AD Scout

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

AD Scout
Type	Fighter
Manufacturer	Air Department
Designed by	Harris Booth
Maiden flight	1915
Status	Scrapped
Primary user	Royal Naval Air Service
Number built	4

The AD Scout (also known as the Sparrow) was designed by Harris Booth of the British Admiralty's Air Department as a fighter aircraft to defend Britain from Zeppelin bombers during World War I.

The Scout was a decidedly unconventional aircraft - a biplane with a fuselage pod mounted on the upper wing. A twin-rudder tail was attached by four booms, and it was provided with an extremely narrow-track undercarriage. The primary armament was intended to be a 2-pounder recoilless Davis Gun, but this was never fitted.

Four prototypes were ordered in 1915 and two each were built by Hewlett & Blondeau and the Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company. Trials flown by pilots of the Royal Naval Air Service proved the aircraft to be seriously overweight, fragile, sluggish, and difficult to handle, even on the ground. The project was abandoned and all four prototypes scrapped.

Contents 1 Operators 2 Specifications (AD Scout) 3 References 4 See also

[edit] Operators

 United Kingdom

• Royal Naval Air Service

[edit] Specifications (AD Scout)

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)
• Wingspan: 33 ft 5 in (10.18 m)
• Height: 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m)
• Powerplant: 1× Gnôme Monosoupape rotary engine, 100 hp (75 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 84 mph (135 km/h)
• Range: 210 miles (336 km)

Armament

• 1x downward-firing .303 Lewis gun
• 1x 2-lb Davis recoilless gun (intended, but never fitted in view of the fragility of the Scout's construction)

[edit] References

• British Aircraft Directory accessed 1 February 2007

[edit] See also

v • d • e Aircraft designed by the British Admiralty Air Department Flying Boat · Navyplane · Scout (Sparrow) · Type 1000

v • d • e Aviation in World War I Aces · Aircraft of the Entente Powers · Aircraft of the Central Powers · Zeppelins · World War I aircraft

v • d • e Lists relating to aviation General Timeline of aviation · Aircraft (manufacturers) · Aircraft engines (manufacturers) · Airports · Airlines Military Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft Accidents/incidents General · Military · Commercial (airliners) · Deaths Records Airspeed · Distance · Altitude · Endurance · Most-produced aircraft