Saunders-Roe SR.53
Description
Role	Prototype interceptor
Crew	one, pilot
First Flight	16 May 1957
Manufacturer	Saunders-Roe
Dimensions
Length	45 ft	13.72 m
Wingspan	25 ft 1 in	7.65 m
Height	10 ft 10 in	3.30 m
Wing area	274 ft²	25.45 m²
Weights
Empty	6,635 lb	3,016 kg
Loaded	18,361 lb	8,346 kg
Maximum takeoff	lb	kg
Powerplant
Jet engine	1 × Armstrong Siddeley Viper 8
Thrust	1,640 lb	7.3 kN
Rocket engine	1 × de Havilland Spectre
Thrust	8,000 lbf	35.7 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	1,334 mph	2,135 km/h
Endurance at full power	7 minutes
Service ceiling	ft	m
Rate of climb	24,000 ft/min	7,317 m/min
Wing loading	67 lb/ft²	328 kg/m²
Thrust/Weight	1:2
Avionics
Avionics
Armament
Missiles	2 × Firestreak missiles

The Saunders-Roe SR.53 was a prototype interceptor aircraft of mixed jet and rocket propulsion developed for the Royal Air Force in the early 1950s. Although its performance was promising, the need for such an aircraft was soon overtaken by surface-to-air missile development, and the project was cancelled after forty-two test flights. Saunders-Roe SR.53 prototype - Crown Copyright believed expired The copyright status of this vintage image is undetermined; it may still be copyrighted. ... May 16 is the 136th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (137th in leap years). ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Saunders-Roe Princess G-ALUN History Saunders-Roe Limited was a British aircraft manufacturing company based in East Cowes, Isle of Wight. ... The MiG-25 is a Russian interceptor that was the mainstay of the Soviet air defence. ... A Pratt and Whitney turbofan engine for the F-15 Eagle is tested at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, USA. The tunnel behind the engine muffles noise and allows exhaust to escape. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program The traditional definition of a rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving fluid from within a rocket engine. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ...

Development

The Second World War demonstrated the importance of strategic bombing to modern warfare, and as the Cold War developed, devising effective air defence against large waves of enemy bomber aircraft became a priority for many nations. Nazi Germany had looked to rocket-powered aircraft to fill this niche, with machines like the Messerschmitt Me 163 and Bachem Ba 349, which were capable of unparalleled rates-of-climb, enabling them to (at least in theory) rise to meet and intercept enemy bombers before they reached their targets. German rocket technology was studied extensively by the Allies in the aftermath of the war, and in light of the threat of the growing Soviet strategic bomber fleet and that nation's newly-developed atomic weapons, the UK's Air Ministry drafted a requirement (O.R.301) in May 1951 for a rocket-powered interceptor that could reach an altitude of 60,000 ft (18,300 m) in just 2 minutes 30 seconds. This was circulated to the nation's aircraft manufacturers the following February. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The remains of german town of Wesel after intensive allied area bombing in 1945 (destruction rate 98 % of all buildings) Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war style campaign that attempts to destroy the economic ability of a nation-state to wage war. ... The Cold War (Russian: Холодная Война Kholodnaya Voina) was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between a worldwide military alliance of capitalist states led by the United States and a rival alliance of communist states led by the Soviet Union. ... A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The Me 163 Komet was the only operational rocket fighter aircraft during WWII. It required a lengthy development process and entered the Second World War in a very limited fashion only in 1944. ... Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Colubrid) was a WWII era German experimental rocket-powered interceptor aircraft which was to be employed in a very similar way as surface-to-air missiles. ... Motto: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Russian: Workers of the world, unite!) Anthem: The Internationale (1922-1944) Hymn of the Soviet Union (1944-1991) Capital Moscow Largest city Moscow Official language(s) None; Russian de facto Government Federation of Soviet Republics Establishment October Revolution  - Declared 30 December 1922   - Recognized 1... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the United Kingdom Government, established in 1918 with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the (then newly formed) Royal Air Force. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1951: Events February February 21 - an English Electric Canberra becomes the first jet to make an unrefuelled crossing of the Atlantic, taking 4 hours 37 minutes March March 6 - the Martin aircraft company gains production rights to the English Electric Canberra... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ...

Of the seven companies that tendered designs, two were selected for development contracts, A.V. Roe with their Avro 720 and Saunders-Roe with their SR.53. The SR-53 itself was a sleek aircraft with a sharply pointed nose, delta-like wing, and a T-tail. The jet and rocket exhausts were mounted one atop the other in the tail. Avro 504K. Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, well known for planes such as the Avro Lancaster which served in World War II. One of the worlds first aircraft builders, A.V.Roe and Company was established at Brownsfield Mills, Manchester, England by Alliot Vernon Roe and his brother... Saunders-Roe Princess G-ALUN History Saunders-Roe Limited was a British aircraft manufacturing company based in East Cowes, Isle of Wight. ... The delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. ... In aircraft a T-tail is an arrangement of the tail control surfaces with the horizontal surfaces (tailplane and elevators) mounted to the top of the fin, rather than the more common location on the fuselage at the base of the fin. ...

By September 1953 the programme to develop these aircraft came under scrutiny due to cost cuts, and the Avro 720 was abandoned, although it seemed almost ready to fly at this point. One of the reasons for preferring the SR.53 was although the aircraft was developmentally behind, its use of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidiser was viewed as less problematic than the Avro 720's use of liquid oxygen. Nevertheless, a series of setbacks, including an explosion during ground tests of the engine, saw the aircraft's first flight fall further and further behind schedule. At the same time, Saunders-Roe began work on a derivative design, the SR.177, adapting the SR.53 design for maritime use by the Royal Navy and the German Navy. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1953: Events The first year in which the worlds airlines carried more than 50 million people (ICAO statement, 29 December) January January 26 - The first meeting of the Experimental Aircraft Association takes place at Milwaukee, Wisconsins Curtis-Wright Field. ... Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a very pale blue liquid which appears clear in a dilute solution, slightly more viscous than water. ... An oxidizing agent is a substance that oxidizes another substance in electrochemistry or redox chemical reactions in general. ... Liquid oxygen (also LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace industry) is the liquid form of oxygen. ... The Saunders-Roe SR.177 was a 1950s project to develop a combined jet- and rocket-powered interceptor aircraft for the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The German Navy (German: Deutsche Marine  ) is the navy of Germany and part of the Bundeswehr. ...

It was 1957 before the aircraft was to take to the air, just over a month after the infamous 1957 Defence White Paper had been published outlining the British government's policy to largely abandon piloted aircraft in favour of concentrating on missile development. At the same time, jet engine development had progressed a long way in the six years since the SR.53's initial design. Combined with the fact that improvements in radar had meant that any incoming bomber threat could be detected much earlier, the need for an aircraft like the SR.53 had disappeared, and, unsurprisingly, the project was cancelled. One of the two SR.53 prototypes is preserved at the RAF Museum at Cosford near Wolverhampton. The other crashed during testing, killing its pilot. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1957: Events January January 18 - Three Boeing B-52 Stratofortresses make the worlds first round the world, non-stop flight by turbojet-powered aircraft. ... The 1957 White Paper on Defence was a British white paper setting forth the future as seen of the British military. ... This long range RADAR antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. RADAR is a system that uses radio waves to detect, determine the direction and distance and/or speed... An Avro Lancaster in the main hangar of the RAF Museum London The Royal Air Force Museum (RAF Museum) is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation, and the British Royal Air Force in particular. ... Cosford is a village in Shropshire, England. ... Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the English West Midlands, traditionally part of the county of Staffordshire. ...

Related content

Related development

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 and Royal Navy. ...

Comparable aircraft

Sud Ouest S.O.9000 - XF-91 Thunderceptor The Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor was an mixed-propulsion interceptor using a jet engine for most flight, and a cluster of four small rocket engines for added thrust during climb and interception. ...

Designation sequence

A27 - A29 - A33 - A36 "Lerwick" - A37 - SR.A/1 - SR45 SR.53 SR.177 The Saunders-Roe London was the most successful design of the Saunders-Roe company. ... The Saunders-Roe (Saro) A36 Lerwick was a Second World War reconnaissance monoplane flying-boat of the RAF, replacing the biplane Londons. ... The Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 was a prototype fighter aircraft tested by the Royal Air Force shortly after World War II. It is unique in being the only jet-powered flying boat fighter ever flown. ... The Saunders-Roe Princess was a very large flying boat aircraft built in the United Kingdom by Saunders-Roe, based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. ... The Saunders-Roe SR.177 was a 1950s project to develop a combined jet- and rocket-powered interceptor aircraft for the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy. ...

Related lists

List of aircraft of the RAF Many aircraft types have served in the Royal Air Force since it was formed in 1918 by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. ...

External links

• Rocket interceptors and S177
• British Aircraft Directory
• Unreal Aircraft