Saro Lerwick
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| A.36 Lerwick | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Flying-boat |
| Manufacturer | Saunders-Roe |
| Maiden flight | November 1938 |
| Retired | 1943 |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force RCAF |
| Number built | 21 |
The Saunders-Roe A.36 Lerwick was a flying boat built by Saunders Roe Limited (Saro) for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) to Air Ministry Specification R.1/36.
The Lerwick was designed to replace biplanes, such as the London or Stranraer, in the anti-submarine, convoy escort and reconnaissance role, alongside the larger Short Sunderland.
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[edit] Design
The Lerwick was a compact twin-engined, high-winged monoplane of all-metal construction. It had a conventional flying boat hull with a planing bottom and two stabilising floats carried under the wings on long struts. It was powered by two Bristol Hercules engines and initially had twin vertical stabilisers and rudders. The Lerwick was equipped with three powered turrets; a single 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) machine gun in the nose turret, two in a dorsal turret and four in the tail position.
The Lerwick was was found to be aerodynamically unstable and was not suitable for "hands off" flying, a major problem in an aircraft designed for long-range patrols. Numerous adjustments, including the addition of a greatly enlarged single vertical tail unit and increasing the wing incidence, failed to remedy its undesirable characteristics. Consequently, it was little used. With the better handling Consolidated Catalina available the Lerwick was surplus to requirements. Only 21 aircraft were built, and all were retired by 1943.
[edit] Operators
Canada: Royal Canadian Air Force
- No. 422 Squadron RCAF, a Canadian squadron under RAF control: briefly in 1942 until the squadron received Sunderlands.
United Kingdom: Royal Air Force
- No. 209 Squadron RAF: 1939-1941
- No. 4 (Coastal) OCU: 1941
[edit] Specifications (Saro Lerwick)
General characteristics
- Crew: 6
- Length: 63 ft 7 in (19.4 m)
- Wingspan: 80 ft 10 in (24.7 m)
- Height: 20 ft 0 in (6.1 m)
- Wing area: 845 ft² (78.5 m²)
- Empty weight: lb (kg)
- Loaded weight: 28,400 lb (12,880 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 33,200 lb (15,060 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Bristol Hercules II radial engine, 1,375 hp (1,030 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 214 mph @ 6,250 ft (344 km/h @ 1,900 m)
- Range: miles (km)
- Service ceiling: 14,000 ft (4,270 m)
- Rate of climb: 880 ft/min (4.50 m/s)
Armament
- 1 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K gun (nose)
- 6 × 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning guns (dorsal [2] & tail [4])
- 2,000 lb (900 kg) of bombs or depth charges
[edit] External links
[edit] Related content
Comparable aircraft
PBY Catalina - Short Sunderland
Designation sequence
A27 "London" - A29 "Cloud" - A33 - A36 "Lerwick" - A37 "Shrimp" - SR.A/1 - SR45 "Princess"
Related lists
List of aircraft of the RAF - List of flying boats
Timeline of aviation
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