Supermarine Sea Otter

Amphibious Maritime Patrol Floatplane Aircraft

United Kingdom | 1942

"Nearly 300 Sea Otter amphibians were completed by the storied Supermarine concern - these seeing service in World War 2 and beyond."

Power & Performance
Those special qualities that separate one aircraft design from another. Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the Supermarine Sea Otter Amphibious Maritime Patrol Floatplane Aircraft.

1 x Bristol Mercury XXX air-cooled radial piston engine developing 965 horsepower and driving a three-bladed propeller unit in puller configuration.
Propulsion

165 mph
265 kph | 143 kts
Max Speed

16,995 ft
5,180 m | 3 miles
Service Ceiling

690 miles
1,110 km | 599 nm
Operational Range

870 ft/min
265 m/min
Rate-of-Climb

Structure
The nose-to-tail, wingtip-to-wingtip physical qualities of the Supermarine Sea Otter Amphibious Maritime Patrol Floatplane Aircraft.

1
(MANNED)
Crew

39.9 ft
12.15 m
O/A Length

45.9 ft
(14.00 m)
O/A Width

15.1 ft
(4.60 m)
O/A Height

6,834 lb
(3,100 kg)
Empty Weight

10,020 lb
(4,545 kg)
MTOW

Armament
Available supported armament and special-mission equipment featured in the design of the Supermarine Sea Otter Amphibious Maritime Patrol Floatplane Aircraft .

STANDARD:
1 x 7.7mm Vickers K machine gun in nose
2 x 7.7mm Vickers K machine guns in aft position.

OPTIONAL:
4 x 250lb conventional drop bombs.

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the Supermarine Sea Otter family line.

Sea Otter - Base Series Name

Sea Otter Mk.I - Reconnaissance / communications platform (amphibious capabilities).

Sea Otter Mk.II - Search and Rescue (SAR) amphibious aircraft.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 10/23/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

Best known for its famous, war-winning World War 2-era fighter, the "Spitfire", Supermarine of the United Kingdom was also a major player in the floatplane / flying boat industry. One of its contributions of the pre-war period became the "Sea Otter" (originally known as the "Sting Ray") which was produced in 292 examples as a biplane-winged "amphibian". This categorization meant that the aircraft was equally-capable of landing and taking off from either traditional runways or from water due to its multi-functional design.

The Sea Otter was developed by the company as a longer-ranged, maritime patrol version of its popular "Walrus" product of 1935 of which 740 were ultimately produced from 1936 until 1944. This aircraft, too, was an amphibian with a biplane wing arrangement and held its engine between the two planes, over the fuselage. The Sea Otter followed suit but installed its sole engine unit within the upper wing mainplane. Unlike the Walrus, which had its propelled driven in a "pusher" arrangement, the Sea Otter reverted to a more traditionally-arranged propeller mounting with the multi-bladed unit held at the front of the engine installation ("puller" arrangement).

It its earliest form, the Sea Otter was outfitted with a Bristol Perseus XI series air-cooled radial piston engine and this was used to drive a two-bladed propeller unit. When this was found to be too weak, a three-bladed propelled was substituted and a first-flight was recorded on September 23rd, 1938. Overheating issues led to a complete powerplant switch, this arriving in the form of the Bristol Mercury XXX series.

With the war in full swing, maritime patrollers like the Sea Otter were soon in high demand as seaways were contested across the globe. The British Air Ministry finally committed to the type through a January 1942 order and the series went on to see considerable wartime service under the banners of both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy (RN). The latter proved the more prolific operator with no fewer than twenty-one squadrons operating the Sea Otter. The RAF utilized the line across nine squadrons as well as one experimental Marine unit.

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As designed, the Sea Otter was crewed by four personnel and was given a length of 39.10 feet with a wingspan of 46 feet and a height of 15 feet. Empty weight was 6,800lb against an MTOW of 10,000lb and power from the Mercury XXX radial engine was 965 horsepower. Maximum speed reached 165 miles per hour with a range out to nearly 700 miles, a service ceiling up to 17,000 feet and a rate-of-climb nearing 870 feet-per-minute.

The Sea Otter was modestly armed through 1 x 7.7mm Vickers K machine gun fitted to the nose and 2 x 7.7mm Vickers K machine guns installed in the aft section of the aircraft. Its bombload measured 4 x 250lb drop bombs.

Outwardly, the aircraft was certainly a product of its time. The fuselage was traditionally-arranged with the cockpit seated aft of a nosecone assembly. The front and sides of the cockpit were lined with windows for better viewing by the crew. The biplane wing arrangement consisted of a lower unit fitted to the roof of the fuselage and an upper unit suspended high over the fuselage. The wings were joined by parallel strutworks and cabling. The upper wing unit held the single engine nacelle with the propeller just cleared the fuselage roof. Under each lower wing element were outboard pontoons for water-running / stability. For ground-based running, the aircraft incorporated a conventional "tail-dragge"r stance made up of two main legs emanating from the fuselage sides and a diminutive tailwheel seated under the tail structure. The tail section had a single vertical plane with a pair of mid-mounted horizontal planes.

Two production variants ultimately emerged, the first becoming "Sea Otter Mk I" and this model was used primarily in the reconnaissance and communications role. The follow-up "Sea Otter Mk II" was a dedicated Search and Rescue (SAR) platform. Some 592 units were ordered by the Air Ministry but, in the end, just 292 of the order were realized mainly due to the conclusion of the war in 1945. Global operators went on to include British allies Australia, Denmark, Egypt, France and the Netherlands.

Sea Otters found extended post-war service in both military and civilian markets. In the latter, various facilities were added, including a lavatory and baggage compartment, to better serve passengers.

No preserved Sea Otters exist today.

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Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the Supermarine Sea Otter. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national aircraft listing.

Total Production: 292 Units
Contractor(s): Supermarine - UK

[ Australia; Denmark; Egypt; France; Netherlands; United Kingdom ]

1 / 1

Image from the Public Domain.

Going Further...
The Supermarine Sea Otter Amphibious Maritime Patrol Floatplane Aircraft appears in the following collections:

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