Supermarine Seagull (1948)

The Supermarine Seagull of 1948 was a British amphibious military flying boat and the last flying boat Supermarine built. Design began during the Second World War, but it did not fly until three years after the war ended and the project was cancelled without being adopted for service. In October 1940 the Air Ministry issued Specification S.12/40 to Supermarine and Fairey for a catapult-launched amphibian reconnaissance and spotter aircraft to replace the Walrus and Sea Otter, and three prototypes were ordered in March 1943. Bombing of the Woolston design office, long wind tunnel testing and a switch from the Merlin to the more powerful Griffon caused delays, and a new requirement in 1944 turned it into a land-based air-sea rescue aircraft. The first prototype took off on 14 July 1948 and the second flew in September 1949 and was used for carrier trials on HMS Ark Royal.