The first Solent flew in 1946. New Solents were used by BOAC and TEAL, production ending in 1949. Second-hand aircraft were operated until 1958 by a number of small airlines such as Aquila Airways.
The Short S.45 Solent was a high-wing monoplane flying boat of aluminium construction. Power was provided by four Bristol Hercules[1] engines.
The aircraft could be fitted for 24 passengers with day and night accommodation or 36 day passengers. The cabins (four on the lower deck and two on the upper) could be used to sleep four or seat six. The upper deck included a lounge/dining area next to a kitchen; the lower deck had two dressing rooms, toilets and three freight compartments. The flight crew was five (two pilots, navigator, and radio operator with the flight engineer in a separate compartment behind the flight deck opposite crew rest berths) and there were two stewards to attend to the passengers.[2]
Useedit
Solent II BOAC G-AHIN Southampton served the Johannesburg route between 1948 and 1950
The Solent II introduced by BOAC could carry 34 passengers and 7 crew. Between 1948 and 1950, BOAC operated their Solents on the three-times weekly scheduled service from Southampton to Johannesburg taking a route down the Nile and across East Africa. The journey took four days, including overnight stops. The Solents replaced Avro Yorks running the service.[3] The last Solent-operated service on the route departed from Berth 50 at Southampton on 10 November 1950, bringing BOAC's flying-boat operations to an end.[4]
Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) operated four Solent IVs and one Solent II between 1949 and 1960 on their scheduled routes between Sydney, Fiji, Auckland and Wellington. The last TEAL Solent service was flown between Fiji and Tahiti on 14 September 1960[4] by ZK-AMO, RMA Aranui, which is now preserved. The TEAL Solents could carry 45 passengers and all versions of the type provided a great deal of space and luxury compared with contemporary or modern land-based aircraft.
Solent III Aquila Airways G-ANAJ City of Funchal at Berth 50, Southampton Docks, in August 1955
Several Solents served Aquila Airways on their routes from Southampton to Madeira and the Canary Islands using ex BOAC and TEAL aircraft. On 15 November 1957, Aquila Airways G-AKNU, a Solent III, crashed near Chessell, Isle of Wight, after it experienced loss of power to two engines.[5] The crash killed 45 out of the 58 on board. British commercial flying-boat operations ceased on 30 September 1958 when Aquila Airways withdrew its Madeira service.
Survivorsedit
Solent IV TEAL ZK-AMO Aranui on displaySolent III BOAC G-AKNP City of Cardif on display
The only military use of the Solent was for trials at the United Kingdom Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment in 1951, the former BOAC Solent 3 was scrapped after the trials.
Accidents and incidentsedit
15 November 1957 – Aquila Airways Solent G-AKNU crashed on the Isle of Wight. The aircraft took off at around 10:40 pm from Southampton Water for Lisbon, Madeira and Las Palmas. Around 20 minutes later, the crew reported the failure of number 4 engine and turned back. Soon after, number 3 engine also stopped and around one minute after the radio report, the aircraft crashed into a chalk quarry near Chessell, killing 45 of the 58 people on board.[9][10] No cause for either engine failure was established in the subsequent investigation.[11]
Barnes, C.H.; James D.N. (1989). Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London: Putnam. ISBN0-85177-819-4.
Jackson, A.J (1988). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3. London: Putnam. ISBN0-85177-818-6.
Warner, Guy (July–August 2002). "From Bombay to Bombardier: Aircraft Production at Sydenham, Part One". Air Enthusiast. No. 100. pp. 13–24. ISSN 0143-5450.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Short Solent.
Short Flying Boats in New Zealand
Tasman Empire Airways Limited 27 August 2005 at the Wayback Machine
Century of Flight
December 15, 2023
short, solent, passenger, flying, boat, that, produced, short, brothers, late, 1940s, developed, from, short, seaford, itself, development, short, sunderland, military, flying, boat, design, solentthe, aquila, airways, solent, aknu, sydney, taking, from, funch. The Short Solent is a passenger flying boat that was produced by Short Brothers in the late 1940s It was developed from the Short Seaford itself a development of the Short Sunderland military flying boat design S 45A SolentThe Aquila Airways Solent III G AKNU Sydney taking off from FunchalRole passenger flying boatManufacturer Short Brothers and HarlandFirst flight 11 November 1946Primary users BOACTEALNumber built 16 and 7 converted S 45 Seafords Developed from Short SeafordThe first Solent flew in 1946 New Solents were used by BOAC and TEAL production ending in 1949 Second hand aircraft were operated until 1958 by a number of small airlines such as Aquila Airways Contents 1 Design and development 2 Use 3 Survivors 4 Variants 5 Operators 6 Accidents and incidents 7 Specifications Solent II 8 Notes 9 Bibliography 10 External linksDesign and development edit nbsp Solent IV TEAL ZK AMO AranuiThe Short S 45 Solent was a high wing monoplane flying boat of aluminium construction Power was provided by four Bristol Hercules 1 engines The aircraft could be fitted for 24 passengers with day and night accommodation or 36 day passengers The cabins four on the lower deck and two on the upper could be used to sleep four or seat six The upper deck included a lounge dining area next to a kitchen the lower deck had two dressing rooms toilets and three freight compartments The flight crew was five two pilots navigator and radio operator with the flight engineer in a separate compartment behind the flight deck opposite crew rest berths and there were two stewards to attend to the passengers 2 Use edit nbsp Solent II BOAC G AHIN Southampton served the Johannesburg route between 1948 and 1950The Solent II introduced by BOAC could carry 34 passengers and 7 crew Between 1948 and 1950 BOAC operated their Solents on the three times weekly scheduled service from Southampton to Johannesburg taking a route down the Nile and across East Africa The journey took four days including overnight stops The Solents replaced Avro Yorks running the service 3 The last Solent operated service on the route departed from Berth 50 at Southampton on 10 November 1950 bringing BOAC s flying boat operations to an end 4 Tasman Empire Airways Limited TEAL operated four Solent IVs and one Solent II between 1949 and 1960 on their scheduled routes between Sydney Fiji Auckland and Wellington The last TEAL Solent service was flown between Fiji and Tahiti on 14 September 1960 4 by ZK AMO RMA Aranui which is now preserved The TEAL Solents could carry 45 passengers and all versions of the type provided a great deal of space and luxury compared with contemporary or modern land based aircraft nbsp Solent III Aquila Airways G ANAJ City of Funchal at Berth 50 Southampton Docks in August 1955Several Solents served Aquila Airways on their routes from Southampton to Madeira and the Canary Islands using ex BOAC and TEAL aircraft On 15 November 1957 Aquila Airways G AKNU a Solent III crashed near Chessell Isle of Wight after it experienced loss of power to two engines 5 The crash killed 45 out of the 58 on board British commercial flying boat operations ceased on 30 September 1958 when Aquila Airways withdrew its Madeira service Survivors edit nbsp Solent IV TEAL ZK AMO Aranui on display nbsp Solent III BOAC G AKNP City of Cardif on displayShort Solent IV ZK AMO RMA Aranui was firstly used by TEAL between Mechanics Bay on Auckland Harbour and Rose Bay Sydney Australia until superseded on scheduled services by the land based propliners ZK AMO was redeployed on the iconic Coral Route from Auckland New Zealand to Fiji Samoa Cook Islands Tonga and Tahiti until once again superseded by propliners in September 1960 ZK AMO has been fully restored and preserved at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland It was briefly overhauled outside when the Keith Park Memorial Aviation Display at MOTAT was enlarged in 2010 2011 An ex BOAC Solent III later owned by Howard Hughes has been rescued and is in the United States at the Oakland Aviation Museum in Oakland California 6 it is this Solent which appears briefly and anachronistically in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark though through matte effects is made to resemble a more historically accurate Boeing 314 Clipper 7 Variants editSolent IICivilian version for BOAC of the Short Seaford 12 aircraft built at Rochester 8 Solent IIIConverted S 45 Seaford 7 aircraft 6 at Queen s Island Belfast 1 at Hamble 8 Solent IVPowered by Bristol Hercules 733 four aircraft built at Belfast 8 Operators edit nbsp AustraliaTrans Oceanic Airways nbsp New ZealandTasman Empire Airways Limited TEAL nbsp United KingdomAquila Airways British Overseas Airways Corporation BOAC nbsp United StatesSouth Pacific AirlinesThe only military use of the Solent was for trials at the United Kingdom Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment in 1951 the former BOAC Solent 3 was scrapped after the trials Accidents and incidents edit15 November 1957 Aquila Airways Solent G AKNU crashed on the Isle of Wight The aircraft took off at around 10 40 pm from Southampton Water for Lisbon Madeira and Las Palmas Around 20 minutes later the crew reported the failure of number 4 engine and turned back Soon after number 3 engine also stopped and around one minute after the radio report the aircraft crashed into a chalk quarry near Chessell killing 45 of the 58 people on board 9 10 No cause for either engine failure was established in the subsequent investigation 11 A memorial to those killed is in St Mary s Church Brook A tree and a plaque mark the crash site 12 Specifications Solent II editData from Barnes and James 13 General characteristicsCrew 7 Capacity 34 passengers Length 87 ft 8 in 26 72 m Wingspan 112 ft 9 in 34 37 m Height 34 ft 3 1 4 in 10 446 m 14 Wing area 1 487 sq ft 138 1 m2 Empty weight 47 760 lb 21 664 kg Gross weight 78 000 lb 35 380 kg Powerplant 4 Bristol Hercules 637 14 cylinder radial engines 1 690 hp 1 260 kW eachPerformance Maximum speed 273 mph 439 km h 237 kn Cruise speed 244 mph 393 km h 212 kn 14 Range 1 800 mi 2 900 km 1 600 nmi Service ceiling 17 000 ft 5 200 m 14 Rate of climb 925 ft min 4 70 m s 14 Notes edit National Archives Airworthiness Division Type Records Flight 3 January 1946 p10 To South Africa on the First Springbok Flying boat Service Flight 1948 a b Jackson 1988 p 160 Flight 8 August 1958 p 208 Solent at the Oakland Aviation Museum Oakland California Archived from the original on 19 June 2016 Retrieved 14 March 2015 Verschuere Gilles The Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark Concluding the Adventure The Raider Net 2009 a b c Barnes and James pp 407 409 Ranter Harro ASN Aircraft accident Shorts S 45 Solent III G AKNU Chessel Down aviation safety net Retrieved 11 October 2019 45 Dead in Flying Boat Crash The Times No 54001 London 18 November 1957 p 12 Civil Aviation Solent Accident Report Flight 74 971 28 September 1933 No 2585 Retrieved 10 October 2019 Memorials and Monuments on the Isle of Wight Brook Short Solent air disaster isle of wight memorials org uk Retrieved 11 October 2019 Barnes and James p 412 a b c d Jackson 1988 p 160 Bibliography editBarnes C H James D N 1989 Shorts Aircraft since 1900 London Putnam ISBN 0 85177 819 4 Jackson A J 1988 British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3 London Putnam ISBN 0 85177 818 6 Warner Guy July August 2002 From Bombay to Bombardier Aircraft Production at Sydenham Part One Air Enthusiast No 100 pp 13 24 ISSN 0143 5450 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Short Solent Short Flying Boats in New Zealand Tasman Empire Airways Limited Archived 27 August 2005 at the Wayback Machine Century of Flight Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Short Solent amp oldid 1159859448, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
