Saturday 25 March 2017

Mann Egerton Type H

We're back in the Great War with this British shipborne fighter prototype that was also known as the Mann Egerton H2.
It was designed by J.W. Carr to compete in the Air Ministry's N1a of 1916. It was a two bay biplane with foldable wings (which wasn't something new as the Short Folder had already introduced them back in 1913)  considering its usage as a naval fighter.
It had also flotation chambers and a float attached to the underside of the fuselage to provide it with extra buoyancy.
The landing gear could be jettisoned in case of having to land on water. It failed, nevertheless, the flotation tests so a new prototype, named Type H Mk.II featuring single bay wings was designed.
The Mk.II, which is the one depicted here, replaced the float of the Mk.I with inflatable flotation bags and featured also a conventional undercarriage and a horn-balanced rudder. It was tested in December 1917 but it wasn't considered suitable for use with the Royal Naval Air Service so any further development was discontinued.










Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Egerton_Type_H
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

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