https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft that served with
the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Canadian Air Force and numerous other
air forces before, during, and after the Second World War. Developed from the
Avro 652 airliner, the Anson, named after British Admiral George Anson, was
developed for maritime reconnaissance, but found to be obsolete in this role. It
was then found to be suitable as a multi-engined aircrew trainer, becoming the
mainstay of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. By the end of production
in 1952, a total of 8,138 had been built by Avro in nine variants, with a
further 2,882 built by Federal Aircraft Ltd in Canada from 1941.
The Anson Mk I was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a retractable
undercarriage, the type with this configuration to enter service with the RAF.
It had a wooden wing, of plywood and spruce construction, while the fuselage was
constructed of steel tubing, mainly clad in fabric, but with the aircraft's nose
clad in magnesium alloy. It was powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX
seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, rated at 350 horsepower (260 kW) each,
driving two-bladed metal propellers. The aircraft's retractable tailwheel
undercarriage was manually operated, requiring 144 turns of a crank handle
situated by the pilot's seat. To forgo this laborious process, early aircraft
often made short flights with the landing gear extended at the expense of 30 mph
(50 km/h) of cruising speed.
Initially, the Anson was flown with a three-man crew (pilot,
navigator/bomb-aimer and radio-operator/gunner) in the maritime reconnaissance
role, but from 1938 it operated with a four-man crew. Armament consisted of a
single .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun fixed in the forward fuselage and
aimed by the pilot, with an Armstrong Whitworth manually operated dorsal gun
turret fitted with a single Lewis gun. Up to 360 pounds (160 kg) of bombs,
consisting of two 100 pounds (45 kg) and eight 20 pounds (9 kg) bombs, could be
carried in the aircraft's wings. Ansons used for training were fitted with dual
controls and usually had the gun turret removed, although aircraft used for
gunnery training were fitted with a Bristol hydraulically-operated gun turret
similar to that used in the Bristol Blenheim.
A total of 11,020 Ansons were built by the end of production in 1952, making it
the second most numerous (after the Vickers Wellington) British multi-engined
aircraft of the war.
Role
Multirole aircraft, primarily a trainer
National origin
United Kingdom
Manufacturer
Avro
First flight
24 March 1935
Introduction
1936
Retired
28 June 1968 (RAF)
Primary users
Royal Air Force
Fleet Air Arm
Royal Canadian Air Force
Produced
Number built
11,020
Developed from
Avro 652
The Anson entered service on 6 March 1936 with 48 Squadron equipped with the
Anson. At the start of the Second World War, the RAF had received 824 Ansons and
there were 26 RAF squadrons operating the Anson I: 10 with Coastal Command and
16 with Bomber Command. All of the squadrons in Bomber Command in 1939 with
Anson Is were operational training squadrons that prepared crews for frontline
service. 12 of the squadrons were in No. 6 (Operational Training) Group. Newly
formed crews having completed individual flying and technical training were
first trained as bomber crews in Ansons and then advanced to the various
frontline aircraft types, which were also in the same squadrons with the Ansons.
After training in the frontline aircraft type, crews would advance to the
frontline bomber squadrons with those aircraft types (Fairey Battle, Bristol
Blenheim, Vickers Wellington, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, and Handley-Page
Hampden). At the start of the war, the Lockheed Hudson was beginning to replace
the Ansons in Coastal Command with one squadron of Hudsons and one with both
Ansons and Hudsons.
The aircraft's true role, however, was to train pilots for flying multi-engined
bombers such as the Avro Lancaster. The Anson was also used to train the other
members of a bomber's aircrew, such as navigators, wireless operators, bomb
aimers and air gunners. Postwar, the Anson continued in the training and light
transport roles. The last Ansons were withdrawn from RAF service with
communications units on 28 June 1968.
Specifications (Mk I)
General characteristics
Crew: Three-four
Length: 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m)
Wingspan: 56 ft 6 in (17.22 m)
Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
Empty weight: 5,512 lb (2,500 kg)
Loaded weight: 7,955 lb (3,608 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,500 lb (3,900 kg)
each
Performance
Maximum speed: 188 mph (163 kn, 302 km/h) at 7,000 ft (2,100 m)
Range: 790 mi (690 nmi, 1,271 km)
Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,791 m)
Rate of climb: 750 ft/min (3.8 m/s)
Power/mass: 0.088 hp/lb (140 W/kg)
Armament
Guns:
Bombs: 360 lb (163 kg)
*
|
|