Short Solent
| S.45A Solent | |
|---|---|
| The Aquila Airways Solent III, G-AKNU Sydney, taking-off from Funchal | |
| General information | |
| Type | passenger flying boat |
| Manufacturer | Short Brothers and Harland |
| Primary users | BOAC |
| Number built | 16 (and 7 converted S.45 Seafords) |
| History | |
| First flight | 11 November 1946 |
| Developed from | Short Seaford |
The Short Solent is a passenger flying boat that was produced by Short Brothers in the late 1940s. It was developed from the Short Seaford, itself a development of the Short Sunderland military flying boat design.
The first Solent flew in 1946. New Solents were used by BOAC and TEAL, production ending in 1949. Second-hand aircraft were operated until 1958 by a number of small airlines such as Aquila Airways.