Short Gurnard
| S.10 Gurnard | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| The Gurnard II as an amphibian | |
| Role | Fleet fighter |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers |
| First flight | 16 April 1929 |
| Number built | 2 |
The Short Gurnard was a single-engined two-seat biplane naval fighter, built in the United Kingdom to an Air Ministry specification in 1929. It failed to win production orders and only two flew.
The duralumin-framed Short Sturgeon had never been expected to achieve production status, but the Air Ministry were sufficiently impressed with its behaviour on water and in the air to invite Shorts to tender for Air Ministry specification O.22/26, a two-seat fleet fighter. The specification sought a Fairey Flycatcher replacement, an aircraft that would spend much time in fleet spotter and reconnaissance roles, though without the third crew member the navy usually thought necessary for the latter task; but it also was to have the speed and rate of climb to catch bombers. It was required to be able to perform as a deck lander or a seaplane, and to be strong enough in either configuration to be launched by catapult. Shorts were advised that their duralumin monocoque fuselage was not suitable for below deck maintenance. Their tender was rewarded with an order for two prototypes of the S.10 Gurnard.
As a result of the Air Ministry comments, the fuselage of the Gurnard was quite different from Shorts recent series of single-engined monocoques. It was a welded steel tube structure with duralumin detachable panels forward and fabric covering aft. The two separate open cockpits were very close together, the pilot sitting in front just under a visibility cut-out in the trailing edge of the upper wing, raised up for a better view over the nose. A 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun operated by the pilot was mounted on the decking in front of him, slightly to port. The rear cockpit was fitted with a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring. The steel fuselage stopped at the rear with an attachment for the only monocoque part of the Gurnard, the empennage-carrying tail cone. The fin and rudder leading edge was rounded, the trailing edge of the horn balanced rudder straight. The latter extended below the fuselage, with additional fixed surface in front of it. These surfaces were fabric covered.
The two Gurnard prototypes had different engines. The Gurnard II, the first to be completed, had a 525 hp (392 kW) Rolls-Royce Kestrel IIS supercharged water-cooled inline and the Gurnard I a 525 hp Bristol Jupiter X supercharged radial engine. Accordingly, the Gurnard II had a smooth and pointed cowling, with a drum-shaped radiator between the undercarriage legs, whilst the radial engine had a narrow chord Townend ring, with the rear part of its cylinders visible from the side.
...
Wikipedia