Short Sealand

The Short SA.6 Sealand was a light commercial amphibious aircraft designed and produced by Short Brothers, sized for five to seven passengers and for overseas markets with rivers, lakes, sheltered bays or prepared runways. It descended from the larger Solent, with a higher aspect ratio wing for better climb and cruise, and it was divided between the Rochester works, which built the hull and tail, and Belfast, which designed the wing and engines. The prototype made its maiden flight from Belfast Lough on 22 January 1948. Two production variants, the Sealand I and the longer winged Sealand III, flew with civilian and military operators, notably the Indian Navy, in Borneo, Norway and Venezuela among other places.