THE ARRIVAL of the Short Sunderland in RAF service in 1938 raised the bar considerably with regard to flying-boat design, compared to what airmen had previously experienced. Gone were the draughty, cluttered cockpits, cramped fuselages and mediocre performance associated with average inter-war flying boat. The Sunderland brought a host of improvements which remained, only marginally altered, for the aircraft's 21 years of RAF service. Those crews still operating the Saro London and Supermarine Stranraer must have looked on in envy as the Sunderland crews enjoyed a bridge', a galley, a dining room and even a sleeping area, thanks to the flying boat's cavernous hull. Coastal Command would operate almost 50 different types during the Second World War but only the Sunderland would continually serve on the front-line from the first day to the last. This, and the fact that the flying-boat remained in RAF service until 1958, and almost a decade beyond - with the RNZAF - is testimony to the aircraft's forward thinking design.
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