Short Knuckleduster

Built to spec R24 /31 the Short S18 had the misfortune to follow the spec and fit the truly awful R.R. Goshawk steam cooled engines, something the competing Supermarine Stranraer and Saro London did not do and they got the order. However, what was learnt by Shorts from this plane eventually resulted in the Sunderland - a whole different story.

Span 90' Length 63'3" Height 19'6" Empty Weight 11,720 lb
Loaded Weight 18,500 lb
Max Speed 150 mph Range 1,040 miles Service ceiling 15,500 ft
Crew 5 Armament 3 x .303" Lewis guns

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The Goshawk engines didn't do it any favors, not Short's fault but the terms of the specification, something which Saunders Roe and Supermarine managed to ignore.

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Looks a bit like a British Martin Mariner, only this was built nearly a decade earlier.

for a long time the British had a real phobia against monoplanes. The fate of the excellent M-1 fighter of World War I was a classic case in point. Another was this maritime patrol flying boat from Shorts. There was really nothing particularly wrong with this airplane except that it was a little ahead of it's time. In 1933 the RAF simply weren't ready to accept a monoplane flying boat.

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Interesting! A gull-wing flying boat...very appropriate design.

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