The Saro Cloud was a British passenger amphibian

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

designed and built by

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aerospace and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took ...

as the A.19. It was later produced as the A.29 for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

for pilot and navigator training.

Development

Following the success of the A.17 Cutty Sark, the company designed an enlarged version designated the A.19 Cloud. It had room for a crew of two and eight passengers. Like the Cutty Sark, it was a twin-engined monoplane flying boat with the engines mounted above the wing. This facilitated the use of different engines, and four aircraft were sold to private operators with a variety of engines. First flown on 15 July 1930, the prototype was fitted with two 300 hp (224 kW)

Wright J-6 The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later a division of Curtiss-Wright). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to incl ...

radial engine The radial engine is a reciprocating engine, reciprocating type internal combustion engine, internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinder (engine), cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. ...

s. The

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

ordered one aircraft for evaluation as a trainer, powered by a pair of Armstrong Siddely Double Mongoose radial engines. After evaluation, the Air Ministry ordered a total of sixteen aircraft (in three batches) to Air Ministry Specification 15/32for pilot and navigator training. Designated the A.29, it had room for six students. It had provision for gun mountings in the bow and aft compartments, and could also carry four 50 lb practice bombs.

Operational history

The first production A.29 Cloud was delivered to the

Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Serv ...

for test and evaluation. Following modifications to the hull and steps, the aircraft was delivered to the Seaplane Training Squadron at

RAF Calshot Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hamps ...

in August 1933. During its career, the Cloud served as training aircraft for both pilots, destined to train on larger flying boats after graduating from the Cloud before being assigned to frontline RAF flying boat units, and for navigators, as the cabin was large enough to house several map tables. The final Cloud was delivered to the RAF in 1935, and after a few years' service as trainers, the last operational aircraft were withdrawn from service in July 1939.

Variants

;A.19/1 :Prototype registered G-ABCJ with 300 hp (224 kW)

radial engines, sold in Canada as CF-ARB, but returned to Saro in 1934 for use as an engine test bed. It was fitted with 340 hp Napier Rapier IV engines and an auxiliary aerofoil behind and below the engine nacelles. It was loaned to

Jersey Airways Jersey Airways was an airline that operated air services to and from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways. History Jersey Airways Limited was formed by Walter Thurgood on 9 December 1933. ...

in 1935 before being withdrawn from use in 1936. ;A.19/2 :Special variant powered by three 215 hp

Armstrong Siddeley Lynx The Armstrong Siddeley Lynx is a British seven-cylinder Aircraft engine, aero engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. It was developed as a single row version of the two-row Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar. Testing began in 1920 and 6,000 had been p ...

IVC engines and registered G-ABHG. Due to problems with the engine installation it was re-engined with two 425 hp (317 kW)

Pratt & Whitney Wasp The Pratt & Whitney Wasp was the civilian name of a family of air-cooled, radial piston engines developed in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. The Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company (P&W) was founded in 1925 by Frederick B. Rentschler, who had previ ...

C radials before delivery. It was also fitted with an auxiliary aerofoil above the engines and twin fins and rudders to improve directional control. Sold to

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was an early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

in 1940 as a crew trainer but damaged beyond repair in 1941 and scrapped. ;A.19/3 :Prototype for the Air Ministry with serial ''K2681'', and powered by two 340 hp (254 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Serval III radials. Following evaluation, sixteen production aircraft, designated A.29 were ordered. ;A.19/4 :Registered G-ABXW with 300 hp (224 kW)

radial engines. Named 'Cloud of Iona'. It was operated by British Flying Boats Ltd for joy-riding and charter flights, and briefly trialled a service between

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. In 1935 it was operated by

Spartan Air Lines Spartan Air Lines Ltd was a British private airline company active between 1933 and1935. In 1933 it started operating passenger services from the London area to the Isle of Wight. In late 1935 it merged with United Airways Ltd to form British Air ...

, and later used by

Guernsey Airways Jersey Airways was an airline that operated air services to and from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways. History Jersey Airways Limited was formed by Walter Thurgood on 9 December 1933. ...

until lost off

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

on 31 July 1936. ;A.19/5 :Powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Serval IIIs, and registered G-ACGO. First flown in 1933, it went on a sales tour of Europe, and was sold to the Czechoslovak State Airline as OK-BAK, and re-engined with

Walter Pollux The Walter Pollux is a Czechoslovakian nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial engine, built by Walter Aircraft Engines for powering light aircraft and that first ran in 1936. The engine produces at 1,800 rpm. The first known use was on the Fiesele ...

radials. In the 1950s, it was converted to a motorboat ''Delfin'' on the

Vltava The Vltava ( , ; ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It runs southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague. It is com ...

. In 1995, the boat was re-converted to a flying boat, with the tail and upper hull restored, but no wing. This fuselage is now at the Kbely Aviation Museum,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. ;Monospar ST-7 :The Air Ministry's evaluation A.19 ''K2681'' was fitted with an experimental Monospar mainplane under specification 18/32, to evaluate the use of the wing on future Saro designs. The modified aircraft flew in 1934, and was used to help in the development of the

Saro A.33 The Saro A.33 was a British prototype flying boat built by Saunders-Roe Limited in response to a British Air Ministry Specification R.2/33 and in competition with the Short Sunderland. Design and development The A.33 was a four-engined flyin ...

. ;A.29 :Armstrong Siddeley Serval III powered navigation trainers for the Royal Air Force, 16-built.

Operators

Civil operators

Private individuals in Canada and the United Kingdom and the following commercial operators: ; * Czechoslovak State Airline ; *

British Flying Boats British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and cultur ...

*Spartan Air Lines

Military operators

; *

No. 48 Squadron RAF No. 48 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Squadron (aviation), squadron that saw service in both the First World War, First and Second World Wars. History First World War No. 48 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Netheravon Air ...

part of the School of Air Navigation,

RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpor ...

**No. 9 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School (

RAF Ansty Royal Air Force Ansty, or more simply RAF Ansty, was a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Ansty, east of Coventry city centre, Warwickshire, England, north-west of Rugby, Warwickshire. The airfield was opened in 1936, ...

) **Air Observers School **School of Air Pilotage (

RAF Andover RAF Andover is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station in England, west of Andover, Hampshire. As well as RFC and RAF units, units of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Royal Ca ...

) **School of Naval Co-operation (

) **Seaplane Training Squadron (

)

Specifications (A.29 Cloud)

Accidents and incidents

On 31 July 1936 ''G-ABXW'' was lost during a flight between Guernsey and Jersey. All ten on board were killed.

Notes

References

*Doyle, Neville. 1991. From Sea-Eagle to Albatross: Channel Island Airlines 1923–1939. *Doyle, Neville. 2002. The Triple Alliance: The Predecessors of the first British Airways.

Air-Britain Air-Britain, traditionally sub-titled 'The International Association of Aviation Enthusiasts', is a non-profit aviation society founded in July 1948. As from 2015, it is constituted as a British charitable trust and book publisher. History Air-Br ...

. * * * * * {{Saro aircraft 1930s British civil utility aircraft 1930s British military trainer aircraft

Cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...

Flying boats Amphibious aircraft High-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1930 Engine-over-wing aircraft Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear