Short S.26
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The Short S.26 G-class was a large transport flying boat designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers. It was designed to achieve a non-stop transatlantic capability, increasing the viability of long distant services/duties.
S.26 'G-Class' | |
---|---|
Short S.26/M (X8274, formerly 'Golden Fleece'), after impressment in 1940[1] | |
Role | Transport Flying Boat |
Manufacturer | Short Brothers |
First flight | 21 July 1939 |
Primary users | Royal Air Force Imperial Airways British Overseas Airways Corporation |
Number built | 3 |
Developed from | Short Empire |
The S.26 had been developed from the preceding Short Empire, a large flying boat developed during the early-to-mid 1930s. Unlike the Empire, it was even larger and designed to cover longer distances before needing to refuel. It had been developed at the request of the British airline Imperial Airways, as well as at the encouragement of the Air Ministry, who anticipated its potential use as a maritime patrol aircraft and other military purposes. First flown on 21 July 1939, a total of three S.26 flying boats were constructed on behalf of Imperial Airways, but these were only briefly operated by the airline in a training capacity due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
During 1940, all three S.26s were impressed into military service, leading to the type being used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). They were reconfigured into a more suitable arrangement for military transport duties, after which individual flying boats transported mixed cargoes around the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In December 1941, two examples were released to the national airline British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and commenced civilian services shortly thereafter between the UK and Nigeria. Continuing to be flown after the end of the conflict, the S.26 fell out of use during the late 1940s and the last example of the type being scrapped during the following decade.