Short S . 6 Sturgeon The Short S . 6 Sturgeon was a prototype single - engined biplane naval reconnaissance aircraft , built to an Air Ministry specification but mostly intended as a demonstrator of the corrosion resistance of duralumin aircraft structures . Two were made . Design and development . Following the all - metal Silver Streak of 1920 , Short Brothers produced a series of military aircraft with duralumin monocoque fuselages and wings which were at first duralumin covered , then fabric . The last of this series was the Short S . 6 Sturgeon , a three - seat fleet reconnaissance aircraft designed to meet Air Ministry specification 1 / 24 . The Air Ministry ordered two prototypes without raising hopes of series production . Nonetheless , Shorts were keen to demonstrate once again the corrosion resistance of treated duralumin . The Sturgeon was a singled engined , three - seat single bay biplane , with wings of mild sweep . They had parallel chord and equal span , but the lower one had a slightly smaller chord than the upper , giving the appearance of stagger though the trailing edges were in line . Another consequence of the difference in chord was that the front steel interplane struts leant slightly forwards , whilst the rear one was upright . Apart from their fabric covering the wings were entirely duralumin structures . There were push rod connected ailerons on both top and bottom wings . The Sturgeon was a ship - board aircraft and so its wings folded to save space . A thickened centre section held fuel tanks and was supported by two sets of roughly N shaped struts to the upper fuselage . A wide , V - shape cut out in the upper trailing edge went forward to the rear spar to enhance the view from the cockpits , which was helped by the wide interplane gap that put the upper wing well clear of the fuselage . The lower wing was also braced near its root by a pair of struts from each wing spar , fore and aft , to a common point on the fuselage above the leading edge of the wing . The fuselage was built from a pair of duralumin monocoques , bolted together . Each was constructed using Shorts ' established method of plate riveted to oval , L - section frames and with longitudinal stiffeners . The Sturgeon was powered by an uncowled Bristol Jupiter VI radial engine , driving a two - bladed propeller and with exhausts leading back over the lower wing . There were three open cockpits , one behind the other . The pilot sat in front , behind the leading edge with the navigator cum bomb - aimer close behind him . The latter ' s position was just at the wing cut - out ; he also had a bombsight hatch in the floor . A little further back was the radio operator / rear gunner , clear of the trailing edge . The fuselage diameter decreased to the tail , where a squat fin carried a tall , horn balanced rudder which extended down to the bottom of the fuselage . The tailplane was strut supported from below and sat on the fin just above the fuselage ; it was straight edged and carried unbalanced , split elevators . One problem in adapting the monocoque method to a service aircraft was that the numerous openings and attachment brackets all needed local reinforcement , leading to a considerable weight gain . Though the Sturgeon was constructed as a landplane , it did all of its flying on floats . These were long and joined to each other with a pair of transverse horizontal struts . There were three further struts per float to the fuselage : one from the forward part rearward to the engine bulkhead and two from a common point further aft to the two wing spars , joining the lower wing struts from below . The first of the two Sturgeons made its maiden flight on 22 June 1927 in the hands of John Lankester Parker . Some extension of the wing root fillets followed early flights ; by January 1928 both aircraft were flying . Despite the higher than expected weight , the seaplanes performed well on the water and in the air . As Shorts had intended , they did demonstrate the resistance of duralumin aircraft to the elements ; before its delivery to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe , the second Sturgeon had been moored out on the Medway , near Shorts ' Rochester base for three weeks in February weather , protected only by cockpit and engine covers . Their final fate is not known .