ABOVE:
The final concept for
the Duchess was a
single-finned layout,
though a V-tail had
been studied.
GKN34 http://www.aeroplanemonthly.com AEROPLANE SEPTEMBER 2017SARO JET FLYING BOATS
It was intended for ranges between
1,300 and 2,000 miles and could
accommodate 74 passengers and their
luggage plus 3,500lb of freight. As
determined by the Society of British
Aircraft Constructors, the direct
operating costs were given as 1¼d per
passenger mile for a 1,300-mile stage
and less than 2d per passenger mile
for a 2,000-mile stage.
Tests of model hulls in water tanks
produced satisfactory results, and it
was announced during early 1950 that
Saunders-Roe managing director Capt
Edward Clarke was discussing the
project in New Zealand with TEAL.
The airline was seeking to re-equip
in 1951 as its Solents would need
replacing by around 1957. With no
suitable flying boats available the only
alternative was to purchase landplanes
or a small number of flying boats built
to TEAL’s own specification, a costly
prospect. The airline’s chairman Sir
Leonard Isitt said that a number of
landplanes from British and American
suppliers were being looked at as well
as the Duchess, despite the fact that
the number of flying boats needed
was very small. Just two months later,
Isitt said he was still hoping to operate
flying boats as they could bring
passengers directly to city terminals,
while the cost of seaplane terminals
was cheaper than land airports.The project never came to fruition.
It would have taken a few years to
bring the aircraft into production, and
TEAL, the predecessor of Air New
Zealand, ceased many flying boat
operations in the early to mid-1950s.
The airline was then hoping to buy
Bristol Britannias, although it ended
up purchasing Douglas DC-6s. Its
last flying boat service, which ceased
in 1960, was the famous ‘coral route’
linking New Zealand to Fiji, Samoa
and the Cook Islands.
While the Duchess was an elegant
design, the follow-on project,
the P192 — sometimes known
unofficially as the ‘Queen’ — was
gargantuan in every way. Even by the
standards of today’s airliners it was
huge: the Airbus A380-800 is some
238ft long, against the P192’s 318ft,
and ‘only’ has a wingspan of 261ft
compared to 313ft.
In 1955 J. Dundas Heenan, a
consultant working for the P&O
shipping company, requested a
feasibility study for a 1,000-passenger
flying boat that would be capable of
plying the route between Britain and
Australia in around two days rather
than the sea journey of betweenThe design was to carry 74
passengers in a four-abreast layout
within a pressurised and air-
conditioned cabin. This was split into
two compartments, separated by the
freight hold. Each cabin contained its
own toilets. A flight crew of four was
joined by two cabin crew. The freight
hold was located above the centre of
gravity and could accommodate 600
cubic feet of cargo. One design for
the Duchess featured a V-tail andNapier Nomad engines, but this was
replaced by a more elegant single
fin and rudder. Another version was
to be powered by six Rolls-Royce
Avons, which would have had a
maximum speed of 559mph and a
cruising speed of 475mph as against
the Ghost-engined variant’s cruise
speed of 468mph.
It was envisaged that the Duchess
would be the most economical
medium-range aircraft yet designed.P131 Duchess P192Engines Six de Havilland 24 Rolls-Royce
Ghosts (variant and Conways, 18,500lb
output unknown) thrust eachLength 124ft 6in 318ft
Wingspan 135ft 6in 313ft
Wing area 2,364 sq ft 17,650 sq ft
All-up weight 130,000lb 1,500,000lb
Passengers 74 1,000SARO’S GIANTS COMPARED
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