'The Short Bristol Seaplane being launched at Rochester today for tests. A flight over the 'Mountains of the Moon' to Lake Kivu, 5000 ft above sea level in the Belgian Congo, Central Africa, is to be undertaken shortly by Sir Alan Cobham and five other men.' The Bristol Jupiter-powered Short S.11 Valetta first flew in 1930 as a research aircraft. Cobham landed back at Rochester in September 1931, having flown 12,300 miles.

The sole Valetta was a research aircraft built to compare with flying boats, in particular the Short Calcutta. Made an African survey flight with Alan Cobham in 1931. Then converted to landplane and seen as such at Hendon in photo 571319. This photo was published in October 1930. Photo from: Biblioteca Central de Marinha

The S.35 Shetland was designed as a successor to the Sunderland reconnaissance flying boat. There was Saunders-Roe input in the design. The sole S.35 first flew on 14 December 1944 and burnt at its moorings due to the oven in its galley overheating in 1946. The S.40 Shetland II was to carry up to 70 passengers. The sole example, G-AGVD is seen around the time of its first flight on 17 September 1947. Unwanted, it was scrapped in 1951. Photo from: Imperial War Museums

The six-engined Sarafand prototype, presumably photographed when new in 1932. It was then the largest plane in Britain.

This the first ZK-AMA Ao-tea-roa for Tasman Empire Air Lines that was instead delivered to Imperial Airways as G-AFCY. ZK-AMC Awarua (c/n S886) became the first S-30 for TEAL after ZK-AMB was also diverted to Imperial. AMC's name was changed to Aotearoa (no hyphens) for publicity photos then the registration was changed to ZK-AMA prior to delivery. About a year later Imperial, which had named G-AFCY Awarua, released it to TEAL with whom it became ZK-AMC thus completing the identity swap. Photo from: David Caughey Collection

K3592 was the first S.19 Singapore III. Probably a Short photo, which appeared in Flight. Photo from: Life

Connemara on the Medway 'before its first flight' but the date of that does not seem to be known. This aircraft burnt at Southampton on 19 June 1939. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

The Rudy Arnold files at the NASM contain some photos of British aeroplanes clearly not taken by Arnold, with potty dates such as 12 November 1938 for this one. This is the first prototype of the Short Singapore, which eventually led to the four-engined, triple-finned S.19 Singapore III. N179 first flew on 17 August 1926 and is seen on the River Medway near the Short factory, with Rochester Cathedral visible and Rochester Castle behind the propeller. As G-EBUP it left for South Africa with Alan Cobham on 17 November 1927. Photo from: Smithsonian Institution

Photographed on the Medway by aero engineer R.S. Robinson.

Compared to the earlier S.23, the S.30 had Bristol Perseus engines giving marginally less power but better efficiency and less drag. The airframe was strengthened to allow higher take-off weights. Cabot was the second of eight S.30 flying boats built but the first to fly in December 1938. Cabot was used for in-flight refuelling trials with Harrow tankers. Impressed as V3137, she was lost in a mission to Norway in May 1940. Photo from: Flight

Christening of Golden Hind, the S-26 prototype, before the first flight on 21 July. The S-26 was an enlarged Empire flying boat designed for transatlantic services, but the three aircraft built were impressed and converted for maritime patrol aircraft duty in 1940. From June 1941 they were used for transport work, the two survivors entering service on the BOAC route between Poole and Lagos, Nigeria in 1942. Golden Hind was scrapped in 1953. Photo from: Nationaal Archief (Netherlands)

Designed as a torpedo bomber, the Short 310A-4 had a powerful Sunbeam Cossack engine but still could not carry a torpedo and an observer and was flown from the rear cockpit for centre of gravity reasons. The type was urgently sent to the Mediterranean in 1917 but enjoyed little success. Photo from: San Diego Air & Space Museum

Built in 1937. Impressed by the RAF in 1940 as AX660 but to BOAC in 1941. Withdrawn and scrapped at Hythe in 1947 after 11,665 flight hours. Photo from: Short

At the factory in Rochester, Kent. The hill with St Margaret's Church is much the same today. On the left is the prototype of the enlarged S.26, G-AFCI Golden Hind. Caribou and G-AFCU Cabot, in the background, were equipped as transatlantic mailplanes with aerial refuelling by Harrow tankers after take-off. The two machines were impressed as V3138 and V3137 and destroyed together by German aircraft at Bodø, Norway on 5 May 1940.

'BOAC's second Solent 2 at Rochester in 1947, with unmodified wing-floats.' This Speedbird took four days from Southampton to Johannesburg.

Crashed Lake Inle, Myanmar, on April 17, 1936. Short Bros photo. Photo from: Civil Aviation Historical Society, Melbourne, Australia