Short Bomber

Short Bomber

After the torpedo armed aircraft had proved quite effective, but had few suitable targets in the early stages of the Great War, Commodore M. F. Sueter, head of the British Admiralty's Air Department, turned his attention to machines designed to attack enemy ports and ships in them rather than to attack the enemy at sea. He regarded the long-range, bomb-carrying aircraft as a natural extension of the fleet's capabilities without its being threatened by mines and submarines. However, at that time, late in 1914, there were not sufficiently powerful engines, and in fact no suitable bombs, for an aircraft of the intended size and performance. It was therefore decided to provide an interim solution in the form of a modification of the already existing, yet relatively powerful, float planes for the new task.

Short was logically chosen as the main supplier of similar machines for the development of the new bomber, and in early 1915 the company began delivering a new float torpedo aircraft, the Short 184. This became the basis of the new type, the prototype of which, the 3706, was very soon completed. Meanwhile, it was usually referred to as the Type 184 Landplane and initially differed only in its wheeled undercarriage. However, its three-truss wings of identical span were soon replaced by new, two-truss wings, with the lower wing considerably shorter, with ailerons only on the upper wing. The 3706's fuselage was not particularly different from the Type 184, mainly the clunky but sturdy four-wheel undercarriage with braked rear wheels, and the observer/shooter mounted in the forward cockpit, with the machine gun mounted on a stand on the upper wing, so that the poor gunner had to climb onto the fuselage when firing.

With the final form of the wings (again, three trusses), the 3706 was able to carry its intended load of nine 29.5kg bombs and, with two men on board, also enough fuel for a four-hour flight. However, it suffered from great longitudinal instability, which could only be remedied by a substantial fuselage extension. Horace Short, one of the company's owners, disagreed with the modifications - the first production machines were close to completion and the necessary changes would have required too much work, he said. Despite this, in his absence, the prototype was simply recut, set up, and Horace, on his return, eventually accepted that the modification would be made to the production machines.

But the Admiralty also placed production orders with several other companies, which also managed to produce the first machines. The Navy, however, did not take delivery of any of them until the hull modifications had been made. The machines from Short and Sunbeam retained the original Sunbeam engines, while the aircraft from the other suppliers received the new Rolls-Royce I, later renamed Eagle I. All production machines had the gunner and pilot seats already swapped, as well as armoured tanks.

Hull modifications, however, led to delays and the first machines were not taken over by the Navy until later in 1916. By then, however, the prototype Handley Page O/100, which completely outclassed Short's Bomber, had been built, and no further machines were ordered.

The first unit to receive the new machines was the 3rd Wing at Luxeuil Base, which was to take part in the planned attacks on German industry. However, by this time the RFC had suffered huge losses during the summer offensives on the Western Front, and following a request for assistance, fifteen Shorts were handed over to the RFC, delaying the original plans, and it is not clear how much the Bombers eventually participated in the raids launched in October 1916.

In the meantime, the Bombers were given to 7 (Naval) Squadron, 5 Wing RNAS, and 15 Wing RNAS. November 1916, four of its aircraft attacked the submarine base at Zeebrugge, dropping 32 bombs on it (serial Bombers were capable of carrying up to 8 51kg bombs, however, to preserve range, 29.5kg bombs were usually carried).

The 5th Wing also carried out further raids, dropping new 236kg bombs on Zeebrugge four nights in a row in May 1917 in preparation for the British Navy's attack in the following days. By then, however, the arrival of the new serial O/100, much more suitable for heavy bombs, and the simultaneous start of the German bombing onslaught on England, meant that this temporary type was no longer needed, and most Short Bombers were thus scrapped by the summer of 1917.

Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft since 1912, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1991, ISBN 1-55750-076-2.

Mason, Francis K. British Bombers since 1914, Putnam, London 1994, ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
https://www.airwar.ru/enc/bww1/bomber.html
www.aviastar.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Bomber

9357, druhý stroj vyrobený u fy Sunbeam, s nestandardní směrovkou. Tento stroj později létal u 5. křídla RNAS v Dunkerque.


Zdroj: http://avia.russian.ee/