Saro A.33
type of aircraft
The Saro A.33 was a British prototype flying boat built by Saunders-Roe Limited in response to a British Air Ministry Specification R.2/33 and in competition with the Short Sunderland.
Design and development
The A.33 was a four-engined flying-boat with a parasol monospar wing, the wing was supported by two angled N-struts which connected the wing to hull-mounted sponsons. Hull-mounted sponsons were used rather than wingtip floats and were also used as fuel tanks. A Saro Cloud was modified with a monospar wing and sponsons to test the design concepts. The prototype A.33 serial number K4773 first flew on 14 October 1938. However, it was written off after structural failure sustained during high-speed taxi trials on 25 October 1938 and development was abandoned. A production contract for eleven aircraft was cancelled.
Specifications
Data from British Flying Boats General characteristics
Length: 75 ft 0 in (22.86 m)
Wingspan: 95 ft 0 in (28.96 m)
Height: 22 ft 8+1⁄2 in (6.922 m)
Wing area: 1,194 sq ft (110.9 m2)
Empty weight: 31,500 lb (14,288 kg)
Gross weight: 41,500 lb (18,824 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Bristol Perseus XII 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, 830 hp (620 kW) each
Propellers: 3-bladed variable-pitch propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 200 mph (320 km/h, 170 kn)
Cruise speed: 174 mph (280 km/h, 151 kn)
Endurance: 12 hours
Service ceiling: 14,280 ft (4,350 m)
Wing loading: 34.8 lb/sq ft (170 kg/m2)
Armament
Guns: Machine guns in bow turret, tail turret and two beam positions
Bombs: 2,000 lb (907 kg) bombs
See also
Short Sunderland
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Blackburn Sydney
Consolidated P2Y
Consolidated PBY Catalina
Dornier Do 24
Kawanishi H6K
Latécoère 300
Lioré et Olivier LeO H-47
Potez-CAMS 141
Related lists
List of flying boats and floatplanes
References
Notes
Bibliography
London, Peter. British Flying Boats. Stroud, UK:Sutton Publishing, 2003.
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