The SSP (Submarine Scout Pusher) were a class of Royal Navy non-rigid airship or "blimp" developed by the United Kingdom during World War I as a successor to the earlier SS class airship. Found to be inferior to a parallel development, the Submarine Scout Zero non-rigid, only a few were built. The main role of these craft was to escort convoys and scout or search for German U-boats.SS-class airships Airship Heritage Trust. Retrieved on 25 March 2009.
Design and development In 1916, design commenced at RNAS Kingsnorth on an SS class -type airship that would have a more comfortable purpose-built car,Twenty-One Years of Airship Progress. flightglobal.com. Retrieved on 28 March 2009. and not simply be an adaptation of an aeroplane fuselage. The SSP cars were of rectangular cross-section, had a blunt nose, and could accommodate a crew of three.Whale (2008), p.60.
As the name suggests, the SSP was powered by a Green engine mounted on bearers to the rear of the car, powering a diameter four-bladed propeller in pusher configuration. Four examples of the type were later fitted with Rolls-Royce Hawk engines.
Six SSPs entered service between January and June 1917,SSP-class airship specifications and logs. AHT. Retrieved on 25 March 2009. but because of the success of the SSZ type it was decided that these would become the standard SS variant, and the SSP programme was terminated.
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Bibliography
External links SS-class airships on the Airship Heritage Trust website SSP-class airship specifications and logs on the Airship Heritage Trust website