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Short Type 184

1915 WORLD WAR 1

History

Northern Ireland's Short Brothers was established in 1908 and throughout most of aviation history has been a major player in the UK aviation industry (it still exists today as Short Brothers PLC, part of parent brand Bombardier Aerospace ). To meet the wartime requirements of the UK Naval Air Service (RNAS) for a torpedo delivery platform, Horace Short designed an entirely new water-launched biplane, known in military service as the "Type 184" (also known as the "Type 184"). "Type 225").

Other early attempts at torpedo-launched biplanes were lackluster, often lacking the power needed for the job, forcing RNAS to seek a more explicit and targeted solution, which evolved into a formal requirement in September 1914. The Kurz brothers managed to secure a contract for two prototypes to produce the Type 184 and flew the first prototype in 1915.

The default weapon is only 1 x . The 303 Lewis machine gun was mounted on a trainable mount in the rear cockpit and operated by an observer. The aircraft is certified to carry 1 x torpedo (14 inches in diameter) or conventional intermediate storage of up to 520 pounds - which enables it to attack sea and land targets as needed.

With the development of the Type 184 progressing satisfactorily, RNAS commissioned 10 more aircraft. The first two prototypes were used for operational testing during the war, and the pair was based on the HMS Ben-My-Chree (the package steamship battleship described elsewhere on this site) sailing from there during the Battle of Gallipoli against the enemy. On August 12, 1915, one of the prototypes became the first in aviation history to fire torpedoes at enemy warships. On August 17, the series captured an enemy ship with a single torpedo.

The Short 184 was also famously the only serial aircraft to be featured in the famous Battle of Jutland (an example of which was in a reconnaissance role).

During the First World War, the Type 184 fought for Britain on all major fronts - eventually as torpedo bombers, submarine hunters, observation platforms, light bombers, etc. - and served until conflict of war positions; for origins can be traced back That was a remarkable feat for a 1915 fighter. By the end of production, production had reached 936, a total of no less than ten British aviation industry workers.

There was a land-based version of the Type 184, which was the "short bomber" of 1916, operated jointly by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and RNAS.

The last Type 184 was withdrawn from British service in 1920, and was completely phased out by early 1923. Some continued to see civilian market service after the war. Foreign operators continued to rely on this type until the early 1930s.

In addition to the British Series 184 operations, other supporters include the Royal Canadian Naval Air Service (RCNAS), the Chilean Air Force and Naval Service (operating until 1933), the Estonian Air Force (operating until 1933) and the French Greek Navy and Netherlands Naval Air Service. The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) obtained an example for testing and operated the unit as a "short-range reconnaissance seaplane".

Some other notable variants of the series are the "Type D", a modification of the base design, which operates as a single-seat bomber (with a 9 x 65 pound bomb), and the "Type Dover 184", modified by Cherbourg and seaplanes operated by Dover Patrol of New Haven, and the "Short Cut," a one-off with unequal span wings, modified empennage and wingtip floats to squeeze more speed out of the design.