Short S.35 Shetland Mk.I: Chunky Monkey

nathanclawfish · June 19, 2025, 1:52am

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                   Short S.35 Shetland Mk.I

Design History:

The Short Shetland was the intended successor for the legendary Short Sunderland. The aircraft was designed to fulfill specification R.14/40, laid out by the air minister for a very-long range recce flying boat. Short used their experience with the previous Sunderland, and interestingly, this was the first aircraft designed with a 110-volt electrical system. The intent was for the aircraft to see service during the Second World War, but in the end only two prototypes would fly, before like many project,s it was quietly cancelled in the direct post-war.

During the design process Short competed with Saunders-Roe and their S.41 design. Rather than selecting either company’s design, the air ministry asked them to submit a combined project, resulting in the hodgepodge that is the Shetland. The hull design was done by Sar,o resulting in a shape similar to their previous Saro Shrimp, whilst the wings were done by Short. along with the actual fabrication of the hull, tail and complete assembly.

This would result in Britian’s largest flying boat at the time topping in at a whopping 120,000lbs fully loaded. The first prototype would be test flown on December 14th 1944, and despite its bulk achieved a respectable 263mph top speed, comparable to the Sunderland, nearly half its weight. The first prototype had been intended to carry 3 dual Browning 12.7mm machine guns in the nose, tail and upper section, but due to a last-minute change, they would not be fitted to the airframe, as the aircraft was redesignated into an unarmed transport. This prototype would be delivered to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) at Felixstowe in October 1945 for continued testing, at which they found the stabilising floats were mounted too low for maximum load take off, and that there were issues with the harmonisation of controls and marginal longitudinal stability. The air craft would never complete trials though, as the sole Shetland I would burn and sink at its moorings on the 28th of January 1946, as a result of a galley fire, which in combination with the end of the Second World War effectively killed the project, despite an unsuccessful attempt to sell the Shetland II as a airliner, which failed to drum up any interest.

Vehicle Specficiation:

General characteristics

Crew: 11
Length: 110 ft 0 in (33.53 m)
Wingspan: 150 ft 4 in (45.82 m)
Height: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
Wing area: 2,624 sq ft (243.8 m2)
Empty weight: 75,860 lb (34,410 kg)
Gross weight: 120,000 lb (54,431 kg) [2]
Max takeoff weight: 125,000 lb (56,699 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Bristol Centaurus VII 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 263 mph (423 km/h, 229 kn)
Cruise speed: 183 mph (295 km/h, 159 kn)
Range: 4,000 mi (6,400 km, 3,500 nmi)
Endurance: 25 hr 50 min
Service ceiling: 17,000 ft (5,200 m) [2]
Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)

Armament

Guns:
Three turrets, each with 2 × 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns in nose, mid-upper and tail positions; 1× 0.5 in machine guns in port and starboard beam positions
Bombs: Up to 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) of bombs or depth charges

Additional Historical Photos: