Saunders-Roe
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Saunders-Roe Limited was a British aircraft manufacturing company based in East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
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[edit] History
The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliot Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a controlling interest in the boat- and aircraft-builders S.E. Saunders.
Saunders Roe, commonly abbreviated Saro, concentrated on producing flying-boats, but none were produced in very large quantities - the longest run being 31 Londons. They also produced hulls for the Blackburn Bluebird, and during the Second World War manufactured Supermarine Walrus and de Havilland Sea Otters. In 1952 they flew the prototype Princess, but the age of the flying-boat was over and no more were produced here.
The last fixed-wing aircraft they built was experimental SR53 mixed-power interceptor.
In 1951 Saunders-Roe took over the interests of the Cierva Autogyro Company whose helicopter design was developed to be the Skeeter helicopter. In 1959 they demonstrated the first practical hovercraft, the Saunders-Roe SR-N1. In the same year Saro's helicopter and hovercraft interests were taken over by Westland Aircraft who continued the Skeeter family with the Scout & Wasp. In 1964 all the hovercraft businesses under Westland were merged with Vickers Supermarine to form the British Hovercraft Corporation. This in turn was taken over by Westland and was renamed Westland Aerospace in 1985, and hovercraft production ceased. The company produced component parts for the aircraft industry, especially engine nacelles for many aircraft including the DeHavilland Canada 'Dash 8', the Shorts 330, the Lockheed Hercules, the British Aerospace Jetstream and parts for the McDonnell-Douglas MD-11. By the mid 1990s, over 60% of the world's production of turboprop naecelles took place in the East Cowes works.
In 1994 Westland was taken over by GKN, and when GKN sold off its shares of Westland to form AgustaWestland, it retained the East Cowes works, where it continues aircraft component design and production, and more recently manufactures blades for wind turbines.
[edit] Saunders-Roe Designs
[edit] Flying boats
- Saunders Roe Kittiwake
- Saunders Roe A3 Valkerie
- Saunders Roe A4 Medina - 1929.
- Saunders Roe A10 - fighter
- A7 Severn
- A17 Cutty Sark
- A19 Cloud
- A21 Windhover
- A27 London
- A29 Cloud Monospar
- A33
- A36 Lerwick
- A37 Shrimp
- SR.A/1
- SR45 Princess
[edit] Monoplanes
- Saunders Roe A22 Segrave Meteor - Designed by Sir Henry Segrave
- Saunders-Roe A24M (Spartan Cruiser) - Built by Spartan Aircraft Limited - 1932
- Saunders-Roe A24 Mailplane - Designed by Edgar Percival, originally the Saro-Percival Mailplane - 1931
[edit] Rocket-jet aircraft
[edit] Helicopters
- Skeeter
- P.531
[edit] Hovercraft
[edit] Spacecraft
With the Royal Aircraft Establishment
[edit] Hydrofoil
- R-103 - a 17 ton Hydrofoil for Royal Canadian Navy, Known as "Bras d'Or". Built in 1956 by Saunders-Roe, Anglesea
(This should not be confused with HMCS Bras d'Or (FHE 400), a 240 tonne hydrofoil patrol vessel, which was the result of the tests performed by the R-103)
[edit] External links
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