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Supermarine Sea Otter

1942 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

History of the Super Sea Otter

UK-based Supermarine is known for its famous WWII Victory Fighter and it is also a major player in the seaplane/airship industry. One of his pre-war contributions was "Sea Otter" (originally called "Stingray"), which was produced as an "amphibian" with biplane wings in 292 examples.

This classification means that the aircraft can land and take off on conventional runways and water due to its versatile design.

The Sea Otter was the company's version of the long-range naval patrol that was the basis for their wildly popular "Walrus" product in 1935, culminating in 740 built between 1936 and 1944. Again, this aircraft is an amphibious aircraft with biplane wing assemblies and has its engines fixed between the two aircraft above the fuselage.

The Sea Otter followed, but with its single-engine unit installed inside the main upper-wing aircraft. Unlike the Walrus, which provides power in a "propeller" arrangement, the Sea Otter reverts to a more traditional arrangement of propeller attachments, with the multi-blade unit affixed to the front of the engine unit ("puller" arrangement).

In its earliest form, the Sea Otter was equipped with a Bristol Perseus XI series air-cooled radial piston engine to drive a two-bladed propeller unit. When this proved too weak, the three-blade drive was replaced and the first flight was recorded on September 23, 1938.

Overheating issues prompted a complete powerplant replacement, in the form of the Bristol Mercury XXX series.

With the war in full swing, maritime patrols such as sea otters were quickly in high demand as sea lanes around the world were contested. The British Air Force finally ordered the model in January 1942, and the series entered service in war under the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy (RN) flags.

The latter proved to be the more efficient operator, with no less than 21 squadrons serving the Sea Otter. The RAF used the line in nine squadrons as well as an experimental naval unit.

As planned, the Sea Otter would consist of four people, 39.10 feet long, 46 feet wingspan, and 15 feet tall. With a curb weight of 6,800 pounds and an MTOW of 10,000 pounds, the Mercury XXX radial engine puts out 965 horsepower.

Top speed reaches 165 mph, with a range of nearly 700 miles, a service ceiling of up to 17,000 feet, and a climb rate of nearly 870 feet per minute.

The Sea Otter is equipped with a 7.7mm Vickers K machine gun in the nose and 2 7.7mm Vickers K machine guns in the tail. It has a bomb load of 4 x 250 lb drop bombs.

From the outside, the plane is definitely a product of its time. The fuselage is traditionally arranged with the cockpit behind the nose cone assembly. The cockpit has windows on the front and sides for better visibility for the crew.

The wing assembly of a biplane consists of a lower unit attached to the top of the fuselage and an upper unit suspended above the fuselage. The wings are connected by parallel struts and cables. The upper wing assembly holds the single-engine nacelle with the propeller just off the top of the fuselage.

Outboard pontoons are located under each lower wing element for waterway/stability. For ground operation, the aircraft adopts a traditional "smearing" attitude, consisting of two main legs extending from the sides of the fuselage and a small tail wheel located below the tail structure.

The tail has a vertical plane and two intermediate mounted horizontal planes.

Eventually, two production variants appeared, the first being the "Sea Otter Mk I", which was primarily used for reconnaissance and communications missions. The successor "Sea Otter Mk II" is a special search and rescue platform (SAR). The Air Force ordered about 592, but only 292 were eventually delivered, largely due to the end of the war in 1945.

Global operators include UK allies Australia, Denmark, Egypt, France and the Netherlands.

Sea otters found extensive postwar service in both military and civilian markets. In the latter, various facilities, including toilets and luggage, have been added to better serve passengers.

There are no more well-preserved sea otters today.