Supermarine Southampton

The Supermarine Southampton was a twin-engine biplane flying boat of the interwar period, designed by R. J. Mitchell and his team at Supermarine and derived from the experimental Swan, which first flew on 25 March 1924. Typically powered by a pair of Napier Lion twelve-cylinder engines mounted on pylons between the wings, it was ordered by the Air Ministry under Specification R.18/24 without a prototype, and the first production aircraft flew on 10 March 1925. It entered Royal Air Force service in August 1925 and built a favourable reputation through long-distance flights, with further customers including the Imperial Japanese Navy, Argentine Naval Aviation and the Royal Danish Navy, and civilian users such as Imperial Airways. A total of 83 were built, not counting the single three-engined Southampton Mk X, and later aircraft had metal hulls and wings. The Supermarine Scapa effectively replaced it in production.