Part 2
Sometimes Less is More ...
By the time that his Victoria flying boat was in RCAF service, R.P. Key had already departed from Canadian Vickers. He was replace as Chief Aeronautical Engineer by his former assistant, R.J. Moffett. It was readily apparent to 'Dick' Moffett that the Vancouver/Victoria lineage had no further development potential. It was also obvious that Canadian Vickers alone could not bear the costs of developing a modern all-metal flying boat. No help was forthcoming from Ottawa but the parent firm was pitching Supermarine Stranraer flying boats for patrol use by the RCAF. When the Government of Canada awarded a contract in 1936, it was stipulated that the Stranraer be built by the Canadian Vickers subsidiary.
That contract was welcome news on the Montreal factory floor. But 'Dick' Moffett and the design office were less thrilled. Canadian Vickers was already assembling a single-engine photo-reconnaisance aircraft for the RCAF. These licensed Northrop Delta monoplanes were far more advanced than the biplane Stranraer (which was effectively a Southampton modernized for metal construction). Surely with its new and hard-won facility with all-metal stressed-skin construction, the Canadian Vickers design office could do better than the lumbering Stranraer. [1] On the upside, Canadian Vickers top management had approved the construction of a larger factory space at Cartierville outside Montreal to build the new flying boats.
With production space at a premium at Hythe, Stranraer jigs, tooling, and equipment was already being packed up for shipment by sea from Southampton docks to the Port of Montreal. Things began moving quickly, once Stranraer jigs and components began arriving at the semi-finished plant at Cartierville. The first of six Cartierville-assembled Stranraers (RCAF serials 700-705) was delivered to the RCAF in 1938. But, what was viewed as a victory by Accounts and Canadian Vickers brass, was preached against from the design office. In doing so, 'Dick' Moffett was making himself very unpopular with top management.
Unpopular or not, it was becoming obvious to all that biplanes were not going to play a major part in the future war which was brewing. If Canadian Vickers was to make a useful contribution in aviation, monoplane designs were needed. Approval was finally given for Moffett and team to submit a monoplane flying boat study - but one with very tight reigns on the budget. So, neither an entirely new design nor a complete redesign of the Stranraer was in the cards. This quickly narrowed options to a monoplane design based upon the existing Stranraer hull. Eventually, that led to a cooperative relationship with the US firm of Sikorsky Aviation Corporation of Stratford, Connecticut.
The Sikorsky S-43 'Baby Clipper' transport amphibian - a parasol monoplane was approximately the same size and weight as the biplane Stranraer. The US military was in the process of buying or ordering S-43s, which gave the type additional credibility. Canadian Vickers and Sikorsky agreed to a work up a co-operative offering to the RCAF. This would consist of the militarized S-43C transport amphibian and the CVS-304 'Stranraer Monoplane' patrol aircraft. [2] The latter, in simple terms, combined the hull and tailplane of the Supermarine Stranraer with the pylon and wings from the Sikorsky S-43. It was anticipated that any RCAF order would be powered by Bristol Pegasus X radials while Wright GR-1820-G2s would be offered for export variants.
The prototype 'Stranraer Monoplane' was the seventh hull assembled from British parts mated to Sikorsky-supplied wings. This aircraft flew from the Saint Lawrence Seaway in June 1938 with American engines. Despite the lower-powered Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radials, performance gains were immediately obvious. On the 750 hp R-1690-52s, the 'Stranraer Monoplane' was 30 mph faster in flight than its biplane progenitor. That speed would increase by another 10 mph once the 920 hp Bristol Pegasus X engines were installed. 'Dick' Moffett appeared to be vindicated. [3] DND and the RCAF requested that all further production work on the Stranraer be halted.
The second batch of six RCAF Stranraers (RCAF serials 906-911) was cancelled with this order transferred to the new 'Stranraer Monoplane' - which DND dubbed the Canadian Vickers Canso. [3] A second order followed for another half-dozen Canso Mk.IAs with changes to armament and equipment (912-917) The most obvious changes were a refined nose/bombardier's station and an enclosed tail gun position. Consideration was also given to adopting alternative, American powerplants - the 950 hp Wright R-1820-G5. Eighteen American-engined Canso Mk.IIs were procured (RCAF serials 918-935). However, no immediate threat to the supply of British-made Pegasus engines was anticipated and no further orders were placed for the Mk.II. A final order was placed for a half-dozen Pegasus-powered Canso Mk.IIIs (936-941) with improved crew accommodations. And with that, Canso production ended at Canadian Vickers.
Although the monoplane Canadian Vickers Canso proved superior to the biplane Stranraer, both types were outshone by the American Consolidated PBY flying boat. Ordered for both the RAF and RCAF as the Catalina, it was decided to license-build the Consolidated boat at Cartierville. As a result, both the Canso and its biplane forebearer played fairly obscure roles in Canada's war effort. By the Summer of 1942, all remaining Cansos and the four surviving Stranraers had been transferred to Western Air Command on the Pacific coast. But that is the beginning of a different story ...
( Fin )
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[1] Even British Air Ministry had been underwhelmed by the Stranraer - preferring its competition rival - the Saunders Roe A.27 London.
[2] At the time, the RCAF saw no application for an amphibian transport (it would take the outbreak of the War in the Pacific to make the usefulness of such aircraft apparent). So, no RCAF orders for the Sikorsky S-43C were forthcoming. As will be seen, the CVS-304 'Stranraer Monoplane' was another matter. To parent firm, Vickers-Armstrong, this type would be known as the Supermarine Type 304M - despite the Southhampton design team playing no part in the final design.
[3] In the end, the battle must have been too frustrating. In July 1940, as Canso orders peaked, 'Dick' Moffett left Canadian Vickers to became the general manager of Federal Aircraft.
[4] The Canadian Vickers Canso was named after Cape Canso in Nova Scotia. Canadian Vickers had proposed the name Vigilant but this suggestion was rejected by DND.