Supermarine S.6B Schneider Trophy Winner | Planes of Fame Air Museum

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Supermarine S.6B Schneider Trophy Winner

HISTORY

Following wins in 1927 and 1929, in the Supermarine S.5 and S.6, respectively, the United Kingdom was poised to win the 1931 Schneider Trophy race and permanently retire the trophy as their own. However, the Air Ministry, which had funded development of the previous racers, announced that they would no longer fund Schneider racing efforts. Following a huge public outcry and attacks in the press, a patriotic citizen provided funds for development of a new airplane.
By this time, there were only nine months remaining before the race, so designer R. J. Mitchell of Supermarine elected to upgrade the existing S.6 airframes that participated in the 1929 race. Minor structural changes were made to improve streamlining and engine cooling. Rolls- Royce also upgraded the Type R V-12 engine from 1,900 hp to 2,350 hp.
As the race approached, tragedy struck the French and Italian teams. Both lost their primary race aircraft and top pilots to crashes. As a result, the British flew the final Schneider Trophy race unopposed. FIt. Lt. John Boothman won the race in the S.6B with an average speed of 340 mph. The date was 13 September 1931. Later that month the S.6B, flown by FIt. Lt. G. H. Stainforth, set a new world speed record of 407 mph.
The S.6B was of all aluminum construction, with the wings and the tops of the floats serving as radiators for the engine. The fuel tanks were also stored in the floats.
The S.6B was the precursor to Supermarine's famous Spitfire, and the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine was a descendant of the R-29 engine.

SPECIFICATIONS

Status: Replica (in storage)

Manufacturer: Supermarine Aviation Works, LTD.

Year: Replica based on 1931 aircraft

Model: S.6B Supermarine

Registration Number:

Serial Number:

Crew: 1

Max T/O Weight: 6,086 lb.

Span: 30 ft. 0 in.

Length: 28 ft. 10 in.

Height: 12 ft. 3 in.