Supermarine S.4
Supermarine · United Kingdom · first flew 1925 · light aircraft
The Supermarine S.4 was a British racing floatplane designed by R. J. Mitchell for the 1925 Schneider Trophy. It was a mid-wing cantilever monoplane powered by a Napier Lion engine.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Mid-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Streamlined wooden fuselage around a Napier Lion W-12 engine |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Mid-wing cantilever floatplane with no bracing wires
- Cockpit set well back behind the wing
- Streamlined wooden fuselage around a Napier Lion W-12 engine
A sleek wooden floatplane with a single wing without struts or wires, set mid-fuselage, and a pilot sitting far back.
Specifications
- The Supermarine S.4 has a length of 8.12 m (27 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 9.33 m (31 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 385 km/h (239 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Mitchell began the design in 1925, and the S.4 first flew on 24 August 1925 from Calshot. On 13 September 1925 it set a world seaplane speed record of 226.752 mph.
Variants
Only one S.4 was built, registered G-EBLP. It was the first Schneider entrant supported by the British government.
Where you'll see it
It was shipped to the United States for the 1925 Schneider Trophy at Baltimore. Test pilot Henry Biard disliked its unbraced wings and the cockpit position far behind them.
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- Supermarine Southampton
- Supermarine Swan
- Supermarine Nanok
- Supermarine S.5
- Albatros L 69
- Albatros L.71
- Albert TE.1
- ANBO I
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