The Percival Aircraft Company produced 3 very similar looking aircraft in the Percival Meganser, the Percival Prince and the Percival Pembroke. All 3 were high-wing, cantilever monoplanes with twin-engines and were constructed as all-metal, stressed skin aircraft with a retractable, tricycle undercarriage.
Percival Meganser

Percival Prince

The first Sea Prince C1 entered service in February 1953 and it was soon followed by the trainer version which was given designation as the Percival P.57 Sea Prince T1. Following successful trials, an order was placed in 1949 for twenty one aircraft, three for communications and eighteen to be used in the training role. A further two orders for the T.1. were placed, one order in early 1951 for an additional eight aircraft followed later that year by a second order for another fifteen.
In April 1953, an improved version was introduced as the Percival P.57 Sea Prince C.2.
Some Percival P.57 Sea Prince T.1.'s were scrapped in the 1960's when the RNVR (Air Divisions) were disbanded although a number of Percival P.57 Sea Prince C.1's continued in service until 1965 when it was replaced by the De Havilland Sea Devon and De Havilland Sea DoveDe Havilland Sea Dove aircraft.
Despite being predominantly sidelined, it was 1970 before the Percival P.57 Sea Prince C.2. was finally retired. The remaining Percival P.57 Sea Prince T.1.'s continued in service for many more years after their airframe fatigue life was enhanced by being re-sparred in the early 1970's.
These remaining aircraft were finally retired from service in 1979 when they were replaced by the Jetstream.

Percival P.66 Pembroke
Air-to-air photograph of Belgian Air Force Percival P66 Pembroke C.51 OT-ZAA RM1.

Specifications
Meganser | Prince 2 | Prince 6 | Pembroke | |
Powerplant |
Two De Havilland Gipsy Queen 51
|
Two 520 hp Alvis Leonides 501/4 | Two 540 hp Alvis Leonides 504/5A | Two 550 hp Alvis Leonides 127 |
Span |
47 ft 9 in
|
56 ft 0 in | 56 ft 0 in | 64 ft 6 in |
Maximum Weight |
6,700 lb
|
11,000 lb | 11,800 lb | 13,500 lb |
Capacity | Five to eight passengers | Six to eight passengers | Six to eight passengers | Eight to ten passengers |
Maximum Speed | 193 mph | 193 mph | 229 mph | 224 mph |
Cruising Sped | 167 mph | 160 mph | 197 mph | 155 mph |
Range | 800 miles | 800 miles | 894 miles | 1,150 miles |
Variants & Number built
P.48 Meganser | Five to eight-seat transport, one completed and two fuselages. |
P.48A Meganser | Proposed floatplane variant, not built. |
P.48B Meganser | Proposed ski-plane variant, not built. |
P.49 Meganser II | Proposed aerial survey variant, not built. |
P.50 Prince 1 | Prototype, two 520 hp Alvis Leonides 501/4 engine, one built. |
P.50 Prince 2 | As Prince 1 with sloping windscreen, stronger main spar, five built. |
P.50 Prince 3 | Alvis Leonides 502/4 engine, lengthened nose on some aircraft, 12 built. |
P.50 Prince 4 | Conversions to Alvis Leonides 503 engines, ten converted. |
P.50 Prince 6 | Conversions to Alvis Leonides 504 engines. |
P.54 Survey Prince | Prince 2 with lengthened transparent nose and camera hatches, six built. |
P.57 Sea Prince C1 | Prince 2 for Royal Navy use, three built. |
P.57 Sea Prince T1 | Prince 3 with long nose housing radar, twin wheeled main undercarriage and lengthened nacelles, 41 built |
P.57 Sea Prince C2 | Transport version of Sea Prince T1, four built. |
P.66 Pembroke C.1 | Communications and transport variant for the RAF, 44 built. |
P.66 Pembroke C(PR).1 | Photo-reconnaissance variant for the RAF, 6 built and 2 conversions from C.1. |
P.66 Pembroke C.51 | Export variant for Belgium. |
P.66 Pembroke C.52 | Export variant for Sweden. Swedish military designation Tp 83. |
P.66 Pembroke C.53 | Export variant for Finland. |
P.66 Pembroke C.54 | Export variant for West Germany. |
P.66 Pembroke C.55 | Export variant for Sudan. |
P.66 President | Civil transport version, five built. |
Survivors
1/98, Prince T1 | Royal Thai Air Force Museum, Don Muang AFB |
Prince 3E
(G-AMLZ)
|
Speke Aerodrome Heritage Group, Merseyside, England |
Sea Prince T.1
(WF128)
|
Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum, Suffolk, England |
Sea Prince T.1
(WP309)
|
Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle Airport, England.
|
Sea Prince T.1
(WF118 / G-DACA)
|
Gatwick Aviation Museum, Surrey, England
|
Sea Prince T.1
(WF122)
|
Aeroventure, Doncaster, Sth Yorks.
|
Pembroke C.51
(RM-4)
|
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, Brussels.
|
Pembroke C.51
(RM-7)
|
Melsbroek Air Base in Steenokkerzeel, Belgium. |
Pembroke C.54
(54+02 / D-CAKE)
|
Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum, Baden-Württemberg. |
Pembroke C.54
(54+07)
|
Militärhistorisches Museum, Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow |
Pembroke C.54
(54+08)
|
Aeronauticum in Nordholz, Lower Saxony. |
Pembroke C.54
(54+21)
|
Flugausstellung Hermeskeil in Hermeskeil, Rhineland-Palatinate. www.flugausstellung.de/ |
Pembroke C.54
(54+24)
|
Flugausstellung Hermeskeil in Hermeskeil, Rhineland-Palatinate. www.flugausstellung.de/ |
Pembroke C.52 Tp 83
(83007),
|
Svedino Automobile and Aviation Museum in Ugglarp, Halland. |
Pembroke C.52 Tp 83
(83008 / SE-BKH)
|
Airworthy Västerås Flygmuseum in Västerås, Västmanland. |
Pembroke C.1
(WV740 / G-BNPH)
|
Airworthy at Exeter, Devon. |
Pembroke C.1
(WV746)
|
Royal Air Force Museum Cosford in Cosford, Shropshire. |
Pembroke C.1
(XL954 / G-BXES)
|
Airworthy with Air Atlantique in Coventry, West Midlands. |
Pembroke C.1
(XF796)
|
Airworthy with Giuseppe Baldassarri in Carrollton, Georgia. |
Pembroke C.51
(RM-1)
|
Airworthy with the World On The Wind Museum in Quartzsite, Arizona. |
Pembroke C.5
(1RM-2)
|
Taylor's Stateline Liquor Store in Neelyville, Missouri |