Walri far from the sea

Sadly, the only Walrus highlighted on Youtube is Hendon’s, though one briefly appears on the linked vid of K5054’s maiden flight. So no-one yet has film of Mutt looping it. Pity…

I’ve not come across footage, but it was reported in all the journals. They thought it strange, can’t see why! 😀 What’s a K5054? 😉

However actually Mutt looped the prototype Seagull V. 😉 Pathe (www.britishpathe.com) has footage of it being shot off Farnborough’s catapult and other interesting footage if you search.

Ah yes, I guess “far from the sea” is relative. Oxford isn’t a bad guess, JDK, the furthest point in the UK is somewhere near Banbury so only about 20 miles away. I just think automatically of the sensible place to base an amphibian as being on the coast…

Dive bombers… news to me! I guess (I’m doing a lot of that) that a high-drag airframe would be quite a stable platform for that, as it wouldn’t keep accelerating but settle at a compromise between drag and kinetic energy. I think that’s the point of divebrakes, isn’t it?

Sadly, the only Walrus highlighted on Youtube is Hendon’s, though one briefly appears on the linked vid of K5054’s maiden flight. So no-one yet has film of Mutt looping it. Pity…

Adrian

Ah, I prefer ‘fan’ rather than ‘fanatic’. Leastways I never mention Walrii (or Walruses, which is more sensible) at cocktail parties, which I understand is the proper measure. 😀

Short answer: Dunno.

Slightly longer answer: Everything’s got to be somewhere.

Thinking about it: Some posters have put their fingers on very good points. Generally amphibians like the Walrus would be parked on land rather than on the water, unless they had to be left in the water, usually because there was no slipway, crane or runway (which is unlikely). The Mk.II Walrus was usually wooden hulled, and any wooden hulled seaplanes you want out of the water as much as possible to minimise soak, weight increase and deterioration. The Mk.I was metal hulled, but riveted construction, and I’m sure leaked, especially when old.

And it’s all relative. Sitting on the edge of the world’s largest island (or smallest continent – no one seems to decide) the idea of anywhere in England being ‘a long way from the sea’ is interesting. IIRC, Oxford was about as far as you could get, and was only 80 miles or so from the coast. Even at Walrus speed that’s not too far.

steve_p’s suggestion of Admiral’s Barges has some merit, certainly they were used pre war as such, including for the C in C RN. However if they were in RAF use at the war’s end, that don’t apply.

As to their aerobatic nature – certainly used as dive-bombers, aerobatic in combat, and when the pilot was bored. Keep it positive g, though, for avoiding that bilge water wash. Looped by Mutt Summers at (IIRC) the SBAC show in front of R J Mitchell. To recap; not designed to be aerobatic, but stressed for catapult launching, so strong enough not to break easily. high-drag, low-speed, lower g loading than average.

HTH,

Maybe Northolt and Debden got waterlogged from time to time?

Used as taxis to ferry London based naval officers to their ships or other establishments?

Best wishes
Steve P

*Bump* to increase the chances of said Walrus-fiend finding it!

I’m still recovering from finding that they were aerobatic… wonder if anyone ever tried?

Adrian

There’s a certain Walrus fanatic from down-under on this forum, who I expect will be able to shed some light on the matter…;)

Walri? Don’t you mean Walruses? 🙂

Probably has more to do with the lack of suitable sea or lake facilities than the need for any walrus to be at a fighter station. Also wouldn’t they be safer on land (from storms), deteriorate less quickly and be easier to maintain?

Just my two cents.