Short L.17 Scylla

The closure of Italian and Italian colonial seaports to Imperial Airways in the Mediterranean in 1929 brought a need for a longer range flying boat, with mail carriage a priority. The Kent biplane flying boat was Short's response, and three were built. Imperial Airways also persuaded Short to produce a landplane version of the Kent - the Scylla - which was principally different in having a rectangular fuselage and a fixed undercarriage. The two Scylla examples stayed in service longer, and had very short RAF careers in 1939-40. They were the last of Short's biplane designs and the last in service.