New Walrus/Seagull Site

[Walrus]

Unique photos of A2-4 in civilian use.

http://www.walrusa2-4.com/

[Woomera]

Was the "P Gibbes" mentioned on the web site, Capt Peter Gibbes, ex WWII RAAF, retired Ansett Captain (now deceased I think), cousin to WGCDR Bobby Gibbes and the only pilot in the world to have flown all Douglas Commercials from the DC1 to DC10?

[Walrus]

Yes he was.

[kluge]

Would make a great homebuilt project !

MP14 on it and off ya go !

[FJJP]

Wasn't the Seagull a Walrus with the engine pointing forward? A 'puller' rather than a 'pusher' prop? Or am I confusing it with something else?

[Walrus]

No, the Walrus and Seagull were effectively the same aircraft. The engine was always a pusher.

[JDK]

All 'Supermarine' - the Seagull V was built for Australia, the RN got effectively the same aircraft and called it the Walrus - differences were the Seagull V had HP slots on the upper wing, and the jury strut was fixed on one and removable on 'touther. A replacement was designed, with a tractor engine - all new, but the same configuration apart from the engine, and that was the Sea Otter (wot you were thinking of!) Later still a high wing monoplane variable geometry cotra-prop tractor Griffon engine version was built (and it was as odd as it sounds) called the Seagull. That was beaten by the arrival of the helicopter.

There are four surviving Seagull V / Walruses, and one chunk of Sea Otter. There is a Walrus in the Fleet Air Arm Museum Yeovilton, another, which was under rebuild by Dick Melton to airworthy but was bought by the 'Solent Sky' museum for static, but still in store. As the website shows, there's an Australian Seagull V A2-4 / VH-ALB in the RAF Museum Hendon, subject of the website, and the RAAF Museum at Point Cook has a British Walrus on display, lovingly rebuilt from a wreck brought back for Heard Island.

Yes, I wrote a book on them. ;)

[My Dad's Little Boy]

Wasn't the Seagull a Walrus with the engine pointing forward? A 'puller' rather than a 'pusher' prop? Or am I confusing it with something else?

No, you're probably confusing it with a Supermarine Sea Otter which did have a Tractor Propellor.

[treadigraph]

Ah, the Griffon Seagull, cracking aeroplane!

I wish Dick Melton had completed his rebuild, that would have been a joy to behold amongst the flash warbirds at Duxford. :ok:

How big is the chunk of Sea Otter and where is it JDK?

[JDK]

Hi Treadders,
The Sea Otter chunk is at Nowra, NSW, Aus, in the aviation museum there. (Museum of Flight (http://www.museum-of-flight.org.au)) It's the nose section to aft of the cockpit. They also have a Walrus / Seagull V prop on the wall. Sadly, the Sea Otter was a complete airframe until relatively late, but was chopped up after being left out for a long time.

The RAAF Museum and Dick Melton's Walruses have Sea Otter tailwheels fitted though, which was a common 'retrofit' on the type, replacing the metal wheel in a rudder arrangement - still present on the FAAM and RAF Museum examples.
Cheers

[Walrus]

VH-ALB had a tail wheel fitted because of the damage the steel wheel/rudder was doing to aprons. My understanding it was a modified nosewheel from a Vampire. It had a lot of drag during the water takeoff and you had to be careful not to 'dip' it back in the water when rotating.

[imabell]

this is one of my fathers photographs.


http://www.bluetonguehelicopters.com.au/pprune/sg.jpg

[JDK]

VH-ALB had a tail wheel fitted because of the damage the steel wheel/rudder was doing to aprons. My understanding it was a modified nosewheel from a Vampire. It had a lot of drag during the water takeoff and you had to be careful not to 'dip' it back in the water when rotating.

Hi Walrus,
Thanks for that. Back in its A2-4 guise at the RAF Museum it's got the original metal wheel inside the water rudder back now.

I'd say the 'Vampire wheel' is apocryphal; the Vamp's nosewheel was an anti-castoring unit (i.e. a 'grooved' tyre) and significantly larger than you'd ever want as a tailwheel on anything smaller than a trimotor. The photos on the website clearly show the Sea Otter type tailwheel which does indeed look quite large. However, when I'm in the RAAF Museum next it'll be quick to make the comparason as HD874 is parked facing a Vampire...

Thanks for sharing Imabell.

PS - Walrus - e-mail tomorrow I hope!

[Walrus]

Nice photo Imabell. Do you know whether A2-4 is in the photo?

[Walrus]

Hi Walrus,
The photos on the website clearly show the Sea Otter type tailwheel which does indeed look quite large.


Hey JDK,

I hope the tailwheel on A2-4, was one of the above discussed. Otherwise there will be a bit of homework to do.

A couple of possible sources of the wheel would be the hangar at Camden from where A2-4 was salvaged. There were 3 Seagulls in that hangar, and a number of other aircraft, which I doubt could ever be tracked. The other source may be from whatever Ansett had in its stores.