| Channel | |
|---|---|
| |
| Advertisement for Supermarine featuring the Channel Type (1921) | |
| Role | Flying boat, designed to be operated as a commercial aircraft, or by the military |
| Manufacturer | Supermarine |
| Designer | R.J. Mitchell |
| Introduction | 1919 |
| Number built | 10 |
| Developed from | AD Flying Boat |
| Developed into | Supermarine Commercial Amphibian |
The Supermarine Channel (originally the Supermarine Channel Type) was a modified version of the AD Flying Boat, purchased by Supermarine from the British Air Ministry and modified for the civil market with the intention of beginning regular air flights across the English Channel. The aircraft were given airworthiness certificates in July 1919. The Mark I version, later called the Channel I, was powered with a 160 horsepower (120 kW) Beardmore engine; a variant designated as Channel II was fitted with a 240 horsepower (180 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Puma engine. Designed by Supermarine to accommodate up to four passengers, the company produced a series of interchangeable interiors that could be used at short notice, which enabled the Channel to be used as a fighter or for training purposes.
The Channel was first used from August 1919, when it flew passengers across the Solent and to the Isle of Wight. Norway's first airline Det Norske Luftfartsreder A/S of Christiania purchased three of the aircraft in 1920, and four aircraft were ordered for the Norwegian Armed Forces, which began operating from May that year. A Channel was used by the New Zealand Flying School, and Channel II aircraft were sent to Bermuda as part of a project to promote aviation in the region and transported to Venezuela to be used to undertake the survey for oil at the delta of the Orinoco. In 1921 the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service acquired three Channel II flying boats which were shipped out with the British-led Sempill Mission to Japan.