Brown's account traces the fighter flying-boat idea to the 1918 Supermarine Baby and explains why the Pacific War revived interest in the concept. Jet propulsion promised to reduce some of the drag and handling penalties associated with earlier seaplane fighters. The Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 combined an all-metal flying-boat hull with twin axial-flow turbojets, a pressurized cockpit, an ejection seat, and concentrated nose armament. During Brown's takeoff account, the aircraft accelerates on the hull's hump at a steep angle that restricts forward view, relies first on its water rudder, and only gains effective aerodynamic control as speed builds. Once airborne, Brown found its stability and control harmony good, making the passage a rare firsthand explanation of how an experimental jet flying boat moved from water to flight.
Notable Point · 30:08-35:48
Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 design and water takeoff
Eric Brown's firsthand SR.A/1 test describes the fighter flying boat's wartime logic, twin-jet design, and transition from water-rudder control to stable flight.