The Spartan Cruiser was a 1930s British three- engined transport monoplane for 6 to 10 passengers built by Spartan Aircraft Limited at East Cowes, Isle of Wight. It was a development of the Saro-Percival Mailplane for passenger use.

Design and development

The Saro-Percival Mailplane was a three-engined monoplane mail plane designed by

Edgar Percival Edgar Wikner Percival (23 February 1897 – 21 January 1984) was a noted Australian aircraft designer and pilot whose aircraft were distinguished by speed and grace. Percival went on to set up the Percival Aircraft Company, a British aircraft ...

, and built by Saunders-Roe Limited (Saro) at Cowes in 1931, the aircraft first flying early in 1932. It was a low-winged monoplane, with a wooden wing and

plywood Plywood is a material manufactured from thin layers or "plies" of wood veneer that are glued together with adjacent layers having their wood grain rotated up to 90 degrees to one another. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured ...

fuselage, and was powered by three 120 hp de Havilland Gipsy III engines. When Saro was financially re-organised, Percival sold his interest in the aircraft to Saro, who re-designated it as the Saro A.24 Mailplane. Due to the close ties between Saro and Spartan Aircraft, the development of the aircraft was transferred to Spartan, and the aircraft was re-designated again as the Spartan Mailplane.Jackson (1988), pp.188-191. The aircraft was modified to accommodate two passenger seats. Starting on 15 June 1932, the Mailplane (G-ABLI) flew from Stanley Park Aerodrome (Blackpool) to Karachi, India taking a total of 5 days 23 hours 50 minutes.Lowe (1994), pp.52-53. The Mailplane had seen no commercial interest, so the design was re-worked as a passenger carrier. This re-designed aircraft was designated the Spartan Cruiser, and the prototype (G-ABTY) first flew in May 1932, piloted by

Louis Strange Louis Arbon Strange, (27 July 1891 – 15 November 1966) was an English aviator, who served in both World War I and World War II. Early life Louis Strange was born in Tarrant Keyneston, Dorset, and was educated at St Edward's School, Oxford, jo ...

. The original three-engined low-wing format had been retained, but the plywood fuselage was replaced with an all-metal fuselage to carry six passengers and two crew. Just one example was built of the basic Cruiser (G-ABTY, later known as the Cruiser I). Both the new Cruiser and the Mailplane were displayed at the first Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) Show at Hendon Aerodrome on 27 June 1932. It was then used for demonstrations, including a 3,593-mile European sales tour. The Yugoslavia airline Aeroput ordered two aircraft and a licence to build further examples in Yugoslavia at the Zmaj aircraft factory. The Cruiser was re-designed as the Spartan Cruiser II, featuring a modified fuselage and cockpit. The first Cruiser II (G-ACBM) flew in February 1933, powered by Cirrus Hermes IV engines, and G-ACKG/VT-AER also used that engine type. Most Spartan-built Cruiser IIs were powered by three Gipsy Major engines, but G-ACOU/OK-ATM was powered by

Walter Major Walter Major was a family of Czechoslovak aircraft inline engines developed by Walter Aircraft Engines in the 1930s. Design and development Available in either four or six cylinder configuration, with identical bore and stroke of and , respe ...

engines. In 1933 and 1934, twelve Cruiser IIs were built by Spartan, five of which were exported. Just one licence-built Cruiser II (YU-SAP) was built in Zemun, Yugoslavia, by Zmaj Aircraft, in 1935. One further development was the Spartan Cruiser III, with an aerodynamically-refined fuselage accommodating eight passengers, a modified windscreen and a trousered main

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

. Only three Cruiser IIIs were built (G-ACYK, G-ADEL and G-ADEM), for Spartan Air Lines.

Operational history

Spartan Air Lines Spartan Air Lines Ltd was a British private airline company, in the period 1933–1935. In 1933, it started operating passenger services from the London area to the Isle of Wight. In late 1935 it merged with United Airways Ltd to form British Airway ...

Ltd was formed to operate Cruisers between London and

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

, Isle of Wight. In April 1933, Spartan Air Lines initially operated the one Cruiser I (G-ABTY) and two Cruiser IIs (G-ACDW and G-ACDX) from Heston Aerodrome. Iraq Airwork Limited ordered one aircraft for an experimental air route between Baghdad and Mosul, with a further aircraft being ordered by Misr Airwork, the Egyptian branch of

Airwork Airwork is an aviation business based in Auckland, New Zealand. The Airwork Group is New Zealand's largest general aviation company. It focuses on fixed wing and helicopter maintenance, leasing, and operations working with private and public e ...

. Two Cruiser IIs and one Cruiser III were impressed into RAF service in 1940.

Operators

Civil operators

;: *

Bata Shoe Company The Bata Corporation (known as Bata, and in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, known as Baťa) is a multinational footwear, apparel and fashion accessories manufacturer and retailer of Moravian (Czech) origin, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerl ...

;: * Misr Airwork Limited ;: *Maharajah of Patiala ;: * Iraq Airwork Limited ;: * Aeroput ;: *

British Airways Limited British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman's A ...

(1936-1940) *

Northern and Scottish Airways Northern & Scottish Airways was a regional airline established in Glasgow in 1934. It was taken over in 1937, eventually becoming part of British European Airways. History Formation The potential of running scheduled air services to the Western ...

(1936) * Railway Air Services (1936) * Scottish Airways (1936-1938) *

(1933-1935) * United Airways (1934)

Military operators

; *

Royal Yugoslav Air Force The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; ( sl, Jugoslovansko kraljevo vojno letalstv ...

- Two aircraft impressed into military service in 1940. ;: * Royal Air Force

Surviving aircraft

The fuselage of a Cruiser III (G-ACYK) is on display at the

National Museum of Flight The National Museum of Flight is Scotland's national aviation museum, at East Fortune Airfield, just south of the village of East Fortune, Scotland. It is one of the museums within National Museums Scotland. The museum is housed in the original ...

, East Fortune, Scotland. This aircraft crashed in 1938; in 1973, the cabin section was moved by helicopter from the crash site near Largs to the museum.

Specifications (Cruiser II)

Notes

References

* * * * * *

External links

Spartan CruiserSpartan Cruiser II SchemeSpartan Cruiser II YI-AAASpartan Cruiser II G-ACSMImage of Cruiser III registration G-ACYK
{{Saro aircraft

Cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

Low-wing aircraft 1930s British airliners Trimotors Aircraft first flown in 1932