Short turbo‐skyvan

IT was the decline of the seaplane market which led Short Brothers and Harland Ltd. into the air freighting business. Early work was based on the PD.15—a twin‐boom project having rear clamshell doors to the freight hold and powered by four piston engines. This design grew through a number of stages to result eventually in the giant Belfast strategic freighter. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, the company began to pursue in earnest the development of a small freighter following the purchase of details of the Miles Caravan light freighter preliminary design.