United Kingdom's Avro Anson Trainer1
Avro Anson Trainer:
Design
It was to meet a RAF Coastal Command requirement for a reconnaissance aircraft.1 It was based on the Avro 652 airliner.1 It first flew in March 1935 and entered service in 1936.1
In January 1936 the rudder area was increased due to some unstability.1
The pilot had the only controls.1 The navigator / bombardier sat behind him with a plotting table and instrument panel.1 The radio operator / gunner sat at the rear of the cabin.1
The bombardier used a Wimperis Mk VIIB bombsight.1 He would go through a panel in the floor and move forward to the front of the plane.1
The turret in the top of the cabin was a manually operated Armstrong Whitworth turret.1 It had a 7.7 mm Lewis Mk 3A MG.1 It had five drums of ammunition.1 When not being used the barrel was lowered into a slot in the fuselage.1
The rear wheel was fixed and the mainwheels required 164 1/2 turns of a handle to raise them.1 Later models had hydraulically operated gear.1
In 1944 a version had radar installed and the Royal Navy used them for training.1
Production
Production models had a 25% increase in the tailplane span and a reduction in the elevator area over the prototypes.1
Over 11,000 were built.1 3,000 of them had Wright, Jacobs, or Pratt and Whitney engines installed when they were manufactured in Canada.1
Production continued until 1952 and remained in RAF service until 1968.1
Usage
First entered service in 1936.1 It saw it's first combat on September 5, 1939 by attacking a U-Boat.1
It could turn inside a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and was credited with shooting down 6.1 Two of these were shot down by the No. 500 Squadron during the evacuation of Dunkirk.1
From 1941 several air-sea rescue squadrons were outfitted with the Anson.1
Canada selected the Anson in 1940 to be it's primary trainer.1
Finland received three in 1938.1
Australia, Estonia, Greece, and Ireland also used the Anson.1
| Anson Mk I1 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Advanced trainer1 |
| Crew | |
| Engine (Type) | 2: Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX1 |
| Cylinders | Radial 71 |
| Cooling | Air1 |
| HP | 350 each1 |
| Propeller blades | |
| Dimensions | |
| Span | |
| Length | |
| Height | |
| Wing area | |
| Weight | |
| Empty | 5,361 lb1 2,438 kg1 |
| Loaded | 7,984 lb1 3,629 kg1 |
| Performance | |
| Speed @ 7,000' / 2,130 m1 | 188 mph1 303 kph1 |
| Climb @ sea level | 750'/min1 229 m/min1 |
| Service ceiling | 19,000'1 5,790 m1 |
| Range | 787 miles1 1,270 km1 |
| Armament | 2: 7.7 MG1 |
| Bombs | 360 lb1 163 kg1 |
| Production | 11,0201 |
Sources:
- Aircraft of WWII, General Editor: Jim Winchester, 2004
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