SST class airship
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Template:Wikidata image| SST class | |
|---|---|
| Role | Patrol airshipTemplate:Short description |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Introduction | June 1918 |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 13 |
The SST (Sea Scout Twin) class of non-rigid airship or "blimp" was developed in Great Britain during World War I from the earlier SS class airship. The main role of these craft was to escort convoys and scout or search for German U-boats.[1] A secondary purpose was to detect and destroy mines.[2]
Designs were submitted in 1917 for a twin-engined SS class airship, the idea being that should there be an engine failure, the craft would not be rendered helpless and therefore less likely to be lost.[3] The first submission was a failure, but the second showed promise and was put into production. Designated the SST class, the first of 13 examples entered service in June 1918, and the last in May 1919, three of which, S.S.T.9, 11 and 12 were purchased by the US Navy.[4]
The SST used a larger Script error: No such module "convert". envelope than any of the other SS class types, and was equipped with a streamlined and waterproofed car that could accommodate a crew of five.[4] Two Script error: No such module "convert". Sunbeam or Script error: No such module "convert". Rolls-Royce Hawk engines were each mounted on a gantry either side of the car, and drove Script error: No such module "convert". diameter four-bladed propellers in pusher configuration.[4][5] At Script error: No such module "convert"., the SSTs had a greater top speed than all other SS class types, had the highest useful lift, and could stay airborne for up to two days.[1][6] They were also cheaper to produce and easier to handle than the successful C Star class airship.[5] Three SST were transferred to the Navy in June 1919. No Serial Numbers were assigned and there is no evidence they operated by the Navy.[7] The 3 SST's were transferred to the Army in 1919-1920. The Army operated the SST's until late 1923 or early 1924.[8]
Experiments involving SSTs were carried out at the end of the war; one notable example being SSE.3 (SS Experimental) that had an envelope design known as shape "U.271", the shape from which the hulls of both R100 and R101 were derived.[9]
Operators
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Specifications
See also
- Comparative specifications for all SS class variants
- British blimps operated by the USN
- List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
References
Notes
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- ↑ a b "Submarine Scout Class" Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved on 25 March 2009.
- ↑ TAnti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British Naval Aviation. Retrieved on 13 September 2018.
- ↑ Whale (2008), p.61.
- ↑ a b c "Ship Identification : SST AIRSHIPS". AHT. Retrieved on 26 March 2009.
- ↑ a b Whale (2008), p.62.
- ↑ See comparative specifications for all SS class variants
- ↑ Shock, James R., U.S. Navy Airships 1915-1962, 2001, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida, Template:ISBN, page 43
- ↑ Shock, James R., U.S. Army 1908-1942, Airships 1908-1942, 2002, Atlantis Productions, Edgewater Florida, Template:ISBN, page 49
- ↑ "Twenty-one Years of Airship Progress" p87 Flight, 3 January 1930 Retrieved on 27 March 2009.
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Bibliography
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External links
- SS-class airships on the Airship Heritage Trust website
- SST-class airship specifications and logs on the Airship Heritage Trust website
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