M.Goodall, A.Tagg British Aircraft before the Great War (Schiffer)

P.Lewis British Aircraft 1809-1914 (Putnam)

Bristol S.S.A.

   Built for the Breguet concern, the S.S.A. was a single-seat armoured scout designed by Mons. Henri Coanda under works number 219. It was a tractor biplane powered by the 80 h.p. Clerget, and crashed at Filton during 1914 while being flown by Harry Busteed. The S.S.A. featured a large spinner with an annular cooling slot between itself and the cowling. The whole of the front fuselage was built as a sheet-steel riveted monocoque enclosing the engine mounting, fuel and oil tanks and the pilot's seat, earning the machine its nickname of "The Bath". The two-wheel undercarriage incorporated a pair of skids lengthened at the rear so as to dispense with a tailskid; an early attempt to provide castoring wheels for cross-wind landings was also made.

H.King Armament of British Aircraft (Putnam)

S.S.A. Although this book is mainly concerned with armament, and not passive protection, the fitting of armour to military aeroplanes inevitably has some place, and in no more fining instance than this single-seat 'scout' built to Coanda's designs in 1914. As in the later Sopwith Salamander, the whole of the forward fuselage, including the cockpit, was of sheet steel construction (in this case monocoque) and even the engine was protected. A few weeks before war came this aeroplane was sent to the Breguet works in France. It may be mentioned in this context that at the Olympia Aero and Marine Exhibition of 1914 The Integral Propeller Co Ltd showed 'an armoured propeller specially designed and built for warplanes'.

P.Lewis The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)

In the West Country, at Bristol, Henri Coanda turned his hand to a design for the Breguet firm for a small biplane single-seat scout, the S.S.A. No. 219 which Harry Busteed flew and crashed at Filton early in 1914. The entire front portion of the machine’s fuselage was armoured by constructing it as a riveted sheet steel monocoque, automatically bringing forth the nickname of the Bath. A large spinner with an annular cooling slot faired the propeller into the engine cowling and skids extending to the rear of the wheels took the place of the usual single tailskid. Another advanced feature was the castoring of the wheels as an aid to crosswind landings. When the almost complete lack of ground clearance for the large propeller, then rather an obsession with Coanda, was pointed out to him by the drawing office staff, back came his usual answer “I don’t care, I make so!”.

F.Mason The British Fighter since 1912 (Putnam)

Bristol S.S.A.

   At Filton, while Barnwell was producing the Scout No 206, Henri Coanda embarked on a new single-seat tractor biplane at the request of the French firm of Breguet, it being intended for production in France. Known formally as the S.S.A. (or Single-Seat Armoured), this aircraft was required to feature armoured protection for the pilot, engine and fuel tank, a requirement met by enclosing all within a single monocoque component of sheet steel, the pilot’s seat being formed by the shape of the rear bulkhead.
   An 80hp Clerget rotary engine was contained within a steel cowling with a large hemispherical spinner pierced with radial slots to permit entry of cooling air to the engine. The staggered wings were placed well forward to balance the weight of the armoured ‘bath’, while the tail unit was carried on an exceptionally slender rear fuselage. The undercarriage was also novel in consisting of castoring mainwheels to assist cross-wind landing, while the landing skids extended aft from the wheels, thereby dispensing of the need to provide a tailskid. The tail surfaces were similar to those of the Scout A.
   First flown by Sidney Sippe at Larkhill on 8 May 1914 (given the company sequence number 219) suffered a heavy landing on arrival at Farnborough. After repair it was flown by Harry Busteed at Filton on 26 June, but crashed on landing when an undercarriage bracing wire failed. The pilot was slightly injured, although the aircraft itself was severely damaged.
   The French authorities however agreed to accept delivery of it at Breguet’s factory, where it was to be rebuilt, and Bristol took no further part in the S.S.A.’s development.


   Type: Single-engine, single-seat, single-bay armoured scout biplane.
   Manufacturer: The British and Colonial Aeroplane Co Ltd, Filton, Bristol.
   Powerplant: One 80hp Clerget rotary engine driving two-blade propeller.
   Structure: Steel monocoque front fuselage accommodating pilot, engine, fuel and oil tanks; steel tubular frame structure in wings, rear fuselage and tail, all fabric-covered. Twin castoring mainwheels.
   Dimensions: Span, 27ft 4in; length, 19ft 9in; wing area 200 sq ft.
   Weights: Tare, 913lb; all-up, 1,200lb.
   Performance: Max speed, 106 mph at sea level; endurance, 3 hr.
   Armament: None.
   Prototype: One (sequence No 219; first flown by Sidney Sippe at Larkhill on 8 May 1914); no production.