Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Long-range patrol flying-boat

Power Plant:

Two 257 kw (345 hp) Rolls Royce Eagle VIII twelve-cylinder VEE liquid-cooled engines

Specifications:

Armament:

Four free mounted 7.7 mm (0.303 in) Lewis machine guns; up to four 104 kg (230 lb) of bombs on racks under the wings

History:

The Felixstowe F.3 (also known as the Porte Felixstowe F.3), the prototype of which made its first official flight on 9 February 1917, was one of a series of large flying-boats built for the Royal Navy. John Cyril Porte, who was invalided out of the Royal Navy in 1911 had, during his service, become interested in naval aviation. In 1915 he was at Felixstowe and observed the American Curtiss H.4 flying boats being used operationally. He then commenced a series of designs which resulted in the Porte 1, the first of a line of Felixstowe F-class flying boats.

In 1915 an order was placed for 50 Curtiss H.4s in modified form, to be known as the H.12, these later being fitted with Rolls Royce engines. Porte then decided to re-design the H.12 hull, using the same construction methods, and produced the F.2 (8650) which proved to have superior performance to the H.12.

The new F.2 was developed to the F.2A and, fitted with Rolls Royce Eagle engines, was very successful. Production aircraft appeared in 1917 and sub-contract work was let to Short Brothers of Eastchurch. The F.2As and H.12s subsequently rendered important service to Britain’s war effort during the U-boat campaign in World War I. At least one submarine (UC-36) was claimed, as well as a few Zeppelin airships (L.22, L.43 and L.62).

The F.3 was similar in appearance to the F.2A but it had greater overall dimensions. The prototype F.3 flew with 239 kw (320 hp) Sunbeam Cossack engines, but when the type was placed in production it was fitted with the 257 kw (345 hp) Rolls Royce Eagle VIII engines driving 3.04 m (10 ft) diameter propellers.

The type operated alongside F.2As at Felixstowe, Great Yarmouth, Killingholme, Cattewater, Dundee, and Scapa Flow; and in the Mediterranean. Some 100 examples had been built when the armistice was signed and further production was cancelled. Manufacturers were Short Bros, Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company; Dick Kerr & Company; and the Malta Dockyard. In 1921 the survivors were declared obsolete and a number were sold to Portugal and Spain.

Two G-EAQT (c/n S.6907 – ex N4019) and G-EBDQ (ex N4177) were placed on the British Civil Register, being re-modelled for private use. The latter was built by Phoenix Dynamo and registered to the Aircraft Disposal Company Ltd in June 1922, being initially destined for Canada but going to another operator.

The former F.3 G-EAQT was purchased by Sydney businessman, Lebbeus Hordern, in August 1920 for $31,000 (£15,500) on behalf of the Aerial Company Ltd. This was a company registered in Sydney, NSW in April 1919 with its office in Martin Place and authorised capital of $40,000 (£20,000). Chairman and founder was H C Macfie, Managing Director Lebbeus Hordern, and General Manager Lt Col Woods. Harold Macfie in May 1920 obtained the sole Australasian agency for Short Bros.

Lebbeus Hordern left for overseas in November 1919 to purchase aircraft for the planned water-based operations of the company. Operations were to be from the Double Bay Flying Boat Base, which had remained dormant since 1914. Aeroplane purchases included two Curtiss Seagull flying boats, a Short Shrimp floatplane, and a Felixstowe F.3. The F.3 was fitted out by Short Bros with three lounges, upholstered in green and grey in the cabin, and accommodation was provided for ten passengers.

The business plan of The Aerial Company depended heavily on the future operations of the Felixstowe F.3, it being proposed that international air routes to transport passengers and freight would be developed, connecting ports on the east coast of Australia with New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and eventually Singapore.

The F.3 aeroplane arrived in Sydney on 23 August 1920 and was taken to a site at Botany Bay, NSW where the company had built a hangar. The hull was removed from its packing and it was immediately found that some damage and deterioration had occurred during the delivery by sea. Completion of assembly did not take place and the wings were never uncrated.

In July 1923 Charles Kingsford Smith and Keith Anderson were looking for an aeroplane to fly the Pacific. Kingsford Smith inspected the Felixstowe at Botany Bay in company with Lebbeus Hordern but indicated the deterioration to the hull was too great to make it a viable option.

In late 1925 Hordern again offered the Felixstowe to Kingsford Smith for $2,000 (£1,000) as it was. Kingsford Smith had the machine inspected by Lawrence Wackett (later Sir) but it was estimated repairs would cost another $2,000 (£1,000). In any event, it was felt the range could not be extended to even 1,609 km (1,000 miles) so the offer was rejected.

Eventually the hull deteriorated even further and it was donated to a local fisherman for use as a fishing shack; an ignominious end to what would have been a very interesting operation. No Australian civil registration was ever allotted and the aircraft was never completely assembled in Australia.

In February 1920 Major G A C Cowper and others formed Aviation Ltd and commenced operations supplying aircraft accessories, repair and maintenance, and took over the Boulton & Paul agency at Glenroy aerodrome, VIC. Further aircraft were obtained and operated. At one stage it was planned to import two Felixstowe F.3 flying boats to commence a service to Tasmania. However, the company went into liquidation in 1921 and the aircraft were not imported.

It is interesting to note that at the time of the Imperial Gift presentation of aircraft to Australia in 1920 plans were being put in train to set up a number of units to operate these aircraft. Amongst the aircraft proposed to be operated was what referred to as the P.5 flying boat. This was a reference to the Felixstowe P.5 long-range flying boat. The plan for the new Australian Air Force was to equip No 6 Squadron with six P.5s operating from Point Cook, VIC as the 1st Wing, and No 7 Squadron with a further six P.5s operating in New South Wales. One flight from each Squadron was to be manned by permanent personnel and the two other flights by Citizen Forces. However, the Air Force budget was halved by the Australian Government and acquisition of the aircraft did not proceed.

Several Felixstowe F.3s were presented by the United ingdomK Government to Canada in 1919 for use by the Canadian Air Board for operations in Manitoba. They were used for aerial photography and forest fire patrols. In 1920 the Canadian Air Board sponsored a trans-Canada flight to determine the feasibility of such flights for future airmail and passenger services, this taking place during that year with one of the F.3s.