Saunders-Roe SR.A/1
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| SR.A/1 | |
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| Type | Flying boat fighter |
| Manufacturer | Saunders-Roe |
| Maiden flight | 15 July 1947 |
| Retired | 1951 |
| Status | Experimental |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 3 |
The Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 was a prototype flying boat fighter aircraft designed and build by Saunders-Roe. It was tested by the Royal Air Force shortly after World War II.
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[edit] Design and development
The SR.A/1 was directly inspired by the (modest) successes experienced by the Imperial Japanese Navy with seaplane fighters such as the Nakajima A6M2-N (an adaptation of the Mitsubishi Zero) and the Kawanishi N1K. In theory, seaplanes were ideally suited to conditions in the Pacific theatre, and could turn any relatively calm area of coast into an airbase. Their main disadvantage came from the way in which the bulk of their floatation gear penalised their performance compared to other fighters. Saunders-Roe realised that the new turbojet engine presented an opportunity to overcome this drawback. Not requiring clearance for a propeller, the fuselage could sit lower in the water and utilise a flying boat-type hull. The company approached the Air Ministry with the idea then known as the SR.44 , which led to specification E.6/44 and an accompanying development contract for three prototypes in May 1944.
The first prototype flew on July 15, 1947, and while it and its two sisters proved to have good performance and handling, the need for such aircraft had completely evaporated with the end of the war. Furthermore, the success of the aircraft carrier in the Pacific had demonstrated a far more effective way to project airpower over the oceans. In addition, the cockpit canopy was small and heavily framed, giving the pilot a poor view outside the aircraft. The project was finally abandoned in May 1951.
Although the aircraft never received an official name, it was referred to by company workers as 'Squirt'.
[edit] Operators
[edit] Survivors
The first prototype, serial number TG263, has been preserved, and is on display at Solent Sky (previously Southampton Hall of Aviation). Both other aircraft were lost in accidents during the four-year flight test programme.
[edit] Specification
Data from British Aircraft Directory[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1
- Length: 50 ft (14.24 m)
- Wingspan: 46 ft (14.02 m)
- Height: 16 ft 9 in (5.11 m)
- Wing area: 415 ft² (38.6 m²)
- Empty weight: 11,262 lb (5,108 kg)
- Loaded weight: 16,225 lb (7,360 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 19,033 lb (8,633 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl MVB.1 turbojets, 6,460 lbf (28.8 kN) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 512 mph (824 km/h)
- Range: 1,200 miles (1,920 km)
- Rate of climb: 5,800 ft per minute (1,768 m/min)
- Wing loading: 39 lb/ft² (190 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.40
- Endurance: 2 hrs 24 min Armament
- 4x 20 mm Hispano Mk 5
- 2x 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs or
- 16x 120 lb (55 kg) rockets
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
Related lists
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- BBC: Aircraft of the Isle of Wight
- Uncommon Aircraft
- British Aircraft Directory entry
- SRA/1 At Jets45
- Movie footage of the SR.A/1 in flight
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