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Supermarine Stranraer

1937 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

History of Supermarine Stranraer

The Supermarine Stranraer was the last improvement on the Supermarine Southampton, debuting in March 1925. The original Southampton had an extremely successful flying career, being used by the military (Royal Air Force (RAF)) and civilian airliners. Until the 1930s, the type saw about 83 examples built with services, before being superseded by modern types.

The Stranraer itself was developed to Air Ministry specification R.24/31 (same as the Saro London airship), which required a maritime coast patrol platform to serve the RAF. In 1933, Supermarine was awarded a contract for a prototype.

Stranraer became one of the last airships to be equipped with biplanes.

Supermarine engineers produced a twin-engine biplane wing design mounted on a long fuselage that resembled a hull for water landings. The pontoon is installed under the lower wing assembly to keep the boat upright in rough water.

The cockpit is completely enclosed, with windows on the sides of the fuselage. One open-air emplacement was placed at the front of the design, and a second mid-section was placed along the fuselage spine behind the wings. Bombs, mines or depth charges can be placed under the wings (up to 1,000 lbs) to engage targets at sea. The fins are covered by a horizontal plane that supports a pair of vertical fins.

The initial prototype was equipped with a pair of Bristol Pegasus IIIM series radial piston engines, each rated at 820 hp, and the engines were designed to be placed high along the leading edge of the upper wing assembly. Each engine drives a two-bladed wooden propeller. The fuselage was metal, while the wings were covered in fabric - in keeping with aircraft design at the time, when all-metal skinned aircraft became more popular before World War II.

At this point in its development, the aircraft was known as "Stranraer" after a small town in southwest Scotland. The Stranraer's first flight was recorded on July 24, 1934, after which the RAF received a working model for formal testing.

After some anticipated modifications, the RAF officially entered service with this type in 1937. The original order was for 17 aircraft, with the first deliveries in 1937. 228th Squadron at Pembroke Docks. The production molds differed from the original prototype for the Bristol Pegasus X-Series air-cooled 9-cylinder radial piston engines, each producing 920 horsepower, as the prototype's engine unit was underpowered.

These engines now drive more modern three-bladed metal propellers. The Stranraer can carry a crew of up to seven and is armed with two 7.7mm Lewis machine guns. It has a wingspan of 85 feet and a length of 54 feet 9 inches.

It has a top speed of 165 mph and a range of 1,000 miles - capable of operating from a ceiling of 18,500 feet. Once in circulation, RAF staff had a hard time finding the genre, and many unattractive monikers soon emerged. In any case, the new aircraft played an extremely important role in U-boat coastal patrols, although neither took part in combat operations during World War II (1939-1945). The model was withdrawn from front-line service as early as March 1941, although several remained at the station as training platforms until October 1942.

The British Stranraers were eventually replaced by the excellent American PBY Catalina airships.

It was in the hands of the Canadians (Royal Canadian Air Force) that Stranraer built its more notable history as 40 examples were locally built by Vickers Ltd of Canada and served more time than the RAF long. Like the British brand, the Canadian Stranraer were used for anti-submarine patrol missions, although they were deployed locally on both Canadian coasts during World War II (eight at the outbreak of the war). Likewise, no one is destined to see direct combat action in conflict. Canadian Stranraers were used in this capacity until February 1945, and then from 1946 the examples were passed on to interested civilian groups in Canada and the United States.

Militarily, Stranraer only served in the British and Canadian armies during her tenure. The last civilian, Stranraer, retired in 1957. Canadian Stranraers were also replaced by American Catalinas before the war ended.

Only one complete Stranraer has survived and this example can be seen in all its glory at the RAF Museum (London). The specimen on display is native to Canada, where she has worked as a trainer, anti-submarine platform and airliner throughout her long career. A total of 57 Stranraers were produced.