Supermarine Seafang

Seafang
275px
Seafang Mk 32
Type	Naval fighter
Manufacturer	Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd.
Maiden flight	1946
Primary user	Fleet Air Arm
Number built	18

The Supermarine Seafang was a British Rolls-Royce Griffon-engined fighter aircraft designed by Supermarine to Air Ministry specification N.5/45. It was a further development of Supermarine's famous Spitfire and Spiteful aircraft, becoming "a Spitfire too far."

Design and development

The Type 383 Seafang was essentially a Spiteful redesigned for Royal Navy carrier use, with the addition of an arrestor hook and with a contra-rotating propeller to eliminate engine torque effects. The F.32 had folding wings, increased fuel capacity, and a Griffon 89 engine rated at 2,350 hp driving two three-bladed contrarotating propellers. Two aircraft of this type were completed, VB893 and VB895, although there is no evidence as to whether either actually flew before the end of hostilities.

Testing and evaluation

The Seafang first flew in 1946. Production of this aircraft never commenced but, in all, 18 prototypes and test machines were built, but some were never flown. Seafang FR.32 VB895 was flown by noted test pilot Mike Lithgow in May 1947 during deck landing trials on HMS Illustrious. Compared to the Seafire F.47, its performance advantage was not deemed to be enough to disrupt series production of new navalised Meteor and Vampire fighters. Also,the Seafang's low speed handling characteristics were not as good as hoped, and the contemporary Hawker Sea Fury was preferred as a Fleet fighter.

During testing, it was claimed Seafang achieved a speed of 494 mph, making it, if the claim is valid, the fastest propeller driven aircraft ever built in the UK. Another distinction of the Seafang has is that its wing was adopted for later Supermarine Attacker jet fighter.

Variants

Seafang F.31

10 built, 9 assembled, engine Griffon 61, five-bladed constant-speed Rotol airscrew.

Seafang F.32

8 built, but only 2 assembled, engine 2,350 hp Giffon 89, folding wings, increased fuel capacity, Dual contra-rotating 3 bladed propellers.

Operators

Template:UK

• Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm

Specifications (Seafang 32)

Data from The British Fighter since 1912, British Naval Aircraft since 1912

General characteristics

• Length: 34 ft 1 in (10.39 m)
• Wingspan: 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m)
• Height: 12 ft 6½ in (3.82 m)
• Wing area: 210 ft² (19.5 m²)
• Empty weight: 8,000 lb (3,636 kg)
• Loaded weight: 10,450 lb (4,750 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Rolls-Royce Griffon 89 V12 liquid cooled piston, 2,350 hp (1,755 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 413 knots (475 mph, 765 km/h)
• Range: 342 nm (393 mi, 633 km)
• Service ceiling: 41,000 ft (12,500 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,630 ft/min (23.5 m/s)
• Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
• Power/mass: hp/lb (W/kg)

Armament

• Four 20 mm Hispano Mk V cannon,
• Provision for two 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or four rocket 60 lb rockets.

References

Bibliography

• Humphreys, Robert. The Supermarine Spitfire, Part 2: Griffon-Powered (Modellers Datafile 5). Bedford, UK: SAM Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-9533465-4-4.
• Morgan, Eric B. and Shacklady, Edward. Spitfire: The History. London: Key Publishing, 1992. ISBN 0-946219-10-9.
• Price, Alfred. The Spitfire Story. London: Silverdale Books, 1995. ISBN 1-85605-702-X.
• Price, Alfred. "A Spitfire too far: the Supermarine Spiteful". Aeroplane Monthly, July 2001, p.36-41.
• Robertson, Bruce. Spitfire-The Story of a Famous Fighter. Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK: Model & Allied Publications Ltd., 1960. Third revised edition 1973. ISBN 0-900435-11-9.

External links

• Supermarine-Spitfire.co.uk: The Seafang
• Spiteful and Seafang and British Aircraft Directory
• A picture of the Seafang F.Mk.32 VB895
• Seafang at Avia

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Supermarine Seafang".