The Short Hartlepool MKII has entered service with the Saltwater Air Force. Fourteen of the long-range maritime patrol flying boats will serve to protect the archipelago from attack by sea. Their long-range means that they can cover most of the archipelago without refuelling. They are armed with many depth charges and general purpose bombs.
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If needed the aircraft can land alongside a tanker to refuel and then continue on its mission. They have a crew of eleven; two pilots, a radio operator, a navigator, an engineer, a bomb-aimer, three gunners and two mission specialists.

On the 6th of October the Hartlepool flew its first patrol between NovrdLisch and Brightneau without incident. The flight lasted nine hours.