Imperial Airways Flying Boat

This magnificent flying boat is a Short Empire, built to carry passengers and mail between Britain and British colonies in Africa, Asia and Australia. It was manufactured by Short Brothers and was the precursor of the famous Short Sunderland of World War II.

The origins of the Empire flying boats was the Air Ministry requirement for passenger and mail carriers that could service the colonies and particularly Australia. This design was known as the Empire - officially the C Class - and each aircraft was christened with a name beginning with C. The first aircraft, G-ADHL Canopus, was completed in June 1936 and launched on 3 July, and is shown here. A total of 42 Empires were built, all at Short's Rochester factory.

Imperial Airways (and its successor BOAC), Qantas and TEAL (Tasman Empire Airways, the precursor of Air New Zealand) operated the Short Empire. The Canopus carried 5 crew, 17 passengers, and 4,480 lbs of cargo at a maximum speed of 174 knots (320 km/h).

G-ADHL Canopus is shown in a painting by Sir Norman Wilkinson CBE (1878 - 1971). A British renowned marine artist, who usually worked in oils and watercolours. He was primarily a marine painter, but he was also an illustrator, poster artist, and wartime camouflage expert. Indeed during World War I, Wilkonson was the first to propose the use of disruptive coloration in naval camouflage, for which he coined the term "dazzle painting".