SSP class airship
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2017}}
| {{Infobox aircraft begin
|name=SSP class |image= |caption= }}{{Infobox aircraft type |type=Patrol airship |national origin=United Kingdom |manufacturer= |designer= |first flight= |introduced=1917 |retired= |status= |primary user=Royal Navy |more users= |produced= |number built=6 |variants with their own articles= }} |
The SSP (Submarine Scout Pusher) were a class of Royal Navy non-rigid airship or "blimp" developed by the United Kingdom during World War I as a successor to the earlier SS class airship. Found to be inferior to a parallel development, the Submarine Scout Zero non-rigid, only a few were built.
The main role of these craft was to escort convoys and scout or search for German U-boats.[http://aht.ndirect.co.uk/airships/ss/index.html SS-class airships] Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved on 25 March 2009.
Design and development
In 1916, design commenced at RNAS Kingsnorth on an SS class -type airship that would have a more comfortable purpose-built car,[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1930/untitled0%20-%200087.html Twenty-One Years of Airship Progress.] flightglobal.com. Retrieved on 28 March 2009. and not simply be an adaptation of an aeroplane fuselage. The SSP cars were of rectangular cross-section, had a blunt nose, and could accommodate a crew of three.Whale (2008), p.60.
As the name suggests, the SSP was powered by a {{convert|100|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Green engine mounted on bearers to the rear of the car, powering a {{convert|9|ft|m|abbr=on}} diameter four-bladed propeller in pusher configuration. Four examples of the type were later fitted with {{convert|75|hp|kW|abbr=on}} Rolls-Royce Hawk engines.
Six SSPs entered service between January and June 1917,[http://aht.ndirect.co.uk/airships/Technical%20Spec/SSP%20Airships.htm SSP-class airship specifications and logs.] AHT. Retrieved on 25 March 2009. but because of the success of the SSZ type it was decided that these would become the standard SS variant, and the SSP programme was terminated.
Operators
;{{navy|United Kingdom}}
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units? = imp
|crew=3
|length m=43.7
|length ft=143
|length in=5
|dia m=9.1
|dia ft=30
|dia in=0
|height m=13.2
|height ft=43
|height in=5
|volume m3=2,000
|volume ft3=70,000
|lift kg=710
|lift lb=1,570
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Green
|eng1 kw=75
|eng1 hp=100
|eng2 number=1
|eng2 name=Rolls-Royce Hawk
|eng2 kw=56
|eng2 hp=75
|eng1 note=or
|max speed kmh=84
|max speed mph=52
|endurance=24 hours
|climb rate ms=2.5
|climb rate ftmin=500
}}
See also
{{aircontent
|see also=
- Comparative specifications for all SS class variants
- List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service
|related=
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
}}
References
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
- {{cite book
| last = Whale
| first = George
| author-link =
| title = British Airships: Past Present and Future
| publisher = Bastian Books
| year = 2008
| location = Toronto, Canada
| pages = 124
| url =
| doi =
| isbn = 0-554-30772-3}}
External links
- [http://aht.ndirect.co.uk/airships/ss/index.html SS-class airships on the Airship Heritage Trust website]
- [http://aht.ndirect.co.uk/airships/Technical%20Spec/SSP%20Airships.htm SSP-class airship specifications and logs on the Airship Heritage Trust website]
{{RNAS blimps}}
Category:Airships of the United Kingdom