×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Pay Chart (2023) Military Ranks
Advertisements
HOME
AIRCRAFT / AVIATION
MODERN AIR FORCES
COUNTRIES
MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE
BY CONFLICT
BY TYPE
BY DECADE
GOLDEN AGE
X-PLANE

Aviation / Aerospace


SAF Chelidon (Swallow)


Advanced Trainer / Reconnaissance Biplane Prototype [ 1927 ]



SAF managed just a single prototype of its Chelidon biplane - the aircraft arriving too late in the 1920s to impress even the Greek Navy.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/27/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
Advertisements
During the 1920s, Greece took its first tangible steps towards an indigenous aeroplane manufacturing capability with the establishment of its State Aircraft Factory (SAF). its first offering became the "Velos" of 1926 based in the Blackburn "Dart" torpedo bomber biplane. Following this modestly successful debut was the "Chelidon" (translating to "Swallow") of 1927 which was developed, again with assistance from Blackburn, to satisfy a Hellenic Navy requirement - this time for a two-seat advanced trainer / reconnaissance platform. However, despite some eighteen units ordered by the Navy service, only a single prototype ever materialized.

After just eight weeks of design and development work, the aircraft was unveiled for its first flight on February 20th, 1927. Key design features included its single-bay biplane wing arrangement, twin tandem seating, and Salmson 9AC 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine of 120 horsepower installed at the nose. The engine drove a two-bladed propeller in typical fashion and ground-running was accomplished through a "tail-dragger" arrangement featuring a fixed twin-wheeled support at forward center mass and a simple skid at the rear. Like the Velos before it, the Chelidon was designed as configurable, from a land-based plane to seaplane and back again as needed.

As finalized, the aircraft sported a running length of 19 feet and a wingspan of 26.9 feet. Maximum speed, as tested, reached 93 miles-per-hour, suitable for the roles envisioned of the machine. Future serial production was to involve the Armstrong Siddeley "Lynx" engine for improved power and performance but was not to be.

Before the end of 1926, the Hellenic Navy committed to an order for eighteen of the type until it was found, through additional testing, that the design was more-or-less obsolescent when compared to contemporaries of the day. As such, the sole completed prototype example was relegated to training for SAF company personnel and managed to survive until 1938 before being given up for good.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.
Advertisements

Specifications



Service Year
1927

Origin
Greece national flag graphic
Greece

Status
CANCELLED
Development Ended.
Crew
2

Production
1
UNITS


State Aircraft Factory (SAF) - Greece
(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)
National flag of Greece Greece (cancelled)
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.
X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.
Training (General)
Developed ability to be used as a dedicated trainer for student pilots (typically under the supervision of an instructor).


Length
19.0 ft
(5.80 m)
Width/Span
26.7 ft
(8.15 m)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the SAF Chelidon production variant)
Installed: 1 x Salmson 9AC 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine developing 120 horsepower and driving a two-bladed propeller unit at the nose.
Max Speed
93 mph
(150 kph | 81 kts)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the SAF Chelidon production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
None.


Supported Types




(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
"Chelidon" - Base Series Name; single prototype example completed and flown before program cancellation.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Advertisements




Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)