Short Calcutta
| S.8 Calcutta | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| View shows the pilot in the open cockpit. | |
| Role | Biplane airliner flying boat |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers |
| First flight | 14 February 1928 |
| Introduction | 1928 |
| Primary user | Imperial Airways |
| Number built | 7 |
| Developed from | Short Singapore |
| Variants |
Short Rangoon Short Kent Breguet 521 |
The Short Calcutta or S.8 was a civilian biplane airliner flying boat made by Short Brothers.
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 15 passengers.
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.G-EBVG was handed over to Imperial Airways on 9 August 1928.
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, which 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.
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