Supermarine Sea Lion I
| Sea Lion I | |
|---|---|
| Sea Lion I moored at the start of the Schneider Trophy race on 10 September 1919 | |
| Role | Racing flying boat |
| Manufacturer | Supermarine |
| Designer | William Abraham Hargreaves |
| First flight | 1919 |
| Retired | 1919 |
| Number built | 1 |
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The Supermarine Sea Lion I (originally called the Supermarine Sea Lion) was a British racing flying boat designed and built by Supermarine for the Schneider Trophy contest at Bournemouth, England, in September 1919. It was based on a version of the Supermarine Baby, the first single-seat flying boat fighter aircraft to be designed and built in the United Kingdom, that first flew in February 1918.
Registered as G-EALP, the Sea Lion competed successfully against an Avro 539 to win a place as one of the British entrants. On 10 September, the day of the race, thick fog obscured the route and caused the Sea Lion's pilot Basil Hobbs to make an unscheduled landing on the water. Upon taking off, the aircraft's hull was accidentally ripped. Later on during the race, whilst back on the water, the aircraft inverted and sank as a result of the earlier accident. The contest ended in chaos and the results were annulled. The Sea Lion, damaged beyond repair, was scrapped.