Short S.81

S.81
Role	Gun-carrying Seaplane
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Short Brothers
First flight	1914
Introduction	1914
Retired	1915
Primary user	Royal Naval Air Service
Number built	1

The Short S.81 was an experimental British gun-carrying pusher biplane seaplane, ordered from Short Brothers by the British Admiralty in 1913 for use by the Royal Naval Air Service.^[1]

The seaplane, manufacturers serial number S.81, was built at Eastchurch and allocated the military serial number 126.^[1] S.81 was delivered to Calshot on 25 May 1914 and accepted by the Navy on 2 June 1914.^[1] It had three-bay wings with overhanging upper wings, and was powered by a 160 hp (119 kW) Gnome rotary engine.^[2] It was first fitted with a 1½ pounder (37 mm) semi-automatic Vickers quick-firing gun in July 1914. Tests with this gun showed that recoil was severe, with claims that firing the gun would induce a stall.^[3]^[4] It was fitted with a number of different guns for trials,^[1] testing a six-pounder (57 mm) Davis gun (an early recoilless gun) in 1915.^[5] In 1915 it had a dynamo and searchlight fitted. No longer needed for trials, it was deleted from the inventory in October 1915.^[1]

Specifications

Data from The British Fighter since 1912^[4]

General characteristics

Crew: two
Wingspan: 67 ft 0 in (20.42 m)
Wing area: 540 sq ft (50 m²)
Empty weight: 2,200 lb (998 kg)
Gross weight: 3,600 lb (1,633 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome rotary engine, 160 hp (120 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 60 mph (97 km/h, 52 kn) at sea level

Armament

Guns: 1 × 1½ pounder Vickers gun

Operators

United Kingdom

Royal Naval Air Service

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Sturtivant and Page 1992, p. 37
^ Bruce 1957, p. 479.
^ Williams and Gustin 2003, p. 93.
^ ^a ^b Mason 1992, p. 24.
^ Williams and Gustin 2003, p. 94.

Bibliography

Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914–18. London:Putnam, 1957.
Mason, Francis K. The British Fighter since 1912. Annapolis, Maryland, USA: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-082-7.
Ray Sturtivant and Gordon Page Royal Navy Aircraft Serials and Units 1911-1919 Air-Britain, 1992. ISBN 0-85130-191-6.
Williams, Anthony G. and Emmanuel Gustin. Flying Guns World War I. Ramsbury, UK:Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-84037-396-2.

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Short_S.81
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[rn-1] Sturtivant and Page 1992, p. 37

[Bruce_British_p479-2] Bruce 1957, p. 479.

[Williams_p93-3] Williams and Gustin 2003, p. 93.

[Mason_fighter_p24-4] Mason 1992, p. 24.

[Williams_p94-5] Williams and Gustin 2003, p. 94.

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S.81

Role	Gun-carrying Seaplane Type of aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Short Brothers
First flight	1914
Introduction	1914
Retired	1915
Primary user	Royal Naval Air Service
Number built	1

Specifications

Operators

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography