FELIXSTOWE FLYING BOATS 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE
PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 7Left
Felixstowe F.5s – such
as N4837 – arrived too
late for operational
service during
the Great War, but
equipped nine RAF
squadrons in the inter-
war period. The fi rst
examples joined 230
Squadron in early 1918
and the last airframes
were not retired until
August 1925. ANDY HAY/
WWW.FLYINGART.CO.UKLeft
Felixstowe F.2B N
in a ‘dazzle’ scheme
during an anti-
submarine patrol.Left
A Felixstowe F.2 cruises
on patrol during the
latter years of the
Great War.Below left
Felixstowe F.
N4367 beached
for maintenance at
Calshot in 1921.The aircraft could reach 88mph
(142km/h), had a ceiling of 6,800ft
(2,073m) and an endurance of
seven hours.POST-WAR SERVICE
Although the F.5 arrived too late
operationally for World War One, it
equipped nine RAF squadrons (230,
231, 232, 238, 247, 249, 259, 261
and 267) in the inter-war period.LeftLeftWWW.FLYINGART.CO.UKcrew of four (two pilots and two The aircraft could reach 88mph
air gunners) sat in open cockpits;
one gunner in the front and the
other nestled between the engines in
another circular cockpit. Defensive
armament comprised four Lewis
guns (one in a flexible mounting in
the nose and the others in the second
cockpit), while offensive weaponry
was four 230lb (104kg) bombs
mounted on racks below the wings.
The aircraft entered service with LeftLeftLeft
230 Squadron at Felixstowe in early
1918 and moved with it to Calshot in- The unit was primarily tasked
with naval co-operation with the
Portsmouth-based submarine flotilla,
and frequently exercised with the
Navy in the Atlantic. The squadron
retained its F.5s until it disbanded
in April 1923, but other examples
flew with various units until August
1925, when they were replaced by the
Supermarine Southampton.
“The Felixstowe F.5 was an
elegant looking fl ying boat
with its biplane wings mounted
amidships, and pontoons located
outboard.”