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. 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 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 RR Goshawk with the Wright Cyclone F.3, resulting in 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 Cyclone F.3 and were fitted with four water-cooled .303 Vickers Mk. IV machine guns, 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 and 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 Sea Island, Richmond.

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 .30 cal M2/AN Browning machine guns, two fitted above the engine, and four in the wings. 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, where No. 2 Sqn had been stationed in the 1930s.