The Supermarine Seal was designed to operate from shore stations or warships, including aircraft carriers. Its three-person crew could be reduced for search-and-rescue work, and four hours of endurance made it useful for carrier-based searching. A climb to 10,000 feet in seventeen minutes reflected the altitude expected for that experimental search role. Early Fleet Air Arm requirements combined flexible basing, endurance, altitude, and crew arrangements rather than judging usefulness by top speed alone.
Chapter · 31:05-32:35
The Supermarine Seal served carriers as a flexible search aircraft
Learn how the Seal could operate from shore stations, warships, and carriers while providing four-hour search endurance.