Even prior to the war's end, the British Air Ministry was enthusiastic on the prospects for reviving the shuttered flying boat routes. The Ministry approached two British flying boat manufacturers – Saunders-Roe (Saro) and Shorts – requesting that the two firms collaborate on the development and manufacture of a new aircraft, which would emerge as the Short Shetland. As such, Saunders-Roe designed the Shetland and manufactured the wing while Shorts produced the remainder of the aircraft. While two examples of the Shetland were completed, the project was considered a failure and the pair of flying boats were scrapped in 1951. Saunders-Roe considered the Shetland to have not resembled the flying boat that they sought to develop, but was otherwise a useful learning experience; even prior to the Shetland, the company had wanted to develop a more revolutionary flying boat.