Wight Seaplane Explained

The Wight Seaplane was a British twin-float seaplane produced by J Samuel White & Company Limited (Wight Aircraft). It was also known as the Admiralty Type 840.

Design and development

Designed by Howard T Wright and built by the aircraft department of the shipbuilding company J Samuel White & Company Limited, the Wight Seaplane was a slightly smaller version (61 ft (18.59 m) span) of the Wight Pusher Seaplane. The aircraft was a conventional two-float seaplane with tandem open cockpits and a nose-mounted 225 hp (168 kW) Sunbeam engine. Fifty-two aircraft were built and delivered, and an extra 20 were produced as spares production being undertaken by Portholme Aviation and William Beardmore & Co., Ltd.[1]

Operational history

The Wight Seaplane served with the RNAS at Dundee Felixstowe, Scapa Flow and Gibraltar, being used for anti-submarine patrols between 1915 and 1917.[2]

Operators

References

Book:

. Orbis Publishing.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Mason, Francis K . The British Bomber since 1914 . Putnam Aeronautical Books . London . 1994 . 0-85177-861-5.
  2. Book: Thetford, Owen . British Naval Aircraft since 1912 . Putnam Aeronautical Books . London . 1982 . 0-370-30480-2. 455.