Saunders-Roe SR.53

The Saunders-Roe SR.53 was an experimental aircraft with a combination of a jet engine and a rocket motor, respectively an Armstrong Siddeley Viper and a De Havilland Spectre. Its purpose was to develop a mixed power fighter to intercept bombers at high altitude - the specification required it to achieve an altitude of 60,000 ft in 2 minutes 30 seconds. Inspired by the Luftwaffe's World War Two  Messerschmit 163 the addition of a turbojet aimed to overcome the major drawback of a pure rocket design, excessive fuel consumption resulting in limited range and the need to make an unpowered recovery to the airfield.

The surviving first prototype SR.53 XD145 at the RAF Museum, Cosford.

Designed by Maurice Brennan two prototypes were built, serial No.s XD145 and XD151, in response to Air Ministry Operational Requirement O.R.337 with XD145 taking to the air for the first time on 16th May 1957 with Squadron Leader John Booth at the controls.

Tragedy struck on 5th June 1958 when the second prototype XD151 was destroyed in an accident taking off from Boscombe Down on its 12th flight, killing John Booth instantly. Testing continued with XD145 with Lt Cdr Peter Lamb as the test pilot and a total of 56 flights were made between the two aircraft.

However, owing to the complexity of the project, the development program had fallen well behind schedule even before flight testing had commenced and the British Government's 1957 Defence White Paper had been published a month in advance of the type's maiden flight, envisioning the demise of manned fighter aircraft and air defence being taken over by guided missiles (a prediction that has since been proved wrong by history). At the same time, developments in radar and jet engine technology had rendered the SR.53 concept obsolescent and the type was cancelled on 29th July 1960. Fortunately the remaining airframe XD145 was preserved and can now be seen at the Royal Air Force Museum, Cosford.

A larger, better equipped development of the design under the designation SR.177 was studied and a mock-up constructed. The Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Luftwaffe all showed interest in this improved variant, but initial orders for for the RAF were cancelled and the German Air Force controversially went for the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter with subsequent accusations of bribery (See the video below). This left the Royal Navy's small requirement unviable and the project came to nothing.

The video below, from YouTube, with interest interviews with people involved including Eric "Winkle" Brown, has some footage of the SR.53 during its test flights and also covers the SR.177 debacle



Flight magazine's 24th March 1957 edition had an article on the SR.53 which can be downloaded as a PDF by following this link to their archive.