The first torpedo bomber of the Royal Naval Aviation Service — Sopwith Cuckoo - could not carry a 645-kg Mark VIII torpedo, which did not allow it to be used against large ships. Therefore, the British Admiralty in 1917 issued a specification for a new torpedo bomber. One of the contestants was Short Brothers with the N. 1B Shirl project.
The Shirl was a single-seat biplane with folding wings and non-retractable landing gear. The main material is wood, the covering is canvas and plywood. It was equipped with a Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII engine (385 hp) with a maximum speed of 150 km / h, and enough fuel for 6.5 hours of flight. Armament — 645-kg Mark VIII torpedo.
We built 3 prototypes of the N. 1B Shirl. Tests have shown that the aircraft is noticeably inferior to the Blackburn Blackburd. The military abandoned the project. It was planned to use Shirl for airmail transportation, but no one was interested in the offer.