| S.6 | |
|---|---|
 N247 in September 1929 | |
| General information | |
| Other name(s) | S.6A |
| Type | Racing seaplane |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Supermarine |
| Designer | Team led by R.J. Mitchell |
| Service | Royal Air Force High Speed Flight |
| Number built | 2 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1929 |
| Retired | 1931 |
| Successors | Supermarine S.6B |
The Supermarine S.6 (later designated the S.6A) is a 1920s British single-engined single-seat racing seaplane built by Supermarine and designed by its chief designer, R.J. Mitchell, who refined the earlier Supermarine S.5 to produce a larger, more powerful aircraft. Two aircraft, N247 and N248, were built to participate in the 1929 Schneider Trophy contest. Rolls-Royce produced the R engine for the new all-metal aircraft. The engine's initial issues—such as the short time between overhauls and the heat generated when the engine power was increased to 1,900 hp (1,400 kW)—were resolved within a few months before the aircraft were completed at Supermarine’s works at Woolston, Southampton.
The day before the 1929 race, one of N247's pistons was discovered to be faulty; the piston was replaced during the night. The race on the following day was won by the British team, with N247 coming first at a speed of 328.63 miles per hour (528.88 km/h), whilst N248 set World closed-circuit records for 50 and 100 kilometres (31 and 62 mi). For the 1931 race, the S.6 was redesigned as the Supermarine S.6B, to take a more powerful version of the R engine. The two existing S.6s were brought up to a similar standard as the S.6Bs, but N247 was destroyed prior to the contest during a fatal accident. The S.Bs were retired after the 1931 contest. The surviving S.6A is on display at the Solent Sky museum in Southampton.