The Best.... by debbielove
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
Greetings Folks,
Once upon a time, Britain ruled the air, sea and land... Everything made that was best was British.. I make no apologies for this, it is true.. Even U.S. Jets in the 50's first flew with License built British engines.. Anyway, how things have changed.. Now this Countries shit... And I make no apologies for that either...
This, is the actual winner of the Schneider Trophy.. The S.6B.. Worn, battered, just as it was after it flew to a world record speed... NOT for a floatplane, but a total speed record!
The Supermarine S.6B is a British racing seaplane developed by R.J. Mitchell for the Supermarine company to take part in the Schneider Trophy competition of 1931. The S.6B marked the culmination of Mitchell's quest to 'perfect the design of the racing seaplane' and represented the cutting edge of aerodynamic technology.
The last in the line developed by Supermarine, it followed the S.4, S.5 and the S.6. Mitchell and his team's experience in designing high speed Schneider Trophy floatplanes greatly contributing to the development of the later Supermarine Spitfire, an iconic fighter and Britain's most successful interceptor of World War II..
The trick to win this race was not to fly around pole or a circuit, but as fast as you can...
Come the day, all other teams had bombed out.. Their aircraft died...
The winning Schneider flight was piloted by Flt. Lt. John N. Boothman in aircraft serial number S1595 at a speed of 340.08 mph, flying seven perfect laps of the triangular course over the Solent, between the Isle of Wight and the British mainland.
In winning, Britain kept the trophy outright! I have a shot to come..
Seventeen days later, Flt Lt. George Stainforth in S.6B serial S1596 broke the world air speed record reaching 407.5 mph.
The S6B let to the Merlin and of course the Spitfire..
Taken at the Science Museum London.
Enjoy, full view to come..
Rob
Comments (18)
Richardphotos
what character this plane has
bebopdlx
What a great looking plane, cool info.
jayfar
I agree with your sentiments Rob. It all started with Thatcher killing both the Unions and Apprenticeships. Love your shot and the narrative.
magnus073
Rob, this is a very nice capture and I totally agree with your thoughts. Sadly I must admit my country for some time has been heading in the same direction when it comes to our military.
Maxidyne
Amazing find and write up mate. The weathered look only adds to the appeal. I was luck enough to have an apprenticeship in the early 80's and I do feel sympathy for those leaving school these days.
Buffalo1
Such a beauty and I didn't know one still exised. I built a model of this sleek racer when I was a kid. As to the bumbling of governments, look no farther and the United States and both the Democrats and Republicans. Unfortunately the USA is going the same way as Britain by allowing industry and jobs to go out of the country in the name of the 'free market and free trade" while giving out corporate welfare to big business. No wonder we have so many people "on the dole" here.
tigertim
Very cool Rob, a fantastic aeroplane/floatplane, and great to see she has been preserved 'as is'.. she retains her character!! Yeah, the Govt here canned apprenticeships too some 15-20 years back, but we now find we are running out of 'tradies', so at least they have had the sense in NZ to restart the apprenticeship schemes in some form or other!
Faemike55
this is one wicked looking aircraft great capture and history
flavia49
wonderful capture
blinkings
Sounds like you guys need a 'French Revolution' mate..............
62guy
The best torpedo in the world (by far) in the 30's and 40's was the Japanese Long lance. The German ME262, a twin engine jet fighter was flying long before any of the allies had an operational jet (its engines were not based on British designs). The American's Mustang fighter and SBD Dauntless dive bomber were better than anything the English had. The British navy made up for its lack of quality with numbers as the debacle with the Hood showed. The British naval aircraft (stringbags, etc) could not compare with either the Japanese or American naval aircraft. The German type 21 U-boat outclassed every other operational submarine type in the world. The list goes on..... In truth, the mid 30's marked the end of the UK's technological leadership.
debbielove
I think my friend you should check up on your History, read a bit deeper and check out WHICH engine (for example) powered the Mustand.. Plus it would not be if the UK had not requested the thing be designed in the first place.. The poor 'stringbag' managed, to wipe out half the Italian fleet in Harbor in one fell sweep.. At night! It flew on till the end f the war, never being replaced by the aircraft designed to replace it.. And as for the Jet, and the Jet engine, Heard of Frank Whittle? Read up mate.. Yes, the Luftwaffe has the best in service during the war but not the most or first up.. (engine wise). Agreed, torpedoes, the Japanese had the best, the Italians were better as well.. Not agreed, about the Hood.. Battle Cruisers were always flawed.. Mistakes are made, look at your own history.. Read, I do..
dakotabluemoon
Oh i like the propeller on this one she looks like a tough old gal great shot my friend.
neiwil
I had no idea this still existed...stunning!!! Can't wait for the full 'shot'.... May I add to 62guy's marvelous 'tripe'.. The Long Lance WAS remarkable, it's compressed oxygen propulsion gave it great range with a larger warhead.......however.. it was very prone to self detonate if knocked.....it was common practice to ditch them over the side of surface vessels when attacked. A 5inch shell from the Escort Carrier White Plains should hardly have been noticed by the Heavy Cruiser 'Chokai'...however it's detonation only 'near' the torpedo store caused torpedoes to detonate causing so much damage 'Chokai' was scuttled the next day. The Long Lance was 'good' but never 'great'.
goodoleboy
Wait a minute, mate. For top notch stuff, how about those great American WWII warplanes, e.g., P-38, P-51, P-47, B-17, B-24, B-29, Hellcat, Corsair, et al? They weren't exactly chopped liver. Anyway, cool photo on the Supermarine S.6B, the forerunner of the Spitfire. I have a video on a DVD of this same aircraft doing its thing around the pylon. And I've read that it was the Hawker Hurricane that did the most damage during the Battle of Britain.
RodS
A great shot of this classic, Rob! It seems the 'powers-that-be' in both our countries are hell-bent on making 3rd-world countries out of them - with the exception of the very rich and powerful, of course. A sad situation that needs to be....... corrected.
1358
used to build these as models as a kid, back when models were affordable... as to the comparisons on which is better at war.... nothing is better at war, the people that flew them were the better at war... the pilots, the sailors, the soldiers... they won battles using what they had, not what they wanted.... a jet fighter is merely a tool, a hammer, an anvil... used properly, it can make a horseshoe as easily as a sword... so endeth the rant.... cool pic!
Briney
Went so fast it peeled the paint off... now THAT is a seaplane!!! Great hear some of the background about the Trophy race too.
knupps
Thats a history lesson. Thanks.