17 Preparing to launch the Sarafand on 15 June,1932. When the six-engined Sarafand was built it was the largest aircraft in the United Kingdom and the second largest in the world. Such was its wing span that final assembly had to be undertaken on an outdoor site.
18 On 22 July,1931, Sir Alan Cobham took off in the Valetta of Central Africa at the request of the Air Ministry and Imperial Airways, in readiness for the inauguration of a through passenger and mail air route from Cairo to the Cape. Sir Alan Cobham returned to Rochester on 1 September 1931, having completed 12,300 miles in a flying time of 128 hours.
19 Three Kent flying boats were ordered by imperial Airways and entered service in 1931 to overcome refuelling problems on the Mediterranean sector of the England - India route, specifically the section betweenMirabella and Alexandria.
20 Constructed in 1933, the Knuckleduster's most striking feature was it's gull wings with the engine nacelles faired into them. Although it did not win a production contract, it did provide Shorts and the Raf with valuable data which influenced both future engine and airframe design.
21 First flown in 1933, the Scion concept called for robust construction, low operating costs and ease of maintenance. The resulting design proved eminently successful, being flown both as a land and seaplane. Twenty-Two were built and in addition to UK purchases, were sold for operation in Palestine,Arabia,Sierra Leonne and Australia.
22 Flying boats in production at Rochester, July 1936.
23 In 1937, the C-Class Empire flying boat CAledonia flew non-stop from Southampton to Alexandria, a distance of 2,222 miles, in just over 13 hours.
24 The Short-Mayo Composite first flew in 1938 and involved the use of small, heavily loaded mailplane, Mercury, carried on the back of a larger, more lightly loaded aircraft, Maia, and released at appropriate altitude, thus ensuring substantially increased mileage.
25 The Shetland was initially developed to meet the RAF's requirement for follow-on aircrafte to the Sunderland. It first flew on 14 December, 1944, but by the time the second Shetland flew in 1947 the was wa over and the RAF decided it had no requirement for the aircraft.
26 The G-Class flying boats were a larger development of the Empire (C-Class). Three were ordered-Golden Hind, Golden Fleece and Golden Horn-with the first delivered to ?Imperial Airways in September 1939. All three were commandeered for RAF service, with only Golden Hind surviving the war years when it was refitted to carry 24 passengers, in luxury fittings, between England and Cairo.
27 A group of the new Belfast site's administrative, clerical and technical staff in 1937.
28 Visit to Shorts in 1942 by His Majesty King George VI.
29 2,381 Stirlings were produced in six years, more than half of them at Queen's Island and its satellite factories at Aldergrove and Meghaberry.
30 The 'postmen' prepare for another round of deliveries from the Mailing Office which began operating in 1948.
31 Inspection group, October, 1944.
32 A Sunderland in assembly for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
33. The sturgeon's first flight was on 7 June, 1946 from Rochester Airport. Final assembly was moved to Queen's Island in the summer of 1948.
34 21 December, 1958, marked the departure of the last reconditioned Sunderland (one of 17 for the French Naval Air Service) from Belfast.
35 In the late 1950s and early 1960s the company undertook a range of various activities to keep its labour force employed. These included the manufacture of straddle carriers for lifting bulky loads, Nobel motor cars, laundry drying racks, carpet sweepers, milk churns and prefabricated aluminium frames used to construct local schools.
to be continued...
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