Fly Past

BLACKBURN IRIS & SHORT RANGOON 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE

PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 13

1931 TO 1936

Above

The Rangoon was a

military version of

the Calcutta airliner.

Its most notable

differences were the

enclosed cockpit and

Scarff gun-ring in the

nose.

Type: Five-crew general reconnaissance fl ying boat

First fl ight: September 24, 1930, entered service April 1931

Powerplant: Three 540hp (403kW) Bristol Jupiter radials

Dimensions: Span 93ft (28.3m), length 66ft 10in (20.4m)

Weights: Empty 14,000lb (6,350kg), all-up 22,500lb (10,206kg)

Max speed: 115mph (185km/h) at 1,000ft (305m)

Range: 650 miles (1,046km)

Armament: One fi xed Lewis gun in bows and two amidships. Provision for two

.303 guns in beam positions. Bomb load: 1,000lb (454kg)

Replaced: Supermarine Southampton II

Taken on charge: 6

Replaced by: Short Singapore

SHORT RANGOON

RANGOON

SHORT

A

lthough it was ordered as a

stop-gap, the Short Rangoon

was the first flying boat with

an all-metal hull to be produced in

quantity for the RAF.

The aircraft was, in effect, a military

adaptation of the Short Calcutta

airliner and an urgent replacement

for the RAF’s ageing Supermarine

Southampton IIs. The Calcutta

had already been in commercial

service for a year by the time the

Air Ministry issued Specification

S.18/29, to cover the procurement of

a non-civilian variant.

MILITARY ADAPTATION

The prototype (S1433) first flew

on September 24, 1930 and

differed from the Calcutta in

having an enclosed cockpit for the

pilots, two gun positions amidships

and a Scarff gun-ring in the nose.

Provision was also made for

bomb-carrying equipment,

while sleeping bunks, and a galley

were provided for the crew. It was

also given the ability to stow fresh

water, a consideration prompted by

the fact the Rangoon was

expected to serve in the Near East

(southwest Asia) where supplies

could be scarce.

The main structure was assembled

from, and skinned with, duralumin

while the flying surfaces were partly

metal-skinned and fabric-covered

in places.

Power came from three 540hp

(403kW) Bristol Jupiter radials,

which provided so much power that

just two could be used for take-off

if necessary.

The first three of the six Rangoons

built for the RAF entered service

with 203 Squadron at Basra, Iraq

in April 1931, replacing the unit’s

Southamptons. It had taken 12

flights over ten weeks to fly the

airframes from Felixstowe to

Iraq, but once they arrived they

embarked on several long-range

cruises, including one notable flight

to Australia in 1934.

Normal service for the type

including collaborating with the

Royal Navy to counter gun-running

and smuggling activities in the

Persian Gulf.

Other examples joined 210

Squadron at Pembroke Dock, Wales

and (later) Gibraltar. In July 1935

the 203 Squadron machines were

transferred to 210 Squadron, which

flew the Rangoons from the island

until they were replaced by Short

Singapores in July 1936.

The majority were scrapped but

S1433 was stripped of military

equipment, registered G-AEIM,

and used by Air Pilots Training to

instruct Imperial Airways crews,

until it was finally retired in

late 1938.