SSP class airship

SSP class
Role	Patrol airship
National origin	United Kingdom
Introduction	1917
Primary user	Royal Navy
Number built	6

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.[1]

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,[2] 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.[3]

As the name suggests, the SSP was powered by a 100 hp (75 kW) Green engine mounted on bearers to the rear of the car, powering a 9 ft (2.7 m) diameter four-bladed propeller in pusher configuration. Four examples of the type were later fitted with 75 hp (56 kW) Rolls-Royce Hawk engines.[3]

Six SSPs entered service between January and June 1917,[4] 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.[3]

Operators

 Royal Navy

Specifications

Data from [4]

General characteristics

• Crew: 3
• Length: 143 ft 5 in (43.7 m)
• Diameter: 30 ft 0 in (9.1 m)
• Height: 43 ft 5 in (13.2 m)
• Volume: 70,000 cu ft (2,000 m^3)
• Useful lift: 1,570 lb (710 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Green , 100 hp (75 kW) or
• Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Hawk , 75 hp (56 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 52 mph (84 km/h, 45 kn)
• Endurance: 24 hours
• Rate of climb: 500 ft/min (2.5 m/s)

See also

• Comparative specifications for all SS class variants
• List of aircraft of the Royal Naval Air Service

References

Notes

1. SS-class airships Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved on 25 March 2009.
2. Twenty-One Years of Airship Progress. flightglobal.com. Retrieved on 28 March 2009.
3. Whale (2008), p.60.
4. SSP-class airship specifications and logs. AHT. Retrieved on 25 March 2009.

Bibliography

• Whale, George (2008). British Airships: Past Present and Future. Toronto, Canada: Bastian Books. p. 124. ISBN 0-554-30772-3.

External links

• SS-class airships on the Airship Heritage Trust website
• SSP-class airship specifications and logs on the Airship Heritage Trust website