RAF Flying Boats hit Skegness
Five flying boats of the Royal Air Force provided a great attraction for visitors and residents alike in August 1928.
The visit was mainly confined to revolutions in the air, as the commander of the landing vessel who alighted for a few minutes discovered that the mooring anchors were not sufficiently strong enough to hold the craft in the stiff north-easterly breeze and took off again in a few minutes.
The boats circled over the beach for 45 minutes, flying at low altitudes before making off in an easterly direction.
The boats were of the Supermarine “Southampton” type, their weight being seven tons, their wing spread 75 feet and the length of their hull 50 feet.
Their twin 450 hp Napier Lion engines are capable of driving the machines at 100 miles per hour.
The boats each carry a crew of five.
Source: Skegness Standard 8th August 1928.
More about the Supermarine Southampton Flying Boat
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