Airspeed Fleet Shadower
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| Airspeed A.S.39 Fleet Shadower | |
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| Type | Special observation monoplane |
| Manufacturer | Airspeed Ltd |
| Maiden flight | 17 October 1940 |
| Retired | 1941 |
| Number built | 1 |
The Airspeed A.S.39 Fleet Shadower was a British long-range patrol aircraft design that did not go beyond the prototype stage. While the concept of a fleet shadower had some promise, the resulting prototypes were soon overtaken by wartime developments in airborne radar.
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[edit] Design and 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 low-noise aircraft with a long range, capable of operating from an aircraft carrier's 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:
General Aircraft submitted the G.A.L.38, of very similar general design to the A.S.39. General Aircraft and Airspeed were selected to build two prototypes each and Airspeed received awarded a contract on 10 August 1938.
The A.S.39 was a high-wing, semi-cantilever, strut-braced (on the outer panels) monoplane with wooden wings and tail unit and an all-metal monocoque fuselage. It had a fixed, divided type landing gear and tailwheel. The observation aircraft had a crew of three: pilot, observer and radio operator. The A.S.39 had a unique crew configuration with the observer accommodated in the nose with clear-vision windows on three sides and the pilot's compartment raised to allow passage to the radio operator's compartment. Four small 130hp Pobjoy Niagara V seven-cylinder radial air-cooled engines were mounted on the wings. Each wing and an engine could be folded for storage when used on an aircraft carrier.[1]
Of two prototypes started, only one was completed, flying on 17 October 1940, the first flight was delayed due to problems with the Niagara V engines which had a vibration problem. The prototype had stability problems and poor stall handling not helped by the under-powered engines. Airspeed were asked to respond to a proposal to re-engine the aircraft with two Armstrong Whitworth Cheetah XI radial engines and add rear-facing machine guns. Only a preliminary proposal had been made and the second aircraft was not complete when on 17 February 1941 the Navy cancelled the fleet shadower program along with the AS.39,[2] the company were requested to scrap both aircraft. The competing G.A.L.38 flew for a few months before it was cancelled and scrapped in March 1942. The requirement for such aircraft had been made obsolete due to the introduction of radar on long-range patrol aircraft such as the Liberator I.
[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 km/h 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
none
[edit] See also
Comparable aircraft
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. New York: Crescent Books, 1988. ISBN 0-517-67964-7.
- ^ GAL38
[edit] Bibliography
- Bridgman, Leonard, ed. Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft 1945-1946. London: Samson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd 1946.
- Butler, Phil. "The Night Shawdowers." Air-Britain Aeromilitaria Vol. 32, Issue 125, Spring 2006, p. 19-22. ISSB 0262-8791.
- Fleet Air Arm archive, Access date: 2 February 2007
- Winchester, Jim, ed. "General Aircraft Fleet Shadower (1940)". The World's Worst Aircraft: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-34-2.
[edit] External links
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