Wizard was designed and built in 1932 by Uffa Fox for Wing Commander E. J. P. Burling, who was the officer commanding RAF Mount Batten, near Plymouth, Devon.
Burling wanted a boat he could take across to his house on the Isles of Scilly, so Uffa Fox designed Wizard to be carried under the wing of a flying boat of his squadron stationed at Mount Batten.
It was this boat that later became the inspiration for Fox’s parachuted airborne lifeboats which saved the lives of many airmen who ditched in the sea during the Second World War. A notable feature of the hull construction is the early use of triple skin planking which made it both lightweight and very strong.
Dimensions
Length 5.51m
Beam 1.62m
Draft, centreplate down 1.02m
