Short Cromarty

In April 1917, the British Admiralty developed a requirement for a long-range patrol flying boat to work in support of the Fleet, and issued Specification N.3(b) (later reissued as Air Ministry Specification XXX{{efn|Following the formation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918, the specifications were re-numbered using roman numerals}}) to meet this need.London 2003, p.62. This resulted in designs from Vickers (for the Valentia) and Shorts of Rochester, who, although better known at the time for floatplanes, had gained experience in flying boats, building Felixstowe F.3 and F.5s under licence from April 1917.Barnes 1967, p.155.London 2003, pp. 63–64.

Short Brothers received an order for three prototypes just after the Armistice ended the First World War.London 2003, p.64. Short's design, the N.3 Cromarty, was a large, twin-engine biplane. It was powered by two {{convert|650|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Rolls-Royce Condor engines, and had a similar, but larger hull to that of the Felixstowe flying boats, with a biplane tail. It featured a side-by-side cockpit for the two pilots, a large box cockpit for a gunner, who was armed with a COW automatic cannon, and a dorsal position for another gunner armed with a Lewis gun.Williams and Gustin 2003, p.101.

Production of the prototypes started in February 1919, but the second and third were cancelled before completion, with the first prototype eventually being launched on 21 March 1921, being first flown by John Lankester Parker on 11 April 1921.

After extensive testing, the Cromarty was handed over to the RAF's Seaplane Development Flight on 17 June 1922. In August, the Flight, comprising the Cromarty, two Felixstowe F.5s and a Phoenix Cork, set out on trials of operating large flying boats away from support facilities for extended periods of time. Arriving at St Mary's, Isles of Scilly on 21 August, the Cromarty successfully weathered a storm, but was taxied onto a reef, holing the hull. The damage was declared uneconomic to repair and the Cromarty was scrapped in place.Barnes 1967, p.157.London 2003, p.65.

While the Cromarty had performed well in its limited service, one problem (as with all wooden-hulled flying boats) was soakage of water into the hull, with as much as {{convert|600|lb|kg}} of water absorbed after a few weeks of service.Short 1925, p.825. Tests with a metal-hulled Felixstowe F.5 resulted in an order for a prototype of an improved, metal-hulled flying boat, based on the Cromarty. This became the prototype Short Singapore I.Barnes 1967, pp. 195–198.

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|eng1 number=2

|eng1 name=Rolls-Royce Condor IA

|eng1 type=water-cooled V12 engine

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{{aircontent

|see also=*

|related=

• Felixstowe F.5
• Short Singapore

|similar aircraft=

• Phoenix P.5 Cork
• Vickers Valentia

|lists=

• List of flying boats and floatplanes

}}

{{reflist}}

{{notelist}}

{{refbegin}}

• "[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1922/1922%20-%200725.html Aircraft Production at a Glance]". Flight, 14 December 1922, pp. 725–740.
• Barnes, C.H. Shorts Aircraft since 1900. London:Putnam, 1967.
• London, Peter. British Flying Boats. Stroud, UK:Sutton Publishing, 2003. {{ISBN|0-7509-2695-3}}.
• Short, Oswald "[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1925/1925%20-%200823.html All-Metal Flying Boat Hulls]". Flight, 17 December 1925. pp. 823–825.
• Williams, Anthony G. and Gustin, Emmanuel. Flying Guns: World War I and its Aftermath 1914–32. Ramsbury, UK:Airlife, 2003. {{ISBN|1-84037-396-2}}.

{{refend}}

{{commons category}}

• [http://www.1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/Visschedijk/2592.htm Photo]

{{Short Brothers aircraft}}

Category:1920s British patrol aircraft

Category:Flying boats

Cromarty

Category:Biplanes

Category:Aircraft first flown in 1921

Category:Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft