Saro SR.A/1 PUFFIN

[Rheged]

Saro "Puffin"

   The Saro SR.A/1 flew most successfully in July 1947, but development was suspended as it was felt that carrier based aircraft offered much greater potential. Metrovick terminated Beryl jet engine development. Some low key testing continued but no volume orders were anticipated. Events on the Korean peninsula changed the Saro SR.A/1 from a "nearly but not quite" to a totally unexpected success.  

   As U N forces retreated southwards, airfields were lost or rendered unusable.   The Royal Navy reinstated this flying boat fighter as a super priority programme.  A reworked and much more powerful engine, the Metrovick Tourmaline was produced from the Beryl and  the aircraft canopy redesigned to  give a much better all-round view.  By February 1951, three shift working at Saunders Roe had produced sufficient airframes to equip three R N A S squadrons with Saro Puffin F 1 s. These were shipped to   the islands south of the Korean Mainland and dispersed with  a group of locally procured fishing boats acting  as squadron support craft.  Prussian blue aircraft with white bellies and brightly coloured nose stripes  could be found in  just about every inlet on the coast.    

   With the arrival of Russian-flown MiG 15s over the Yalu River, each of the three squadrons was despatched north in rotation where they held their own and supported piston engined U N aircraft .  The Puffins were not as manoeuvrable as the MiG 15, but their heavy armament of 4 20mm Hispano cannon meant, in the words of one RNAS pilot, "If a Puffin pecks them, they stay down". Virtually every U N warship carried  spare kerosene and 20mm Hispano rounds and thus could act as  an emergency replenishment  unit.  

   Even after the arrival of the Sabre, the aircraft continued to serve with distinction. Five squadrons of  Puffin FGA2 roamed the coastal waters of the Korean Peninsula at low level , destroying  everything in their path. It was at this time that pilots discovered Wing in Ground Effect flying to extend their range  and increase the tactical surprise factor.

   A few RNAS Puffin T3s were produced  and the final version, the FGA4  with its uprated Metrovick Peridot  engine,  eventually achieved RAF service as the  Falkland Islands wing.  Four squadrons  were in place by 1954, and their presence, together with the Marines airlifted in by the Saro Princess flying boats  in January 1955,  may well have deterred   Argentine adventurism.

   The last Puffins, RNAS GR 5B  aircraft of 816 squadron were retired from service in 1961 and surviving airframes  gifted to museums or scrapped.  Two aircraft in running condition are owned by Hampshire   Museum service at Calshot, and are taxied twice a year on the Solent.

   A single F1 was converted into an amphibian, but whilst this prototype was successful, it was not developed any further.  

Canada, Australia and New Zealand all trialled the aircraft, as did the U S Marine corps, but no production orders were forthcoming.  A Puffin FGA4 in spurious USN livery is displayed in both the Smithsonian and  the Los Angeles aerospace collection, giving rise to the inaccurate story found all over the internet   that the aircraft did in fact reach squadron service with the U S Navy.

[Hobbes]

Interesting.

What other nations would have wanted the Puffin? Indonesia and other archipelagos come to mind (but would any of those have the money in that timeframe?)
Maybe Finland, as an alternative to dispersed bases?

[jcf]

As an aside, the Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire was developed from the Metrovick F.9 (MV Sa.1).

[Maverick]

Nifty stuff Rheged.

I might run with the idea as I've got a SR.A/1 blank and had done a RN BPF profile some time ago.

Regards,

Mav

[Rheged]

Interesting.

What other nations would have wanted the Puffin? Indonesia and other archipelagos come to mind (but would any of those have the money in that timeframe?)
Maybe Finland, as an alternative to dispersed bases?

Finance is a good point, but  wandering into the realms of What If, Indonesia is an interesting thought. Let's say they bought some early models in the mid 50's. Come the confrontation.........   There's a story here for someone to tell .

Can't see Finland wanting them, they'd be frozen in for half the year.  How about the  Pacific Islands or the Carribbean?  If you want a really off the wall suggestion, how about East African countries operating them off Lake Victoria or Lake Nyasa?

[Cobra]

What About Puerto Rico buying some? or maybe Interest coming from Bangladesh? Like the Idea Stay Cool. Dan

[James]

Good idea. Like it. 

[NARSES2]

Another fantastic story on a British "What might have been". It's a fantastic period of British aviation to ponder on 

[PR19_Kit]

Nice one Rheged

That tale brings all SORTS of visions to mind, not the least being the pilot taking evasive action by dodging around INISDE the fuselage, like P-47 pilots were rumoured to do! 

I was astonished quite how big the SRA/1 was when I saw it at Southampton some years back, it's almost as tall as the Solent flying boat just across the hall!

[rickshaw]

Was that in or out of the water, Kit?

SRA/1 video (with Convair Sea Dart for good measure) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pl1aMVnZyY

[PR19_Kit]

Was that in or out of the water, Kit?

Ah yes, it's on its beaching gear which lifts it up somewhat, but the pilot is still waaaaaay up there!