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Aviation History
1964
1964 - 1927.PDF
Air-Cushion Vehicles FLIGHT International supplement, 25 June 1944 Modified SR.N5 As re-corded below, two Westland SR.NSs are being ordered bythe Ministry of Defence. Recent modifications intro-duced on the first machine, as seen here, will be detailedwhen the craft is fully des- cribed and illustrated in ournext issue. Test results are understood to be highly satis-factory INTERNATIONAL NEWS Two SR.NSs Ordered The following announcement was issued by Westland Aircraft Ltd on June 9:— "The Ministry of Defence has decided, subject to contract, to order two Westland SR.N5 hovercraft. The intention is to evaluate them for amphibious operations. Delivery is scheduled for the early part of 1965. "In announcing the order in a political speech at Portland on June 5, Mr Julian Amery, Minister of Aviation, emphasized that Westland had carried out the design and development of this hovercraft as a private venture. Thus the Government were coming in after 'private initiative had shown the value of the project. This is how it should be,' added the Minister. "So confident, in fact, was the com- pany in the future of this versatile small hovercraft that, in August last year, it decided to lay down a production line without waiting for orders. The first SR.N5 came off the production line in April and the test programme on the craft is now well advanced. "This new order follows only a few days after the delivery to the defence forces of the 37|~ton Westland SR.N3." The Westland SR..N5 is a 7-ton craft capable of carrying up to 20 passengers or two tons of freight. Maximum cruis- ing speed is 70kt, and range 240 nautical miles with 1$ tons of payload. Possible civil roles are public transport, company transport, firefighting, search and rescue, weed and pest control and pleasure trips. In the military field SR.N5 should prove particularly suitable for amphibious assault and coastal patrol. The following data are quoted by Westland: Obstacle-clearance capability: scrub or saplings, 6-8ft; sloping bank, 5ft; wall with rounded top, 4ft; step, or vertical wall, 3ft 6in. Overwave per- formance: 3ft 6in waves at 50kt; waves up to 6ft at lower speeds. Limiting gradient: Under hover conditions, 1 in 6; with initial speed of 25kt, 50yd of 1 in 3 slope. New Vickers Projects During the highly successful British Week organized by the Export Council for Europe and Board of Trade in Dusseldorf, West Germany, on May 23-31, Vickers-Armstrongs (Engineers) Ltd collaborated with BP to demon- strate the VA-2 on the Rhine. Of possibly even greater significance were the leaflets distributed on the BP- sponsored hovercraft stand in the main exhibition hall. These gave the following new details (figures are converted from metric):— VA-4 Vickers are "well down the road" with the design of this large passenger/ car ferry intended initially for the Solent service. The design is virtually frozen, and is being evaluated by the customer- consortium and HDL in competition with the Westland SR.N4. Propulsion is provided by a pair of Bristol Siddeley Marine Proteus each rated at 3,450 s.h.p. There are two lift fans and three propulsion units. Maximum speed is given as 70kt, and endurance 4hr. With a crew of three and 20,3001b of fuel, the payload may comprise 24 cars" (53,7931b) and 130 passengers (24,2501b), giving a gross weight of 244,7131b. Length is 128ft, breadth 88ft 7in and height (with its flexible skirts extended) is 43ft. VA-7 A detailed model showed this project to be a cleaned-up VA-3B on a larger scale, with two Proteus engines driving a single lift fan and two shrouded propellers. It has now been superseded in design. VA-8 This project draws upon all the company's experience with the VA-2, and is intended as a general-purpose 30- seater. Powerplant would be a single Rolls-Royce Gazelle rated at 1,520 s.h.p., driving a single lift fan and two reversible propellers each mounted on a large fixed fin. Data include: maximum speed, 70kt; endurance, 2.5hr; gross weight, 24,8001b (including a crew of two, 2,6451b of fuel and 30 passengers weighing 7,7151b); length is 42ft, breadth 22ft lHin and height 17ft 4in. Sidewalls The massive volume of barge traffic on the Rhine prompted Vickers to release at Dusseldorf specifications of a pair of sidewall ACVs intended for similar missions (see sketch). The smaller is a 50-ton craft powered by three 760 h.p. diesel engines and cruising at 40kt for 4hr. Gross weight is given as 111,9951b, including a crew of four and 3,5251b of fuel. Payload would be 33,5101b; in a passenger role the craft could seat 190. Length, beam and height would be 84ft, 32ft and 20it respectively. The other study is for a 100-tonner with the same speed an- endurance and powered by three 1,26? h.p. diesels. Gross weight would V: 201,7231b, including crew of fiv^ 5,5771b of fuel and payload made up of 200 passengers (36,1551b) and 33,620:i? of freight or cars. Length, beam aivi depth would be 124ft 7in, 45ft and 23 f- 8in respectively. 76
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