The Saro Cloud was a British passenger amphibian

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

designed and built by

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a co ...

as the A.19. It was later produced as the A.29 for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

for pilot and navigator training.

Development

Following on the success of the A.17 Cutty Sark, the company designed an enlarged version designated as the A.19 Cloud. It had room for a crew of two and eight passengers. Like the Cutty Sark, it was a twin-engined monoplane flying boat with two engines strut-mounted above the wing. The design allowed for flexibility in engine fits and four aircraft were sold to private operators with different engines fitted. First flown on 15 July 1930 the prototype was fitted with two 300 hp (224 kW)

Wright J-6 The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later a division of Curtiss-Wright). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to inc ...

radial engines. The

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

ordered one aircraft for evaluation as a trainer. It was first flown in June 1930. After evaluation the Air Ministry ordered a total of sixteen aircraft for pilot and navigator training (in three batches) to Air Ministry Specification 15/32. Designated the A.29, the Serval-powered aircraft had room for six students. It had provision to fit gun mountings in the bow and aft compartments and could also carry four 50 lb practice bombs.

Operational history

The first production A.29 Cloud was delivered to the

Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Serv ...

for test and evaluation. Following modifications to the hull and steps, the aircraft was delivered to the Seaplane Training Squadron at

RAF Calshot Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hamp ...

in August 1933. During its career the Cloud served as training aircraft for both pilots, destined to train on larger flying boats after graduating from the Cloud before being assigned to frontline RAF flying boat units, and navigators, as the cabin was large enough to house several map tables. The final Cloud was delivered to the RAF in 1935 and after a few years' service as trainers the last operational aircraft were withdrawn from service in July 1939.

Variants

;A.19/1 :Prototype registered G-ABCJ with 300 hp (224 kW)

radial engines, sold in Canada as CF-ARB, but returned to Saro in 1934 for use as an engine test bed. It was fitted with 340 hp Napier Rapier IV engines and an auxiliary aerofoil behind and below the engine nacelles. It was loaned to

Jersey Airways Jersey Airways was an airline that operated air services to and from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways. History Jersey Airways Limited was formed by Walter Thurgood on 9 December 1933. ...

in 1935 before being withdrawn from use in 1936. ;A.19/2 :Special variant powered by three 215 hp

Armstrong Siddeley Lynx The Armstrong Siddeley Lynx is a British seven-cylinder aero engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. Testing began in 1920 and 6,000 had been produced by 1939. In Italy Alfa Romeo built a licensed version of this engine named the Alfa Romeo ...

IVC engines and registered G-ABHG. Due to problems with the engine installation it was re-engined with two 425 hp (317 kW)

Pratt & Whitney Wasp The Pratt & Whitney Wasp was the civilian name of a family of air-cooled radial piston engines developed in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.Gunston 1989, p.114. The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company (P&W) was founded in 1925 by Frederick B. Rentsch ...

C radials before delivery. It was also fitted with an auxiliary aerofoil above the engines and twin fins and rudders to improve directional control. Sold to

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passenger ...

in 1940 as a crew trainer but damaged beyond repair in 1941 and scrapped. ;A.19/3 :Prototype for the Air Ministry with serial ''K2681'' and powered by two 340 hp (254 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Serval III radials. Following evaluation sixteen production aircraft, designated A.29 were ordered. ;A.19/4 :Registered G-ABXW with 300 hp (224 kW)

radial engines. Named 'Cloud of Iona'. It was operated by British Flying Boats Ltd for joy-riding and charter flights, and briefly trialled a service between

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. In 1935 it was operated by

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 ...

, and later used by Guernsey Airways until lost off

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

on 31 July 1936. ;A.19/5 Saro A

:Powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Serval III and registered G-ACGO. First flown in 1933, it went on a sales tour of Europe and was sold to the Czechoslovak State Airline as OK-BAK and re-engined with

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

Pollux radials. The fuselage is preserved at the Kbely Aircraft Museum, Prague ;Monospar ST-8 :The Air Ministry's evaluation A.19 ''K2681'' was fitted with an experimental

Monospar The General Aircraft Monospar was a 1930s British family of touring and utility aircraft built by General Aircraft Ltd (GAL). Design and development In 1929, the Monospar Company Ltd was formed to pursue new techniques of designing cantilever ...

Mainplane under specification 18/32, to evaluate the use of the wing on future Saro designs. The modified aircraft flew in 1934 and was used to help in the development of the

Saro A.33 The Saro A.33 was a British prototype flying boat built by Saunders-Roe Limited in response to a British Air Ministry Specification R.2/33 and in competition with the Short Sunderland. Design and development The A.33 was a four-engined flyi ...

. ;A.29 : Armstrong Siddeley Serval III powered navigation trainers for the Royal Air Force, 16-built.

Operators

Civil operators

Private individuals in Canada and the United Kingdom and the following commercial operators: ; * Czechoslovak State Airline ; * British Flying Boats * Guernsey Airways *

*Spartan Air Lines

Military operators

; *

No. 48 Squadron RAF No. 48 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both the First and Second World Wars. History First World War No. 48 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Netheravon, Wiltshire, on 15 April 1916. The squadron w ...

part of the School of Air Navigation,

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpor ...

**No. 9 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (

RAF Ansty Royal Air Force Ansty or RAF Ansty is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Coventry city centre, Warwickshire, England, north-west of Rugby, Warwickshire. The airfield was opened in 1936 and after training many pupils closed in 19 ...

) **Air Observers School **School of Air Pilotage (

RAF Andover RAF Andover is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station in England, west of Andover, Hampshire. As well as RFC and RAF units, units of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Royal Canadian Air Force, United States Army Air ...

) **School of Naval Co-operation (

) **Seaplane Training Squadron (

)

Specifications (A.29 Cloud)

Accidents and incidents

On 31 July 1936 ''G-ABXW'' was

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

during a flight between Guernsey and Jersey. All ten on board were killed.

Notes

References

*Doyle, Neville. 1991. From Sea-Eagle to Albatross: Channel Island Airlines 1923–1939. *Doyle, Neville. 2002. The Triple Alliance: The Predecessors of the first British Airways.

Air-Britain Air-Britain, traditionally sub-titled "The International Association of Aviation Enthusiasts", is a non-profit aviation society founded in July 1948. As from 2015, it is constituted as a British charitable trust and book publisher. History Air-Brit ...

. * * * * * {{Saro aircraft 1930s British civil utility aircraft 1930s British military trainer aircraft

Cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...

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