Saro Lerwick
| A.36 Lerwick | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Lerwick L7265, ‘WQ-Q’ of 209 Squadron. Taking off from Loch Ryan, March 1941 | |
| Role | Maritime patrol/Anti-submarine aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Saunders-Roe |
| First flight | November 1938 |
| Introduction | 1940 |
| Retired | 1942 |
| Primary users |
Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Number built | 21 |
The Saunders-Roe A.36 Lerwick was a British flying boat built by Saunders-Roe Limited (Saro). It was intended to be used with the Short Sunderland in Royal Air Force Coastal Command but it was a flawed design and only a small number were built. They had a poor service record and a high accident rate; of 21 aircraft, 10 were lost to accidents and one for an unknown reason.
Air Ministry Specification R.1/36 (to meet Operational Requirement 32) was issued in March 1936 to several companies that had experience in building flying boats. The specification was for a medium-range flying boat for anti-submarine, convoy escort and reconnaissance duties to replace the Royal Air Force's biplane flying boats such as the Saro London and Supermarine Stranraer. The specification called for a cruise speed of 230 miles per hour (370 km/h) and a weight of no more than 25,000 pounds (11,000 kg).
Designs were tendered by Saunders-Roe (S.36), Supermarine (Type 314), Blackburn Aircraft (b. 20) and Shorts. The Blackburn B.20 was a radical design that offered much better performance, by reducing the drag associated with a flying boat hull and so a prototype was ordered to test the concept. Of the other designs the Supermarine was the first choice with Saro and Shorts tied in second place. The Supermarine was ordered "off the drawing board" i. e. without requiring prototypes to be produced and flown first. Supermarine's commitment to the Spitfire meant that work was not expected to start for two years and so the Ministry looked to the other designs. Saunders-Roe had redesigned the S.36 in the meantime—replacing low hull and gull wing with a deep body and high wing—and the Supermarine order was transferred to the S.36. The contract was issued in June 1937 to buy 21 of the S.36, receiving the service name Lerwick (after the town of Lerwick). The aircraft was a compact twin-engined, high-winged monoplane of all-metal construction. The Lerwick was of all-metal construction, with a conventional flying boat hull, a planing bottom and two stabilising floats, carried under the wings on long struts. It was powered by two Bristol Hercules radial engines and initially had twin fins and rudders. For defence, the Lerwick was equipped with three powered gun turrets. The nose turret had a single 0.303 inch Vickers K gun; the other two had 0.303 Browning machine guns, two guns in the Nash & Thomson FN.8 turret in the dorsal position and four in the Nash & Thomson FN4.A turret at the tail. Offensive weapons were a total of 2,000 pounds (910 kg) of bombs or depth charges – four 500-pound (230 kg) or eight 250-pound (110 kg) bombs, or four depth charges, carried in two streamlined nacelles behind the engines, similar to the Martin PBM Mariner.
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