Avro Anson

© Warren S.H. Monks 2011

Design & Development

The Avro Anson was originally designed as a light, four-passenger civil transport and mail aircraft. The first three were built to civil specifications, and first flew in 1935 for Imperial Airways. However, its promise was recognised by the British Air Ministry and, in 1936, the Avro 652A entered service with both the RAF and the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) Coastal Commands, where it was the first low-wing monoplane, and the first operational aircraft with retractable (manually) landing gear.

Named after a 18th Century Royal Navy Admiral, George Anson, the Avro Anson Mk I was used initially as a coastal patrol reconnaissance aircraft, with a manually operated, enclosed gun turret mounting a single .303 machine gun, two internally carried 100lb bombs, and external racks that could carry eight 20lb bombs, flares or smoke generators. The Anson was woefully under gunned for its task, as was embarrassingly demonstrated when one accidentally bombed a Royal Navy submarine (H.M.S. "Snapper") with 100lb bombs that merely broke four light bulbs on the undersea craft.

Thus, as quickly as possible, the Anson was replaced as a patrol craft by the Lockheed Hudson and reassigned as a training aircraft, a role for which it proved to be ideally suited, and in which it performed for nearly 3 decades. Initially intended to be the standard twin-engine pilot trainer for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), the Anson II was also used for training radio operators, navigators, and bombardiers. When Canada began manufacturing the complete aircraft at their own Federal Aircraft Ltd site, the turret was dropped from their variant. The Anson Mk II was the first variant to be completely built in Canada, differing from the Mk I in its Jacobs engines, hydraulically powered flaps and landing gear, and a moulded plywood nose. Fifty of the Canadian-manufactured Mk II's were supplied to the U. S. Army as the AT-20 crew trainer.

Subsequent Anson’s manufactured in Canada under the BCATP were fitted with either Jacobs L-6MB (Mk III) or Wright Whirlwind R-975-E3 (Mk IV) radial engines. Canada also manufactured an Anson (Mk V) that used plywood completely in its fuselage, which proved useful in Canadian magnetic surveying after the war. A single gunnery training sample (Mk VI) was built in 1943. Mark numbers VII, VIII and IX were set aside for future Canadian varieties that never materialized. While Britain resumed manufacturing with the Anson Mk X, which was a Mk I with a stronger cabin floor, intended for freight and passenger use, while Marks XI and XII saw the raising of the cabin roof for passenger comfort, and the addition of all metal wings (MK XII, series 2), with both marks also being produced in ambulance variations. Marks XIII, XIV, XV and XVI were assigned but never produced, while MK XVII was never allotted.

A civilian variety of the Anson, the Avro Nineteen, built on a MK XI airframe, was produced in limited quantities for British internal routes, while its RAF version was designated Anson C.19. A police patrol and survey variant, the Anson C.18 was developed for both the Royal Afghan Air Force and for the Indian government where it was to be used for civilian crew training. A bomber trainer version, Anson T.20, was developed for use in Southern Rhodesia, and a similar T.21 was produced, differing primarily in the removal of a transparent nose and bomb racks, while the final variant, the T.22, was built as a radio trainer.

Operational History

At the start of the Second World War, there were twenty six RAF Squadrons operating the Anson I, ten with Coastal Command and sixteen with Bomber Command. However, by this time, the Anson was obsolete in the roles of bombing and coastal patrol and was being superseded by the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Lockheed Hudson.

Limited numbers of Anson's continued to serve in operational roles such as coastal patrols and air/sea rescue. Early in the war, an Anson scored a probable hit on a German U-boat. In June 1940, a flight of three Anson's were attacked by nine Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Remarkably, the Anson's downed two German aircraft and damaged a third before the dogfight ended, without losing any of their own. The aircraft's true role, however, was to train pilots for flying multi-engine 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 aimer's and air gunners. Postwar, the Anson continued in the training role and light transport roles. The last Anson's were finally retired from the RAF on 28th June 1968, when the RAF decommissioned six aircraft of the Southern Communications Squadron, at Bovington, Hampshire.

The Royal Australian Air Force operated 1028 Anson's, mainly Mk I's, until 1955. The Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Canadian Navy operated Anson's until 1952. The USAAF employed 50 Canadian-built Anson's, designated as the AT-20.

The Royal New Zealand Air Force operated 23 Anson's as navigation trainers in WW II, alongside the more numerous Airspeed Oxford, and acquired more Anson's as communication aircraft immediately after the war. A preserved navigation trainer is in the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum at Wigram.

Production Summary

Specifications
(Anson Mk. I)

Length: 42 ft 3 (12.88 m)
Width: 56 ft 6 (17.22 m)
Height: 13 ft 1 (3.99 m)
Accommodation: 3-4
Hardpoints: 0
Empty Weight: 5,512 lb (2,500 kg)
MTOW: 8,500 lb (3,900 kg)
Max Speed: 188 mph (163 kn, 303 km/h) at 7,000 ft (2,100 m)
Max Range: 790 m (690 nm, 1,300 km)
Rate-of-Climb: 750 ft/min (3.8 m/s)
Service Ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,791 m)
Engine: 2 x Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX radial engines, 350 hp (260 kW) each
Armament Standard: 1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) machine gun in front fuselage
1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in dorsal turret
360 lb (160 kg) bombs
Armament Optional: None