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The Avro Anson is a twin engine monoplane built by Avro and Victory Aircraft Limited of Canada, used for multirole purposes, specifically being a trainer aircraft and a frontline light bomber. Around 11,020 Ansons were built between 1935-1952. The main variant was the Mk1 with 6,688 built. This made the Anson the second most built bomber in WWII, after the Vickers Wellington (11,461 built).
Development:
In 1933, the air ministry of the UK issued a specification for a cheap aircraft capable of maritime reconnaissance for the RAF. Avro in turn, submitted a design based on a passenger plane it previously built for Imperial Airways called the Avro 652, designated the Avro 652A. However, De Havilland also submitted a design based on its DH89 Rapide plane, which interested the air ministry too. As a result, in 1934, the air ministry selected both designs for evaluation out of all the submissions given by various companies. On 24 March 1935, the Avro 652A prototype made its first flight at Woodford Aerodrome in Greater Manchester and by May 1935, the coastal defence development division of the RAF evaluated the prototype against the plane De Havilland proposed and won the competition. Therefore, the air ministry approved the prototype for use and permitted an order of 174 aircraft by July. The plane was named the ‘Anson’, after Admiral George Anson of the navy.
Design:
The Avro Anson was a monoplane, powered by two Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah seven cylinder air cooled radials, giving a power of 350Hp each. The engines were supplemented by fuel pumps and oil tanks. The propellers were two bladed, made by fairey aviation. Much of its internal structure was the same as its passenger predecessor. The wings were made out of plywood and spruce wood, the fuselage was made of welded steel covered by fabric cladding and the exterior of the nose made out of aluminium alloys.
The Anson Mk1 was the first RAF plane that had a retractable landing gear, which was situated underneath the engine. The plane was manned by a crew of 3 (a pilot, bomber and gunner). The bomber was situated at the nose, lying down with his bombsight. The cockpit was behind the position of the bomb-aimer housing the pilot. A fixed forward firing 7.7mm vickers machine gun was positioned at the front of the fuselage used by the pilot. Also there is a 7.7mm lewis gun fitted within the turret above the fuselage. The Anson carried 2x 100Ibs bombs and 8x 20Ibs bombs under the wings.
Operations:
On 31 December 1935, the first fully produced Anson Mk1 took to the skies, with improvements such as a taller tail and flaps for speed control and by March 1936, RAF deliveries began with the first entering service on 6th March. By the time WWII began, 824 planes were delivered operated by 26 squadrons (10 by Coastal Command and 16 by Bomber Command) and by 1939, they were being served as training aircraft by bomber command for frontline operations (using primary main bombers e.g Wellingtons, Hampdens)
But it was soon realised that the Ansons were outdated because of newer and better performing patrol aircraft. However the Anson Mk1 saw few months of combat service by Coastal Command, with reports of attacks on German U-Boats. But a post combat analysis showed that the bombing did very little damage with the two 100Ibs bombs being used. For the rest of the beginning of the war, the Anson Mk1s were used for patrols to prevent German E-Boats from attacking the Dunkirk evacuations. On 1 June 1940, 3 Ansons were reported, unconfirmed however, to have shot down 2 Bf 109s and damaging a 3rd. Flying schools were established in Canada, Australia and South Africa, known as the Empire Air Training Scheme.
Specifications:
Crew: 3–4
Length: 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m)
Wingspan: 56 ft 6 in (17.22 m)
Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
Wing area: 463 sq ft (43.0 m2)
Empty weight: 5,375 lb (2,438 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 8,000 lb (3,629 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX 7-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 335 hp (250 kW) each
Propellers: 2-bladed fixed-pitch propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 188 mph (303 km/h, 163 kn) at 7,000 ft (2,100 m)
Cruise speed: 158 mph (254 km/h, 137 kn)
Range: 660 mi (1,060 km, 570 nmi)
Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,800 m)
Rate of climb: 960 ft/min (4.9 m/s)
Armament
Guns:
1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) machine gun in front fuselage
1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in dorsal turret
Bombs:
360 lb (160 kg) of bombs
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