AD Flying Boat

AD Flying Boat is a two-seater seaplane of co-operation and naval recognition drawn by Lt Linton Hope of the British Admiralty Air Department.

A two-seater of recognition embarked

It was a traditional biplane not shifted unequal wings, hull out of wooden and cellular empennage. The pilot and the observer were installed out of tandem in front of the hull, the engine Hispano-Suiza in the wing gap actuating a pusher airscrew. The cell was folding, this apparatus being conceived to be embarked on the largest warships of the Royal Navy .1 Lewis machine-gun of 7,7 mm was at the disposal of the observer, installed in the prow. Two prototypes were ordered in 1915 by the firm Pemberton-Billing Ltd, only one completed. It made its first flight taking place in 1916. 80 specimens were ordered from Supermarine Aviation Works Ltd, new name of the company of Woolston after Christmas Pemberton Billing resold his shares in 1916. The production was stopped after delivery of 30 specimens only because of the cessation of hostilities. AD Flying Boat practically was thus not used in operations. The serial numbers reserved for these apparatuses are the following: N1290/1299 (9 cancelled), N1520/1529, N1710/1719, N2450/2499 (7 only built).

Renconvertis in the commercial aircraft

After the Armistice Supermarine tried to create a sales network with seaplanes along the southern part of the the United Kingdom. It thus repurchased with the Royal Navy 19 AD Flying Boat and converted them into commercial transport aircraft under the denomination of Supermarine Chanel. The pilot and 3 passengers took seat in open stations in front of the hull.

Supermarine Chanel Mk I

27 apparatuses were remotorisés with a Beardmore of 160 ch. Les performances felt some: Incompetent to pass 130 km/h, this seaplane climbed painfully to 915 m in 15 minutes.

Supermarine Aviation will use 10 of them. After some experimental connections between Bournemouth and Southampton, the Island of Wight and even Le Havre, Supermarine will give up temporarily its project and will resell its Chanel Mk I .
In April 1920 three Chanel Mk I was delivered by sea route to Bermuda and West Atlantic Aviation and was used for tourist overflights of the Bermuda during ten years. Was broken on May 21st, 1929.
5 Chanel Mk I was sold in May 1920 with the Norwegian airline company Det Norske Luftfartrederi A/S (DNL), which considered the opening of a line Kristiania (Oslo) - Stavanger - Aberdeen (Scotland). Three seaplanes were delivered dismounted by terrestrial way between June and August 1920 and registered to N11. September 23rd the engine mount of broke close to Tungenes. It however was repaired and sold with the Norwegian navy, becoming. The exploitation of the network DNL will stop on October 15th, 1920. Was sold with S/A Bredal, which also yielded it to the Norwegian navy like, the convert in spare parts. The last two ordered apparatuses were delivered directly to the Norwegian navy and F.40. The Chanel Mk I will remain in service within the Marinens Flyvevaaben until 1928.
a specimen was yielded to the Venezuela in 1921.
Three others Chanel Mk I were delivered in 1922 to the Japanese imperial Marine.
Enfin a specimen was sold with the New Zealand. Registered, it carried out the first air link Auckland - Wellington (5h 6 min) on October 4th, 1921, controlled by George Bolt. Two passengers were on board.

Supermarine Chanel Mk II

Three specimens were been driven by engines Armstrong-Siddeley Puma of 240 ch. En 1921 a Chanel Mk II was bought by the Swedish royal Navy for comparison tests with the Caspar S.1. This plane, which carried the Swedish identification number, was destroyed on accident in September 1922 on the basis of naval Hårsfjärden before the beginning of its official tests. The crew escaped from it but only the engine could be recovered. Another Chanel Mk II was sold with the Chile, where the Servicio de Aviacion Naval of Chile used it of 1921 to 1924. The last probably failed the Venezuela, or a Supermarine Chanel not identified was delivered in 1922.

External bond

The Musée of the aviation of Canada proposes to us three interesting sights of AD Flying Boat here: http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/les_collections/phototheque/dig_img.cfm?action=manu&Model=Admiralty%20A%2ED%2E%20Flying%2DBoat%20%281915%2F17%29&Designer=Admiralty%20Air%20Department

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