The SST (Sea Scout Twin) class of

non-rigid airship A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hyd ...

or "blimp" was developed in Great Britain during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

from the earlier SS class airship. The main role of these craft was to escort convoys and scout or search for German

U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

."Submarine Scout Class"
Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved on 25 March 2009. A secondary purpose was to detect and destroy mines. Designs were submitted in 1917 for a twin-engined SS class

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

, the idea being that should there be an engine failure, the craft would not be rendered helpless and therefore less likely to be lost.Whale (2008), p.61. The first submission was a failure, but the second showed promise and was put into production. Designated the SST class, the first of 13 examples entered service in June 1918, and the last in May 1919, three of which, ''S.S.T.9'', ''11'' and ''12'' were purchased by the US Navy."Ship Identification : SST AIRSHIPS".
AHT. Retrieved on 26 March 2009. The SST used a larger envelope than any of the other SS class types, and was equipped with a streamlined and waterproofed car that could accommodate a crew of five. Two Sunbeam or

Rolls-Royce Hawk The Rolls-Royce Hawk was a British aero engine designed by Rolls-Royce in 1915. Derived from one bank of six cylinders of the Rolls-Royce Eagle, it produced 75 horsepower at 1,370 rpm. Power was progressively increased to 91 hp by February ...

engines were each mounted on a gantry either side of the car, and drove diameter four-bladed propellers in

pusher configuration In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in no ...

.Whale (2008), p.62. At , the SSTs had a greater top speed than all other SS class types, had the highest useful lift, and could stay airborne for up to two days. They were also cheaper to produce and easier to handle than the successful C Star class airship. Three SST were transferred to the Navy in June 1919. No Serial Numbers were assigned and there is no evidence they operated by the Navy. The 3 SST's were transferred to the Army in 1919-1920. The Army operated the SST's until late 1923 or early 1924. Experiments involving SSTs were carried out at the end of the war; one notable example being ''SSE.3'' (SS Experimental) that had an envelope design known as shape "U.271", the shape from which the hulls of both

R100 His Majesty's Airship R100 was a privately designed and built British rigid airship made as part of a two-ship competition to develop a commercial airship service for use on British Empire routes as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme. The o ...

and

R101 R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Mi ...

were derived."Twenty-one Years of Airship Progress"
p87 ''Flight'', 3 January 1930 Retrieved on 27 March 2009.

Operators

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Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

; *

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links