Percival Prince

Percival Prince

Royal Navy Sea Prince T.1 of 727 Squadron FAA from RNAS Brawdy operational with radar nose in September 1956
Role	Transport aircraft
Manufacturer	Percival Aircraft Limited
First flight	13 May 1948
Number built	75 of all variants^[1]
Developed from	Percival Merganser

The Percival Prince was a British light transport of the early postwar period. It was a twin-engine, high-wing, cantilever monoplane of all-metal stressed-skin construction; the undercarriage was of retractable, tricycle type.

Development

The design of the Prince continued from the solitary Merganser. Further development of the type led to the Survey Prince survey aircraft and the Sea Prince. An improved version of the Prince 3 with an increased wingspan and engine and undercarriage modifications was developed for the Royal Air Force as the Percival Pembroke.

Operational history

Percival Prince 3E executive aircraft of Standard Motor Co. at Croydon Airport in April 1954

The Prince was produced in six versions for the civil market. Several examples were operated as executive aircraft including by Standard Motors and Shell Oil. Three aircraft were used by the UK Ministry of Civil Aviation as airport facilities checking aircraft.

The Sea Prince operated in two roles: in T.Mk.1 form it served as a navigation and anti-submarine trainer; the C.Mks. 1 and 2 were flown in the transport role. However, these were landplanes and not COD (carrier on-board delivery) aircraft. Sea Princes operated in both roles from 1954 to 1972 and as a navigation trainer until 1978, when it was replaced by the Handley Page Jetstream

Variants

^[1]

P.50 Prince 1 - prototype based on Merganser with modified fin and undercarriage and two 520 hp Alvis Leonides 501/4 engine, one built.
P.50 Prince 2 - As Prince 1 with sloping windscreen, stronger main spar, five built.
P.50 Prince 3 - As Prince 2 with Alvis Leonides 502/4 engine and lengthened nose on some aircraft, 12 built.
P.50 Prince 4 - Conversions to Alvis Leonides 503 engines, ten converted.
P.50 Prince 5 - original designation of the Percival President.
P.50 Prince 6 - Conversions to Alvis Leonides 504 engines.
P.54 Survey Prince - Prince 2 with lengthened transparent nose and camera hatches, six built.

Sea Prince T.1 preserved at the Gatwick Aviation Museum in 2008

P.57 Sea Prince C1 - Prince 2 for Royal Navy use, three built.
P.57 Sea Prince T1 - Prince 3 with long nose housing radar, twin wheeled main undercarriage and lengthened engine nacelles for navigation and anti-submarine training, 41 built.
P.57 Sea Prince C2 - Transport version of Sea Prince T1, four built.

Operators

Civil Operators

Australia
Brunei

Brunei Shell Petroleum Company

Brazil

Aeronorte

France
Kenya
New Zealand
Singapore
Switzerland
Tanganyika
South Africa
United Kingdom
United States
Venezuela

Military Operators

Australia

Royal Australian Air Force - Three Princes were in service with the RAAF from 1952 to 1957. The aircraft were used for communications and support duties at the Weapons Research Establishment, Woomera, South Australia.
- Air Trials Unit

Thailand

Thai Air Force - One Survey Prince aircraft.
Thai Army - One Survey Prince aircraft.

United Kingdom

Fleet Air Arm^[1]
Royal Naval Reserve
- 1830 Squadron RNVR
- 1840 Squadron RNVR
- 1841 Squadron RNVR
- 1844 Squadron RNVR

Survivors

On display, Prince, T1-1/98 (cn P.50/41), at Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Don Muang AFB
On display, Prince 3E, G-AMLZ (cn P50/46), at Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group, Merseyside, England
On display, Sea Prince T.1 WF128 at the Flixton Aviation Museum, Suffolk, England
On display, Sea Prince T.1 WP309 at the Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle Airport, England.^[2]
On display, Sea Prince T.1 WF118 (569) G-DACA at the Gatwick Aviation Museum, Surrey, England
On display, Sea Prince T.1 WF122 (575)CU (c/n PAC/57/18), Now under restoration At Aeroventure,Doncaster,Sth Yorks. Formally of 750 Sqdrn Fleet Air Arm.

Specifications (Sea Prince T.1)

Data from British Naval Aircraft since 1912^[3]

General characteristics

Crew: two
Capacity: three students
Length: 46 ft 4 in (14.13 m)
Wingspan: 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m)
Height: 16 ft 1 in (4.90 m)
Wing area: 365 ft² (33.9 m²)
Empty weight: 8,850 lb (4,023 kg)
Loaded weight: 11,850 lb (5,386 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Alvis Leonides 125 radial, 550 hp (411 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 194 knots (223 mph, 359 km/h)
Cruise speed: 159 knots (183 mph, 294 km/h)
Range: 400 nm (460 mi, 740 km)
Service ceiling: 22,000 ft (6,706 m)
Rate of climb: 1,400 ft/min (7.1 m/s)

Armament

none

References

Notes

1 2 3 "PER50 PRINCE PEMBROKE".
↑ http://www.solway-aviation-museum.co.uk/?page_id=105 Solway Aviation Museum page retrieved 27 May 2013.
↑ Thetford 1978, p.251.

Bibliography

Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume III. London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-818-6.
Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft since 1912. London:Putnam, 1978. ISBN 0-370-30021-1.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Percival Prince.

Flight - Proving flights for tropical use

Percival, Hunting Percival and Hunting aircraft types

Percival Aircraft (1933-1954)	Gull IV Gull VI Vega Gull Mew Gull Percival Q.6 Petrel P.28 Proctor P.40 Prentice P.48 Merganser P.50 Prince P.54 Survey Prince P.56 Provost P.66 Pembroke P.66 President P.74

Hunting Percival aircraft (1954-1957)	P.84 Jet Provost

Hunting aircraft (1957-1959)	H.126 BAC 1-11

Designers	Henry Millicer Edgar Percival

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