HC Deb 27 July 1953 vol 518 cc91-2W
88. Mr. C. I. Orr-Ewing

asked the Minister of Supply what orders he has placed for coupled Proteus III engines for the Princess flying boat so that this prototype can be completed.

89. Mr. Beswick

asked the Minister of Supply if he is now in a position to make a statement about the future use of the Princess flying boat.

Mr. Sandys

Trials of the first Princess flying boat, using Proteus II engines, are still proceeding. As I explained on 17th March, 1952, it was decided to install these engines only in one aircraft for the purpose of test flights and then to wait for more powerful engines to become available.

Work on the single Proteus III engine is proceeding as fast as possible. The coupled version of this engine is not yet developed and work is at present held up for the reasons stated in the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport and Fareham (Dr. Bennett) on 16th March last, namely that it would delay the development of engines required for the Britannia and other super-priority aircraft.