| Felixstowe F.2 | |
|---|---|
 Felixstowe F.2A in flight. | |
| General information | |
| Type | Military flying boat |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | S.E.Saunders Ltd Aircraft Manufacturing Co Ltd May, Harden & May |
| Designer | |
| Primary users | Royal Naval Air Service |
| Number built | 175 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1917 |
| First flight | July 1916 |
| Developed from | Felixstowe F.1 Curtiss H-12 |
| Variants | Felixstowe F.3 Felixstowe F.5 Felixstowe F5L |
TheFelixstowe F.2 was a 1917 Britishflying boat class designed and developed byLieutenant CommanderJohn Cyril PorteRN at thenaval air station,Felixstowe during theFirst World War adapting a larger version of his superiorFelixstowe F.1 hull design married with the largerCurtiss H-12 flying boat. The Felixstowe hull had superior water contacting attributes and became a key base technology in most seaplane designs thereafter.
Before the war Porte had worked with American aircraft designerGlenn Curtiss on a flying boat,America in which they intended to cross the Atlantic in order to win the£10,000 prize offered by the BritishDaily Mail newspaper for the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic. Following the outbreak of war in Europe, Porte returned to England and rejoined theRoyal Navy, eventually becoming commander of thenaval air station atFelixstowe where he recommended the purchase fromCurtiss of an improved version of theAmerica flying boat on which he had worked, theCurtiss H-4 type,[1] resulting in the RNAS receiving two prototypeAmericas and 62 H-4s.[2]
The Curtiss H-4 was found to have a number of problems, being both underpowered and having a hull too weak for sustained operations and having poor handling characteristics when afloat or taking off.[3][4] One flying boat pilot, Major Theodore Douglas Hallam, wrote that they were "comic machines, weighing well under two tons; with two comic engines giving, when they functioned, 180 horsepower; and comic control, being nose heavy with engines on and tail heavy in a glide."[5]
To try to resolve the H-4's hydrodynamic issues, in 1915 Porte carried out a series of experiments on four H-4s fitted with a variety of modified hulls,[3] using the results of these tests to design a new 36-foot-long (11 m) hull which was fitted to the wings and tail of an H-4,serial number3580, with a pair of 150 hp (112 kW)Hispano-Suiza 8 engines as theFelixstowe F.1.[6] Rather than the lightweight boat-type structure of the Curtiss boats, the F.1's hull was based around a sturdy wooden box-girder similar to that used in contemporary landplanes, to which were attached a single-step planing bottom and side sponsons. Once modified by the fitting of a further two steps, the new hull proved to give much better take off and landing characteristics and was much more seaworthy.[7][8]
Porte then designed a similar hull, for the largerCurtiss H-12 flying boat, which while larger and more capable than the H-4s, shared failings of a weak hull and poor water handling. The combination of the new Porte II hull,[9] this time fitted with two steps, with the wings of the H-12, a new tail and powered by twoRolls-Royce Eagle engines was named the Felixstowe F.2; its first flight was in July 1916,[10] proving greatly superior to the Curtiss on which it was based.[11] The F.2 entered production as the Felixstowe F.2A, being used as a patrol aircraft, with about 100 being completed by the end of World War I. Another seventy were built, and these were followed by two F.2C which were built at Felixstowe.
In February 1917, the first prototype of theFelixstowe F.3 was flown. This was larger and heavier than the F.2, giving it greater range and heavier bomb load, but poorer agility. Approximately 100 Felixstowe F.3s were produced before the end of the war.
TheFelixstowe F.5 was intended to combine the good qualities of the F.2 and F.3, with the prototype first flying in May 1918. The prototype showed superior qualities to its predecessors but the production version was modified to make extensive use of components from the F.3, in order to ease production, giving lower performance than either the F.2A or F.3.
The Felixstowe F.2A was used as a patrol aircraft over theNorth Sea until the end of the war. Its excellent performance and maneuverability made it an effective and popular type, often fighting enemy patrol and fighter aircraft, as well as huntingU-boats andZeppelins. The larger F.3, which was less popular with its crews than the more maneuverable F.2A, served in the Mediterranean and the North Sea.
The F.5 did not enter service until after the end of World War I, but replaced the earlier Felixstowe boats (together with Curtiss flying boats) to serve as theRAF's standard flying boat until being replaced by theSupermarine Southampton in 1925.
Data from British Naval Aircraft since 1912[14]
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
Related development
