Saturday 25 May 2019

Supermarine Walrus, part one, foreign and civilian users

The Supermarine Walrus was a British single-engined amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft that was designed by Reginald J. Mitchell, the same one who designed the Supermarine Spitfire and flew for the first time in 1933. It was designed to be used as a fleet spotter on board of cruisers and battleships. It was used by many foreign countries:

  • Argentina: After the end of the war, the United Kingdom sold eight Walrus and two of them to operate on board the ARA La Argentina (C-3) cruiser until as late as 1958. The remaining six operated with the Argentinean Navy from shore bases.
  • Australia (Civilian): As the Royal Australian Navy had a surplus of Walruses after the war, a single aircraft that was in storage was issued to the Royal Australian Air Force's Antarctic Flight in 1947, to operate from Heard Island. It flew just one time and was badly damaged by a storm. It was recovered in 1980, restored between 1993 and 2002 and nowadays is at display at the Royal Australian Air Force Museum.
  • Egypt: Apparently the Royal Egyptian Air Force had some Walruses in inventory that served through the World War II. However, as we couldn't find graphical evidence about them, the drawing should be considered as completely speculative.
  • United Kingdom (Civilian): The most famous case of a British civilian Walrus was the brief use that United Whalers, a whaling company, gave. They operated from the factory ship MV Balaena which operated in Antarctic waters and was equipped with surplus navy aircraft catapult. Those aircraft were slightly modified as they were equipped with electrical sockets to power the electrically heated suits worn by the crew under their inmersion suits. A small petrol-burning cabin heater was also installed to maintain crew confort during flights that could take up to five hours. 









Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermarine_Walrus
2. https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=588

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