Supermarine Southampton II S1233
(c/n
The crew of this ancient 'boat appear not to be too
troubled by the almost nonexistent slipstream
acquired at a
stately ninety knots. Although originally built (in
1925) with wooden hulls, the 11
Southampton Is were
rebuilt as Mk IIs with metal hulls early in the 1930s. Some
60 were used
by the RAF
in the 1925-1936 era. Many were based at RAF Seletar,
Singapore. In addition
to the RAF
squadrons, some 20 or so Southamptons were sold abroad, including a
civil passenger
model for
Japan.