Avro 501

501
501
General information
Type	Military utility seaplane
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Avro
Number built	1 – 501; 4 – 503
History
First flight	January 1913

The Avro Type H, Type 501, and Type 503 were a family of early British military seaplanes. They were a development of the Avro 500 design and were originally conceived of as amphibious, the prototype being fitted with a single large main float (equipped with wheels) under the fuselage, and two outrigger floats under the wings.

Design and development

Tests were conducted on Windermere in January 1913. It was later converted to a twin-float configuration and bought by the British Admiralty. It now, however, proved too heavy and was converted again – this time to a landplane.^[1]

An improved version, designated the 503, was demonstrated to the Inspector of Naval Aircraft, who placed an order for three machines. The prototype itself was demonstrated for the Imperial German Navy in its seaplane trials in June 1913 and was purchased by the government of the German Empire for evaluation purposes. This machine subsequently became the first aircraft to fly across the North Sea, from Wilhelmshaven to Heligoland, in September 1913. Gotha purchased a licence from Avro and produced the type as the WD.1 (Wasser Doppeldecker – "Water Biplane").^[1]

Operators

German Empire

Kaiserliche Marine – one aircraft.

United Kingdom

Royal Naval Air Service

Turkey

Ottoman Air Force

Specifications (501 seaplane)

Data from Avro Aircraft since 1908^[3]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 33 ft 0 in (10.06 m)
Wingspan: 47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Height: 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Wing area: 478 sq ft (44.4 m²)
Empty weight: 1,740 lb (789 kg)
Gross weight: 2,700 lb (1,225 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Gnome Omega Omega 14-cyl two row air-cooled rotary piston engine , 100 hp (75 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 55 mph (89 km/h, 48 kn)

References

^ ^a ^b Jackson, A.J. (1990). Avro Aircraft since 1908 (Second ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-834-8.
^ Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912: Sixth Revised Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991, ISBN 1-55750-076-2, p. 400.
^ Jackson 1990, p. 51.

External links

Avro 501 – British Aircraft Directory

[Jackson-1] Jackson, A.J. (1990). Avro Aircraft since 1908 (Second ed.). London: Putnam. ISBN 0-85177-834-8.

[2] Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912: Sixth Revised Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991, ISBN 1-55750-076-2, p. 400.

[Jack_avro_p51-3] Jackson 1990, p. 51.

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