Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at

Columbine Works Columbine may refer to: Places * Columbine, Colorado, a census-designate place in Jefferson and Arapahoe counties in Colorado, United States ** Columbine High School, a high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States *** Columbine Memorial, a ...

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

History

The name was adopted in 1929 after

Alliott Verdon Roe Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe OBE, Hon. FRAeS, FIAS (26 April 1877 – 4 January 1958) was a pioneer English pilot and aircraft manufacturer, and founder in 1910 of the Avro company. After experimenting with model aeroplanes, he made flight tr ...

(see

Avro AVRO, short for Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep ("General Association of Radio Broadcasting"), was a Dutch public broadcasting association operating within the framework of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep system. It was the first public broad ...

) and John Lord took a controlling interest in the aircraft and boat-builders

S. E. Saunders S. E. Saunders Ltd, was a British marine and aero-engineering company based at East Cowes, Isle of Wight in the early 20th century. History The firm was established in 1908 to continue the use of the lightweight Consuta material previously devel ...

. Prior to this (excepting for the Sopwith/Saunders Bat Boat) the products were Saunders, the A4 Medina for example dating from 1926. Sam Saunders the founder developed the

Consuta Consuta was a form of construction of watertight hulls for boats and marine aircraft, comprising four veneers of mahogany planking interleaved with waterproofed calico and stitched together with copper wire. The name is from the latin for "sewn t ...

material used in marine and aviation craft. The Saunders-Roe interest in aviation didn’t prevent the firm from continuing with the boatbuilding activities associated with

S. E. Saunders Ltd S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet. S may also refer to: History * an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics * Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s formerly used where "s ...

Saunders Roe concentrated on producing

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 ...

s, but none were produced in very large quantities – the longest run being 31

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

s. They also produced hulls for the

Blackburn Bluebird The Blackburn L.1 Bluebird was a British single-engine biplane light trainer/tourer with side-by-side seating, built in small numbers by Blackburn Aircraft in the 1920s. Design and development The Bluebird L.1 was initially designed as a co ...

. During the Second World War Saro manufactured

Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus (originally designated the Supermarine Seagull V) was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and manufactured by Supermarine at Woolston, Southampton. The Walrus f ...

and

Supermarine Sea Otter The Supermarine Sea Otter was an amphibious aircraft designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was the final biplane flying boat to be designed by Supermarine; it was also the last biplane to enter service with bot ...

s. Their works at

Beaumaris Beaumaris ( ; cy, Biwmares ) is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town of Anglesey. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey from ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, modified and serviced

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

s for the Royal Air Force. In January 1931 ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'' magazine revealed that

Whitehall Securities Whitehall Securities Corporation Ltd was formed in 1907 by Weetman Pearson MP and his son Harold Pearson MP. Sir Weetman was nominated as President as well as being a founding director. The company was capitalised at £1,000,000. On 12 December 1 ...

Corporation Limited acquired a substantial holding in Saunders Roe. Whitehall Securities was already a large shareholder in

Spartan Aircraft Ltd Spartan Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1930 to 1935. It was formed by reinvestment in Simmonds Aircraft which had suffered financially. History In 1928 Oliver Simmonds designed and built a prototype aircraft, the Si ...

, of Southampton, and arising out of this investment Spartan was effectively merged into Saunders Roe. In 1938 Saunders-Roe undertook a re-organisation of the commercial and administrative sides of its business. First, the marine section, consisting of the shipyard and boat-building business, was transferred to a new company, Saunders Shipyard Ltd., all of the shares of which were owned by Saunders-Roe Ltd. Mr. C. Inglis was appointed shipyard manager. Secondly, the plywood section of the business carried on at the factory on the River Medina was transferred to a new company, Saro Laminated Wood Products Ltd., in consideration for a majority of the shares therein. Laminated Wood Products Ltd., which had marketed most of the plywood output, also merged its interests into the new company. Major Darwin, managing director, left the company. On the aircraft side of the business Mr. Broadsmith continued as director and general manager. All other senior posts in the executive staff remain unchanged. In 1947 they flew the SR.A/1 fighter prototype, one of the world's first jet-powered flying boats, and in 1952 they flew the prototype

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

airliner, but the age of the flying-boat was over and the two further Princess examples to be completed were never flown. No further new seaplanes were produced here. Modification work on Short-built flying boats continued at

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 ...

until 1955. Saro Princess G-ALUN Cowes 1954

The last fixed-wing aircraft they built was experimental SR53 mixed-power interceptor. In 1951 Saunders-Roe took over the interests of the

Cierva Autogiro Company The Cierva Autogiro Company was a British firm established in 1926 to develop the autogyro. The company was set up to further the designs of Juan de la Cierva, a Spanish engineer and pilot, with the financial backing of James George Weir, a Scotti ...

at Eastleigh including the Skeeter helicopter project. In September 1952 the company comprised: * Saunders-Roe Ltd. with a Head Office in Osborne,

, Isle of Wight (I.O.W.) with works at Columbine I.O.W. and

Southampton Airport Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Sout ...

. There was a branch design office in London, during the 1950s. It was situated in Queens Square, overlooking the

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

for Children * Saunders-Roe (

) Ltd, Friars Works, Beaumaris, North Wales * Saro Laminated Wood Products Ltd., Folly Works,

Whippingham Whippingham is a village and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. The population of the Civil Parish at the 2011 Census was 787. It is located south of East Cowes in the north of the Island. Whippingham is best known for its connections with Qu ...

, I.O.W. * Princess Air Transport Co. Ltd of Osborne I.O.W. with an office in London at 45 Parliament St. SW1. In 1959 it demonstrated the first practical

hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...

built under contract to the

National Research Development Corporation The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) was a non-departmental government body established by the British Government to transfer technology from the public sector to the private sector. History The NRDC was established by Attlee's La ...

Christopher Cockerell Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell CBE RDI FRS (4 June 1910 – 1 June 1999) was an English engineer, best known as the inventor of the hovercraft. Early life and education Cockerell was born in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cocker ...

's design, the

SR.N1 The Saunders-Roe SR.N1 (Saunders-Roe Nautical 1) was the first practical hovercraft. The concept has its origins in the work of British engineer and inventor Christopher Cockerell, who succeeded in convincing figures within the services and in ...

. In the same year Saro's helicopter and hovercraft interests were taken over by

Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. Du ...

which continued the Skeeter family with the

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

. In 1964 all the hovercraft businesses under Westland were merged with

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

to form the

British Hovercraft Corporation British Hovercraft Corporation (BHC) was a British hovercraft manufacturer that designed and produced multiple types of vehicles for both commercial and civil purposes. Created with the intention of producing viable commercial hovercraft in March ...

. This, in turn, was taken over by

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, ...

and was renamed Westland Aerospace in 1985, and hovercraft production was reduced to nearly nothing until the advent of the

AP1-88 The British Hovercraft Corporation AP1-88 is a medium-size hovercraft. In a civil configuration, the hovercraft can seat a maximum of 101 passengers, while as a troop carrier, it can transport up to 90 troops. When operated as a military logistic ...

. The company produced sub contract work for

Britten-Norman Britten-Norman (BN) is a privately owned British aircraft manufacturer and aviation services provider. The company is the sole independent commercial aircraft producer in the United Kingdom. Britten-Norman has so far manufactured and sold almost ...

, produced composites and component parts for the aircraft industry, especially engine

nacelles A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...

for many aircraft including the De Havilland Canada "Dash 8", the

Lockheed Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

, the

British Aerospace Jetstream The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the British ...

and parts for the

McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 is an American tri-jet wide-body airliner manufactured by American McDonnell Douglas (MDC) and later by Boeing. Following DC-10 development studies, the MD-11 program was launched on December 30, 1986. Assembly of t ...

. By the mid-1990s, over 60% of the world's production of

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

nacelles took place in the East Cowes works. GlosterSaroMeteor-E95LDD

In the late 1960s/early 1970s the Saunders-Roe Folly Works, by then owned by

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...

was merged with the Gloster works to form Gloster-Saro utilising both companies' expertise in aluminium forming to produce

fire appliance A firefighting apparatus describes any vehicle that has been customized for use during firefighting operations. These vehicles are highly customized depending on their needs and the duty they will be performing. These duties can include firefighti ...

s and tankers in the Gloster factory at

Hucclecote Hucclecote is a suburb in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, comprising a ward (population 8,826) in the City of Gloucester. It is located on the periphery of the city, between Barnwood and Brockworth, along Ermin Way, an old Roman road connecti ...

, mostly based on Reynolds-Boughton chassis. In 1984 Gloster Saro acquired the fire tender business of the

Chubb group Chubb Limited is an American company incorporated in Zürich, Switzerland. It is the parent company of Chubb, a global provider of insurance products covering property and casualty, accident and health, reinsurance, and life insurance and the la ...

with the company merging in 1987 with Simon Engineering to form Simon Gloster Saro. In 1994 Westland was taken over by

GKN GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It is a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 an ...

, and when GKN sold off its shares of Westland to form

Agusta-Westland AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccanica ...

, it retained the East Cowes works, where it continues aircraft component design and production. Laird (Anglesey) Ltd was formed in 1968 and incorporated the

and

Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, maki ...

factories of Saunders-Roe and the engineering business of

Birkenhead Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...

shipbuilders Cammell Laird. Laird developed the Centaur, which was half

Land Rover Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...

and half

light tank A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease of ...

. The company is now known as FAUN Municipal Vehicles Ltd.having been taken over yet again. Today,

FAUN The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...

manufactures portable aluminium roadways and runways at Llangefni under its TRACKWAY brand. MV Red Jet 3 berthed at East Cowes, 19 August 2018

In 2015, the East Cowes Columbine Hangar (famously now with the huge Union Jack painted on its doors) was leased from Homes & Communities Agency to Shemara Refit (now Wight Shipyard Co. Ltd), initially to carry out a total refit of

MY Shemara MY ''Shemara'' is a motor yacht built in 1938 by John I. Thornycroft & Company to the order of Bernard Docker. Between 1939 and 1946 she served in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Shemara''. , ''Shemara'' is owned by Charles Dunstone, and is available for ...

, and who have constructed the catamaran ferry ''

Red Jet 6 MV ''Red Jet 6'' is a high-speed Catamaran ferry constructed for Red Funnel in East Cowes on the Isle of Wight as the sixth member of the company's expansive ''Red Jet'' line of catamarans. Red Funnel announced in May 2015 that they had placed ...

'' inside the hangar for use by

Red Funnel Red Funnel, the trading name of the Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited,Red Jet 7 MV ''Red Jet 7'' is a British high speed catamaran ferry operated by the ferry company Red Funnel on its Southampton-Cowes route, alongside the company's other current Red Jets '' 4'' and '' 6''. Constructed on site at the Wight Shipyard wher ...

'', also built there. The GKN North site had sold in 2002 for £8m to a government quango, SEEDA, South East Enterprise Development Agency for the regeneration of East Cowes. That stalled with the financial crash in 2008 and is set never to achieve the sites full potential as a deep water Prime Tier 1 Marine Industrial Site. The docks at the Columbine Hangar have also been used by Red Funnel as berths for their ''Red Jet'' catamaran ferries when not in use; for example, ''Red Jet 6'' was berthed at the Columbine while undergoing system tests, while ''

Red Jet 3 MV ''Red Jet 3'' is a passenger catamaran ferry formerly operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight along with sister ships ''Red Jet 4'', '' Red Jet 5'' and ''Red Jet 6''. She was built by Fairley Ma ...

'' was docked there while on sale awaiting a buyer during 2018.

Saunders and Saunders-Roe designs

Boatbuilding

*Lifeboats for the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI) including the Liverpool-class Motor Lifeboats and 51ft Barnett-class. * Powerboats including the record breaking

Miss England II ''Miss England II'' was the second of a series of speedboats used by Henry Segrave and Kaye Don to contest world water speed records in the 1920s and 1930s. Design and construction ''Miss England II'' was built in 1930 for Lord Wakefield, who ...

in 1930 for

Lord Wakefield Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

and

Blue Bird K3 ''Blue Bird K3'' is a hydroplane powerboat commissioned in 1937 by Sir Malcolm Campbell, to rival the Americans' efforts in the fight for the world water speed record. She set three world water speed records, first on Lake Maggiore in Septembe ...

in 1937 for Sir

Malcolm Campbell Major Sir Malcolm Campbell (11 March 1885 – 31 December 1948) was a British racing motorist and motoring journalist. He gained the world speed record on land and on water at various times, using vehicles called ''Blue Bird'', including a 1 ...

. * Dark class fast patrol boats built for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, the

Myanmar Navy The Myanmar Navy ( my, တပ်မတော် (ရေ); ) is the naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Myanmar. With 24,000 personnel on duty, the navy operates more than 150 vessels. Prior to 1988, the navy was small, and its role in c ...

Finnish Navy The Finnish Navy ( fi, Merivoimat, sv, Marinen) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The navy employs 2,300 people and about 4,300 conscripts are trained each year. Finnish Navy vessels are given the ship prefix "FNS", short for ...

and the

Japan_Maritime_Self-Defense_Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

Flying boats

Saunders Kittiwake The Saunders Kittiwake was a British amphibian flying-boat built by S. E. Saunders at East Cowes, Isle of Wight. Only one was built, and it was scrapped after less than a year of testing. Design and development It was designed to compete for th ...

* Saunders A.3 Valkyrie * Saunders A.4 Medina *

Saunders A.14 The Saunders A.14 was a test aircraft for Saunders' new metal hull construction method, being a Supermarine Southampton fitted with the Saunders' fuselage. The methods tested worked well enough to be used in SARO flying boat production from 19 ...

* Saunders/Saro A.7 Severn * Saro A.17 Cutty Sark * Saro A.19 Cloud * Saro A.21 Windhover * Saro A.27 London * Saro A.29 Cloud Monospar *

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 flyin ...

* Saro A.36 Lerwick * Saro A.37 Shrimp * Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 *

Saunders-Roe SR.45 Princess The Saunders-Roe SR.45 Princess was a British flying boat aircraft developed and built by Saunders-Roe at their Cowes facility on the Isle of Wight. It has the distinction of being the largest all-metal flying boat to have ever been constructed. ...

* Saunders-Roe Jet Princess (paper project only) * Saunders-Roe Duchess (paper project only) * Saunders-Roe Queen – concept only for a 24 jet engine, 313 ft wingspan flying boat for P&O with accommodation for 1,000 passengers.

Land-based aircraft

Saunders T.1 The Saunders T.1 was the first aircraft built by the Saunders Company, a two-seat single-engined biplane with unusual monocoque fuselage construction. Only one was built. Development Before World War I, the Cowes-based firm of S.E. Saunders ...

* A.22 Segrave Meteor – Designed by Sir Henry Segrave * Saunders/Saro A.10 "Multigun" – 1928 * Saro-Percival Mailplane also known as A.24 Mailplane – 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 ...

, – 1931 * A.24M (Spartan Cruiser) – derived from Saro Mailplane. Built by Spartan Aircraft Limited – 1932 *

Saunders-Roe SR.53 The Saunders-Roe SR.53 was a British prototype interceptor aircraft of mixed jet and rocket propulsion developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) by Saunders-Roe in the early 1950s. As envisaged, the SR.53 would have been used as an interceptor a ...

– mixed power interceptor *

Saunders-Roe SR.177 The Saunders-Roe SR.177 was a 1950s project to develop a combined jet- and rocket-powered interceptor aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy. It was an enlarged derivative of the Saunders-Roe SR.53, which was itself an experi ...

– mixed power interceptor (cancelled before completion)

Helicopters

Cierva Air Horse The Cierva W.11 Air Horse was a helicopter developed by the Cierva Autogiro Company in the United Kingdom during the mid-1940s. The largest helicopter in the world at the time of its debut, the Air Horse was unusual for using three rotors mounted ...

, taken over from Cierva company *

Saunders Helicogyre The Saunders Helicogyre was a 1920s experimental helicopter designed by Vittorio Isacco and built by S.E. Saunders Limited for the British Air Ministry. Design and development Vittorio Isacco designed and built four different Helicogyre exper ...

Saunders-Roe Skeeter The Saunders-Roe Skeeter was a two-seat training and scout helicopter that was developed and produced by British manufacturer Saunders-Roe ("Saro") of Cowes and Southampton, in the United Kingdom. Work on what would become the Skeeter had bee ...

Saro P.531 The Saro P.531 (or Saunders-Roe P.531) is a British all-metal five-seat helicopter designed and built by Saunders-Roe, Saunders-Roe Limited (Saro). Development Design of the P.531Jackson 1974, p 295 and 329 was started in November 1957 as a p ...

– development of Skeeter, led to Westland Scout and Wasp *

Hiller ROE Rotorcycle The Hiller ROE Rotorcycle was a single-seat ultralight helicopter designed in 1953 for a military requirement. A total of 12 were produced for the United States Marine Corps. And in 1954, the Hiller Helicopters was selected by the US Navy's Burea ...

Hovercraft

("Saunders Roe Nautical 1"): First modern hovercraft *

SR.N2 The SR.N2 was a hovercraft built by Westland and Saunders-Roe. It first flew in 1961. It weighed 27 tons and could carry 48 passengers. Although only one was built it is regarded as the prototype for commercial hovercraft, following on from the ...

First to operate a commercial service *

SR.N3 The British Hovercraft Corporation SR.N3 was a 37.5 ton hovercraft originally designed by Saunders-Roe. Launched in 1963, it was primarily aimed at military deployment. It was a military version of the SR.N2 Propulsion and lift was provided ...

First designed for military use *

SR.N4 The SR.N4 (Saunders-Roe Nautical 4) hovercraft (also known as the ''Mountbatten'' class hovercraft) was a combined passenger and vehicle-carrying class of hovercraft. The type has the distinction of being the largest civil hovercraft to have ...

or ''Mountbatten'' class – large 4 prop ferry *

SR.N5 The Saunders-Roe SR.N5 (or ''Warden'' class) was a medium-sized hovercraft which first flew in 1964. It has the distinction of being the first production-built hovercraft in the world. A total of 14 SR.N5s were constructed. While Saunders-Roe ...

Also Bell SK-5, as

PACV The Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle (PACV), also known as the Air Cushion Vehicle (ACV) in Army and Coast Guard service, was a United States Navy and Army hovercraft used as a patrol boat in marshy and riverine areas during the Vietnam War between ...

used in Vietnam *

SR.N6 The Saunders-Roe (later British Hovercraft Corporation) SR.N6 hovercraft (also known as the ''Winchester'' class) was essentially a larger version of the earlier SR.N5 series. It incorporated several features that resulted in the type becoming ...

Longer SR.N5 38 passengers

Spacecraft

With the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...

Black Arrow Black Arrow, officially capitalised BLACK ARROW, was a British satellite carrier rocket. Developed during the 1960s, it was used for four launches between 1969 and 1971, all launched from the Woomera Prohibited Area in Australia. Its final flig ...

Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

The Rocket Development Division was formed in 1956 and the Rocket Test site at Highdown started functioning exactly one year later. The division was headquartered at

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...

. It was this Division, in conjunction with the Royal Aircraft Establishment, that was responsible for the design, manufacture and static testing of the

Rocket, the first of which was successfully fired at Woomera, South Australia, on 7 September 1958.

Military canoes, assault boats and load carriers (World War II)

Designed by Fred Goatley# Marine designer Mark 2 Canoe – 1941–1942 (used on the Cockleshell Heroes "Frankton Raid") Mk 2** Canoe – 1943 ( used in Leros – various, incl. Sunbeam Raids ) 12-man Assault craft c. 1940–1942 8 ton load carrier. c. 1942–1943

Electronics

The Electronics Division was formed in 1948. Its progress was rapid and the Division also designed and manufactured such diverse specialist equipment as Analogue Computers, Control Simulators and a variety of Electronic Equipment and Electronic Test sets associated with Guided Weapons. When using

strain gauge A strain gauge (also spelled strain gage) is a device used to measure strain on an object. Invented by Edward E. Simmons and Arthur C. Ruge in 1938, the most common type of strain gauge consists of an insulating flexible backing which supports ...

s of the normal wire type in the dynamic testing of helicopter components, notably rotor blades, Saunders-Roe found that such a high proportion of the gauges were failing that development was considerably retarded. The Electronics Division was therefore asked to devise an improved gauge and, in collaboration with Messrs. Technograph Printed Circuits Ltd., produced the foil strain gauge.

Hydrofoil

* R-103 – a 17-ton

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...

for

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack s ...

, known as "Bras d'Or". Built in 1956 by Saunders-Roe (Anglesey) Ltd. (This should not be confused with HMCS ''Bras d'Or'', a 240 tonne hydrofoil patrol vessel, which was the result of the tests performed by the R-103.)

Illuminated signs

Early in aviation, it was difficult – if not impossible – to supply uninterrupted power in aircraft. Saunders-Roe solved this problem by putting an ionising gas (

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...

; ³H) in small tubes. Tritium was discovered in 1934 by

Lord Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' considers him to be the greatest ...

. The tubes ("Betalights") are made of

borosilicate glass Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with silica and boron trioxide as the main glass-forming constituents. Borosilicate glasses are known for having very low coefficients of thermal expansion (≈3 × 10−6 K−1 at 20 °C), ma ...

. The inside of the tubes is coated with a fluorescent powder, which glows as a result of the ionizing radiation of the tritium gas. Such a tube emits light for 15 years. Betalights were used to illuminate the flight instruments, exit signs and corridors of the aircraft produced by Saunders-Roe. When Saunders-Roe was acquired by

Westland Helicopters Westland Helicopters was a British aircraft manufacturer. Originally Westland Aircraft, the company focused on helicopters after the Second World War. It was amalgamated with several other British firms in 1960 and 1961. In 2000, it merged w ...

production continued via Saunders-Roe Developments Ltd of North Hyde Road,

Hayes, Middlesex Hayes is a town in west London, historically situated within the county of Middlesex, and now part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. The town's population, including its localities Hayes End, Harlington and Yeading, was recorded as 83,564 i ...

(the former

Fairey Aviation The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Middlesex and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. Notable for the design of a number of important military a ...

Head office).

Betalight Tritium radioluminescence is the use of gaseous tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, to create visible light. Tritium emits electrons through beta decay and, when they interact with a phosphor material, light is emitted through the proces ...

production was made independent under the name SRBT (Saunders-Roe Betalight Technology). A factory was established in Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, where tritium supplies are readily available. Today betalights are used in self luminous escape-route signs, under the product name Betalux.

Mark 3 airborne lifeboat

Avro Shackleton with Saunders-Roe airborne lifeboat

In early 1953, Saunders-Roe at Anglesey completed the Mark 3

airborne lifeboat Airborne lifeboats were powered lifeboats that were made to be dropped by fixed-wing aircraft into water to aid in air-sea rescue operations. An airborne lifeboat was to be carried by a heavy bomber specially modified to handle the external loa ...

to be fitted underneath the

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...

maritime reconnaissance aircraft. This model was made entirely of aluminium, previous marks being made of timber. Parachuted at a rate of 20 feet per second into the rescue zone, the craft was powered by a

Vincent motorcycles Vincent Motorcycles was a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1928 to 1955. The business was established by Philip Vincent who bought an existing manufacturing name HRD, initially renaming it as ''Vincent HRD'', producing his own motorcy ...

HRD T5 15 hp engine; sails and a fishing kit were also provided. The Mark 3 measured from bow to stern and across the beam and held enough to supply 10 people with food and water for 14 days.

Road vehicles

During World War II, Saunders-Roe opened a factory at Fryars in Llanfaes, Anglesey, converting and maintaining Catalina flying boats. In the late 1940s and 1950s the

factory began making bus bodies under the names Saunders, SEAS (Saunders Engineering & Shipbuilding) and SARO. When AEC took over

Crossley Motors Crossley Motors was an English motor vehicle manufacturer based in Manchester, England. It produced approximately 19,000 cars from 1904 until 1938, 5,500 buses from 1926 until 1958, and 21,000 goods and military vehicles from 1914 to ...

, many of the design staff left and joined SARO. In pre-

Atlantean As an adjective, Atlantean (or Atlantian) means "of or pertaining to Atlas or Atlantis". Atlantean may also refer to: * Atlantean figures, a type of ancient artifacts * ''Atlantean'' (documentary series), a trilogy of TV films discussing the ori ...

days when Leyland began looking at low floor vehicles, the "Low Loader" (STF 90) bodied by SARO was similar in certain respects to the Crossley chassisless bus designs. Bodies were manufactured at Beaumaris for installing on "

Leyland Royal Tiger The Leyland Royal Tiger was a rear-engined coach chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1982 and 1987. It was intended to counter the offerings of foreign competitors such as the Jonckheere or Van Hool bodied DAF, Scania and Volvo touring co ...

" and "

Leyland Tiger Cub The Leyland Tiger Cub (coded as PSUC1) was a lightweight underfloor-engined chassis manufactured by Leyland between 1952 and 1970. History The Leyland Tiger Cub was launched in 1952. Most were built as 44-45 seat buses, with a smaller number ...

" chassis; SARO bodied 250 RTs for London Transport between 1948 and 1950 (RT 1152–1401), which were almost indistinguishable from the standard Weymann/Park Royal products; and some double-deck buses for Liverpool Corporation. 620 prefabricated Rivalloy (the brand name comes from rivetted (aluminium) alloy) single deck buses components for local assembly were sold to Autobuses Modernos SA, Cuba which later became Omnibus Metropolitanos, S.A. Another large customer was Auckland Regional Transport in New Zealand who took the Rivalloy body on 90

Daimler Freeline The Daimler Freeline was an underfloor-engined bus chassis built by Daimler between 1951 and 1964. It was a very poor seller in the UK market for an underfloor-engined bus and coach chassis, but became a substantial export success. It was th ...

chassis. In 1948 the only double deck bodies to be exported were 20 ordered by South African operator Durban Motor Transport which were mounted on AEC Regent Mark III chassis. In the UK large numbers of SARO bodies were specified by the

British Electric Traction British Electric Traction Company Limited, renamed BET plc in 1985, was a large British industrial conglomerate. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Rentokil in 1996, and the merged company is now known as Rent ...

group on Leyland Tiger Cub chassis, operators including Trent, East Midland, Ribble, Yorkshire Traction and the Northern General Group. An integral version of the body design powered by a Gardner 5HLW engine was bought by Maidstone & District. The factory later passed to

Cammell Laird Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...

who mainly used it for producing refuse-collection vehicles, but when

Metro Cammell Weymann Metro Cammell Weymann Ltd. (MCW) was once a major contributor in transportation manufacturing in the UK and Europe. It was established in 1932 by Metro-Cammell's bus bodybuilding division and Weymann Motor Bodies to produce bus bodies. M ...

had a production backlog, they completed a batch of MCW-style double deck forward-entrance highbridge bodies on Leyland Titan PD3 for Brighton Corporation, these were numbered 31–5, registered LUF131-5F and delivered in June and July 1968, they were unusual as front engined half-cab buses built to be driver operated.

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Peter London, ''Saunders and Saro Aircraft Since 1917'', Putnam (Conway Maritime Press), London, 1988 * The Cockleshell Canoes, Quentin Rees, Amberley Press, 2008, reprinted 2nd edition 2009 * The Cockleshell Heroes — The Final Witness, Amberley Press, December 2010

External links

Hovercraft of Saunders-Roe, Westlands, and BHC

A Short History of Saunders Roe
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct bus manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct helicopter manufacturers of the United Kingdom Companies based on the Isle of Wight Defunct shipbuilding companies of England