The Short S.26 G-class was a large transport flying boat designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Short Brothers. It was designed to achieve a non-stop transatlantic capability, increasing the viability of long distant services/duties.

The Short Empire was a medium-range four-engined monoplane flying boat, designed and developed by Short Brothers during the 1930s to meet the requirements of the growing commercial airline sector, with a particular emphasis upon its usefulness upon the core routes that served the United Kingdom.

Following on from the Empire class flying boats, Short was keen to explore the limits of the flying-boat design, while also investing in the S.32 land airliner.

C.Barnes - Short Aircraft since 1900 /Putnam/ Cecil Grace flying S.27 at Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton, in June 1910. Short S.26-S.29 and 34 were fitted with various engines. This is CS. Grace's S.27 with French ENV engine without wing extensions.

The Short S.26 G-class was a large transport flying-boat with non-stop transatlantic capability intended for commercial service. Three aircraft were ordered by Imperial Airways, with the help of an Air Ministry subsidy in view of their potential for military use.

Shorts also constructed three Short S.26 'boats ordered by Imperial Airways for nonstop transatlantic mail services. Larger than the 'C' class and with 1,380 hp (1029 kW) Bristol Hercules engines, the first 'Golden Hind' was launched in June 1939.

AIRCRAFT OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE, 1939-1945: SHORT S.26 'G' CLASS EMPIRE FLYING BOAT. Short S.26, X8274, moored on the Medway at Rochester, Kent, before being flown to Blackburn Aircraft Ltd at Dumbarton for the installation of radar equipment.

The Short S.26 G-class was a large transport flying-boat with non-stop transatlantic capability intended for commercial service. Three aircraft were ordered by Imperial Airways, with the help of an Air Ministry subsidy in view of their potential for military use.

Short S.26 Image Gallery The S.26 was designed as an enlarged Short C-Class Empire flying boat, also incorporating features from the Short Sunderland. Greater use of extrusions in the structure, rather than bent sheet sections, compared to …

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.