Airspeed Fleet Shadower
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| Airspeed A.S.39 Fleet Shadower | |
|---|---|
| Type | Special observation monoplane |
| Manufacturer | Airspeed Ltd |
| Maiden flight | 17 October 1940 |
The Airspeed A.S.39 Fleet Shadower was a British long-range patrol aircraft design that did not go beyond the prototype stage.
Contents |
[edit] Development
The Royal Navy envisaged a need, Operational Requirement OR.52, for an aircraft that could shadow enemy fleets at night and the resulting Specification S.23/37 called for a slow-flying silent aircraft with a long range, capable of operating from an aircraft carrier flight deck. The specified performance was to be a speed of 38 knots at 1500 ft for not less than six hours.
Five companies showed interest Percival, Short Brothers, Fairey Aviation, General Aircraft Ltd and Airspeed. General Aircraft put forward the G.A.L.38, of very similar general design to the A.S.39.
The A.S.39 design was a high-wing aircraft with four small Pobjoy Niagara V engines spread across the wings with fixed landing gear and an observer's position in the nose. As for other aircraft carrier planes, the wings folded for storage.
Of two prototypes started, only one was completed, flying on 17 October 1940. The other was not complete when the Navy called time on it and the competing G.A.L.38[1], the requirement for such aircraft having been made obsolete due to the introduction of radar.
[edit] Specifications (A.S.39)
General characteristics
- Crew: 3 (Pilot, observer, radio operator)
- Length: 40 ft (12.2 m)
- Wingspan: 53 ft 4 in (16.25 m)
- Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.17 m)
- Wing area: 472 ft² (43.85 m²)
- Empty weight: 4592 lb (2083 kg)
- Loaded weight: 6935 lb (3147 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× Pobjoy Niagara V seven cylinder air cooled radials, 130 hp (97 kw) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 126 mph at 5000 ft (185 kmh at 1500 m)
- Cruise speed: 113 mph at 5000 ft (181 km/h at 1500 m)
- Stall speed: 37.5 mph at 5000 ft (60 km/h at 1500 m)
- Service ceiling: 14,700 ft (1,830 m)
- Rate of climb: 865 ft/min (264 m/min)
- Endurance: 6 hours
Armament
[edit] References
- Fleet Air Arm archive accessed 2 feb 2007
- Bridgman, Leonard, ed. Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft 1945-1946. London: Samson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd 1946.
[edit] External link
[edit] Related content
Comparable aircraft
Designation sequence
A.S.30 Queen Wasp - A.S.39 Fleet Shadower - A.S.45 Cambridge - A.S.51 Horsa- A.S.57 Ambassador -
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