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Supermarine Nanok

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Top speed
  
183 km/h

Length
  
15 m

First flight
  
June 21, 1927

Wingspan
  
23 m

Retired
  
1934

Manufacturer
  
Supermarine

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.

Contents

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.

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 Arthur Ernest Guinness. 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.

Operational history

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

Operators

 Denmark
  • Royal Danish Navy

    • Specifications (Nanok)

    Data from Supermarine Aircraft since 1914

    General characteristics

  • Crew: Five
  • Length: 50 ft 6 in (15.40 m)
  • Wingspan: 75 ft 0 in (22.86 m)
  • Height: 19 ft 6 in (5.94 m)
  • Wing area: 1,572 ft² (146 m²)
  • Empty weight: 10,619 lb (4,817 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 16,311 lb (7,399 kg)
  • Powerplant: 3 × Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar IV 14-cylinder air cooled radial engine, 430 hp (321 kW) each

    • Performance

  • Maximum speed: 99 kn (113.5 mph, 183 km/h) at sea level
  • Stall speed: 56 kn (64 mph, 103 km/h)
  • Range: 557 nmi (640 mi, 1,030 km) Reconnaissance
  • Service ceiling: 10,920 ft (3,328 m)
  • Rate of climb: 607 ft/min (3.1 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 10.4 lb/ft² (50.7 kg/m²)
  • Power/mass: 0.079 hp/lb (130 W/kg)

    • 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

    Supermarine Nanok Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA