Felixstowe F.3
The Felixstowe F.3 was a British First World War flying boat, successor to the Felixstowe F.2 designed by Lieutenant Commander John Cyril Porte RN at the naval air station, Felixstowe.
| Felixstowe F.3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Felixstowe F.3, Canada 1920 | |
| Role | Military flying boat |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers Dick, Kerr & Co. Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Malta Dockyard (23) Canadian Vickers |
| Designer | John Cyril Porte |
| First flight | February 1917 |
| Introduction | February 1918 |
| Primary users | Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force United States Navy |
| Number built | 182 |
| Developed from | Felixstowe F.2 |
| Variants | Felixstowe F.5 Felixstowe F5L |
Design and development
In February 1917, the first prototype of the Felixstowe F.3 was flown. This was a larger and heavier development of the Felixstowe F.2A, powered by two 320 hp (239 kW) Sunbeam Cossack engines.[1] Large orders followed, with the production aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Eagles. The F.3's larger size gave it greater range and a heavier bombload than the F2, but poorer speed and agility. Approximately 100 Felixstowe F.3s were produced before the end of the war, including 18 built by the Dockyard Constructional Unit at Malta.
Operational history
The larger F.3, which was less popular with its crews than the more maneuverable F.2A, served in the Mediterranean as well as the North Sea.
In 1920, the Canadian Air Board sponsored a project to conduct the first-ever Trans-Canada flight to determine the feasibility of such flights for future air mail and passenger service. The leg from Rivière du Loup to Winnipeg was flown by Lieutenant Colonel Leckie and Major Hobbs in a Felixstowe F.3. Six F.3s served with the Canadian Air Force/Air Board between 1921 and 1923.[3]
On the 22 March 1921, a Felixstowe F.3 flying boat of the Portuguese Naval Aviation – crewed by the naval aviators Sacadura Cabral and Ortins de Bettencourt, naval navigator Gago Coutinho and aviation mechanic Roger Soubiran – performed the first flight between Mainland Portugal and Madeira.
Variants
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- Felixstowe F-III
- Canadian Vickers Felixstowe F.3 built for a transatlantic attempt.
- Short F.3 Air Yacht
- G-EAQT (ex N4019) and G-EBDQ (ex N4177) placed on the civil register and converted for private use. G-EAQT fitted by Short Brothers, including three lounges upholstered in green and grey for ten passengers.[5]
Operators
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- The Aerial Company Ltd - G-EAQT (ex N4019) damaged in transit from the UK[5]
- Aviation Ltd - two proposed for commercial use, carrying six passengers or a ton (2,240 lb) of freight between the mainland and Tasmania[5]
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- Aeronáutica Naval España
- Spanish seaplane carrier Dédalo – three carried
Specifications (F.3)
Data from British Naval Aircraft since 1912
General characteristics
- Crew: four
- Length: 49 ft 2 in (14.99 m)
- Wingspan: 102 ft 0 in (31.09 m)
- Height: 18 ft 8 in (5.69 m)
- Wing area: 1,432 sq ft (133.03 m2)
- Empty weight: 7,958 lb (3,610 kg)
- Gross weight: 12,235 lb (5,550 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII V12 inline piston, 345 hp (257 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 91 mph (147 km/h, 79 kn) at 2,000 ft (610 m)
- Endurance: Six hours
- Service ceiling: 8,000 ft (2,438 m)
- Time to altitude: 5 min 15 s to 2,000 ft (610 m); 24 min to 6,500 ft (2,000 m)
- Wing loading: 8.54 lb/sq ft (41.8 kg/m2)
- Power/mass: 0.056 hp/lb (0.092 kW/kg)
Armament
- Guns: 4 × Lewis guns (one in the nose, three amidships)
- Bombs: Up to 920 lb (420 kg) of bombs beneath wings
References
- Bruce 16 December 1955, p.897.
- John A Griffin fonds, 1 Canadian Air Division Heritage Office
- "A Converted F5 Flying Boat". Flight. Vol. XVI, no. 799. 17 April 1924. pp. 219–220 – via Internet Archive.
- Eyre, David C. (19 May 2019). "Felixstowe F.3". Aeropedia. Aeropedia. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
- Ransom and Fairclough, S and R (1987). "English Electric Aircraft and their Predecessors". Their Fighting Machines. Putnam. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
Further reading
- J.M., Bruce (2 December 1955), "The Felixstowe Flying-Boats (Historic Military Aircraft No. 11 Part 1)", Flight, pp. 842–846, archived from the original on 7 November 2018
- J.M., Bruce (16 December 1955), "The Felixstowe Flying-Boats (Historic Military Aircraft No. 11 Part 2)", Flight, pp. 895–898, archived from the original on 3 August 2016
- J.M., Bruce (23 December 1955), "The Felixstowe Flying-Boats (Historic Military Aircraft No. 11 Part 3)", Flight, vol. 68, no. 2448, pp. 929–932, archived from the original on 5 March 2016
- Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft since 1912. London: Putnam, Fourth edition, 1978. ISBN 0-370-30021-1.
External links
- Felixstowe F.3 G-EAQT (c/n S.6907): Article describing an attempt and proposal to establish commercial flying boat services in Australia between 1919 and 1921 using the Felixstowe F3.
- The First Trans-Canada Flight: Photographs including the Felixstowe F.3 flown by Leckie and Hobbs during October 1920 and their stop in Selkirk, Manitoba.
- Fire Fighting with Aeroplanes: Film showing the use of flying boats, including a Felixstowe F.3 (G-CYBT) and seaplanes to help prevent forest fires in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, c.1922.
- A Heroic Rescue In The Wilderness Of Northwestern Ontario: Article describing the search and rescue of Felixstowe F.3 (G-CYBT) by Felixstowe F.3 (G-CYEN) from Pikangikum, Ontario, Canada, during July and August 1922, ultimately written off charge from Manitoba in September.
- In the Wake of Captain Cook: Canadian Government Motion Picture Bureau film of a visit by F.3 flying boat (G-CYDI) to Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island, Canada, c.1922.
- Felixstowe Flying-Boats