What did a Sunderland I carry on board for long flights?

Short answer

The lower deck carried six bunks and a galley fitted with a twin-burner pressurised kerosene stove. On board there was also a small workshop for carrying out repairs in flight. The crew, seven men in the original design, rose to around eleven in later versions.

Published: November 4, 2026 · Updated: November 4, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What did a Sunderland I carry on board for long flights?

Sunderland interior 2User:The Land (CC BY SA), vía commons

Accommodation for a large crew

The crew originally planned for was seven men, a figure that in later Sunderland versions rose to around eleven and sometimes more. To sustain that group on long flights, the lower deck had six bunks and a galley fitted with a twin-burner pressurised kerosene stove. The aircraft also carried a small workshop intended for in-flight repairs.

Six tanks in a thick wing

The thick wings, which carried the four Bristol Pegasus XXII radial engines mounted in nacelles, housed six drum-type fuel tanks with a total capacity of 9,200 litres (2,025 imperial gallons, 2,430 US gallons). With supplementary tanks fitted, the Sunderland's total fuel capacity reached 11,602 litres (2,550 imperial gallons, 3,037 US gallons).

Offensive load and the origin of the order

The specification the aircraft had to meet called for offensive armament of a 37 mm gun and up to 2,000 lb (910 kg) of bombs, mines or, later, depth charges. That requirement came from Specification R.2/33, issued by the British Air Ministry in November 1933 for a new-generation, long-range, general-purpose flying boat. Short developed the S.25 Sunderland from its S.23 to meet that request for a general-reconnaissance flying boat.