Supermarine Scapa

The Supermarine Scapa was a British general reconnaissance flying boat built by Supermarine that was used by the Royal Air Force between 1935 and 1939. It was developed from the Southampton and formed the basis of the later Stranraer flying boat.

Development
After experimenting with a three-engine design of flying boat, (the Nanuk/Solent/Southampton X), Supermarine's chief designer, R.J. Mitchell, decided that the good hydrodynamic design that had been developed in the twin-engined Southampton, would be the platform for the next aircraft.

A prototype designated the Southampton IV was built. It had a hull that performed even better in the tank tests. An Air Ministry Specification was received in November 1931. The test pilot Joseph "Mutt" Summers took the first flight on 8 July 1932. The name had then been changed to the Scapa.

15 Scapas were built before production was changed to a more powerful development, the Stranraer.

Design
The Scapa was an all-metal structure for the hull. The wing and tail surfaces had metal structure with fabric covering. The engines were mounted in nacelles underslung from the upper wing, There were two fins, each placed at the mid semi-span of the tailplane. Similar to the Southampton, there were three gun positions provided. One in the nose and two staggered in the rear fuselage.

Operators

 * Royal Air Force
 * No. 202 Squadron RAF
 * No. 204 Squadron RAF
 * No. 228 Squadron RAF
 * No. 240 Squadron RAF
 * No. 240 Squadron RAF