 Powered by a 400 hp Bristol Jupiter IV radial engine, the S.3 Springbok I was a truly all-metal aircraft, with a duralumin monocoque fuselage and two-bay, equal-span wings.The strength/weight factor of the mainplanes was disappointing and the Air Ministry ordered three more Springboks with lighter, fabric-covered wings attached directly to the lower fuselage and a redesigned tail assembly.The first of these S.3a Springbok IIs (numbered "J7925"-"J7927") was flown by Shorts' Chief Test Pilot J. Lankester Parker at the Isle of Grain on 25 March 1925.