Solent sky air museum

Once a thriving hub of Britain’s air industry, the “The City of the Spitfire” was notably the port of Imperial Airways flying boats, with destinations all around the world. As the location of the main Supermarine factory producing Spitfires in the early days of World War II, and other aircraft companies nearby, the city was heavily bombed throughout the war. When the Supermarine factory on the waterfront was destroyed by air raid in 1940, it was disbanded and split into sub-assemblies around the United Kingdom, but this part of the country continued to be a center of aviation industry through the postwar years. The museum is a short distance away from the location of that original factory, and celebrates the history of the aircraft manufacturers, aviators, and events throughout all decades of the area’s aviation legacy. The way in which varied aircraft, engines, and other artifacts and displays are packed around each other makes for a fun and educational scavenger hunt.

The towering centerpiece is the Short Sandringham, a 122-foot wingspan, four-engine flying boat converted from the military Sunderland Mk III to passenger flight configuration and operated in Australia and New Zealand. Having flown the world’s last scheduled flying boat service in 1974, it was obtained by the museum in 1984. The interior and flight deck are open for tours, and even when inside, the immense scale of this aircraft is felt.

The most distinctive aircraft on display here is the locally manufactured Saunders-Roe SRA/1, a jet fighter flying boat designed in late World War II and first flown in 1947. It was originally intended to operate as a fighter from fixed bases in the Pacific. The end of the war rendered the aircraft obsolete, and only three prototypes were built, of which this is the only surviving example. Prototypes and curiosities are plentiful here, from the tiny homebuilt Flying Flea to the Wight Quadruplane—a replica of a 1916 fighter designed for the Royal Navy on the nearby Isle of Wight, although performance was not good enough to receive a production contract.

Perhaps the most beautiful and visually striking aircraft here is the 1,900-horsepower Supermarine S.6A seaplane that participated in the 1929 Schneider Trophy—setting a world speed record of 332 miles per hour—with its powerful engine, streamlined shape, and impossibly tiny cockpit. It sits beside its descendant, the Spitfire, and the family resemblance is clear.

With the impressive number of rare and iconic aircraft in such a small space, as well as displays of the age of flying boat travel, World War I and II, and local history, this spot is well worth the one-and-a-half-hour train ride from London, especially combined with a tour of the beautiful and historic port of Southampton.

Emma Quedzuweit is a tailwheel-endorsed and seaplane-rated private pilot and historical researcher.

solentsky.org