In Australian Service – Avro Anson

Concurrent with Avro’s response to the Air Ministry specification number G 18/35 for a Coastal Command general reconnaissance aircraft, de Havilland was also hard at work on their submission. This was a version of the Rapide known as the DH-89M. It incorporated numerous changes somewhat similar to those put forward by Avro for the Civil 652. A prototype DH-89M was built but the Air Ministry later ruled in favour of the Avro project. The prototype Avro 652A carrying RAF serial K4771 had its maiden flight on 24 March 1935 and the service trials which established its supremacy over the DH-89M took place at Gosport between 11 and 17 May 1935. Very soon after on 25 May a contract for 174 aircraft was placed by the Air Ministry. The first production aircraft was flown by Geoffrey Tyson at Woodford on 31 December 1935. This aircraft, RAF serial K6152, was named an Anson Mk 1 by the services and the 652A was popularly known by that name from then on. This production version differed in certain respects from the prototype. An improvement in performance arose from the installation of 350 hp Cheetah IX engines, the windows were changed to improve visibility and the rudder was horn-balanced instead of mass-balanced. One undoubted annoyance for the crews, but a feature which must have kept them fit, was the undercarriage which was manually raised by 140 turns of a chain-driven gear. The two examples of the original 652 design G-ACRM ‘Avalon’ and G-ACRN ‘Avatar’ were delivered to Imperial Airways in March 1935 and gave many years of reliable service flying on the Croydon-Brindisi service.

Deliveries to the RAF took place in quantity and by the outbreak of the war, they were the prime aircraft of Coastal Command. In addition to their usual patrol duties, the Ansons also bared their teeth. In the first few days of the war, an Anson of No. 269 Squadron shot down a Dornier Do 18 flying boat. During the following year, several other Luftwaffe aircraft were shot down including two Messerschmitt Me 109s. The introduction of Lockheed Hudsons into Coastal Command use meant that the transfer of Ansons could be made to other roles. A total of 7195 Anson Mk 1s were produced and a peak production rate of 130 aircraft per week was achieved during 1943/44. In addition to British production, over 2000 Ansonsof various marques were built in Canada and of these 50 were delivered to the USAAF as the model AT-20. The Canadian aircraft were powered by a variety of engines including the 380 hp Jacobs L6MB or R-915-7, 300 hp Wright Whirlwind R-760-E1 and the 450 hp Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior.

By 1944 many improvements were introduced by Avro to the later marques including an enlarged fuselage giving more headroom, more powerful engines and a hydraulically actuated undercarriage. The refinements continued and the Avro 652A Nineteen Series 2 which featured a tapered metal fabric-covered wing of increased span was a noteworthy development. Production of the Anson continued for 17 years and the 11,020th aircraft was handed over on 27 February 1952. Of these 8138 were built in England and the remaining 2882 were constructed in Canada.

Australia’s involvement with the Anson started in 1936. The RAAF had a requirement for a coastal reconnaissance aircraft and the Anson was selected for the task. The first batch of 12 Ansons was unloaded in Melbourne from the SS Orani on 19 November 1936. These aircraft carried RAAF serials A4-1 to A4-12 and had been diverted from a RAF contract where their previous identities were K6212-K6223. The first Anson A4-1 was transported for erection at Laverton and subsequently was flown on its first flight by Wing Commander A. W. Murphy on 2 December. A further 36 aircraft were delivered to complete the order for 48 Ansons. These Ansons, A4-1 to A4-48 were silver finished and armament consisted of a manually operated Lewis gun in the dorsal turret and a fixed Vickers gun on the port side of the nose. Two bomb bays in the centre section housed the 200 lb bomb load. Initial deliveries were to No. 2 Squadron at Laverton and No. 4 Squadron at Richmond. As the Ansons arrived in Australia other squadrons were to receive them on strength. They played a valuable part in training aircrew for the testing time which was soon to befall the RAAF.

By 1938 the RAAF needed a further two squadrons to be formed and investigated the availability of bombers from either the US, England or local manufacture. Ultimately a further 40 Ansons were loaned by the RAF to the RAAF to assist. It was intended that They would eventually be returned to the RAF and when they arrived in Australia in 1939 they retained their RAF serials. By the time war broke out 82 Ansons were operating with RAAF squadrons, many of them engaged on coastal patrols. Typical of these were the No. 6 Squadron based at Richmond which used them until Hudsons became available during May 1940. Generally, as more suitable patrol aircraft such as Beauforts, Catalinas and Hudsons were delivered, the Ansons were phased out of the patrol duties.

A huge impetus to the use of Ansons in Australia was brought about by the advent of the Empire Air Training Scheme. After the first 50 Ansons to be made available under this scheme had been released by the British, the pressure of the conflict in Europe brought about the cancellation of deliveries to Australia. At one stage it was proposed to build 800 Ansons in Australia, but when the British advised that they were able to resume shipments in July 1940, the local production plan was abandoned. Some confusion exists regarding the exact number of Ansons received by the RAAF, but the total number delivered would seem to be either 1028 or 1034. Apart from the initial 48 Ansons delivered by 1938, all the other aircraft retained their RAF serials during their RAAF careers. At the conclusion of the war, a large number of surplus Ansons were sold through the Commonwealth Disposals Commission. Apart from some sold overseas, the majority were sold in Australia and of these, 135 were to appear on the Civil Register.

The availability of comparatively cheap Ansons was a boon to many hopeful small operators who wished to establish themselves in the heady post-war era in Australia. These were hectic times when many ambitious ex-RAAF pilots were anxious to utilise their skills and make aviation their career in civilian life. Unfortunately many were undercapitalised and did not survive for very long. Others were more fortunate and started an association with the Anson which was to last for many years.

Probably one of the most important associations with the Anson was that of a group of interested people in the New England area of New South Wales who formed the Anson Holding Company in late 1946. The moving force in this venture was Squadron Leader Basil Brown who was then the resident instructor at the Tamworth Branch of the Newcastle Aero Club. The idea was that Anson should be acquired to provide the equipment for a new airline to operate in the area. East West Airlines was selected as a trading name as it was the intention of the fledgling airline when formed, to operate a Moree-Grafton service.

However, investigations revealed that this service would not be viable due to sparse traffic on the route. Butler Air Transport had held an option on the Tamworth-Sydney route which had recently lapsed and the Anson Holding Company decided that they would operate this run. Four Ansons were purchased and the task of converting the aircraft for airline use was given to Marshall Airways. During 1947 Marshalls set about civilianising the Ansons the first aircraft, VH-ASM was registered on 7 May 1947. A trial flight was made by VH-ASM from Tamworth to Sydney on 7 June and the historic inaugural regular service took place on 23 June.

Initially, three services a week were flown but this frequency was doubled soon after the second aircraft, VH-AYI, was registered on 11 July 1947. During this period the Anson Holding Company ceased to exist and the incorporation of East West Airlines as a public company took place. Anson Nos. 3 and 4, VH-EWA and VH-BKL were registered on 19 December 1947 and 14 April 1948, to be joined not long after by VH-BDO and VH-BBI. These six aircraft were the backbone of the East-West fleet until the early 1950s. One of them, VH-BDO, was lost in an accident soon after take-off from Tamworth on 12 October 1949, when an engine failed and the aircraft made a forced landing near the airfield. The pilot was injured although the passengers escaped unharmed. Another Anson, VH-BKL, was written off at Stanthorpe on 5 December 1950. The surviving four Ansons were disposed of as more suitable aircraft were absorbed into the fleet.

Details of the East-West Ansons are as follows

In addition to East-West, Ansons served with other Australian airlines, both large and small. Some examples of these were Butler Air Transport in NSW, MacRobertson Miller Airlines and WoodsAirways Ltd in WA and Brain and Brown and Flinders Island Airways from Melbourne. The Woods Airways Ansons VH-WAB Wilhelm De Vlaming and VH-WAC The Islander operated a service between Perth and Rottnest Island which commenced in 1948. By the time they were withdrawn from the run in 1961, they had flown the route over 12,000 times. Apart from the smaller airlines even Qantas was associated with the Anson, although this connection was short. Anson VH-BBZ joined Qantas on 4 February 1949 but was lost in an accident at Kerowagi, New Guinea on 10 May 1949 when the aircraft swung on take-off and hit a drain.

In addition to airline use the Anson was heavily involved in most other activities. They were a familiar sight on survey work in the employ of Adastra Airways Ltd around Australia. Government agencies like the Department of Civil Aviation used several Ansons for general use. The New South Wales Police Department purchased an Anson for general police duties throughout the state. At a ceremony at Mascot on 17 July 1946, this aircraft, VHAQV Nemesis, was handed to the Police Aviation Section. During its career, it was crewed by police personnel who had served with the RAAF. Amongst theSection’s five pilots was Sgt. F. J. Hanson who along with wireless operator Constable M. Wood were both to later become Police Commissioners. The Anson gave much assistance to the force and was eventually disposed of in 1950. Improvements in the radio network and the gradual build-up of staff at country centres had reduced the need for its services. These various uses were typical of the widespread type of duties the Ansons performed in the post-war era.

However, the sands of time were running out for the Anson. In mid-1961 the Department of Civil Aviation announced that Avro Anson Mk 1 aircraft would be grounded and de-registered from 1 July 1962. This decision was made because of concern over the possible deterioration of the glued joints of the wing owing to the age of the aircraft. In the preceding three years, many intensive inspections had been carried out to monitor the general condition of the wings. As part of the clamp-down on Anson activities, no additional aircraft were allowed to be registered and the transfer of private Ansons to charter and passenger use was not permitted. As a prelude to the phasing out of Anson Mk 1 operations, they were not allowed to operate overwater services or carry passengers from 1 January 1962. At the time of this decision, nine Ansons had a certificate of airworthiness and were engaged principally in charter and freight use.

To signal the end of an era, three Ansons, VH-BSF, VH-FIA and VH-FIC, flew over Melbourne on 30 June. As an illustration of the value to be obtained from ex-RAAF Ansons, it is interesting to note that VH-FIA was acquired for 31 pounds and had flown 5700 hours at the time of its retirement. To the West, MacRobertson Miller’s survey aircraft, VH-MMH, was accompanied by another Anson, VH-BEL, for a last flight over Perth. However, the story does not quite end there. VH-RCC ex G-AHXK, an Avro 19 series 2 owned by Nicholas Air Charter, was flown to Australia by Richard Cavill in October 1962. Its registration was cancelled in February 1965.

Another Avro 19 series 2 had a more eventful career and was responsible for keeping the last Anson airworthy in Australia for some years. This was VH-BIX ex RAF VM375, an Avro C. 19. This Ahson was converted to civil use and was registered as VH-BIX in May 1957. While making a forced landing at WA on 22 March 1961 following an engine failure, the rear fuselage was damaged when the tailwheel hit a limestone outcrop. The Anson was moved to Melbourne later that year and the metal wing was fitted to Brain and Brown’s VH-BAF. This was the only Anson to remain on the Civil Register for any length of time following the DCA’s instructions and it was ultimately deleted from the Register in the mid-1970s.

The rise and the decline of the Anson is perhaps best illustrated by the number on the Australian Civil Register over the last 10 years or so that they were active.

Although there are presently no Ansons flying in Australia, VHBAF is in a near-airworthy condition at Essendon. Others are in not-so-pristine condition and are in various stages of decay around Australia. On a happier note, a notable restoration is currently under the way of East West’s original Anson VH-ASM. This work is being undertaken by John Gallagher at his Sydney home. A brief resume of what has so far been accomplished testimony to the painstaking work that goes into a project of this nature. The fuselage is almost finished. It is carpeted, and fully lined, the seats have been rebuilt, the lights are in working condition arid the instruments have been fitted but riot-connected. The tailplane is complete and is at Tamworth. The wing is being built from scratch using a set of plans obtained from British Aerospace. The spar has been built, the wing jig is complete and the _ribs are under construction. The main plane should be about finished by the time this article appears. No definite plans have been ma:de yet as to where the aircraft will be displayed. Two Cheetan IXs in good condition will be installed and excellent propellers and cowls are on hand. Apart from John’s Anson rebuild, other projects are underway in Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia. It is pleasing to see these attempts being made to preserve examples of one of the most useful aircraft to have been used in Australia in the immediate post-war years

Specifications of the Avro Anson Mk 1 are as follows.

Power Plant: Two Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX engines of 310 hp each. Span: 56’6″. Length: 42’3″, Height: 13’1″. Wing area: 463 sq. ft. Weight empty: 6510 Iii Weight loaded: 8500 lb. Max. speed at sea level: 170 mph. Cruising speed at 6000 feet: 158mph. Landingspeed: 57 mph. Initial rate of climb: 750ft/min. Climb to 5000 feet: 5. 2 minutes. Climb to 10,000 feet: 11. 6 minutes. Climb to 15,000 feet: 21. 7 minutes. Service ceiling: 19,500 feet. Range: 660 miles.