Airspeed Queen Wasp
AS.30 Queen Wasp | |
---|---|
Airspeed Queen Wasp, c. 1939 | |
Role | Pilotless target aircraft |
Manufacturer | Airspeed (1934) Ltd
|
Designer | Hessell Tiltman/N.S. Norway
|
First flight | 11 June 1937 |
Introduction | 1937 |
Primary user | Royal Air Force |
Produced | 1937-1940 |
Number built | 7 |
The Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp was a British pilotless
Design and development
The Queen Wasp was built to meet an
The aircraft was a single-
The landplane first flew on 11 June 1937, and the floatplane on 19 October 1937. The floatplane was successfully catapulted from HMS Pegasus in November 1937.
Operational history
In flight tests, the aircraft was found to be underpowered and water handling difficulties necessitated a redesign of the floats by their manufacturer, Short Brothers. Although the production run of 10 aircraft was begun (P5441–P5450), only three more aircraft were completed and delivered to the Royal Air Force.[2]
Airspeed proposed a number of unsuccessful designs derived from the Queen Wasp including the AS.38 communications aircraft and the AS.50 trainer developed to meet Specification T.24/40.[2]
Operators
Specifications (AS.30 Landplane)
Data from Airspeed Aircraft since 1931[3]
General characteristics
- Crew: 1 (optional)
- Length: 23 ft 4 in (7.11 m)
- Wingspan: 31 ft 0 in (9.45 m)
- Width: 12 ft 0 in (3.66 m) wings folded
- Height: 10 ft 1 in (3.07 m)
- Gross weight: 3,500 lb (1,588 kg)
- Powerplant: 1 × Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 350 hp (260 kW)
- Propellers: 2-bladed
Performance
- Maximum speed: 172 mph (277 km/h, 149 kn) at 8,000 ft (2,438 m)
- Cruise speed: 151 mph (243 km/h, 131 kn) at 10,000 ft (3,048 m)
- Service ceiling: 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
See also
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists
- List of aircraft of the RAF
References
Notes
- ^ Norway, Neville Shute (1954). Slide Rule. London: William Heinemann. pp. 230, 231.
- ^ a b c d "Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp" 1978, p. 40.
- ISBN 978-0-370-00110-4.
Bibliography
- Green, Peter (September–October 2001). "Round-Out". ISSN 0143-5450.
- "Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp." Control Column, Official Organ of the British Aircraft Preservation Council, Volume 12, No. 2, February/March 1978.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.