Country of origin:

United Kingdom

Description:

Air-sea rescue amphibian

Power Plant:

One 638 kw (855 hp) Bristol Mercury XXX nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine

Specifications:

Armament:

Two 7.69 mm (0.303 in) Vickers K machine guns in aft gun position; second gun in the bow; in Mk I provision for the carriage of depth charges on underwing universal carriers

History:

The Sea Otter was the last biplane produced by Supermarine and was designed to meet specification S7/38 to replace the Supermarine Walrus in RAF service. A single-bay biplane amphibian, the Sea Otter had a tractor power unit and improved aerodynamic and hydro-dynamic qualities.  It was constructed of wood and metal. The mainplanes had stainless steel main spars and spruce ribs, with plywood leading-edges and fabric covering.  The hull was metal covered with stainless steel fittings at high stress points, and the tail unit was plywood covered.  A retractable undercarriage with hydraulic operation was fitted.  One was converted by the manufacturers to civil standard in 1947 as the Type 503 and registered as G-AIDM.

The prototype of the Sea Otter, known as the Type 309 (serial K8854), was flown for the first time in August 1938, and 290 examples had been built when production ceased in July 1946.  Production of the type was in the Saunders-Roe facility on the Isle of Wight.  The first production aircraft was flown on 30 July 1943, and the type entered service with the Royal Air Force at the end of that year.

The Sea Otter became known for its sterling service during World War II with the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. A modified version known as the Sea Otter II was built, differing externally by having grab-rails along the hull sides. It was used by a number of RAF units for air-sea rescue duties. It also saw service in 1944-1945 in the Burma campaign.  It could take-off with a maximum overload weight of 4,912 kg (10,830 lb).  Sea Otters were also supplied to the Netherlands Navy, eight being supplied in 1949.

A number of Sea Otters were operated in Australia with the RAN and in civil guise.  However, only the forward fuselage section of one (VH-BQI – ex JN200) survives in the Museum of Flight at HMAS Albatross at Nowra, NSW.

Four Sea Otters (RD914, RD917, JN200 and JN201) were flown with the RAN for rescue duties and to supplement helicopters in this role. RD917 was transferred to the RAN in October 1949 and operated from the aircraft carrier HMAS Sydney with No 723 Squadron but was returned to the Royal Navy in July 1950.  JN200 was allotted the registration VH-BQI. JN201 was broken up for spares. The fate of RD914 is not known but it is believed after operations with No 723 Squadron it was scapped.

Painted white with red trim, VH-BQI, registered in SeptembeNr 1954, was to be used by Air Sea Research on charter work; and, it was said, to fly fruit from north-coast areas to the Sydney, NSW markets.  At one stage a proposal was put forward for a regular commuter service between Sydney and the Hunter region, operating from Rose Bay, NSW.  Mr Brud Rees of Seaplane Charter was involved with this company.  However, the aircraft was damaged in a landing at Rathmines, NSW, when, during a training flight, it hit an underwater object which holed the hull.  It taxied to the ramp and was left there for some time until the RAAF, which still occupied the wartime flying boat base, ordered that it be removed.

It was then towed, with the wings folded, to a farm a few kilometres away at Awaba where, basically, it was abandoned and was not repaired. It remained on the farm until 1968 when efforts were made by a number of organisations to preserve it, including by the Camden Museum of Aviation, Newcastle Aero Club, etc which sought to place it on display at the Rutherford, NSW aerodrome, but to no avail as it was sold to a scrap metal merchant.  The forward fuselage was saved, as mentioned above, by the Royal Newcastle Aero Club at Rutherford and was later exchanged with the RAN Museum at HMAS Albatross, Nowra for a de Havilland Sea Venom for display.

Two other Sea Otters, originally Royal Navy machines, have been operated and registered as VH-AJN (ex N188) and VH-AJO (ex JN242). These two aircraft were obtained in the United Kingdom in 1949 by Australasian Petroleum Corporation for work in New Guinea.  They were converted for civil use, test flown in the UK, and crated and shipped to Rose Bay, where they were assembled.  Both aircraft were registered on 19 September 1949, VH-AJN operating for three years until 3 June 1953 when the Certificate of Airworthiness lapsed and APC advised the Department of Civil Aviation the aircraft would be stripped and sold.  It was struck off the register on 23 June and sank at its moorings.  It was salvaged by someone locally and the hull was converted into a boat.  In the late 1990s it seems the hull of this aircraft was located on the bottom of Port Moresby harbour and efforts were being made to salvage it.

VH-AJO was built at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1945 for the Royal Navy.  It was obtained in the United Kingdom by APC and registered on 19 September 1949.  It commenced services in New Guinea on 13 May, 1950 but by August that year was unserviceable due to a lack of spares. These were obtained and it returned to service.  However, on 12 January 1952 it sank at its moorings in Port Moresby, NG harbour during stormy weather and, due to the high seas at the time, was not salvaged for some time and remained on the bottom.  When raised it was found to have suffered extensive damage to the port wings and, because of this and salt-water corrosion, it was written off and struck off the register in May 1952.

For the time they were in New Guinea they were operated in conjunction with Australasian Petroleum Corporation work supplying food and equipment, as well as personnel, to expeditions which were searching for oil in New Guinea.  Although owned by APC, they were operated and serviced on its behalf by Qantas.

At least one Sea Otter is known to have visited New Zealand. Whilst the British aircraft carrier HMS Theseus was visiting in 1947 one of its Sea Otters (JN188) visited RNZAF Station Whenuapai near Auckland, the carrier at the time having two examples as part of its complement.

Thought to be extinct, in 2021 the wreck of a Sea Otter was discovered at a depth of 47 metres (155 feet) by divers off the northern coast of Cyprus, the airframe being relatively complete.  Its identity is unknown and whether any efforts will be made to attempt to recover the aircraft.