Sopwith Bat Boat The Sopwith Bat Boats were British flying boat s designed and built from 1912 to 1914 . A single - engined pusher biplane , the Bat Boat was the first successful flying boat and amphibious aircraft built in the United Kingdom , with examples used by the Royal Navy and by Greece and Germany . Development and design . In summer 1912 , the British pioneer aviator Thomas Sopwith , also a keen yachtman and power - boat racer , started design of a flying boat , to be called the " Bat Boat " after a flying machine in Rudyard Kipling ' s short story " With the Night Mail " , to combine his interests in aviation and the sea . The resultant design was a biplane , powered by a Gnome rotary engine in a tractor configuration . The hull , which was made of Consuta , i . ( plywood sheeting sewn in place with copper wire ) was built by S E Saunders , the shipbuilders based at Cowes on the Isle of Wight who were experienced in the construction of power - boats , while the wings , of about 30 ft ( 9 . 15 m ) span , were built at Sopwith ' s flying school at Brooklands . Although the aircraft was approaching completion by August 1912 , it was abandoned and was never flown . Sopwith then produced a completely new design of flying boat , still called " Bat - boat " , this time a pusher configuration two - bay biplane powered by a 90 hp ( 67 kW ) Austro - Daimler engine . The hull , which was again built by Saunders of Consuta , accommodated two people side - by - side in an open cockpit in line with the leading edge of the wings , and had a curved , vee - profile planing bottom . The wings , of 41 ft ( 12 . 5 m ) span , were unstaggered , with lateral control by wing warping . The tail , which had no fixed fin , was carried on tailbooms connected to the wings , while an additional forward elevator was fitted to the front of the hull to supplement the normal elevator fitted to the tail . The new Bat - boat was assembled at Sopwith ' s new factory at Kingston upon Thames early in 1913 , and was displayed at the International Aero Show at Olympia , London in February that year . The Bat - Boat was sent from Olympia to Cowes for tests in March , with both Thomas Sopwith and Harry Hawker attempting , with little success , to get the Bat Boat airborne . The Bat Boat was wrecked by a storm . A second Bat Boat soon followed , omitting the forward elevator , while a third aircraft was built using components of the first prototype , but with a 100 hp ( 75 kW ) Green engine and an amphibious undercarriage . Thus equipped , the third Bat Boat won the £500 Mortimer Singer prize for the first all - British amphibious aircraft on 8 July 1913 . In 1914 , Sopwith laid down a second pair of Bat Boats . These two aircraft had a similar layout to the first three aircraft , but were larger , having a span of 55 ft ( 16 . 76 m ) , and were powered by 200 hp Salmson engines . The first of these pair was displayed at the Olympia Air Show in March 1914 . Also in March , Sopwith commenced building a final Bat Boat to compete in the 1914 " Daily Mail " Circuit of Britain race for seaplanes . This was similar to the Salmson powered Bat Boat exhibited at Olympia , but was powered by a 225 hp ( 168 kW ) Sunbeam engine . The outbreak of the First World War led to cancellation of the Circuit of Britain race , however . Operational history . The second Bat - Boat was purchased by the Royal Naval Air Service and was delivered to Calshot in June 1913 , being allocated the serial number " 38 " . It was badly damaged , however , sinking at its moorings on 23 August 1913 , having to be rebuilt again by Sopwith ' s . After serving at several Naval Air Stations , it was destroyed in a gale at Scapa Flow , Orkney on 21 November 1914 . The third Bat Boat was also purchased by the RNAS in February 1914 , and given the serial number " 118 " . It was used for a night flying demonstration at the Fleet Review in July 1914 , and for bomb dropping trials at Calshot , being scrapped in February 1915 when it was found that its hull was badly rotted . The first of the two Salmson powered Bat Boats was purchased by the German Navy Air Service , being used as a trainer at Kiel . The second Salmson powered Bat Boat was , after testing at Calshot of radio equipment , sold to Greece in July . The Circuit of Britain machine was subject to compulsory purchase by the RNAS following the outbreak of war . While it suffered engine problems , it remained in use until April 1915 .