Operational History
In February 1917, 25 aircraft were ordered, and before the end of April 1917, examples were delivered to the Royal Naval Air Service in Italy. Two accidents with the aircraft, when the fuselage collapsed after the torpedo was released, delayed its use on operations. The cause was later found to be the method of securing the fuselage bracing wires.
The first operational use was on 2 September 1917, when six aircraft (five with torpedoes and one with bombs) were towed towed on rafts fifty miles south of Traste Bay to enable them to attack enemy submarines lying off Cattaro. They had to be towed into position as they could not carry enough fuel and a torpedo for the mission. The operation did not go well; with a gale force wind and heavy seas, two of the aircraft failed to take off, so the operation was abandoned. On the return journey, one aircraft was lost and the others were damaged. It appears that the Type 320 never launched a torpedo in action.
In February 1918, due to the lack of operational experience, four aircraft were operated from Calshot for experiments with launching the torpedoes. Forty drops were made, and proved a valuable source of information about torpedoes entering the water when dropped at different heights and speeds. The aircraft continued to be used as a reconnaissance seaplane until the end of the war.
Read more about this topic: Short Type 320
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