Background
Although inline engines had a clear advantage for high-speed aircraft due to the smaller frontal area, Roy Fedden, the engineer in charge of aero-engine development at Bristol Aircraft, was unwilling to let the initiative in engine development pass to Rolls-Royce and Napier, and managed to obtain a contract for an uprated version of the Mercury 9-cylinder radial engine. The early production versions of this engine produced 420 hp (310 kW), but the uprated engine produced 960 hp (720 kW) in bench-testing, although for flight purposes it was limited to an output of 810 hp (600 kW) The project for a racing aircraft using this engine was entrusted to Lieut.-Col. W. A. Bristow, a consultant aero-engineer, and W.G. Carter. Submitted to the Air Ministry in early 1926, the design was accepted and a contract for one prototype was awarded. Since it became apparent that the resources of a large aircraft manufacturer would be necessary, detail design and manufacture was assigned to Shorts, who had already been made responsible for the design and manufacture of the floats.
Read more about this topic: Short Crusader
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