Aircraft - flying boat Supermarine S.6B - Schneider Trophy - postcard

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Schneider Trophy commemorative postcard - shows Flt Lt Boothams, Supermarine S6B flying over the Solent in 1931
• Publisher:  Carousel Postcards (No. 27)
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s):  n/a
• Sent to:  n/
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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The Supermarine S.6B is a British racing seaplane developed by R.J. Mitchell for the Supermarine company to take part in the Schneider Trophy competition of 1931. The S.6B marked the culmination of Mitchell's quest to ""perfect the design of the racing seaplane"" and represented the cutting edge of aerodynamic technology.

The last in the line developed by Supermarine, it followed the S.4, S.5 and the S.6.^[1] Mitchell and his team's experience in designing high speed Schneider Trophy floatplanes greatly contributing to the development of the later Supermarine Spitfire, an iconic fighter and Britain's most successful interceptor of World War II.^[2]

Despite Prime Minister James Ramsay MacDonald's pledge of government support for the next British race entrant immediately after the 1929 victory, official funding was withdrawn less than two months later following the Wall Street Crash, with the official reason given that the previous two contests had collected sufficient data on high speed flight, so further expenditure of public money was unwarranted.^[3] A committee formed by the Royal Aero Club, who were responsible for organising the 1931 race, which included representatives from the aircraft and aero engine industries, was formed to discuss the feasibility of a privately funded entry but concluded that not only would this be beyond their financial reach but that the lack of the highly skilled RAF pilots of the High-Speed Flight would pose a severe problem. This caused enormous public disappointment: having won two successive races a victory in a third race would secure the trophy outright.

As ever active in aviation affairs, Lord Rothermere's Daily Mail group of newspapers launched a public appeal for money and several thousand pounds were raised, and after Lady Houston publicly pledged £100,000 the Government changed its position and announced its support for an entry in January 1931, leaving less than nine months to prepare any race entrant. The RAF High Speed Flight was reformed, and Mitchell and Rolls-Royce set to work.^[4]

There were only seven months to prepare an entry, and as Mitchell did not have enough time to design a new aircraft, better performance had to be obtained by getting more power from the R-Type engine^[5] Modifications to the airframe design were limited to minor improvements and some strengthening in order to cope with the increased weight of the aircraft. Additionally, the floats were extended forward by some three feet (0.9 m). Rolls-Royce had managed to increase the power of the engine by 400 hp (298 kW) to 2,300 hp (1,715 kW).

Although the British team faced no competitors, the RAF High Speed Flight brought six Supermarine Schneider racers to Calshot Spit on Southampton Water for training and practice. The aircraft were: S.5 N219, second at Venice in 1927, S.5 N220, winner at Venice in 1927, two S.6s with new engines and redesignated as S.6As (N247 that won at Calshot in 1929 and S.6A N248, disqualified at Calshot in 1929), and the newy built S.6Bs, S1595 and S1596.^[6]

The improved aircraft was designated the Supermarine S.6B to differentiate the variant from the S.6A. The British plan for the Schneider contest was to have S1595 fly the course alone and if its speed was not high enough, or it encountered mechanical failure, then the more proven S.6A N248 would fly the course. If both S1595 and N248 failed in their attempts, N247 held in reserve would be used. The S.6B S1596 was then to attempt the World Air Speed Record. During practice, N247 was destroyed in a takeoff accident, resulting in the death of the pilot, Lieut. G. L. Brinton, R.N.,^[7] precluding any other plans with only the two S.6Bs and the surviving S.6 prepared for the final Schneider run.^[6]

The winning Schneider flight was piloted by Flt. Lt. John N. Boothman in aircraft serial number S1595 at a speed of 340.08 mph (547.19 km/h), flying seven perfect laps of the triangular course over the Solent, between the Isle of Wight and the British mainland. Seventeen days later, Flt Lt. George Stainforth in S.6B serial S1596 broke the world air speed record reaching 407.5 mph (655.67 km/h).^[8]

The S.6B is hailed as giving the impetus to the development of the Supermarine Spitfire and the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.^[4]

The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider (commonly called the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or Schneider Cup) was awarded annually to the winner of a race for seaplanes. The Trophy is now held at RAF College Cranwell. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, the competition offered a prize of approximately £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931. It was intended to encourage technical advances in civil aviation but became a contest for pure speed with laps over a triangular course (initially 280 km, later 350 km). The races were very popular and some attracted crowds of over 200,000 spectators. Since 1977 the trophy has been on display at the Science Museum in London.

If an aero club won three races in five years, they would retain the cup and the winning pilot would receive 75,000 francs. Each race was hosted by the previous winning country. The races were supervised by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and the aero club in the hosting country. Each club could enter up to three competitors with an equal number of alternatives.

The race was significant in advancing aeroplane design, particularly in the fields of aerodynamics and engine design, and would show its results in the best fighters of WW2. The streamlined shape and the low drag, liquid-cooled engine pioneered by Schneider Trophy designs are obvious in the British Supermarine Spitfire, the American P-51 Mustang, and the Italian Macchi C.202 Folgore.

The Trophy is a sculpture awarded to Captain Bertram Dickson of the Royal Engineers in 1910. Dickson was born in Edinburgh Scotland and died in 1913, possibly due to injuries sustained in the first mid-air collision between two aeroplanes.

The trophy was first competed for on 16 April 1913, at Monaco and won by a French Deperdussin at an average speed of 73.56 km/h (45.71 mph).^[1] The British won in 1914 with a Sopwith Tabloid at 139.74 km/h (86.83 mph).^[1] The competition resumed in 1919 at Bournemouth where in foggy conditions the Italian team won. They were later disqualified and the race was voided.^[2]

In 1920 and 1921 at Venice the Italians won — in 1920 no other nation entered and in 1921 the only non-Italian entry did not start.^[2] After 1921, an additional requirement was added: the winning seaplane had to remain moored to a buoy for six hours without human intervention.

In 1922 in Naples the British and French competed with the Italians and the British private entry, the Supermarine Sea Lion II, won.^[3] The French aircraft did not start the race which was between the Sea Lion and three Italian aircraft^[4] including a Macchi M.7 and a Savoia.

The 1923 trophy, contested at Cowes, went to the Americans with a sleek, liquid-cooled engined craft designed by Glenn Curtiss. It used the Curtiss D-12 engine. US Navy Lieutenant David Rittenhouse won the cup.^[3]

In 1924 there was no competition as no other nation turned out to face the Americans — the Italians and the French withdrew and both British craft crashed in pre-race trials.

In 1925 at Chesapeake Bay the Americans won again, the US pilot Jimmy Doolittle winning ahead of the British Gloster III and the Italian. Two British planes did not compete (R.J. Mitchell's Supermarine S.4 and the other Gloster III were damaged before the race). Two of the American planes did not finish.^[3]

In 1926, the Italians returned with a Macchi M.39 and won against the Americans with a 396.69 km/h (246.49 mph)} run at Hampton Roads.^[5]

In 1927 for Venice there was a strong British entry with government backing and RAF pilots (the High Speed Flight) for Supermarine, Gloster and Shorts. Supermarine's Mitchell-designed S.5s came first and second. 1927 was the last annual competition, the event then moving onto a biannual schedule to allow for more development time.^[6]

In 1929, at Calshot, Supermarine won again in the Supermarine S.6 with the new Rolls-Royce R engine with an average speed of 528.89 km/h (328.64 mph).^[6] Both Great Britain and Italy entered 2 new aircraft and 1 backup plane from the previous race.

In 1931 the British government withdrew support but a private donation of £100,000 from Lucy, Lady Houston allowed Supermarine to compete and win on 13 September against only British opposition, with reportedly half a million spectators lining the beachfronts. The Italian, French, and German entrants failed to ready their aircraft in time for the competition. The remaining British team set both a new world speed record (610 km/h (380 mph)) and won the trophy outright with a third straight win.^[7] The following days saw the winning Supermarine S.6B further break the world speed record twice, making it the first craft to break the 400 mph barrier on 29 September at an average speed of 655.8 km/h (407.5 mph).

Development of the other entrants did not cease there. The proposed Italian entrant (the Macchi M.C.72) which pulled out of the contest due to engine problems later went on to set two new world speed records. In April 1933 (over Lake Garda, in northern Italy) it set a record with a speed of 682.36 km/h (424.00 mph). A year and a half later in the same venue, in October 1934, it broke the 700 km/h barrier with an average speed of 709.202 km/h (440.678 mph). Both times the plane was piloted by Francesco Agello. This speed remains until today the fastest speed ever attained by a piston-engined seaplane.^[8]

type=printed postcards

theme=transportation

sub-theme=air

transportation type=flying boats

number of items=single

period=1945 - present

postage condition=unposted