Shorts films

Rather late … I’m sure that Shorts would assist you with the film(s) – the PR department perhaps. You could also try Holywood Films, who produced The Uncle Jack. For details info on the Seamew see the Putnam book “Shorts Aircraft since 1900” by Barnes and James.

The Seamew on film

In addition to “The Uncle Jack”, short sequences of the Seamew can also be seen in “Farnborough – The Golden Years 1949 – 1959”.

I’m sure that John Davis of Holywood Films would help with a copy of “The Uncle Jack”. The Seamew sequence in the film, taken from a Shorts archive film, lasts 1’44”. It shows the Seamew starting a slow roll to the left and then, while inverted, plunging nose-down to the ground. Wally Runciman, who had over 10,000 hours of 50 aircraft types, was not inexperienced; it is inconceivable that he would have made a simple error in that situation, since he had flown the Seamew on its maiden flight in 1953, at Farborough in ’53, ’54 and ’55, had demonstrated it around Europe and certainly had more hours on the Seamew than any other pilot. To my inexperienced eye, the accident report’s conclusion that the cause was pilot error is not borne out by the film. It looks more like material failure to me (elevator?).