Short S.38, S.41

In 1912 Horace Short received an Admiralty contract to build two tractor biplanes with interchangeable landing gear so that they could be used from either land or water. The larger of the two, the S.41, flew for the first time in April 1912 and was converted into a seaplane. On 3 May, after being ferried to Weymouth for the 1912 Naval Review, it was lowered overboard from the cruiser HMS Hibernia and flown to Portland by Commander C.R. Samson, who had piloted it on its first flight. Three days later, the same pilot flew the S.41 19km out to sea to rendezvous with the Fleet and escorted the flagship into Weymouth Bay. The S.41, which made many more successful flights, was the forerunner of a series of successful tractor-engined seaplanes built by Short.