Short Sarafand

infobox Aircraft
name = Sarafand
type = flying boat
manufacturer = Short Brothers


caption =
designer =
first flight = 30 June 1932
introduced =
retired = 1936
status =
primary user = Royal Air Force Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe
more users =
produced =
number built = 1
unit cost =
variants with their own articles =

The Short S.14 Sarafand was a British biplane flying boat built by Short Brothers. It was planned as a general reconnaissance aircraft for military service.

The Sarafand was first proposed by Oswald Short in 1928 as an enlarged development of the Singapore II, to provide transatlantic range capabilitity. Short managed to persuade first his chief designer Arthur Gouge and then the Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Hugh Trenchard (later Viscount Trenchard) of the feasibility of such a large aircraft and Air Ministry specification R.6/28 was drawn up to define the project. It was conducted as a public/private joint venture, the Air Ministry funding it with £60,000 and Short Brothers providing the rest. [Barnes & James, p. 257]

Design

Due to the high wing end loads, Gouge specified corrugated steel spars for both upper and lower wings. The six engines, in tractor/pusher pairs, were housed in monocoque nacelles mounted between the wings on integral girders; the central nacelle was further supported by two pairs of splayed struts to the lower wing-roots. The hull, largely constructed of anodised Alclad, had a stainless-steel planing bottom. [Barnes & James, p. 257-260]

Operational history

The maiden flight, with Shorts' Chief Test Pilot, John Lankester Parker at the controls and Oswald Short as co-pilot, was made at Rochester on the River Medway on 30 June 1932 [Barnes & James, p. 259] . Only one S.14 was built (serial S1589) and it was later used for experimental flying at the Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe. The Sarafand was scrapped there in 1936.

Operators

;UK
*Royal Air Force
**Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe

pecifications

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop
ref= British Aircraft Directory [cite web|publisher=British Aircraft Directory|url=http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=387|title=Short Sarafand|accessdate =2007-03-29]

crew=9 (2 pilots, navigator, radio operator, engineer, four gunners)
capacity=
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 89 ft 6 in
length alt= 27.3 m
span main=120 ft
span alt= 36.6 m
height main=
height alt=
area main= 3,460 sq ft
area alt= 214 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 44,750 lb
empty weight alt= 20,300 kg
loaded weight main=70,000 lb
loaded weight alt= 31,700 kg
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
more general=

engine (prop)=Rolls-Royce Buzzard
type of prop=in three tractor/pusher pairs
number of props= 6
power main= 825 hp
power alt=
power original=

max speed main= 150 mph
max speed alt= 246 km/h
cruise speed main=
cruise speed alt=
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 1,450 miles
range alt= 2,337 km
ceiling main= 12,000 ft
ceiling alt= 3,660 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=

guns=Four 0.303 in Lewis machine guns mounted on Scarff rings; provision was made for a 1½-pounder (37 mm) gun to be fitted in the bow. [Barnes & James, p. 260]

avionics=

ee also

aircontent
related=
*Short Singapore
similar aircraft=
see also=
lists=

References

* cite book
last = Barnes C.H. & James D.N
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Shorts Aircraft since 1900
publisher =Putnam
date =
location =London (1989)
pages =560
url =
doi =
id = ISBN 0-85177-819-4

External links

* [http://www.seawings.co.uk/sarabwgal.htm Pictures at seawings.co.uk]
* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=387 British Aircraft site]