Seaplane Activity At Southend-On-Sea

Below is one of the first parts of my Southend Aviation Heritage website, the site is a long way from being launched when its ready it will faeture:

Pre-airport:
The early days of Aviation in Southend

Air Raids
Attacked from the air Southend was in the front line durong two world wars the raids that bought death from the air.

Airport:
From the first operational sortie thriugh two world wars fromm boom to bust right up to present day

Airshow:
From the first to the last ever airshow held in 2009.

Museum:
Deatiling the history of the museum and its aircraft.

AT present its only text based so lots and lots of reading but I am slowly adding a few photos and memrobillia, the project started off life as a site dedicated to all things Southend so I need to dicide do I keep it as one to the whole town or just the aviation side and excluded anything Naval, Army or general town.

If your still reading well done for being brave and sticking with it! Now on to the bit that I hope your be intrested in!

Seaplane Activity at Southend-on-Sea

The first recorded seaplane activity to take place off Southend-on- sea was on the August bank Holiday of 1912. Claude Graham-white had written to the Southend Corporation requesting permission for himself and a number of other pilots to stage a flying demonstration over the Western Esplanade foreshore alongside the pier.

The Council gave permission for the display to take place on Friday 23st August 1912, Claude Graham-white flew to Southend from Margate, Kent in his own Henri Farman Hydro-plane he was joined by two other aviators flying Belroit seaplanes.

The three aircraft later put on flying displays over the seafront.
Later the same month a Short S.14 Tractor seaplane landed off Southend whilst on a coastal survey.

The first seaplane pleasure flights were launched in June 1920, when the Central Flying Company of Northolt sent their centaur IVB G-EAOR to Southend on a two month trial.

The aircraft was capable of flying at 67mph with the pilot and two passengers on board. The first flight took place on Wednesday 16th June 1920, the first flight flew up and down the seafront between Thorpe Bat and Westcliff at a height of 300ft, the first two passengers consisted of the Mayor and his daughter. A makeshift hanger was constructed on the Shoebury side of the pier so that the aircraft could be stored and maintained when not in use.

The aircraft was transported down to Southend by train and would eventually return to Northolt the same way, during the seven weeks the service was operated 57 people were flown (average of eight a week) takings totalled 50shillings against an outlay of £70, a second aircraft had been lined up to join G-EAOR but due to the lack of interest this second aircraft was never transported to Southend.

A second attempt to launch a seaplane pleasure flight service was launched in June 1922. The Southend Seaplane Pleasure Trip Company built a small jetty on Western Esplanade and a Shorts 184 was flown in to operate the service the aircraft G-EBBN was a former Royal Navy machine, it had been converted to carry five passengers. The company operated hourly flights from Rochester to Southend and a Southend to Margate service again the lack of income from passengers saw the rapid demise of the service.

The next seaplanes to visit Southend were two Supermarine Southampton flying boats during the summer of 1926, these were some of the largest flying boats to ever visit Southend.

There was now a break of some 21 years before the next recorded seaplane activity at Southend, however the event would have a much more tragic result.

On Tuesday 21st October 1947 the Royal Air Force Short Sunderland GR3 DV976 was flying over the town when its number 3 engine caught fire, the fire spread rapidly to the airframe this resulted in damage to the engine mount, vibration from the damaged engine caused the mount to fracture and the engine to break away from the aircraft. The pilot Flight Lieutenant William Austin Harvey decided to land the damaged aircraft as soon as possible, because of control difficulties the landing was at a higher speed then that it would normally have been preformed.

The aircraft landed just west of the pier but the sea was rough at the time the aircraft capsized as it landed. Flight Lieutenant William Austin Harvey was the only pilot onboard and was killed in the crash along with leading Aircraftsman John Joseph Ryan (32), Aircraftsman 2nd class Arthur Raymond Gurdin (18) and Leading Aircraftsman Dennis Reginal Wright. The six other crew members all survived the crash Flight Lieutenant S.P. Cunningham, Leading Aircraftsman I. Hoare, R.B. Reilley, Corporal F Thornton, Engineer I.C. Thorn and Aircraftsman H.R. Jarvis.

There was now a gap of 39 years before the next seaplane movement at Southend.

On Bank Holiday Monday 25th May 1986 the first annual Southend Airshow was held, Consolidated PBY5a Catalina G-BLSC flew its display slot at 2:35pm once completed the aircraft lowered its wing tip floats and landed off the Southend seafront at 2:47pm, the aircraft taxied to a position off the pier and remained on the sea until its take off slot between 4:18pm—4:25pm. The 1986 airshow also saw a rare UK airshow appearance by a Grumman Widgeon (N444N). The next visit was for the 1988 airshow on Bank Holiday Monday 30th May, Catalina G-BLSC flew down to Southend from its base at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, the aircraft again landed in the sea and remained off the pier for 40 minutes before taking off at 1:30pm for its display slot.

The next appearance of the Catalina was at the 2006 airshow on Sunday 26th May 2007 this time however she did not land. The last official landing by a seaplane at Southend was over the 1998 airshow weekend (Sunday 25th & Monday 26th May) when Catalina G-BLSC preformed a number of touch and go’s on both days. The next time a Catalina took part in the airshow was at the 2004 display held over the weekend of Sunday 30th & Monday 31st May this saw the UK debut Catalina G-PBYA (Catalina G-BLSC had wrecked in a landing accident at Southampton).

G-PBYA returned to Southend for the 2008 airshow over the weekend of Sunday 25th & Monday 26th May.

There was also an illegal landing by a Lake Buccaneer float plane reported in 1998. The aircraft landed off Western Esplanade and proceeded to taxi to the beach where it parked up, Upon departure the aircraft reportedly just started up and began its take off run from its parking spot sandblasting everything behind it.