Supermarine Type 322

Type 322 (S.24/37)

Manufacturer: Supermarine
First flight: 6 February 1943
Number built: 2

The Supermarine Type 322 was a British carrier borne torpedo,dive bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of the Second World War. A single engined monoplane it was unsuccessful, only two protoypes being built.

Design and development

The Type 322 was designed by Supermarine to meet a 1937 requirement (Specification S.24/37) for a replacement for the British Royal Navy's Fairey Albacore biplane even though the Albacore was yet to fly), with orders placed both with Supermarine and with Fairey Aviation. Supermarine's design was a high wing monoplane, originally intended to be powered by the Rolls-Royce Exe engine, which unusually featured a Variable-incidence wing. The undercarriage was a fixed tailwheel type to save complexity. The Exe was cancelled in 1938, and the Rolls-Royce Merlin was substituted in the design.

Two Type 322 which got the nickname "Dumbo" were built, with the first flying in February 1943.. By this time, however, Fairey's competing design had entered service as the Fairey Barracuda, and the two Type 322s were used as experimental aircraft.

Specifications (S.24/37)

Data from Supermarine Aircraft since 1914

General characteristics

Crew: 3
Length: 40 ft (12.20 m)
Wingspan: 50 ft (15.24 m)
Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.32 m)
Wing area: 319.5 sq ft (29.7 m²)
Empty weight: 9,175 lb (4,170 kg)
Loaded weight: 12,000 lb (5,454 kg)
Powerplant: 1x— Rolls-Royce Merlin 30 V-12 inline piston engine, 1,300 hp (970 kW)

Performance

Maximum speed: 279 mph (243 kn, 449 km/h)
Range: 825 mi (717 nmi, 1,370 km)

Armament

Guns: 1 x— .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in wing, 1 x— .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun or Browning in rear cockpit
Bombs: 1 x— 18 in (457 mm) torpedo (1,500 lb) or 6 x— 250 lb (113 kg) bombs.

Comparable aircraft

Fairey Barracuda

The Albacore first flew on 12 December 1938.

Andrews, C.F. and Morgan, E.B. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914. London:Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0 85177 800 3.
Mason Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London:Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0 85177 861 5.
Brown, Capt. Eric (1985). "26". Wings of the Weird & Wonderful. 2. Airlife. pp. 120-127. ISBN 0-906393-44-2.

Living Warbirds: The best warbirds DVD series.

Source: WikiPedia