Short S.41
Short Brothers · United Kingdom · first flew 1912 · light aircraft
The Short S.41 was a British single-engine biplane built for the Royal Navy in 1912, able to operate on wheels or floats.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Slim rectangular-section fuselage mounted between the wings |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Unequal-span two-bay tractor biplane
- Slim rectangular-section fuselage mounted between the wings
- Floats with two main pontoons under the fuselage and smaller floats at the wingtips and tail
A tractor biplane with a rotary engine, a slim fuselage between the wings and floats on the seaplane version.
Specifications
- The Short S.41 has a length of 11.89 m (39 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 15.24 m (50 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 97 km/h (60 mph).
- Typical crew: 2.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
The Admiralty ordered it as the larger of two tractor biplanes similar to the Short S.36, powered by a 100 hp Gnome double Omega rotary engine. Charles Rumney Samson first flew it on 2 April 1912.
Variants
It was later fitted with folding wings, designed by Horace Short, and in November 1913 received new wings similar to those of the Short Admiralty Type 81.
Where you'll see it
It was successful enough that two similar aircraft were built, and the type remained in use until the early years of the First World War.
Related aircraft
- Short S.36
- Short S.38
- Short S.45
- Short S.47 Triple Tractor
- ASL Viking
- Avro Type E (Avro 500)
- Avro Type F
- Avro Type G
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