Saro Cloud

The Saunders -Roe Cloud ( short: Saro ) was a British amphibious flying boat of the 1930s.

Development and use

The Saro Cloud published in 1930 as an enlarged development of the passenger flying boat Saro Cutty Sark in 1929. From the civilian version A.19 were built and equipped with different engines, four copies. A cloud was sold to the Czechoslovak Republic. The first prototype (G- ABCJ ), who initially went to Canada, was bought back three years later by Saro again and 1938 equipped for tests with other wings. In 1931 as a successor to the Saro Windhover, but only as a prototype.

For the Royal Air Force, a prototype was tested, the then sixteen, referred to as A.29 machines for the training of pilots and navigators ordered, which were delivered from August 1933 to June 1935. Flown they were until 1936 at the Seaplane Training Squadron at Calshot and until the end of the 1930s at the School of Air Pilotage in Andover and the no. 48 Squadron.

Although they were completely outdated at this time, were some cloud up in June 1940 in addition to training purposes or for coastal surveillance and as a submarine defense aircraft. For this, the cloud four 22.5 -kg bombs or two to four 45 -kg depth charges could carry under the wings. Used as liaison aircraft, the cloud could carry six to eight passengers.

Tactical and technical data

• Wingspan: 19.50 m
• Length: 15.20 m
• Height: 5.00 m
• Wing area: 60,40 m²
• Mass: 2750 kg
• Take off weight: normal 4350 kg, maximum 4500 kg
• Powerplant: two 10 - cylinder twin-row radial engines Armstrong Siddeley Serval, each with 340 hp
• Maximum speed: 190 km / h at 1900m altitude
• Cruising speed: 150 km / h in 1900 m height
• Rate of climb: 220 m / min
• Practical ceiling: 4270 m
• Range: 900 km
• Action radius: 350 km
• Flight duration: 6 hours at 150 km / h
• Armament: one movable MG in the fuselage nose and on top of the fuselage
• Crew: 4-5 men or 2 men and 8 students