Short R.24/31 Knuckleduster
Short Brothers · United Kingdom · first flew 1933 · reconnaissance aircraft
The Short R.24/31 (S.18), nicknamed the Knuckleduster, was a British twin-engined, high-wing cantilever gull-winged monoplane flying boat.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 2 × piston, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 19.28 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- High cantilever gull-wing monoplane
- Twin engines on the wing driving tractor propellers
- Flying-boat hull
A twin-engined gull-wing flying boat, 19.3 m long with a span of 27.4 m.
Specifications
- The Short R.24/31 Knuckleduster has a length of 19.28 m (63 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 27.43 m (90 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 241 km/h (150 mph).
- Typical crew: 5.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
It was designed by Arthur Gouge to Air Ministry specification R.24/31 for a general-purpose open sea patrol flying boat. It first flew on 30 November 1933.
Variants
Only one prototype was built.
Where you'll see it
It never saw military service but provided useful information on the steam-cooling of its Rolls-Royce Goshawk engines. The data informed the Empire and Sunderland flying boats; it was retired in 1938.
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