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Short S38 Sturgeon

1950 COLD WAR

History

The Short S. 38 Sturgeon was developed by the British Navy during World War II (1939-1945) to the S. 6/43 specification as a high-speed carrier-based torpedo bomber for the Pacific Theater. However, with the August 1945 At the end of the war, the requirements were no longer urgent, which forced the further development of the design in specification p. 11/43. The Short Brothers prototype first flew on June 7, 1946, and the Sturgeon (Short Brothers p. 38) was adopted by fleet aviation in 28 examples.

Despite its original torpedo bomber design, the type ended up serving as a useful target puller for much of its career -- a rather inglorious role for any military aircraft.

Externally, the original Sturgeon product used a traditional twin-engine configuration with a central hull tapering at both ends. In the design, the cockpit is placed at the very front of the main spar. The wings are mounted high along the sides of the fuselage, each with a leading edge engine nacelle.

The cabin protrudes far forward, blocking part of the view from the cockpit but giving the pilot a clear view of the engine in the event of a problem. The tail includes a vertical tail and the necessary horizontal planes. Power (for the TT.3 Transporter) comes from 2 Rolls-Royce Merlin 140 series, V12 liquid-cooled inline piston engines, each producing 2,080 hp.

This gives the airframe a top speed of 366 mph, a cruising speed of 312 mph, and a service ceiling of 35,200 feet.

There are several notable variants of the Sturgeon line headed by the Sturgeon S.1. It was a carrier-based strike platform whose original Top 30 order was cancelled at the end of the war (two prototypes completed a third modified TT for 2). Then the first target tug shape to appear is the Sturgeon TT. 2, emerged as two prototypes, resulting in 23 subsequent production forms - the truly definitive sturgeon production form. The tugboat model differs from the original torpedo bomber design with an elongated and improved nose assembly.

The TT 3 is nothing more than a refined target traction platform, five of which have evolved from the existing TT. 2 frames. SB 3 turned out to be a short-lived anti-submarine (ASW) platform prototype with a unique chin fairing housing specifically for the role's equipment. Two prototypes were ordered, and the original airframe flew for the first time on August 12, 1950.

This model was never adopted.

Sturgeon works with the Royal Navy Division of Fleet Aviation through Groups 703 NAS, 728 NAS and 771 NAS.