Supermarine S.6B
The Super S.6B was a British seaplane, which was developed to participate in the Schneider Trophy.
History and construction
In the Super S.6B it was a single-seater with two floats, which were built in two copies by the designer Reginald Joseph Mitchell of the aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. The S.6B was a development of the Supermarine S.6 and equipped with a much more powerful engine.
The contest was held on September 13, 1926 at Calshot Spit ( Southampton Water, UK) instead. One of the two S.6B participated as the only aircraft in the race, so to reach the first place sufficed the flying off the track. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant H.R.D. John Boothman, achieved an average speed of 547.31 km / h - the highest so far in the Schneider Trophy.
On September 9, 1931, the pilot flew Flight Lieutenant HRD GH Stainforth with the same engine and a reinforced to 2550 hp engine 655.8 km / h ( 407.5 mph ), the then world record for aircraft at all.
The knowledge gained during the construction of the super S.6B eventually led to the development of the Supermarine Spitfire, with its Rolls- Royce Merlin engine.