History of Aviation in the Solent Area - 2

At the end of the First World War in 1919 the Supermarine Company entered one of their flying boats the Sea Lion in the Schneider Trophy Race. The Schneider Trophy Race was created by Jacques Schneider, a French man who was the son of a millionaire who had made his money in the 'arms' world. Schneider's idea was to create a competition for the fastest and safest seaplane or flying boat in the world. His intention was to make flying safer. The 1919 Contest was held at Bournemouth but unfortunately was so badly organised there was no result. The Sea Lion had all the hallmarks of the new young designer who had joined the Supermarine design team at Woolston. A few years earlier in 1916 R.J. Mitchell had come down from Stoke-on-Trent where he had previously been a railway engineer. This man's influence on the company was to be so great as to enable it by 1931 to have won the Schneider Trophy three times and outright for the United Kingdom. He increased the world speed record from double figures to over 400 mph by 1931. Mitchell's S.6B which won the Trophy outright, was the ultimate example of a series of slender, low-winged, monoplane floatplanes which started with the Napier Lion engined S.4 of 1925 and progressed via the contest winning S.5 of 1927 and the Rolls-Royce 'R' engined S.6 in 1929.

Mitchell designed the aircraft to give it least possible drag by eliminating conventional external radiators, the coolant for the engine was fed through double skins forming the wing surfaces and float coverings making it literally a 'flying radiator' the oil was put in the fin and fed through copper flutes alongside the fuselage through the engine and back through a duct in the keel of the fuselage. The fuel tanks were in the floats, one tank being larger than the other to counter the enormous torque of the fixed pitched propeller during take off. The S.6 aircraft was on the drawing board in 1928 at a time when most other designers were working in wood, canvas and string. The work carried out by Mitchell, Supermarine, Rolls-Royce and the R.A.F High Speed Flight at Calshot was to become very important when the designer went on to create his legendary Spitfire.

Between the Wars Supermarine designed and built under the supervision of Mitchell over 24 different types of aircraft such as the Walrus and the twin-engined Southampton flying boat that opened up the routes to the Far East, routes which are in fact used today by modern airlines. During this time also in 1924 Mitchell designed his commercial amphibian. This was a biplane with a single engine and could carry seven people including the pilot. A company was created called the British Marine Aircraft Navigation Company to operate these aircraft to northern France and the Channel Islands. The aircraft also known as the Sea Eagle launched the very first scheduled passenger flying boat service in the world. The company created by Supermarine became a part of Imperial Airways. Imperial Airways in turn became British Overseas Airways Corporation which in turn became British Airways (B.A.) So it is safe to say that BA's early beginnings started here in Southampton.

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