Whilst taking a break from the Ventnor Fringe festival, VB’s intern Rosie Saban, takes a look at this upcoming event. Ed
East Cowes will be celebrating this week as they mark the 60th anniversary of the first flight of the world’s largest all metal flying boat ever constructed; the Saunders Roe Princess.
The occasion, held at the waterfront, is being marked on Wednesday (22nd August), 60 years to the day, with a commemoration ceremony to include a seaplane flypast at 12.28, unveiling of a commemorative plaque, and an opening address by HM Lord Lieutenant Major General Martin White CB CBE JP.
Constructed on the Island
The Saunders Roe Princess, constructed in East Cowes was one of three flying boats commissioned by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in 1946 with the purpose of a non-stop transatlantic service with a 105 person capacity.
Flying boats had become popular in the 1940s when World War Two had led to lack of materials for building aircraft and runway facilities, making sea-landing planes ideal.
By the 1950s flying boats had fallen in popularity. Despite the fly-by-wire control technology installed within the Princess, considered ahead of its time, it wasn’t enough to convince manufacture to start, the airlines opted not to order any, and government experts rejected it as ‘impracticable’.
Destroyed in the 1960s
A stunning vessel and an amazing feat of engineering, those that witnessed the Saunders Roe Princess on its first flight on 22nd August 1952 remembered it as very impressive, completing 46 test flights before sadly being destroyed in the 1960s.
A reception will be held on Wednesday between 1 – 4.30pm, during which the keynote speaker Eric Verdon-Roe will give a talk about ‘The Life of A. V. Roe’.
The whole event is sponsored by the Classic Boat Museum Gallery, at which there will also be exhibitions on the Saunders Roe Princess until Sunday 26th August.
