Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp
For a description of the format and data included in Production Tables, see here.
Contents
Type Description
- AS.30 Queen Wasp
- Single bay equal span biplane pilotless target aircraft to Specification 32/35 to meet the requirements of OR.29. It was constructed of wood with sharply-tapered, unstaggered, unswept, wings, with dihedral and ailerons on the lower wing only. Fabric-covered control surfaces. An enclosed cabin with one seat was provided so the Queen Wasp could be flown manually with the radio control system turned off. The radio control system was complex with a number of backup safety devices to ensure radio and battery operation was uninterrupted. One 310 h.p. Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX (prototypes) or 360 h.p. Cheetah XII powerplant.
| AS.30 Queen Wasp Specification (Landplane) | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 31 ft | 24 ft 4 in | 10 ft 1 in | 3500 lb | 151 mph/ 131 kn | 172 mph/ 149 kn | 20000 ft | |||
| 9.45 m | 7.42 m | 3.07 m | 1588 kg | 243 km/h | 277 km/h | 6096 m | |||
Projected Variants
- AS.38
- Communications variant of AS.30 to T.7/37.
- AS.50
- Fighter trainer variant of AS.30 to T.24/40.
Production Details
| Serial Range | C/n | Batch Qty |
Conv. | Canc'd | Notes |
| 2 prototype aircraft ordered from Airspeed Ltd., Portsmouth, to Contract 489567/36. Delivered in November and December, 1937. | |||||
| K8887 - K8888 | 2 | Landplane K8887 first flew on 11 June 1937, and the floatplane K8888 on 19 October 1937. | |||
| 90 aircraft ordered from Airspeed Ltd., Portsmouth, to Contract 968560/38, Requisition 1/E1/39. 5 delivered in April, 1940 with five more not completed, the remainder cancelled. See Note 1. | |||||
| P5441 - P5445 | 5 | ||||
| P5446 - P5450 | 5 | Construction started but not completed | |||
| P5451 - P5480 | 30 | ||||
| P5496 - P5525 | 30 | ||||
| P5546 - P5565 | 20 | ||||
| 258 aircraft ordered from Airspeed Ltd., Portsmouth, to Contract B.55388/39. Cancelled. | |||||
| V5010 - V5057 | 48 | ||||
| V5073 - V5112 | 40 | ||||
| V5131 - V5180 | 50 | ||||
| V5206 - V5240 | 35 | ||||
| V5262 - V5306 | 45 | ||||
| V5322 - V5361 | 40 | ||||
| Total Production | 7 | 393 | |||
Production Summary
| Type | Built New | Conv | Canc'd | Total |
| AS.30 Queen Wasp | 7 | 393 | 400 | |
| 7 | 393 | 400 |
Notes
- A total of 90 aircraft were initially intended to be ordered, as 80 complete aircraft plus 10 airframes to be supplied without engines, with delivery at a rate of 12 per month starting 1 January 1940. Eventually, only four aircraft were delivered. The status of P5443 is unknown: it is not recorded as being delivered, but it is unknown if it was actually built.
Production References
- Airspeed Aircraft Since 1931, H.A. Taylor (Putnam, 1970)
- Sitting Ducks and Peeping Toms, Michael I. Draper (Air Britain, 2011)
- RAF Aircraft Register Series, Various Volumes (Air-Britain Publications)
- RAF Air Historical Branch: Serial Ledger (Dept of Archive and Aviation Records, RAF Museum, Hendon, Records MF-1, MF-2)
- RAF Air Historical Branch: RAF Aircraft Movement Card (A.M. Form 78) (Dept of Archive and Aviation Records, RAF Museum, Hendon, Records MFC-77-15-85)
- RAF Air Historical Branch: Contract Delivery Cards (Dept of Archive and Aviation Records, RAF Museum, Hendon, Records MFC-78-8-3)
- Ministry of Aircraft Production Aeroplane Price Books (Dept of Archive and Aviation Records, RAF Museum, Hendon, Records X005-2126)
Page Revision History
Revised at Version 2.0.0- Improved Type Description details and added Specification details.
- Added Requisition Number.
- Revised Note 1.
- Added Specification and OR details for AS.30.
- Added Note 1