flying boat with four 920 HP Bristol Pegasus XC nine- cylinder radial engines ; its design corresponded to a Short S.23 Empire . The first flight of the S.21 took place on July 27, 1937. In addition to the piggyback test, it also served as a navigation trainer.
The upper half of the combination was the short S.20 Mercury. It was a shoulder- wing floatplane with four engines , initially Napier Rapier V, later Rapier VI H-engines with 374 hp. It took to the air for the first time on August 26, 1937, and the Mercury reached a cruising speed of 290 km / h. The take-off mass of 7030 kg could be increased by 2268 kg by the mother aircraft.
use
The first piggyback launch took place on January 21, 1938, and on February 6, the first successful breakup took place. After a series of tests and trials, the first commercial flight took place on July 21, 1938. After the separation over the Irish coast, 272 kg of freight and mail could be transported to Montreal in Canada . The 4600 km long route could be covered in 20 hours and 30 minutes; this corresponded to an average speed of 285 km / h. On the return flight, the Azores could be reached after 7.5 hours .
On October 6, 1938, the Mercury was able to land on the River Orange in South Africa in 42 hours after the separation via Dundee , Scotland . The machine was fully fueled with no cargo and was supposed to fly to Cape Town , but the fuel supply was insufficient, but the non-stop flight of 9,726 km set a new world record. The last piggyback flights took place in November 1938 and January 1939 on the Southampton - Alexandria route . The impending danger of war prevented further joint use.
The "Maia" was then converted to passenger transport and used in air traffic until it was destroyed on May 11, 1942 in the port of Poole when a single stray He 111 was bombed. When war broke out, the Royal Air Force (No. 320 Squadron RAF) confiscated the "Mercury" and used it for training. But in August 1941 it came back to Short and was scrapped.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | 20 Mercury | P.21 Maia |
|---|---|---|
| length | 15.50 m | 25.88 m |
| span | 22.20 m | 43.89 m |
| height | 6.17 m | 9.94 m |
| Wing area | 56.80 m² | 162.58 m² |
| Wing extension | 8.7 | 11.8 |
| Empty mass | 4614 kg | 11,229 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 7030 kg | |
| payload | 454 kg | |
| Engines | 4 Napier Rapier VI; 365 PS (268 kW) each | 4 Bristol Pegasus XC; 919 PS (676 kW) each |
| Top speed | 341 km / h | 322 km / h |
| Cruising speed | 313 km / h | |
| Summit height | approx. 9000 m | |
| Range | 6280 km | 1370 km |
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Short p.20 / p.21. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on December 18, 2015 ; Retrieved September 16, 2012 .
- ↑ Flying Forever - Shorts p.20 and p.21. Retrieved September 16, 2012 .
- ↑ Short Mayo Composite. Retrieved September 16, 2012 .
- ↑ Short Mayo. Retrieved September 16, 2012 .
- ↑ Short p.21 Mayo. October 31, 2007, accessed September 16, 2012 .
- ↑ Poole's fabulous flying boats: author's new book tells story of the Imperial Airways wartime service , The Daily Echo, January 29, 2014
- ↑ a b Short Transcontinental mail Composite Aircraft. May 4, 2012, accessed December 7, 2017 .