Supermarine BC Skemcis

The Supermarine BC Skemcis is a British Columbian single-seat fighter aircraft manufactured by Supermarine British Columbia that was used by the Royal British Columbia Air Force and other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War. Many variants were built over the course of nearly two decades; due to its evolution over such a long period of time, and especially due to the use of a radial engine in the earlier marks and an inline engine in the later ones, the earliest variants bear little obvious resemblance to the later ones. In addition to the land-based variants, numerous variants of a navalised version, the Sea Skemcis, were built for the Royal BC Navy.

Together with the Sea Skemcis variants, it was produced in greater numbers than any other British Columbian aircraft. Over thirty remain airworthy, and more are preserved as static museum exhibits or plinthed as war memorials around BC.

Skemcis (F) Mk. I
In 1931, the British Air Ministry released Specification F7/30, calling for a modern fighter capable of a flying speed of 250 mph. Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE FRAeS designed the Supermarine Type 224 to fill this role. The 224 was an open-cockpit monoplane with bulky gull-wings and a large, fixed, spatted undercarriage powered by the 600-horsepower, evaporatively cooled Rolls-Royce Goshawk II engine. It made its first flight in February 1934. Of the seven designs tendered to F7/30, the Gloster Gladiator biplane was accepted for service.

The Royal BC Air Force paid close attention to the designs submitted to F7/30, taking a particular interest in the 224; after its rejection by the Air Ministry, Supermarine BC took over the designs and modified it with the intention of providing a fighter for the RBCAF. The new design replaced the V-12 Goshawk with the air-cooled, supercharged 9-cylinder Wright Cyclone R-1820-F3A radial engine. Weighing 965 lbs and having a length (depth) of 43 ⅜ inches, the Cyclone was ten pounds lighter than the Goshawk, and nearly 30 inches shorter. Moreover, this more compact engine was much more powerful, with a normal output of 730 hp on 87-octane fuel. The result was the '''Supermarine Skemcis (F) Mk. I''' ("Skemcis" (IPA [skɛmçis], [skɛmʃɪs], or [skɛmhɪs]) is the Secwépemc/Shuswap word for "grizzly bear"). A single prototype was built, and after its maiden flight in May 1935, was extensively tested by both Supermarine and the RBCAF. These tests were successful, and the RBCAF placed an order for an initial batch of forty aircraft.

Skemcis (F) Mk. II


The serial version of the Mk. I entered production in 1936 and was designated '''Skemcis (F) Mk. II'''. Largely identical to the prototype, they were powered by the R-1820-F3A Cyclone and were fitted with four water-cooled .303 Vickers Mk. IV machine guns (200 rounds each), two synchronised mounted above the engine, and two mounted in the wings. The first aircraft off the assembly line was accepted by the air force on 7 April 1936. However, only fourteen of the forty ordered were built over the following three months; these were given RBCAF serial numbers G01–G14.

All fourteen were delivered to No. 1 Sqn and were coded BE*A through BE*N, replacing the Hawker Fury fighters that the unit had previously operated. Their service with the RBCAF was brief, being replaced in 1938.

Only one has been preserved, BE*D, on display at the Air Force Museum in Abbotsford.

Skemcis (F) Mk. III


Of the initial order for forty, only the first fourteen were built to Mk. II specification, as even before the first unit was finished, a change in armament was made: the four Vickers machine guns of the Mk. II were replaced with six wing-mounted .30 cal M2/AN Browning machine guns; these were lighter than the Vickers, and each was supplied with 350 rounds of ammunition. This modified design was designated '''Skemcis (F) Mk. III'''.

Construction of the fifteenth Mk. II airframe had only just begun, so the new wing design could be built from scratch; this, and the other 25 aircraft remaining in the original order, were built to the Mk. III specification, and were delivered between July and November 1936 with RBCAF serials G15–G40.

The 26 Mk. IIIs built were divided evenly between No. 2 and No. 3 squadrons, with the latter receiving the first four; illustrated here is the first Mk. III completed, as KS*A of No. 3 Sqn. Like the Mk. II, the service life of the Mk. III was short, being replaced in 1938.

None were preserved intact, but the vertical stabiliser of No. 2 Sqn's EY*K is on display in the municipal museum of Ganiks Laxha (called Terrace before 1988), where No. 2 Sqn had been stationed in the 1930s.

Radial or upright? Skemcis (F) Mk. IV vs Skemcis (F) Mk. V


Testing of the prototype Skemcis Mk. I had only just begun when Supermarine began working on a new version of the Skemcis, with two very significant differences: retractable undercarriage in place of the spatted, fixed landing gear, and - important especially for operation outside of southwestern BC - an enclosed cockpit. As reports of No. 1 Sqn's operational experiences with the Mk. II began arriving, further adjustments were made to the new design.

A further issue was the origin of the powerplant used in the first marks of the Skemcis. Although certainly satisfactory, the fact that the Wright Cyclone engine was made in the United States was a significant concern, since in the 1930s BC–US relations were not always reliably friendly, mainly due to disputes over the BC–Alaska border. Consequently, Supermarine looked around for alternatives, finding two possibilities - one a British-made radial engine, the other a BC-made V12.

Likewise, the American origin of the six M2/AN Browning machine guns used in the Mk. III presented another concern, which was addressed by the use of the British-made Browning .303 Mk. II machine gun with 350 rounds for each.

Thus the new design forked into two separate prototypes, the '''Skemcis (F) Mk. IV, powered by the British Bristol Pegasus X, and the Skemcis (F) Mk. V''', powered by the Hoffar HLV-12A-2 Petrel. The difference in engine fit necessarily resulted in differing nose designs, but the two prototypes were practically identical in all other respects.

After evaluation, the RBCAF were satisfied with both prototypes, but in the end, the decision was made to go with the Mk. V as the basis for new production, in good part because of the added economic benefit of using a locally made engine. This decision would have significant, lasting effects not only on the development of the Skemcis and other aircraft, but on the economy and development of British Columbia as a whole.

Skemcis F Mk. VI
Having decided on the Petrel to power the next variant of the Skemcis, Supermarine set to work to productionise the (F) Mk.V prototype, which involved making a number of relatively minor changes to the design, such as changes in cockpit layout, the direction in which wiring was routed, etc. In early 1938, the RBCAF placed an order for eighty examples of the new '''Skemcis F Mk. VI''', with the first aircraft going to No. 1 and No. 2 Squadrons. Given the serial numbers K40–L19, the eighty aircraft were eventually operated by No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 5, No. 9, and No. 10 Squadrons; in June 1942, the serials were changed to BC01000–BC01012.

At 9:00 AM Pacific Standard Time on September 4, 1939 - five and a half hours after the Dominion of Newfoundland - BC declared war on Germany. At the end of July 1941, a few weeks after the beginning of the Battle of Britain, No. 2 Sqn was deployed to RAF Coltishall to take part in the defence of the United Kingdom, giving the Skemcis its baptism of fire.

None were preserved intact, but the near-complete wreckage of one that crashed just off the English coast after being shot down was recovered from the water in 1970. This aircraft, RBCAF serial K51, No. 2 Sqn code EY*C, had been flown by F/o Llewelyn Gough of Gwynedd, BC (24 miles west of Blaenau), and in 1972, after being cleaned up by employees of the RAF Museum in Hendon, it was shipped to BC, where its remains were put on display in a building built adjacent to Gwynedd's railway station as a memorial.

Skemcis F Mk. VII


Hoffar had been working on a further development of the Petrel engine, increasing the bore and stroke to 6" x 6". Fitted with a Bendix carburettor, the new HLV-12A-4B Tern had a dry weight of 1150 pounds and produced 1090 hp when running on 90 octane fuel (1000 hp with 86 octane fuel). The testing of the Tern had begun in July of 1939, and by the autumn it was ready to enter production. Impressed with the new engine, the RBCAF instructed Supermarine to develop a variant of the Skemcis powered by the new engine.

The experience gained with the F Mk. VI by No. 2 Sqn during the Battle of Britain led to the realisation that although it was a capable fighter, more than satisfactory in performance, it was undergunned with its six rifle-calibre machine guns. Already before the start of the war, the RAF had embarked on a programme to develop cannon-armed fighters, which resulted in the production of the Hispano Mk. II 20 mm cannon - a licence-built version of the French Hispano-Suiza HS.404. To incorporate the lessons learnt, Supermarine redesigned the Skemcis wing slightly to add two of these cannon, inboard of the Brownings. The Brownings retained their 350-round belts, while the Hispanos each had a 60-round drum.

The resulting '''Skemcis F Mk. VIIA''' was not only more powerful, but packed a bigger punch. It didn't have to wait for long to see combat, as the first ones off the production line went directly to No. 7 Sqn, who deployed with their new fighters to England in August of 1940, after the Battle of Britain had begun in earnest. Though the Skemcis performed admirably, losses during the campaign forced the unit to convert to Spitfires, and No. 7 Sqn - which became the first of the nine British Columbian Article XV squadrons as 391 Sqn RBCAF - operated Spitfires for the duration of the war. No. 9 Sqn converted to the F Mk. VIIA in November 1940, deploying to Egypt in early 1941. After receiving desert modifications and the standard RAF desert camouflage, No. 9 Sqn's F Mk. VIIAs performed very well in the Middle East. TR*E illustrated here was flown by F/o David Ross of Kaslo, BC; he was shot down in this aircraft in June, 1941. In 1942, No. 9 Sqn became the second BC Article XV unit, redesignated 392 Sqn RBCAF, its unit code becoming M3 at that time. Later that year, the squadron converted to the Skemcis F Mk. IX.



A total of 126 F Mk. VIIAs were delivered to the RBCAF with the serials P10–P79, R01–R46, and T50–T59; when the new serial number system was introduced in June 1942, the 102 remaining on strength at the time became BC01013–BC01082, BC01094–BC01105, and BC01118–BC01127. Only three remain extant: one fully restored at the Air Force Museum in Abbotsford, another at the museum at North Weald Airfield (No. 7 Sqn RBCAF had been based at RAF North Weald during the Battle of Britain), and the third, a wreck, on display at a museum in Egypt, where it was found in the desert in 1997. A fourth survivor was converted to PR Mk. I standard for display in 1966.

After the German invasion of the USSR, the Soviets were in desperate need of modern aircraft capable of putting up a fight against the Luftwaffe, and so Supermarine BC started producing F Mk. VIIs for the Soviet Air Force. These replaced the Hispano cannon and Browning machine guns with eight 12.7 mm Berezin UBS machine guns, and were given the designation '''Skemcis F Mk. VIIB'''; in Soviet parlance they were known as "Скемхис" ("Skemkhis") or "Гризли" ("Grizli").

They proved popular with the Russians, who operated them with some success against the Luftwaffe. White 23 illustrated here was the mount of Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak when she flew with the (men's) 437th Fighter Regiment. She became the first female fighter pilot to score an air-to-air victory when she downed a Ju-88, then some moments later her second kill, a Bf 109G-2. Two weeks later she made ace after downing another Gustav; this was her last kill flying a Skemcis, as she was transferred to an all-female unit operating the Yak-1.

Five F Mk. VIIB are on display in museums, three in Russia, and one each in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

Skemcis PR Mk. 1
Before the Second World War, the conventional wisdom was to use converted bomber types for airborne photo reconnaissance. These bombers retained their defensive armament, which was vital since they were unable to avoid interception. It was soon found that modified bombers were easy targets for German fighters, and heavy losses were being incurred whenever these aircraft ventured over German territory.

In August 1939, Flying Officer Maurice Longbottom, inspired by Sidney Cotton, filed a memorandum Photographic Reconnaissance of Enemy Territory in War with RAF Headquarters. In the memorandum Longbottom advocated that airborne reconnaissance would be a task better suited to fast, small aircraft which would use their speed and high service ceiling to avoid detection and interception. He proposed the use of Spitfires with the armament and radios removed and replaced with extra fuel and cameras. The eventual result was the Spitfire PR Mk. I Type A.

On the same principle, twelve F Mk. VIIAs were converted to '''Skemcis PR Mk. I''' standard in early 1940, removing the armament and radio transmitter, and the space vacated by the guns, two cameras with an eight-inch (203 mm) focal length were installed, along with heating equipment to prevent the cameras from freezing and the lenses from fogging over at altitude. The twelve converted aircraft, given RBCAF serials P80–P91 (BC23020–BC23031 after June 1942), were all sent to 111 Sqn, which deployed with them to the UK.

None of the twelve original conversions survived, but in 1966, a surviving F Mk. VIIA (original RBCAF serial R33) was cosmetically converted to look like a PR Mk. I for display at the Air Force Museum in Abbotsford. This was given the fictitious code of QQ*M - this has the correct QQ code for 111 Sqn, but M is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet, reflecting the fact that this was the thirteenth PR Mk. I conversion.

Skemcis F Mk. VIII


In 1941, Hoffar had undertaken an experiment to equip the 4B-2 with a new fuel injection system from Atlas-Imperial. Tests were successful, and a small batch of the semi-experimental HV-12A-4C Tern-FI was built, and supermarine redesigned the the Skemcis F Mk. VII to accomodate the new engine; this provided a noteworthy increase in performance, as the Tern-FI produced an additional 50 hp at no extra weight.

At the same time, Supermarine redesigned the wing of the Skemcis slightly, to accomodate a new weapons fit. The Hispano Mk. I 20 mm cannon used in the F Mk. VIIA had a significant drawback in that it was fed from 60-round drums that were difficult to replace in the dark, but in 1941 Martin-Baker had designed a satisfactory belt-feeding system, resulting in the Hispano Mk. II; this doubled the available ammunition for the cannon, as each was fed by a 120-round belt. Further, the six Browning .303 Mk. II machine guns were replaced; with the United States now in the war, peacetime concerns became irrelevant, permitting the use of American equipment. Consequently, the six machine guns were replaced by the .50 calibre Browning AN/M2 heavy machine guns; like on the F Mk. VII, these were supplied with 350-round belts.

The combination of new engine and new armament resulted in the '''Skemcis F Mk. VIII''', which proved a significant advance: the new fighter was more powerful in both performance and armament. In the event, only a small number were built for the RBCAF, with the first three, serials BC01199–BC01201, were delivered to No. 2 Operational Training Unit at Comox, and the next eighteen (BC01202–BC01209 and BC01222–BC01231) went to No. 5 Sqn in early March, 1942. Stationed at Cranbrook at the time, 5 Sqn had been slated to deploy to Europe, but after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the Ministry of Defence decided that only newly-raised units would be sent to Europe; existing units would stay at home to face the Japanese threat. Therefore, 5 Sqn was redeployed to RBCAF Terrace, assigned to the protection of the important port of Prince Rupert 70 miles to the west in a straight line. The Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor, Alaska on 3 June marked the beginning of the Aleutian Campaign, bringing the war close to home, and 5 Sqn was sent to Alaska, assigned to the US Army Air Corps' Eleventh Air Force. The squadron remained on the Alaskan front until the liberation of Kiska in August 1943, performing creditably; most sorties were in the ground attack role, but also being credited with eleven kills of Japanese aircraft.

With an urgent need for immediately available aircraft, the US Army Air Corps ordered sixty F Mk. VIIIs in May 1942. However, before the order could be filled, the USAAC asked Supermarine to delay the order, deciding instead to wait for the upcoming Mk. IX. The details of the subsequent deal are lost to history, but the original order ended up being diverted to the Mexican Air Force. After receiving the first thirty in July and August of that year, the Mexicans wanted to double the order. However, the Supermarine plant was already nearing capacity building for the RBCAF, the Soviets and the RAF, and the new, larger factory at Kelowna was not yet complete. After the opening of the new plant in November, however, the order was completed, and Mexico received a total of 110 F Mk. VIIIs, and it was from amongst these that the 201st Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force was equipped when it deployed in 1944 to assist in the liberation of the Philippines.

None of the RBCAF Mk. VIIIs have survived, but four are preserved at various places in Mexico.

Skemcis PR Mk. II
Along with the F Mk. VIII, a small number of '''Skemcis PR Mk. II''' were built in January and February of 1942. This was the first Skemcis variant purpose-built for the photo-reconnaissance role, and featured a fuselage specifically designed to carry the cameras, instead of having them mounted in the wings as had been done in the Mk. I conversions. This allowed two .50 calibre Browning AN/M2 machine guns to be installed in the wings as defensive armament, each with a 350-round belt.

A total of thirty were built, serial numbers BC23032–BC23061, with twelve going to 111 Sqn (illustrated here) and the remainder to 104 Sqn; these introduced a new painting scheme of overall PRU mauve for PR aircraft. 111 Sqn was assigned to take part in the Aleutian Campaign under the USAAC Eleventh Air Force, where it remained for the duration of the campaign; 104 Sqn worked in other theatres of the Pacific War.

None have been preserved.

Skemcis F Mk. IX and P-65A Grizzly


Though introducing a fuel-injected variant, Hoffar continued development of the carburettor Tern as an insurance policy in case the Tern FI would prove unsuccessful, leading to the HLV-12A-4D which reached production in May, 1942. At 1200 lbs (dry) the A-4D was 25 pounds heavier than its predecessor, the A-4B, but with its improved supercharger it produced 1200 hp - fully 100 hp more than the A-4B2 and 50 hp more than the fuel-injected A-4C.

Meanwhile, even as limited production of the F Mk. VIII got underway, Supermarine had further refined the Skemcis, redesigning the tail section to a new form inspired by the Supermarine Spitfire. This new after fuselage was married to the new nose design of the Mk. VIII, with the intention of powering it with the full-production version of the fuel-injected Tern. However, there were delays in productionisation of the new engine, which - due to continued urgent need for aircraft - led Supermarine to improvise by adapting the new airframe to fit the new A-4D engine. The resulting '''Skemcis F Mk. IX''' thus externally looked like one with a fuel-injected Tern, when in reality it was the last Skemcis mark to be powered by a carburetted engine.

The first batch of for the RBCAF, twelve Mk. IXs (RBCAF serials BC01232–BC01243) were delivered to No. 9 Sqn in Egypt in the first week of June 1942, replacing the F Mk. VII. A few weeks later, the unit became the second British Columbian Article XV squadron, redeploying to the UK as 392 Sqn RBCAF. In March, 1943, a Skemcis F Mk. IX of 392 Sqn RBCAF had to make an emergency landing at a German-held airfield. It was sent to Germany for evaluation, and ended up with the Luftwaffe's Zirkus Rosarius, which tested and evaluated captured aircraft, as well as touring operational airfields with these captured types, to introduce them to Luftwaffe pilots and training them in techniques to counter these aircraft.

A further seventy Mk. IXs were built for the RBCAF with serials BC01254–BC01273, BC01289–BC01308, BC01324–BC01348, and BC01379–BC01383, and in addition to 392 Sqn, Nos. 1, 2, and 3 Squadrons also converted to the Mk. IX, which remained operational until March 1945 with No. 2 and No. 3 Squadrons.

As the US Army Air Corps had put its order for sixty F Mk. VIII on hold to await the arrival of the Mk. IX, in compensation for the delay the first twenty of the Skemcis F Mk. IX to be completed were delivered to the USAAC in May, 1942. Designated P-65A Grizzly, these were identical in all respects to the F Mk. IXs built for the RBCAF. This batch of twenty was delivered with the old-style roundel that was phased out at the end of that month - in fact, the P-65As were the last aircraft to be delivered to the USAAC with that style of roundel. A number of American pilots, destined to become type instructors, received conversion training on the F Mk. VIIIs of No. 2 OTU at Comox in April and May. These instructors then ferried the first twenty P-65As to McChord AFB in Washington state, delivering them to the 57th Fighter Squadron prior to that unit's deployment to Alaska. The 56th FS and 57th FS, assigned to the Eleventh Air Force, went on to fight alongside Skemcis fighters of No. 5 Sqn RBCAF. The remaining forty P-65As of the original order, and the eighty of the subsequent order, were delivered with the newer style of roundel omitting the red dot. Most P-65As were deployed to Alaska or to Australia, where they fought alongside the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) defending northern Australia from Japanese attack, and where their supply chain for parts could be shared with the RAAF.

The F Mk. IX can be counted as Supermarine BC's first export success: in addition to the RBCAF and the USAAC, they were also built for the air forces of the two southern hemisphere Dominions, Australia and New Zealand, with the RAAF receiving sixty and the Royal New Zealand Air Force forty from BC. Whilst these were being delivered, the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation of Australia set itself up for the manufacture of the F Mk. IX to fill RAAF and RNZAF needs, and built a total of 367 before switching to production of the F Mk. X.

A total of fourteen have been preserved in BC (one), the US (three), New Zealand (two), and Australia (eight), with three of the Australian-built ones remaining airworthy.