KerbalX

Archive footage of Seaways patrolling the coast of the Royal Isles, circa 1941.

Description

This craft and related world-building are a part of the very talented HolidayTheLeek’s ongoing ‘Forever War’ universe.

The Dunnock Aviation Company was an Islish aerospace manufacturer responsible for some of the most groundbreaking and seminal designs in Islish aviation. Established soon after the advent of flight, in 1899 Anston Dunnock founded the company after being contracted by the fledgling Islish Air Force to investigate the means of aircraft manufacture and design. This made Dunnock the first aircraft manufacturer within the Royal Isles, leading to an illustrious and distinguished legacy throughout the golden age of early flight.

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Early designs from Dunnock were typical of the era, being composed chiefly of lightweight wooden truss structures covered with canvas, often propelled by under-powered and punitive engines, ill-suited to the business of flight. The first aircraft produced by Dunnock aircraft, the D.125, was unique in its absence of conventional wheeled landing gear, instead using floats. This decision was made purely by a coincidence of geography, as there were no areas flat enough to permit the establishment of an airfield within 15 miles of the Dunnock warehouse, which was situated within the rolling hills of the Islish countryside. Instead, the mirror-smooth water of Loch Harkland, which was within a few hundred feet of the warehouse doors, was utilised as a takeoff strip, necessitating the use of floats. This product of happenstance resulted in Dunnock becoming a leading authority in the design of float-planes and flying boats of all stripes.

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However, by the onset of The Great War in 1939, the Isles were full of too many aviation companies with too many ideas, and not enough funding to go around. Subsequently, more than 30 companies were nationalised and consolidated, with Dunnock being amongst them, becoming a part of the newly established Harkland Aero, which was named in honour of the loch in which the Islish propensity for flight was seeded. Anston Dunnock was moved further west as the war progressed and Bavarian forces advanced, being regarded as a figure of great importance to the war effort. However, in 1943 a flight carrying Anston to heavy industry sites in the Southern Isles was intercepted by a pair of Bavarian DS-10 Albes and shot down. Anston was killed, and he and his once proud aviation company became just another footnote in the annals of history.

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The Dunnock Seaway was a two-engined biplane flying boat that served as a patrol aircraft during the pre-war period, and saw limited use in the early years of The Great War. It had a crew of 3, as well as ample accommodations for up to 16 passengers. Whilst it was not designed in a military capacity, it was pressed into service following the outbreak of war and was retrofitted with pylons allowing for up to 1600ib of torpedoes and bombs to be carried under the wings. The Seaway was slow, but exceptionally stable, rugged and easy to fly, affording the type many accolades from the pilots that flew her. During the war, she saw more use as a search and rescue aircraft than as a maritime attacker, being responsible for rescuing hundreds of pilots from the waters beneath the fierce dogfights in the skies of the early war. The type’s reputation as an unflappable and dependable workhorse earned it the nickname the ‘Easy C’, alluding to the ‘Sea’ component of its traditional moniker and the ease with which it was flown to save countless lives.

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The type first flew in 1926 and entered service in the same year, remaining in Islish service up until the occupation of the Royal Isles by Bavarian forces in 1943. Captured Bavarian examples of the type were not appreciated in the same manner as those that often flew her, being regarded as obsolete and clumsy. A handful of aircraft were used to ferry VIP’s through the fjords of northern Bavaria, though the type was eventually retired fully in 1945. The Seaway is also notable for having being constructed under license for a matter of months in the Ikan Empire, where it was studied and reverse engineered to develop Ikan understanding on the construction of flying boats, resulting in the development of the I-12 Kuruwa. The I-12 can therefore be considered as a direct successor to the Seaway.

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Press ‘1’ to toggle the fuel cells and motors.
Use the throttle keys to increase and decrease power.
Use the ‘H’ and ‘N’ keys to adjust the propeller pitch and reach the aircraft’s top speed of around 70m/s.

Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.8.1.

Details

• Type: SPH
• Class: aircraft
• Part Count: 604
• Pure Stock