Supermarine Nanok

Nanok
Nanok
General information
Other name(s)	Solent
Type	Patrol bomber flying boat
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Supermarine
Designer	R.J. Mitchell
Number built	1
History
First flight	21 June 1927
Retired	1934
Developed from	Supermarine Southampton

The Supermarine Nanok was a British three-engined biplane flying boat built by Supermarine. Built to meet a Royal Danish Navy requirement, the single prototype was rebuilt as a private air yacht and renamed the Supermarine Solent.

Development and design

The Nanok (Inuit language: "Polar bear") was a three-engined development of Supermarine's successful Southampton flying boat, designed to meet a Danish requirement for a torpedo-carrying flying boat. A prototype was ordered on 17 June 1926, and the aircraft first flew on 21 June 1927. Testing was disappointing, and despite modifications the aircraft could not meet the specified performance and was rejected by the Danes.^[1]

In 1928 the aircraft was renamed the Supermarine Solent, and offered for sale as a torpedo bomber, but failed to sell. It was therefore converted to a civilian 9 seater air yacht for the brewing magnate Ernest Guinness.^[2]^[3] This was registered as G-AAAB in August 1928. Guinness may have found the interior headroom of the hull too small, as he almost immediately ordered its replacement, the all-metal Supermarine Air Yacht. The Solent was deregistered and scrapped in 1934.

The name 'Supermarine Solent' was also applied to a separate aircraft design, using the Supermarine Southampton hull with the Nanok's larger wings, as a 14-seat civil transport. This design failed to sell though.^[2]

Operational history

The Solent was certified as airworthy on 5 September 1928,^[4] and was used to fly frequently between England and the owner's home near Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland.^[1] It remained in use until it was scrapped in 1934.^[4]

Operators

Denmark

Royal Danish Navy

Specifications (Nanok)

Data from Supermarine Aircraft since 1914 ^[5]

General characteristics

Crew: 5
Length: 50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
Wingspan: 75 ft 0 in (22.86 m)
Height: 19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
Wing area: 1,572 sq ft (146.0 m²)
Empty weight: 10,619 lb (4,817 kg)
Gross weight: 16,311 lb (7,399 kg)
Powerplant: 3 × Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 430 hp (320 kW) each
Propellers: 2-bladed wooden fixed-pitch propellers, 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) diameter

Performance

Maximum speed: 113.5 mph (182.7 km/h, 98.6 kn) at sea level

101.2 mph (88 kn; 163 km/h) at 10,000 ft (3,048 m)

Stall speed: 64 mph (103 km/h, 56 kn)
Range: 640 mi (1,030 km, 560 nmi) for reconnaissance missions
Combat range: 240 mi (390 km, 210 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,920 ft (3,330 m)
Rate of climb: 607 ft/min (3.08 m/s)
Time to altitude:

5,000 ft (1,524 m) in 10 minutes 20 seconds
10,000 ft (3,048 m) in 31 minutes

Wing loading: 10.4 lb/sq ft (51 kg/m²) ^{[citation needed]}
Power/mass: 0.079 hp/lb (0.130 kW/kg)^{[citation needed]}

Armament

Guns: 2 × .303 in (7.7 mm) machine guns (one in bow and one amidships)
Bombs: 2 × 1,534 lb (700 kg) torpedoes

References

^ ^a ^b Andrews & Morgan 1987, p. 117.
^ ^a ^b Pegram 2016, p. 64.
^ Andrews & Morgan 1987, p. 119.
^ ^a ^b Jackson 1988, p. 350.
^ Andrews & Morgan 1987, pp. 121, 123.

Sources

Andrews, Charles Ferdinand; Morgan, Eric B. (1987). Supermarine Aircraft since 1914. London: Putnam. ISBN 978-0-85177-800-6.
Jackson, A.J. (1988). British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972. Vol. 3. London: Putnam. ISBN 978-0-85177-818-1.
Pegram, Ralph (2016). Beyond the Spitfire: The Unseen Designs of R.J. Mitchell. Pegram: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-6515-6.