Short Singapore and Rangoon

The Short Rangoon was a military version of the same company’s Calcutta flying boat. Five Rangoons were built for the RAF, and served with No.203 Squadron in Iraq.
The Short Singapore was the oldest of a group of biplane flying boats still in RAF service at the start of the Second World War, although the last squadrons to use it replaced their aircraft before entering combat.

Supermarine Walrus, Sea Otter, Seamew and Seagull

The Supermarine Seagull was a biplane amphibian, originally designed to operate as a spotter for naval gunfire at the start of the 1920s. It was then almost completely redesigned for the RAAF in 1933 as the Seagull V, and this version of the aircraft entered British service as the Supermarine Walrus.
The Supermarine Seamew was a biplane amphibian designed to satisfy Air Ministry specification 29/24, but which had a low priority at Supermarine and never entered service.
The Supermarine Sea Otter was designed as the replacement for the Walrus, but although the first aircraft made its maiden flight in September 1938 Supermarine was busy with the far more important Spitfire programme, and only a small number of Sea Otters saw active service late in the Second World War
The Supermarine Walrus was one of the unsung workhorses of the Fleet Air Arm and RAF during the Second World War, operating as a fleet spotter and air sea rescue aircraft and fighting in just about every theatre of the war.

Fokker T.VIII-W

The Fokker T.VIII-W was a twin-float twin-engined torpedo bomber and reconnaissance sea plane built for the Dutch, but that saw service in small numbers in both the Luftwaffe and the RAF during 1940.

Supermarine Southampton, Scapa and Stranraer

The Supermarine Southampton was the first flying boat designed after the First World War to enter RAF service, and was the first of a series of successful military flying boats designed by Reginald Mitchell.
The Supermarine Scapa was an improved version of the Southampton flying boat, developed after Supermarine was taken over by Vickers, and using technology developed for the Schneider races.
The Supermarine Stranraer was the last of a series of large biplane flying boats designed by Reginald Mitchell, and was essentially a larger version of the Supermarine Scapa, itself an improved version of the earlier Southampton.

Saro London and Lerwick

The Saro A.27 London was one of the last generation of large biplane flying planes to serve in the RAF, operating alongside the Supermarine Stranraer in Coastal Command in the years immediately before the Second World War.
The Saro Lerwick flying boat was one of the least successful aircraft to serve with the RAF during the Second World War, and demonstrated the danger of ordering a new design off the drawing board.

Short Sunderland

The Short Sunderland flying boat was one of the mainstays of Coastal Command during the Second World War, and was one of the longest serving military aircraft of its era, with an RAF career that lasted from 1938 until 1959. We start with a look at the development of the Short Sunderland, before moving on to look at the service career of the Sunderland. We also add a picture gallery for the Sunderland.
The Short Sunderland Mk I entered service in 1938, and was one of the few modern aircraft available to Coastal Command at the start of the Second World War.
The Short Sunderland II was introduced in 1941, and was the first version of the aircraft to carry ASV radar.
The Short Sunderland III was produced in larger numbers than any other version of the aircraft, accounting for 463 of the total of 749 Sunderlands that were built.
The Short Seaford was originally developed as the Sunderland Mk IV, and was an attempt to use the Bristol Hercules engines of the Short Stirling on the Sunderland.
The final version of the Sunderland to enter service was the Sunderland V, which remained in use in the RAF from early in 1945 until 1959.

Auster, Proctor, Northrop N-3PB, Rota, DH91 Albatross

The British Taylorcraft Auster was a light aircraft used in large numbers by the RAF for artillery spotting and communications duties.
The Percival Proctor was a radio-trainer and communication aircraft, developed from the Percival Vega Gull, and produced in large numbers during the Second World War.
The Northrop N-3PB floatplane patrol-bomber was the first aircraft to be produced by the independent Northrop Aircraft Inc after its foundation in 1939
The Avro Rota was the name given to twelve Cierva C.30A autogiros built under licence for the RAF by Avro during 1934-35.
The de Havilland D.H.91 Albatross was a pre-war passenger aircraft produced in very small numbers, and which served as a transport aircraft during the Second World War.

Vickers Warwick, Wellesley, Vincent and Type 253

The Vickers Vincent was a version of the Vildebeest torpedo bomber modified to operate as a general purpose aeroplane, a role that combined army-cooperation, ground attack and light bombing functions and was designed for Imperial policing
The Vickers Type 253 general purpose biplane was the first aircraft to use the geodetic construction method devised by Barnes Wallis, and made famous on the Wellington bomber.
The Vickers Wellesley was the first aircraft built entirely using Barnes Wallis’s geodesic construction method to enter service, and is best known for establishing a new world distance record in 1938.
The Vickers Warwick was one of many examples of promising aircraft whose development was delayed by the choice of engines. It was originally designed as a twin-engined heavy bomber, and like the Avro Manchester was to use the Rolls Royce Vulture.

Vickers Vildebeest, Vespa, Venture and Valiant biplane

The Vickers Type 131 Valiant was a general purpose biplane produced by Vickers as a private venture, and was designed to satisfy Air Ministry specification 26/27
The Vickers Venture was an improved version of the Vixen II, designed to act as reconnaissance aircraft in an army-cooperation role.
The Vickers Vespa was designed as an army co-operation and reconnaissance aircraft, to replace the First World War-era Bristol Fighter. None were ordered by the RAF, but the Vespa was sold in small numbers to Bolivia and the Irish Free State, while the original prototype, in a greatly modified form, broke the World Height Record in September 1942
The Vickers Vildebeest was a land based biplane torpedo bomber, designed in the late 1920s to defend the British coast, but which was still the only torpedo bomber available to Coastal Command at the start of the Second World War.

Amistad Mutiny

The Amistad Mutiny was a relatively small incident which was to have long term political impact on US public opinion about the slave trade and sour relations between the US and Spanish governments