Short S.8 Calcutta

infobox Aircraft
name = S.8 Calcutta
type = Biplane airliner flying boat
manufacturer = Short Brothers



caption = View shows the pilot in the open cockpit
designer =
first flight = 14 February 1928
introduced = 1928
retired =
status =
primary user = Imperial Airways
more users =
produced =
number built = 7
unit cost =
developed from=Short Singapore
variants with their own articles = Short Rangoon
Breguet 521The Short Calcutta or S.8 was a civilian biplane airliner flying boat made by Short Brothers.

Design and development

The Calcutta biplane flying boat originated from an Imperial Airways requirement to service the Mediterranean legs of its services to and from India. Derived from the Short Singapore military flying boat, the Calcutta was noteworthy for being the first stressed skin, metal-hulled flying boat. It was equipped with three Bristol Jupiter engines mounted between the wings. The two pilots flew the plane from an open cockpit while the radio operator shared the main cabin with the 15 passengers.

Operational history

The S.8 Calcutta made its first flight on 14 February 1928, having been launched the previous day and left at its mooring overnight to assess the hull for signs of leakage. Shorts' Chief Test Pilot, John Lankester Parker was at the controls, with Major Herbert G. Brackley of Imperial Airways as co-pilot. On 15 March 1928 this aircraft (registered as "G-EBVG") was delivered by Parker and Brackley to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, Felixstowe, for its airworthiness and sea handling checks; these were successfully completed on 27 July of the same year and the aircraft was flown back to Shorts on the same day. [Barnes and James, p.227.] "G-EBVG" was handed over to Imperial Airways on 9 August 1928. [Barnes and James, p.228.]

The S.8 Calcutta was introduced in 1928 and was used by Imperial Airways flying the Mediterranean to Karachi leg of the Britain to India route.

A total of seven aircraft were built. A military version of the Calcutta, originally known as the "Calcutta (Service type)", was built as the Short Rangoon. In 1924, a Calcutta was purchased by the French Breguet Company from which they developed a military version for the French Navy known as the Breguet S.8/2, it was similar to the Rangoon version. Four aircraft were built under licence by Breguet at Le Havre. Breguet later developed an improved version the Breguet 521 Bizerte.

On 1 August 1928 Parker, accompanied by Oswald Short, flew "G-EBVG" to Westminster, setting it down on the Thames between Vauxhall and Lambeth Bridges; it was moored off the Albert Embankment for three days for inspection by Members of Parliament (including the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Winston Spencer Churchill, members of the House of Lords and others. [ [http://www.bamuseum.com/museumhistory20-30.html History of the British Airways Museum, British Airways Archive and Museum Collection] , Access date: 1 February 2007] [Barnes and James, p.227.]

Operators

; UK
* Imperial Airways

pecifications

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

ref=http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=389

crew= 3
capacity=15
payload main=
payload alt=
length main= 66 ft
length alt= 20.1 m
span main= 93 ft
span alt= 28.4 m
height main= 56 ft
height alt= 17 m
area main= 1,825 ft²
area alt= 170 m²
airfoil=
empty weight main= 13,845 lb
empty weight alt= 6,280 kg
loaded weight main=
loaded weight alt=
useful load main=
useful load alt=
max takeoff weight main= 22,487 lb
max takeoff weight alt= 10,200 kg
more general=

engine (prop)=Bristol Jupiter IXF
type of prop= radial engine
number of props= 3
power main= 550 hp
power alt= 410 kW
power original=

max speed main= 118 mph
max speed alt= 190 km/h
cruise speed main= 97 mph
cruise speed alt= 156 km/h
stall speed main=
stall speed alt=
never exceed speed main=
never exceed speed alt=
range main= 650 miles
range alt= 1,046 km
ceiling main= 13,500 ft
ceiling alt= 4,115 m
climb rate main=
climb rate alt=
loading main=
loading alt=
thrust/weight=
power/mass main=
power/mass alt=
more performance=

armament=

avionics=

References

* "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)". London: Orbis Publishing.
* 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://avia.russian.ee/air/england/short_calcutta.html Virtual Aircraft Museum]
* [http://britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=389 British Aircraft directory]

ee also

aircontent
related=Short Rangoon
Breguet 521 Bizerte

similar aircraft=

sequence=S.3b Chamois - S.6 Sturgeon - S.8 Calcutta - Crusader - S.10 Gurnard

lists=

see also=