Short Sandringham

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Short Sandringham
Ansett Sandringham taking off from Lord Howe Island in the early 1960s
General information
Type	Civil flying boat
Manufacturer	Short Brothers
Status	Out of production, out of service
Primary users	British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Qantas TEAL Ansett Flying Boat Services
History
Introduction date	1943
First flight	January 1943
Retired	1974 (Ansett Flying Boat Services)
Developed from	Short Sunderland

The Short S.25 Sandringham is a British civilian flying boat designed and originally produced by Short Brothers. They were produced as conversions of the widely used Short Sunderland, a military flying boat that was commonly used as a maritime patrol aircraft.

Prior to the Sandringham, numerous Sunderlands which had been built for the Royal Air Force (RAF) had been converted to a civilian configuration as early as 1942 to fulfil a requirement of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) for additional long range airliners. This need led to the development of the Short Hythe, which was a somewhat austere conversion due to its development taking place amid the Second World War. Around the conclusion to the conflict, Shorts was keen to produce a more refined and capable conversion of the Sunderland; the first prototype of which, which performed its maiden flight during November 1945, became known as the Sandringham I.

The BOAC quickly sought to procure the Sandringham for its fleet, the demand for which led to production of the Sandringham II along with multiple further improved versions. Being operated initially alongside the Hythes, the more comfortable conditions onboard the Sandringhams led to them being given greater priority for usage and routing alike. Various other operators also procured the type, including TEAL, Qantas and Ansett. The Sandringham soon became outclassed by land-based airliners, including the arrival of faster jetliners, thus their operations curtailed substantially during the late 1950s. The final scheduled service performed by the type was ended during the 1970s. A total of three Sandringhams are believed to have survived to the present day in preservation.