Post-War Seaplane

hughes h-4 hercules

after world war ii, use of flying boats rapidly declined several reasons. ability land on water became less of advantage owing considerable increase in number , length of land-based runways during world war ii. further, speed , range of land-based aircraft increased, commercial competitiveness of flying boats diminished; design compromised aerodynamic efficiency , speed accomplish feat of waterborne takeoff , landing. competing new civilian jet aircraft de havilland comet , boeing 707 proved impossible.

the hughes h-4 hercules, in development in u.s. during war, larger bv 238, did not fly until 1947. spruce goose , 180-ton h-4 nicknamed, largest flying boat ever fly. carried out during senate hearings hughes s use of government funds on construction, short hop of mile (1.6 km) @ 70 feet (21 m) above water flying lumberyard claimed hughes vindication of efforts. cutbacks in expenditure after war , disappearance of intended mission transatlantic transport left no purpose.

in 1944, royal air force began development of small jet-powered flying boat intended use air defence aircraft optimised pacific, relatively calm sea conditions made use of seaplanes easier. making aircraft jet-powered, possible design hull rather making floatplane. saunders-roe sr.a/1 prototype first flew in 1947 , relatively successful in terms of performance , handling. however, end of war, carrier-based aircraft becoming more sophisticated, , need sr.a/1 evaporated.

during berlin airlift (which lasted june 1948 until august 1949), ten sunderlands , 2 hythes used transport goods finkenwerder on elbe near hamburg isolated berlin, landing on havelsee beside raf gatow until iced over. sunderlands particularly used transporting salt, airframes protected against corrosion seawater. transporting salt in standard aircraft risked rapid , severe structural corrosion in event of spillage. in addition, 3 aquila flying boats used during airlift. known operational use of flying boats within central europe.

the u.s. navy continued operate flying boats (notably martin p5m marlin) until 1970s. navy attempted build jet-powered seaplane bomber, martin seamaster.

boac ceased flying boat services out of southampton in november 1950.

bucking trend, in 1948, aquila airways founded serve destinations still inaccessible land-based aircraft. company operated short s.25 , short s.45 flying boats out of southampton on routes madeira, las palmas, lisbon, jersey, majorca, marseille, capri, genoa, montreux , santa margherita. 1950 1957, aquila operated service southampton edinburgh , glasgow. flying boats of aquila airways chartered one-off trips, deploy troops scheduled services did not exist or there political considerations. longest charter, in 1952, southampton falkland islands. in 1953, flying boats chartered troop-deployment trips freetown , lagos, , there special trip hull helsinki relocate ship s crew. airline ceased operations on 30 september 1958.

saunders-roe princess g-alun @ farnborough sbac show in september 1953

the technically advanced saunders-roe princess first flew in 1952 , later received certificate of airworthiness. despite being pinnacle of flying-boat development, none sold, though aquila airways reportedly attempted buy them. of 3 princesses built, 2 never flew, , scrapped in 1967. in late 1940s, saunders-roe produced jet-powered sr.a/1 flying-boat fighter, did not progress beyond flying prototypes.

ansett australia operated flying-boat service rose bay lord howe island until 1974, using short sandringhams.

on 18 december 1990, pilot tom casey completed first round-the-world flight in floatplane water landings using cessna 206 named liberty ii.