The aircraft (Maia on the bottom, Mercury on top) were commissioned by the British government to fly transatlantic cargoes (mainly mail) in the late 30s. Built by Shorts in Belfast, Maia was a modified production model while Mercury was made for the job. The problem at the time was that an aircraft could just about get across the Atlantic but not with any useful payload. By using Maia to lift Mercury to operational height, not only was Maia's fuel demand reduced but it could be configured purely for efficient cruising. The experiment was successful and used in service but ended with the onset of WW2. Wartime design advances soon made the concept obsolete of course (thanks to comments from Tonyand03)!
strange that such a strikingly unusual image wouldn't stand out in my mind that I'd seen something similar before
Hi. Just in case you didn't have the background: The aircraft (Maia on the bottom, Mercury on top) were commissioned by the British government to fly transatlantic cargoes (mainly mail) in the late 30s. Built by Shorts in Belfast, Maia was a modified production model while Mercury was made for the job. The problem at the time was that an aircraft could just about get across the Atlantic but not with any useful payload. By using Maia to lift Mercury to operational height, not only was Maia's fuel demand reduced but it could be configured purely for efficient cruising. The experiment was successful and used in service but ended with the onset of WW2. Wartime design advances soon made the concept obsolete of course.
ReplyDeleteHi again. I should of course have said that Mercury's, not Maia's, fuel demand was reduced. Sorry about that. Incidentally the combination was called the Short Mayo Composite (original idea came from a Major Mayo). It got massive publicity in Britain at the time so Short Mayo Composite in Google or You Tube will bring up results. Regards. Tony
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