Shorts Sheffield IV

[tigercat]

The Shorts Sheffield  IV was a two engined development of the Shorts Sheffield that took advantage of the more powerful engines available post war. The Shorts Sheffield was a heavy transport aircraft developed to make use where possible of Stirling parts and production lines. The type was introduced in 1941 and saw service in limited numbers as the Americans entry into the war and their agreement to produce all Allied Transport Aircraft saw a halt in  production.

The "Shed" as it was affectionally known was revived post war and it's large load carrying capacity and ability to operate out of rough strips made it popular with civil operators.

An Amphibious variant for use in the Pacific the Shorts Scarborough was cancelled due to the Japanese surrender.
The sole survivor of the  5 prototypes can be seen at RAF Cosford
A cockpit from a Shorts Sheffield can be viewed at Newark air Museum and a complete example was until recently on the flightline at Duxford. It is currently being restored before being placed in their new hangar.

It also saw service with transport command post war although the RAF Transport Command livery did have the effect of making it look like a Stirling crashed on top of  a small building

[hurricanemk1c]

What a fat beast!

Looks good - as far as a Stirling on a house can!

[tigercat]

It looks a lot better painted up than I though it would be. It's a sort of early Guppy eithe rthat or a Stirling that has swallowed a small building. 

[Tophe]

Surprising & interesting...

[Tophe]

The little wheels suggest a roadable part after removal from the (mother-)plane, is it confirmed?

[tigercat]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:XC-120_Packplane_composite.jpg

you mean like this?

[Tophe]

Yes, that was my question, but you designer/builder/user are the one having the answer...

[tigercat]

   unfortunately the bottom doesn't come off

http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/images/ar232-3.jpg

The idea is actually based on the Arado 232

[Tophe]

Thanks for the explanation.
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arado_Ar_232
"The most noticeable feature of the Ar 232 was the landing gear. Normal operations from prepared runways used tricycle gear, but the struts could "break", or kneel, after landing to place the fuselage closer to the ground and thereby reduce the ramp angle. An additional set of 11 smaller wheels per side supported the aircraft once "broken", or could be used for additional support when landing on soft or rough airfields. The aircraft was intended to be capable of taxiing at low speeds on its small wheels, thus being able to negotiate small obstacles such as ditches up to 1.5 m (5 ft) in width. The appearance of the row of small wheels led to the nickname "millipede". In flight, the main legs fully retracted into the engine nacelles, while the support wheels remained extended and the nose wheel only semi-retracted."
So, thanks to you the Ar 232 was not the only one of its kind