Supermarine Type 322

Supermarine Type 322

Company type	Prototype aircraft
Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1937
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Torpedo bomber, dive bomber, reconnaissance aircraft

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The Supermarine Type 322 was a British prototype designed during the Second World War as a carrier-capable torpedo bomber, dive bomber, and reconnaissance aircraft. Featuring a single-engine monoplane configuration, it failed to achieve success, with only two units constructed. The role was ultimately fulfilled by the Fairey Barracuda, which was developed according to the same specification.

Design and development

Supermarine developed the Type 322 in response to the 1937 Air Ministry Specification S.24/37, which sought a successor to the Royal Navy's Fairey Albacore biplane—despite the Albacore itself not yet having flown at that time. Orders were placed both with Supermarine and Fairey Aviation for designs that led to the Fairey Barracuda. Supermarine’s concept featured a high-wing monoplane layout initially intended to be powered by the Rolls-Royce Exe engine. A notable characteristic was its variable-incidence wing, a technology first seen on the French Paul Schmitt biplane displayed at the 1913 Paris Airshow.

This variable-incidence mechanism enabled the fuselage to maintain an optimal angle for pilot visibility while preserving lift—an advantage particularly suited to carrier operations and tailwheel undercarriage arrangements. The wing’s incidence could be adjusted from 2 degrees with neutral flaps up to 16 degrees when flaps were deployed at 60 degrees. At maximum flap deployment, the wing achieved a lift coefficient of 3.9, approximately twice that of typical contemporary designs, resulting in a stall speed of about 57 kn (106 km/h; 66 mph). To accommodate carrier requirements, the wing was designed to fold—a significant engineering accomplishment considering the minimal increase in structural weight this entailed. The landing gear was fixed with a tailwheel configuration, chosen to reduce mechanical complexity, as retracting gear into the wings would have posed substantial challenges. Construction was predominantly wooden, following a similar approach to the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle bomber, due to concerns over potential shortages of light alloy materials during production. After cancellation of the Exe engine in 1938, the design was revised to incorporate the Rolls-Royce Merlin powerplant.

Operational history

Two examples of the Type 322, colloquially known as "Dumbo" due to their bulky silhouette, were constructed. The initial completion target of early 1941 was postponed because manufacturing efforts prioritized Spitfire production. The first prototype (R1810) conducted its maiden flight on 6 February 1943. Shortly thereafter, the second prototype (R1815) took to the skies, featuring a Merlin 32 engine instead of the Merlin 30, equipped with a four-blade Rotol constant-speed propeller, an enlarged tailplane, and outer wings sheathed in alclad. By this stage, Fairey's rival model had already been introduced into service as the Fairey Barracuda, relegating the two Type 322 aircraft to experimental roles. Plans were made for an advanced iteration named the Supermarine Type 380. Additionally, the variable-incidence wing technology developed was intended for integration into a successor to the Sea Otter, enhancing seaplane performance by maintaining optimal float angles during takeoff and landing.

Following World War II, R1815 remained under company ownership and was utilized in 1946 as a chase plane during low-speed handling evaluations of the Supermarine Attacker jet fighter.

See also

Bibliography

• Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914. London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3.
• Brown, Capt. Eric. Wings of the Weird & Wonderful. London: Airlife, 1985, pp. 120–127. ISBN 0-906393-44-2.
• Burnet, Charles and Morgan, Eric B. "Dumbo and Seagull: Two Pairs of Variable Incidence Prototypes." Air International, November 1982, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 237–243, 251. ISSN 0306-5634.
• Chorlton, Martyn. Supermarine: Company Profile 1913–1963. Cudham: Kelsey Publishing Group (Aeroplane), 2012. ISBN 978-1-907426-46-9.
• Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
• Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Fighting Powers, Vol. VII. Hertfordshire: Argus Books Limited, 1946 (Facsimile Edition 1979. Rochester: Staples Printers (Stanhope Press)), pp. 31–32. ISBN 0-85242-621-6.

External links

• Supermarine S.24/37 – British World War II aircraft
• Flight Magazine photographic archive, 25 April 1946, p. 412; accessed 29 January 2010
• "Variable Incidence" – article from the 1946 issue of Flight