35p/$1'50

The Airspeed Oxfordby John D. R. Rawlings

Editorially speaking . . .

Tlris is only the second occasion that Editorially Speaking. . . has

appeared in print-the debut being made in Airuaft Proy'les Nos.225 and 226. So it is still too early to be able to test the reaction ofreaders to this new departrnent. Bui it will do no harm to re-capitulate that this page is intended to provide a closer linkbetween the authors, the publishers and the public. Your com-ments are welcomed providing you r,rnderstand and accept thecontent of Guidelines on Letters elservhere on this page. ThankYou'

.HARLES w. .AINABOUT THE AUTHOR

No.227 Airspeed Oxford variantsJohn D. R. Rawlings is an author best known for his l-tistorical andcontemporary writings on the British Royal Air Force. That it ispossible to conrbine professional interests-as it were "a wing and aprayer"-is evident in that the excellent big book Fighter Squadrons oJthe R.A.F. (Macdonald, London, f6'00) is ascribed to the Rev. J. D. R.Rawlings.

As pron-rised in the prelin-rinary announcement, there is more than ahint of pure nostalgia in John Rawlings' tribute to the hard-workedAirspeed Oxford. Enthusiastic advance reception seems to bear out ouroriginal belief that the "Ox-box" is going to be a very popular newPro.file.

Volume 9 now readY

Eighteen separate titles, over 100,000 words covering Nos. 193 to 210, ina beautiful green and gold binding (matching the eight previousvolumes) . . the latest additior-r to the unique aviation library ofAircraft in Profile. Volume 9 is now ready, price f6'00. If you rvantfurther details, drop a line ro Profiles of Winclsor; there could be astockist in your area.

YOUR COMMENTS

Maryland memoriesCongratulationsl Air craft P rofi Ie s

are beautiful. I would like to seethe following . . . (list of aircrafttypes too long for inclusion-Editor). I arn most pleased No.232 wlll be Martin Maryland, agraceful aircraft.

Concerning the MarYland, Iwell recall an incident on JulY 14,1941 in my home town of Corfu.A Vichy French Martin l67.4.-3with serious engine trouble crash-ed in the town centre close to mYhome. It landed in what is now thegarden of the Corfu Palace Hotel.Five bodies were recovered. I stillhave a souvenir, a piece of themetal skinning painted in dis-tinctive orange as part of Vichy'sneutrality markings of orange andyellow stripes.

ANDREAS STAMATOPOULOSCorfu, Greece.

Tn'o of reader Mihail Moise.stu'sI.A.R.'80 photos; note the revised( March 30, 1941 ) national ntarkingsin the .fl.t'ing Jbrntation.

Eorronrrrrv spEAKING . . . Aircraft Profiles certainly span the worldand, no doubt, this page will reflect the international flavour of thereadership. Note: Yichy neutrality stripes rvere red and yellorv.

Your next

No. 228variants

AIRCRAFT PROFILE

Fieseler Fi 156 Storch

Once again Richard P. Bateson tackles aGerman subject, this time the ubiquitousFieseler Srorcir (Stork). This rvas one of thefirst S.T.O.L. (Short Take-Off & Landing)types designed as such. Many famousnames are among those who flew or rvereflown in examples of the Storch, possiblythe most famous episode was that involvingthe rescue of the imprisoned Mussolini.Surprisingly, the Fi 1 56 has never been fullyresearched for publication. Until now. Andr.vorth waiting for !

How about?Please consider the follorving suggestions .

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress; MiG-21 "Fishbed"LTV A-7 Corsair II; Gloster Meteor Mks. I toIII and the Romanian l.A.R. 80/B I .

ERIC ODELLHuntington Beach,cA 92646, U.S.A.EorrontrLly spEAKIr.-c . . . Mr. Odell rvill beamazed to learn that quite a ferv of his sug-gestions are already being prepared as futureProfiles. To be honest, though, one is not yet'rofiles. To be honest, though, one is not yet

on the drawing board"-the LA.R. 80. Hon-ever, it is the subject ol a selection of hithertounpublicised photos sent to us from Bucharestby reader Moisescu as recently as June 1971.We thought you'd Iike to see a couple of thenr.

Guidelines on lettersHere are a lew simple guidelines for readersrvishing to write to Aircraft Pro.files and itsauthors: (l) letters should be brief and,preferably, constructive; (2) letters intendedfor individual authors will be sent on to them:(3) except lor sales queries, correspondentsshould relrain lrom submitting long lists ofquestions, especially those which have nobearing on existing or forthcoming Profiles;(4) the Editor reserves the right to extracrrelevant sections from letters for publicationunless correspondents signify otherwise; and(5) because the Editor has only lir-nited tirne todeal with additional correspondence, similarlyhe reserves the right to delay individual repliesor, where it appears that no reply is necessary,simply to accept gratefully readers' appreciationof the time factor.Address ):our letters to:

Editorially speaking. . .Aircraft Profiles,Profile Publications Ltd.,Coburg House, Sheet Street,Windsor, Berks. SL4 lEB, England.

The prototfpe AirspeedOxforclfying at the time ofthefnal R.A.F. Pogeant in June 1937. It was equippeclwitha dummy turret ancl the blacknumber"J"referred to its placing in the New Types Park qt the Hendoil Pageont. (Photo: Airspeed ref. G.2734 via the Author)

The Airspeed Oxfordby John D. R. Rawlings

IN MARCH 1936, the Royal Air Force Station atManston, Kent, witnessed a significant event with thearrival, on charge of No. 48 Squadron, of three AvroAnsons. It was the first modern monoplane ordered bythe R.A.F. in large quantities which introduced suchcomplications as flaps and a retractable undercarriage;complications with which the new generations of air-crew would need to become acquainted.

The Anson was, relatively-speaking "a dear" to fly.But, following in its train were to come more potentmonoplanes, with habits sufficiently vicious (comparedwith the biplanes of the mid-l930s) to cause pilots to paycloser attention to their flying skills. With these newtypes coming into service in numbers not dreamed olsince World War One it did not take the Air Ministrylong to realise that new advanced trainers would beneeded to match the aircrew to their new types. Accord-ingly, two Specifications were issued, T.6136 for asingle-engined trainer and T.23136 for a twin-enginedtrainer. For the latter Specification, an invitation wassent to Airspeed (1934) Ltd., of Portsmouth. Hampshire.to submit a tender.

DEVELOPMENTThe reason behind the Air Ministry's invitation to

Airspeed was sound enough. Although Airspeed was notone of the giants ol the British aircralt industry. having

existed for only five years, nevertheless it had moreexperience in producing aircraft equipped with retract-able undercarriages than any other British manufacturerat that time. Equally important, Airspeed had recentlyhad some success with the ,4..5.6, a small, twin-enginedairliner called the Envoy which looked a good startingpoint. And from this basis the design team, led byA. Hessell Tiltman, did work. However, because of themultiplicity of functions required in the Specification(pilot-training, navigation- night- and instrument-flying,together with radio, gunnery, photographic and bomb-ing training) the aircraft which emerged bore only asuperficial resemblance to the Envoy. Airspeed gavethe aircraft the designation A.S.10 and the Air Ministrynamed it the Oxford.

As with so many new types. the cautious Air Ministrymade matters difficult for the manufacturing companyby ordering only a relatively small and uneconomicquantity at first-the initial order in October 1936 waslor 136 aircraft. Even so, for the company this was muchlarger than any order they had received hitherto. Itwas to necessitate much rearrangement ol the Ports-mouth lactory to gear it lor mass production, rearrange-ment which would involve a delay in getting quantityproduction under way.

There was no undue delay with the original prototype(R.A.F. serial L4534), which flew lor the first time

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The 100th O xford off the line ut Portsnouth, L4633, stund,v outside the Airspeedfigltt shed (Photo: Imperial War Museum rel'. MH334l.)

One oJ the last Oxfords in sertice, MP359--photographetl in 1953 uhile yith No. S A.F.T.S. trtts built b1' Stqndurd Motors in Cctlentrf in 1943 and

(Photo: via M. Garbett.)

thesidesoftheJitselogeandunderthe[ings. (pholo:theAuthor)

at Portsmouth on June 19,l93T.Intensive flying followedand exactly a week alter its initial flight, L4534 appearedin the "New Types Park" at the final R.A.F. Display atHendon Aerodrome, London, albeit with a dummydorsal turret. After this public debut, Flight LieutenantC. H. A. Colman and G. B. S. Errington got down to thedevelopment testing which was completed by the end olSeptember 1937.

Following test evaluation, the only imrnediate modi-fication of any consequence was to move the pressure-head from the top ol the aerial mast to a position underthe outboard starboard wing. This caused hardly anydelay to the subsequent production aircraft whichwere planned in two versions. The Mk. I was to be thegeneral-purpose trainer lor use with all aircrew grades,having a dorsal gun-turret, bomb-bay, and muchinternal equipment. The Mk. II was to be the dual-con-trol pilot trainer. Much conlusion was caused lor manyyears, however, by the fact that the Oxlord saw littleservice in other than pilot-training roles and the majorityof Mk. Is flew for most ol the time without their turrets.It had been intended to use either the ArmstrongSiddeley Cheetah IX with Fairey-Reed two-blade (fixed-pitch) metal propellers or the Cheetah X with woodenpropellers but in practice all the production aircralt hadthe latter.

PRODUCING THE OXFORDIn construction the Oxlord was a logical successor to

the A.S.6 Envoy Series III being olwooden stressed-skinconstruction-with glued joints. Although this latterwas looked upon askance at the time, the subsequentlongevity of many of the Oxlords built lasting up-wards ol 10 to 15 years provides testimony to theefficacy of the gluing methods used.

The airframe was divided into four sub-assernblieswhich were substantially pre-labricated belole assembl-ing as a whole, the centre-section, which was the core ol

the aircraft, comprised the wing panels outboard to theengine nacelles, the two outboard wing panels and theluselage with integral empennage. The mainplanecomprised two box spars around which the wholeconstruction was built; the spars tapered spanwise togive the dihedral to the undersurface which was acharacteristic feature of the Oxford. The undercarriagewas designed to fold rearwards into the engine nacellesand was hydraulically-operated by a pump on thestarboard engine or hand-pumped by the pilot througha separate emergency system. The fuselage was built asvarious sub-assemblies which were then brought togetherwith the cabin section as a core in the boxing-up jig.The rear turret was a complete sub-assembly andremovable. Access to the cabin was by a door on theport side.

Normally the aircraft was fitted-out lor pilot opera-tion with dual, side-by-side controls and with a controlpanel which was ahead of its time in the logical groupingof the flight and engine instruments and the arrangementolthe ancillary controls on the central console. For othertraining functions, the starboard seat could be slidrearwards allowing a collapsible charl table to be fittedto the starboard fuselage wall. Or, it could be removed

P1070 yas the first Otford I Jron lhe Pertivul protlut:tion line et Luton,Irere secn in carlr, 1940 trim.

(Photo: Imperial War Museum MH42g3)

An turl.t Oxford 7.2 71211, in po.\t-to scrtirc yith thc' Stution Fligltt ut lrle .\t trlulling in tha uutunn ttl l949.

altogether to allow access to the bomb-aimer's panel inthe nose-the bomb-bay being under the centre-section between the two spars. Finally, the rear cabinallowed accommodation for a radio-operator and agunner; although normally not more than three crewmembers were flown at a time.

Belore the initial production batch was completed,vast orders for more Oxfords flowed in to Airspeed.To meet the demand, the Company opened a "shadow"factory at Christchurch, Hampshire, andhad the pleasureol having its product sub-contracted to some of theother members of the British aircralt industry, namely deHavilland at Hatfield. Percival Aircraft at Lnton andStandard Motors at Coventry. Over the years that

(Photo: Autlror)

followed these companies built 8.751 aircraft, productionending in July, 1945.

SERVICE TRAININGThe first deliveries of Oxlords to the R.A.F. took

place in November 1937 when L4535, 4536 and 4537were delivered to the Central Flying School (C.F.S.), atUpavon. Wiltshire, for evaluation by the Service'ssenior instructors. Of other early Oxfords: L4538 wasretained by Airspeed prior to delivery as a civil Oxford(special A.S.40) to British Airways Ltd. (see later);and L4539 was retained lor developments with theMaclaren Castoring cross-wind undercarriage. Thenlurther deliveries took place; L4540 Io the C.F.S.;

tith txo tinclots. (Photo: I.W.M. CH2l66)

" leakcd" the Mosquito, t| hose lai I cun be seen under I he s t arboartl vingt i1t antl rrhich, a1 that time , ||ds still secre t.

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L4541 44 to No. 11 Flying Training School (F.T.S.),followed by further Oxlords and then to No. 3 F.T.S.,and so on.

Although these first aircraft were multi-purposeMk. Is, the initial need lor the Oxford was to makesure that new pilots coming through the "trainingmachine" were ready to cope with "twins" such as theBlenheirn, Hampden, Wellington and Whitley* and sothe first Oxfords went to the Flying Training Schools.By the time Oxlord production was sufficient to spreadaround elsewhere the Air Observer Schools had surplusAnsons and, similarly, other categories of trainingestablishments had suitable types in service so the

* See profilasBristol Blanheint Mk. I (No 93lvol. 1) Bristol Bluthdn IL, (215110)Hundlar Page Hanpden (5lll3 ) Vitkers ll/cllington Mky.l & II ( 12516)Arnstrong Whifvorth Wltitlay LIks. I VIII (15317)

Oxford could be retained for pilot-training. And,partly for this reason, but more because of its excellentqualities as a pilot-trainer, the Oxford was destined inthis role for most of its military service career.

In 1939, the first Mk. IIs joined the R.A.F. and wereused alongside the Mk. Is as Oxford conversion aircraft;the Mk. Is being allocated for the advanced stage of thepilot-training syllabus. By the outbreak of war, four ofthe R.A.F.'s Flying Training Schools were lully activewith Oxfords, No. 2 at Brize Norton, No. 3 at SouthCerney, No. 1l at Shawbury and No. 14 at Cranfield.Production and training continued apace in the U.K. tomeet wartime needs but new developments were afootwhich would greatly affect the Oxford.

In order to lree the English skies of increasingnumbers of training aircralt the Empire Air TrainingScheme (E.A.T.S.) was conceived in which it wasintended to train the planned huge build-up of future

Although most of the Mk. V O_xfords serled oterseus, the development fying ras done on A5592 in the U.K. Distinguishing.features of the Wosp Juniorinstallatioil were the tv'in intakes on top of the corling. - -

iPhoto: "The Aeroplane")(Photo : "The Aeroplane")

l produttion O.x.lutl l', L8190, pull.s into u.\tt,(p turn, rcturlirtg tlrc longt,r (rltut!st pil(\

A./ter the Wur, in 1948, Airspeel ra.furbislwl .some er- R.A.F. Or/bnls./brthe Union of Burntu Air Force, intluding revirirlg lha turr('t. Thi.; O.t./oxlbau.s tfu Clus; " B" regislrutioil G 35 1l rnd is ott lcst ttcur Porlsnnutlt.Il .shotrlvell tltcxulkvut unclturkdetuils(r1 tlrctopsurfutt,snf theting.

(Phoro : "Flighr" 18428)

aircrew in the unhindered empty skies ol Canada.South Africa. Austlalia and New Zealand' leavingBritish skies ahnost exclusively for operations.

Already the Oxlord had reached two of theseDominions, Canada and New Zealand, who hadordered small batches for their own air forces. In 1940many more Oxlords were crated-up and shipped to ailfour Dominions to lurther the E.A.T.S. Canada had 188which went out. in the main. as airlrames only to befitted with Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior R-985-AN- 6

radials under the designation Oxford V (see later).South Alrica had 700. New Zealand had close on 300.but it is not known lor certain just how many went toAustralia. In addition. many others served with theR.A.F. Schools in Southern Rhodesia. It was in theseOxlords, scattered around the Empire, that manythousands ol rvartirne aircrew did their Service FlyingTraining. cuhninating in the presentation ol theirpilot's "rvings". In the British Empire. as in the UnitedKingdom, the Oxford was predominantly a pilottrainer.

Many sceptics wondered what affect the hot, dryconditions pertaining in South Africa, Rhodesia andparts of Australia would have on the glued woodenairframes. But, in the event, surprisingly little troublewas experienced on this score and, right up to the endof World War Two, the Oxlord continued to givelaithlul and widespread service as a pilot trainer.

As an integral part of the Empire Air Training Scheme,the Oxford fulfilled its most important task, training theaircrew ol the Dominions, and its niche in history will

The one ancl only Oxford III, P1864, usecl hr Attnstrong Sicldelel.fbr detelopntent vith the Cheetuh XV cngirc

remain secure for this alone. However, back in the U.K.it was also used in many more training and ancillaryroles as the war years proceeded. With the transfer ofthe S.F.T.S. (Service Flying Training Schools) coursesto the Dominions, the Schools in the U.K. were, apartlor one or two which were kept for training specialgroups, turned into other units. Many became FlyingInstructor Schools as the requirement for more andmore instructors was urgent.

Another need arose out of the type of training beinggiven to pilots overseas. These young men had grownaccustomed to flying in clear blue skies with unlimitedvisibility and they were soon found to get into troublewhen returning to the often murky and invariablycioud-filled skies of Britain. So, many ol the Oxlordswere formed into units called Advanced Flying Units(A.F.U.) which brought the new piiots into touch withthe unpleasant realities of flying in the U.K., and alsoto many of the operational procedures in force whichdiffered lrom the more rudimentary types of control inthe training areas. There were Pilot A.F.U.s andObserver A.F.U.s and the Oxfords predominated in thePilot A.F.U.s, most of them formed from existingF.T.S.s-thus No. 6 S.F.T.S. became No.6 (P) A.F.U.

One of the leatures of operational flying in the U.K.was the widespread use of the Standard Beam Approachsystem for bad weather recovery of aircraft. To ensurethat pilots were able to use the system effectively requiredmany hours oftraining "under the hood" and periodicalpractice. This was at first carried out by No. 1 BeamApproach School at Watchfield and the Oxlord became

(Photo : "Flight" I 8434)

the standard type in this role. Thereafter nearly onehundred Beam Approach Training Flights were lormedand attached to other units; most A.F.U.s and HeavyConversion Units (H.C.U.) had them and there was asprinkling of them around the various R.A.F. BomberCommand Groups to enable pilots to keep in practice.These were almost exclusively the province of the Oxfordand lrom 1942 onwards the sight of Oxlords withyellow triangles on the luselage (the sign of a BeamApproach training aircraft) was a familiar one through-out Britain. Also the Oxlord was used widely in instru-ment training roles; individual aircraft being attached tomany operational units, O.T.U.s, H.C.U.s and otherquasi-operational units where they quickly becamegeneral-purpose "hacks" as well as being in demand forthe more exacting tasks of keeping units' personnel up-to-date with their instrument-flying, thus avoiding theuse of the actual operational aircraft for this purpose.

The Oxford came in for another ancillary role in 1943when it virtually replaced the Westland Lysander in theAnti-Aircraft Co-operation (A.A.C.) squadrons. Thesesquadrons had the boring task ol flying as "targets" lorthe many anti-aircraft batteries throughout Britain andlor calibrating the many radar stations as well. TheLysander* hadtakenupthistaskwhen ousted lrom ArmyCo-operation Command in 1941 and now the Oxfordcame in to replace it and continued to serve in this rolealter the war until the early 1950s.

* IVastlincl Ly.sander Mks. I III ( 15917)

103

Most oJ the Oxlbrd Vs v'ere shipperl ot'erseus us ttit'fi'umes und Jitted u'ithWasp Juniors in Canadu. Here is one of them in Cunqdu at the end oJ theWur. (Photo: Howard Levy)

FLEET AIR ARM SERVICEAlthough basically flying single-engined aircraft the

Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (F.A.A.) acquired a

sizable number of Oxlords lor various duties. First olthese went to No. 782 Sqdn. at Donibristle, Scotland, toprovide twin-engined conversion facilities for the Com-munications Squadron there which flew, among otherthings, a de Havilland D.H.95 Flamingo. A conversionunit lor "twins" was formed at Yeovilton, Somerset, in1941 to continue this task, more especially as the F.A.A.was using the occasional "twins" lor various tasks(such as Martin Marylands for reconnaissance). Onceagain, the ubiquitous Oxlord performed the task andcontinued with this unit (No. 762 Sqdn.) until November1949. Likewise, the Oxlord served the F.A.A. well withits Instrument Training unit at Hinstock (No. 758 Sqdn.)and its Beam Approach Development Unit (No. 739Sqdn.); as well as being used as a "hack" by various otherunits such as the Admiralty Flight at Heston, the AirFighting Development Unit and the Fighter DirectionSchool.

Key to colour illustrationsL4537, the fourth Airspeed Oxford l,delivered to the Central Flying School,Upavon, Wiltshire, in October, 1937. TheC.F.S. badge is on the fin.DF447, a 1942 Standard Motors-built Oxfordl, shown in service with No.10 AdvancedFlying Training School, R.A.F., in July 1953.P1927, an Airspeed-built Oxford l, in servicewith No.14 Service Flying Training School,Cranfield, Bedfordshire, circa August 1940.3583, an Oxford I of No.24 Air School,South African Air Force, Nigel, Transvaal,in 1944-5. The green stripes and nacellesdenoted that the aircraft was used for BeamApproach Training and therefore to beavoided.N2252, the third production A.5.42 Oxfordfor the Royal New Zealand Air Force inservice with No.1 Flying Training School,Wigram in 1938.

MODIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENTSBecause the Oxlord proved to be a "natural" right

from the start, very little modification of the basicairframe was needed. It went into service and remainedin service almost in the same form as the prototype.Mention has already been made ol removing the pres-sure head lrom the aerial rnast; this latter was alsomodilied by being brought forward and shortened sothat it projected from the luselage in a position justabout behind the pilot's left ear. The exhaust pipes werelater lengthened to enable heater muffs to be put roundthem to introduce heating air into the cockpit; a welcomefeature on a winter's night. To deal with conditions in

Airspeerl Os.ford Is beiry ussanfilt,tl irt Rhodesiu during tlrc lltor .lbr tlte Entpit c Air Tnrininq Sthente (Photo:l.W.M. CRH9I)

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hongur at Furxborough in 1952.

some ol the dustier parts of the world a Vokes Air Filterwas fitted to the carburettor air intake and this waslater laired smoothly into the whole ol the undersideof the cowling, this modification being retrospectivelyfitted to many aircraft in Britain. The other semi-standard modification which was fitted in a seeminglyrandom way was a revised lorm ol undercarriage door,the two side doors being replaced by a frontal shield-type door.

A lew Oxfords were used lor development testing.One of the first was L4539, the sixth production air-craft. Belore going into R.A.F. service, it was deliveredto Heston Aircralt Ltd. where it was fitted with theMaclaren Castoring main undercarliage. The idea olthisundercarriage was to enable dlift to be offset on a cross-wind landing by swivelling the undercarriage to line upwith the actual line of flight. The aircralt spent 18

months to two years on these tests before being returnedto standard configuration and delivered to No. 2 F.T.S.

The R.A.F. has always required its pilot trainingaircralt to be able to spin and recover satislactorily and

ED268, a Luton-huilt Mk. I, sert'ed with rlv A.T.A. Flring Stltool tl11'ltite Ll'ulthunt. Noti(L,th( non-slttntlunl rtpttittting of thc.st,riul nunltcron tltt ltt.saluqe to ullov tht Stluxtl rntmht,r " 12" to ha /iil(,d iil.

naturally the Oxlord was expected to be able to do this.However, the standard Oxlord did not exhibit the kindol spinning characteristics which could be let loose ontrainee pilots and so some effort was made to remedythis shortcoming. One of the standard aircralt comingoff the Portsmouth production line in 1939, N6327, wasrebuilt with twin fins and rudders, resembling those olthe Lockheed Model 10 Electra. At the Royal AircraltEstablishment, Farnborough, it was put through aprotracted spinning programme. No significant im-provement was apparent and this modification was notfitted to any other Oxfords; as a result the pilot trainingprogramme had to limit its spinning exercises to in-cipient spins.

An ambulance version ol the Oxford was produced in1942 and trvo such aircraft. P8832 and P8833. weremodified on the Portsmouth line at that time, beingdclivered to No. 24 Squadron at Hendon lor shorGrange emergency ambulance flights.

In order to get the Oxlord into service quickly, theoriginal requirement for variable-pitch propellers had

7 he.ftl th produttktrt O xlorcl I, L45-19, y t.t.y used ht IIastttt AirtrtJ I to ttsttlrc trfucIur"tr.stritt'IIittq unLlt'rturriuqc Ior Iunding{rilrl{Ut]#lrMn,ar,,

106

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noye tttd no turrel,

gone by the board; although all Oxlords had a leveron the central console lor this purpose. In practice, theserving Oxlord Mk. Is and IIs never had such a luxurybut one aircraft was so fitted. This was P1864, a Mk. IIrvhich went to Armstrong Siddeley Motors lor Cheetahdevelopment and flew with the Cheetah XV in March19401 this aircralt was fitted with Rotol constant-speedpropellers and was used lor a couple ol years by bothArmstrong Siddeley and Rotols for engine and propellerdevelopment, before it was eventually converted to Mk. Vstandard. This particular aircraft was known as theMk. III of which it was the sole example.

During the war two further re-engined Oxlordsappeared. The first, eventually abandoned, related to a

Mk. I. AS 50 4 which was delivered to the De HavillandEngine Co. Ltd. where, in 1942, it was fitted with twoD.H. Gipsy Queen IV engines. This was purely an

Although the Ox.ford xus generulll. used.for pilot tuining :ont dil.fiuluses.for gunnerl' truining, especiullt'oter.\(q.\. Herc a lruinec gunnLr itlRltodesiu .fires Ji om his ttu ret ut u drogut, toted hy u Fuircy Buttle.

(Photo:l.W.M. CRII33)

if-,

experimental installation lor the Gipsy Queen IV onlygave 250 h.p. against the Cheetah X's 375 h.p. but theaircralt was used on Gipsy Queen development flyingbefoie becoming a "hack" at various Ministry of AircraftProduction units including A. & A.E.E. (Aeroplane &Armament Experimental Establishment) BoscombeDown and R.A.E. Farnborough, eventually reverting toMk. I standard. This aircraft was known unofficially asthe Oxford IV although this designation had beenearmarked for a pilot-training version olthe Mk. III andnever materialised.

The other re-engining was a much more importantaffair and led to the development of another majorversion of the Oxford. Two lactors together led tothoughts about re-engining the Oxford. One was thegreat demand on Armstrong Siddeley Motors forCheetah engines, principally lor the Oxlord and Anson,

PG95l ttus onc d the Oxfords used in rhe llliddle East at the end of thelVur und then transf<'rred to the Egvptian Air l-orte.

(Photo: A. J. Jackson)

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Airspeed A.S.10 Oxford l- period May 1943 - of No. 15Service Flying Training School, R.A.F. Station, Kidlington,near Oxford. This was the 403rd ol 422 built at Portsmouthby Airspeed (1934) Ltd. in the 8G100-668 serial range asMk.ls or lls.

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Muny o/ the Operutional Cutt'crsion Units u.sed Orforcl.s t/ter thc lYur.EB8 I 3 served v'ith No. 237 O .C:.U., t hc photo. eeniluissunca cont t tsionunit, in the earl)' 1950s.

the second factor was the rather wasteful process olexporting engines to the New World (the Oxlords toCanada) when there was a suitable engine sitting waitingon that continent. This engine was the Pratt & WhitneyWasp Junior of 450 h.p. A trial installation was made onAS592 in 1941 and this became the prototype lor thisvariant, the Mk. V, which was also fitted with HamiltonStandard constant-speed propellers. This became thethird major version olthe Oxford, 196 being produced as

Mk. Vs and many more converted, the airframesbeing sent overseas and the engines fitted on arrival. Theextra power, together with the refinement ol variable-pitch propellers, put 20 m.p.h. on the top speed andhalved the rate-of-climb time taken to 10,000. This was an

added bonus of help in the hot and high conditions ofSouthern Africa where they served in Southern Rhodesia(but not with the South African Air Force).

One final engine development took place on an

N6250, built btfbte the Ilur, vus one of muny Ox./brds thich hud u longttutl usc.lill liJb. It i.s .thoxv here during it.s sL'rvice hitlt No. 2.9..F.LS. ln1941.

Oxlord although this was not until 1946. Miles Aircraltol Woodley, Berkshire, converted Oxford, LXl19, totake two Alvis Leonides radials and the aircraft, firstflying with these engines on June 3, 1946. was used lorLeonides development. Designated the A.S.41. this air-craft subsequently appeared on the British Civil Registeras G AJWJ and also carried the Class B registration U7before being broken-up in 1948.

EXPORTING THE OXFORDWhen the Oxford was first ordered for the R.A.F.

in 1937 it made an immediate appeal to two other BritishDominion air lorces which were looking for a similaraircraft, namely Canada and New Zealand. Bothcountries ordered, and received, small quantities beforethe outbreak of World War Two. The Canadian order,for standard Oxlord Mk. Is, was for 25 aircralt (R.C.A.F.serials 1501-1525) and these were shipped in 1939 and

A neat e(helon port fortnation fou'n by fte O xfords of No. 3 F.T.S., South Cetnet' itr I 93 8was to denote No. 3 F.T.S.

The bluck hand around the lhselage fortrard of the empennugc(Photo: "The AeroPlane")

"w"-'

lhe turret housittg. The unit is No. 14 S.F.T.S. (Photo:LW.M. CHl094)

ii.;i:...i

assembled by Canadian Vickers (in December 1944renamed Canadair Ltd.) at Montreal before beingissued to the Central Flying School at Trenton andNo. 1 S.F.T.S. at Camp Borden. The New Zealandorder was originally for five Oxfords. They incorporatedmodifications and so were re-classified as A.S.42sexcept for one aircraft which was modified lor surveywork and given the designation A.S.43. The five Oxlords(N2250 to N2254) served initially with No. I F.T.S..R.N.Z.A.F. at Wigram. Further orders of six, 70 and 35were lulfilled at the beginning of the war by divertingaircraft lrom R.A.F. production batches and bothcountries received far greater quantities ol Oxlordsunder the Empire Air Training Scheme, those going toCanada retained their R.A.F. serial numbers whilethose to New Zealand were re-issued with R.N.Z.A.F.serials.

With the advent ol the E.A.T.S.. Oxlords were sentacross the world in their hundreds with 188 going toCanada as Mk. Vs in addition to other Mk. Is and IIs. Atotal ol 297 wenl to New Zealand and 389 to theR.A.A.F. in Australia (they retained their originalR.A.F. serials). Approximately 700 went to the SouthAfrican Air Force where they were renumbered 1900

to 1999 and 3300 to 3899. Also several hundreds moreserved as part ol the R.A.F. in Southern Rhodesia.

World War Two prevented any lurther lormal con-tracts but during the course of the conflict some Oxfordswere allocated to various Allied and neutral conntries.Portugal was one of these, receiving an unknownquantity of Oxfords lor use by both the Army and theNaly, the latter using six Mk. IIs for navigation training.The R.A.F. used about 40 Oxfords in the Middle East

and in due course they found their way both to theRoyal Egyptian Air Force and the Turkish Air Force.The latter took delivery of a small quantity of refurbishedOxfords after the war. At least three found their wayinto the Imperial Iranian Air Force and six were soldby the R.A.F. to the Congo in 1944. Others served inIndia with the R.A.F. towards the end of the war andthere they became the initial equipment ol No. 12

Squadron, Royal Indian Air Force as transport aircraftln 1946, although they were soon superseded by DouglasDakotas.* Other Oxfords served with the UnitedStates Air Force in the U.K., mainly on "hack" andinstrument training duties.

After the War the newly-freed countries in Europe

* Douglus DC 3 (9611) Dukotu Mk I IV (20a110)

Trappcr's Tool. This Oxfbrd, E8863, trtr.s usetl ufter the Wur bt,theEntpire Fl.ting Scltool ut Hulltttinglon b) the \tanluftls.flight vhith xentlrom FI.tiilg Sthool to Flring School to (he(k in.\trL!(tor's cutcgtnrtt(hencc tltt' nonrc "truppers" ). This uirtruli shovs rudio motli.ficutiun.svillt thc delclion tLf tlte,stunlurd ut'riul ntust, un S.B.A. (Stodurd BumApprouth) n1u\t just ult oJ thc totkpit, DIF loop in streumlhetl utittgubov tha /irsclugc und odditionul non-stunduttl aeriuls ubove ancl helottrht'nose. The datc is .Iuh. 1948. (Photo: Author)

=.i\

-

,"!ffi

--,-l lo r--'-o---'-

',ry"qref.*qrri:, 1"ft-@-

10

9

'10

Key to colour illustrations6 G-ALTP, an A.S.40 Oxford (civil con-

version of PH32'l of the R.A.F.) in serviceas a twin-trainer with Air Service TrainingLtd., at Hamble, Hampshire, in 1950.

7 P8833, the second of two ambulanceconversions of the Oxford built at Ports-mouth in 1 940 and presented by the GirlGuides Association in 'l 941 . This aircraftserved with No.24 Squadron, R.A.F., atHendon, and was later named "NurseCavell".VP-KOX, an A.S.40 Oxford. modified forsurvey work and used by Hunting Aero-surveys Ltd., in Kenya in 1958-9.1511, eleventh production Oxford I forthe Royal Canadian Air Force, in servicewith the Canadian Central Flying School atTrenton, Ontario, in 1939.1 10, an Airspeed Oxford, delivered to theTurkish Air Force after World War Two.

leaned heavily upon Britain and the U.S.A. to restocktheir air lorces and the Oxford became involved inthis, too. Both the Royal Belgian and Royal NetherlandsAir Forces used ex-R.A.F. Oxlords as advanced twintrainers in the immediate post-war years, as did theNetherlands Narry which flew flve of them. The RoyalNorwegian Air Force took 20 Oxfords for its flyingschool at Gardemoen and the Royal Danish Air-Forcchad 48, some olwhich initially equipped Nos.721 and722 Squadrons. Another air lorce re-starting after'the War was the Royal Hellenic Air Force and thisacquired an unknown quantity ol Oxflords.

As the British Empire was dismantled in the immedi-ate post-war years. so the R.A.F. had the constructivetask ol helping new air forces to emerge ; and with two olthese the Oxlord was involved. The Royal Ceylon AirForce received two Oxfords lrorn the R.A.F.. and theUnion of Burma Air Force ordeled some relurbishedOxfords lronl Airspeed who produced them at Ports-mouth in 1948. These aircrall revived the mid-r"rpperturret. a leature that had disappeared liom most Oxfordsseveral years belbre.

Thus the Oxlold piayed a part in the renaissaince olpost-war air lorces.

THE OXFORD IN CIVIL GUISEIn October 1938. one ofthe early production Oxfords.

L4538, was taken frorn the production iine and speciallyfitted-out rvith blind approach and other radio equip-ment. It was given British civil marks as G AFFM anddelivered to British Airways Ltd. at Heston who used it

Another ol tlrc Ox/brtl.s lnscrvice tith No.8 A.F.T.S..tr.s lute ts 19JJ rrrrrx67El u Mk l rltith hutl heen huilt eutlr in tht'

(photo:Author)

Oslunl n Rholttitr. Ottc ol the hunclretls used in the Rlptiesiun bntnch ofth,: Enpirc Atr Truining Sclune, HN342 ttus serting wilh No.33 Flriilf4Instrutttor.r' Sthool ut tltc time tltis photogruph ttt: tuktn.

(Photo:D. A. S. McKay)

both for radio-navigation development and for trainingpurposes. It was re-designated A.S.40. and this becamethe standard designation for all civil Oxfords although nomore were to appear for seven years or so. This particularaircralt barely survived the outbreak of war, flying intothe balloon barrage in the Portsmouth area on November20, 1939 and crashing at Gosport. The next step towardcivil Oxlords (apart from the allocation of the marksG-AFVS to an airlrame due to go to Canada in August1939) was the acquisition by the British OverseasAirways Corporation (B.O.A.C.) ol a small fleet ofOxfords during the war which it used in its training fleetfor a number of years. Seven of these were re-registeredwith civil marks in 1946 (G AIAT to G AIAY &G AIRZ) being re-designated A.S.40 as were all subse-quent civilianised Oxflords. Another training fleet ofOxlords which appeared af'ter the World War Two wastl.rat flown by Air Service Training Ltd. at Hamble,Hampsl.rire, which put four of its own into the fleet andthen took over two olthe B.O.A.C. ones and used themon "twin" training for over a decade. Several were usedas executive aircralt and general runabouts by variouscompanies in the aviation industry. These included:G AHDZ used by Scottisl.r Aviation: G AHGU byBristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd.; G AHTW by BoultonPaul: G-AIUH by Reid & Sigrist and G AJNC byFairey Aviation. One actually became civilianisedcomplete with its mid-upper gun turret. This wasV3870 which became G- AHXA and belonged to theBrevet Fiying Club belore finding its way to Egypt as

SU AER in 1947-but minus its turret. Various differentsmall companies acquired Oxlords lor civilianising, manyof which never got as far as being converted lor civiluse. One flew with Hunting Aerosurveys on camerawork. and Lancashire Aircralt Corporation bought fourintending to convert them at Squires Gate in 1950 but

NM537 t'us one oJ the Orlbnls rhi<h tontiilued lo serve vith the FleelAir Arnt t(ter the tvur. being bu,,,

"t t,i:i!;:.:i:i

l?l_k rr^r"Archives)

\*EF-'

This eurly line-up outside thefutlorl'ut Portsnouth wus luktn in ll[arch,1938. The aircruJt are puintetl yellon'overull v'ith nuturul ntclul torlingsuntl only the /arthest ui crdt, L4544, ltcts a dorsul turret ullhough lhey ureall Mk. Is (Photo: "Flight" I5455S)

only one came to fruition. Britavia bought lour andpromptly sold them to Israel's air lorce during 1951-2.

Also, one or two other conversions were made and soldoverseas.

In lact overseas Oxlords appeared in France with theairline UAT, in Egypt, Hong Kong, Sweden, Finland,Southern Rhodesia, Mexico, Spain and Norrvay. TwoRNZAF aircralt were operated by G. M. Gould inWellington, New Zealand for a short while alter the warbefore being returned to the RNZAF.

Further use of the Oxford as a civil aircralt did nottake place because ol an astute move by Airspeed.With the war over, the company bought back upwardsof 100 Oxfords from the Royal Air Force at a very lowcost and set about turning them into small charterairliners. With a minimum of alterations the aircraltappeared as the 4,.5.65. Consul (which is outside thescope of this Profile) and, accordingly. favourablypriced, offered an attractive buy lor all the small firmsmushrooming immediately post-war. Within 18 monthsol the Consul's appearance. approximately 150 had been

Air(raft from three di/ferent produ(tion butches (N4610, P6823 "24",N6258) fr'/ron I4 S.F.T.S., Crunfttld in 1940. Note the di/lert'nt litcs oJ

the nosc cuntouflrtge, the anti-gus diunontls tLn top ol lht'.[ust'luge.forvttrdof the fin uncl the black ntit no."21" on P6823.noro:

I.W.M. CHl09S)

sold and this virtually halted the use ol pure Oxfords inthe civil field.

POST-WAR SERVICE USESAlthough many Oxfords were thrown up as surplus

when the R.A.F. was cut down at the end of the warthere were still fresh tasks for the type. In fact manywere dralted into Fighter Command at the end of the warbecause, with the advent of the Gloster Meteor andde Havilland Hornet* as day fighters, many flghterpilots who had spent all their lives flying single-enginedaircraft were suddenly in need of converting to "twins".Accordingly, most fighter stations had several Oxlordseither attached to the station or to the individual squad-rons on it. Also the new style ol operation in R.A.F.Fighter Command would be requiring much higherstandards of instrument flying so two squadrons wereallocated especially to this task of working up theinstrument flying (No. 1 at Tangmere in 11 Group andNo. 41 at Church Fenton in 12 Group) and equippedwith North American Harvards and Oxlords to do this.

The revival of the Auxiliary Squadlons also drewupon the stocks of Oxfords to provide conversion andinstrument training for those squadrons receivingde Havilland Mosquitosi and those with Meteorswhilst Oxfords remained in service with the Anti-Aircralt Co-operation Squadrons and the newly-formedCivilian Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units. Quite a

lew Oxlords were also in use for communicationsduties both with Station Flights and with GroupCommunications FIights.

The Oxford's linal fling with the R.A.F. came in1952 when the rush expansion resulting from theKorean War took place. New Advanced Flying TrainingSchools were lormed and four of these were equippedwith sizable fleets of Oxfords. Flying Relresher Schoolswere also opened to bring up-to-date those pilots whohad been demobilised and recalled and one of theseSchools ffew Oxfords. But this was the swan songof the Oxlord and when the immediate urgency petered

out in 1954, so, too, these temporary schools wereclosed down. Once again the Oxford began to disappearlrom view, this time, rapidly. Within a short while,the only examples left in the Service were communica-tions aircralt. These, also, soon departed to be replacedby the later versions of the Anson.

Unsung, quite inconspicuously. the Oxlord died as ithad lived unpretentiously providin-u uselul and un-glamorous service in many different ways to the Alliedcause, but supremely, by providing a sound vehiclelor the training to a high standard of many thousandsol Commonwealth and Allied pilots. Truly the Oxlordowed the British Commonwealth nothing when its dayswere ended.

FLYING THE OXFORDTo thousands of trainee pilots, lresh from their

Elementary Flying Training Schools-where most ofthem had clocked up about 80 hours on de HavillandTiger Moths the Oxlord appeared as a large, compli-

* Glostcr Meteor Mk IV (7418) Gloster Meteor ll[k. 8Ilut illund Hornet ( 1 71 18 )

i de Httt'illantl Mosquittt Mks I IV (5213) de HurillundMk IV (20919) de Huvillqild Tiger tf oth ( 132i6)

(t2ll) de

Mosquito

Tl,picul o.f so muny Ox.fbrcls in ntid-u'ur guise is V3792 coming in to lilkl ul the Empire Central Flring School at Hullatington in 1912.(Photo: I.W.M

Tlte secortd o.f ths tv o O x./brd ambulances, P8833 , naned " Ntu se Cuve ll" , in sertice vith No. 24 Squuclt on lute in 1912. (Photo : I.W. M. CH I 1526)

.for S.B.A. training. (Photo:LW.M. CH8202)

" :.;:; ;i'';d$S$''i*1 g;'-,,

Orfords vere used quite ertensively b1' the Fleet Air Arm.fbr both t|iil .rnd inslrutllenl t.titlitry,

i, : .rs, -;. ..{: :ljs:*

One such us R6lE0 shovn ht're(Photo: I.W.M. A19273)

unit ihoyn here tlisplul' the tto post-t\'o'tolour schenrcs of yellov overull or silver rith .tellov butds. (Photo: R. C. Jones)

One of the nanl' O xlbrds t ltich serrcLl ott ttuiiling dut ic.\ tt it h the Royal Nev Zeulund Air Fot ct' tt us N Z2l16.

\n *\

w

cated, frightening monster. Certainly this writer remem-bers it thus, surveying its 53 feet 4 inch span and twolarge engines providing 750 horses compared with theTiger Moth's 130 and thinking "I'll never manageTHIS !" Nor was the first flight to allay his fears immedi-ately for the Oxlord was deliberately intended to bedifficult to fly well, tl.re hallmark ol any good trainingaeroplane. One feature the Oxlord had which was bothreassuring and helpful was that ol the cockpit layout.This had been specially designed at a time when mostaircralt just had the instruments placed, apparently,willy-nilly. Thus. the Oxford's cockpit was a delight tobehold. The left-hand seat faced a standard FlightInstrument panel carrying the six basic flight instrumentswith other ancillary flight instruments grouped aroundit. The engine instruments were grouped on the rightpanel with sorle additional flight instruments lor theinstructor whilst the engine controls and flap andundercarriage controls were carried down the centralpillar and on the central console in the order in whichthey would be used from start-up so that it was reason-ably foolproof to work down tl.re panel. Trim wheelswere carried on the central console and worked in thenatural manner.

Starting was much more complicated than the old"Contact" days ofthe "Tiger" and involved an accom-plice on the wing winding the engine up. But the systemwas effective enough and normally lew problems wercencountered. The Oxlord (or "Oxbox" as it was usuallyknown in the R.A.F.) taxied easily and could be turnedvery sharply by judicious use of brake and engine.With a lairly high ground angle it was still advisable,however, to swing the nose from side-to-side betimes inorder to see directly in lront during taxying.

It was the take-off which began to show that theOxford could have a mind ol its own. The clue to a

good take-off was to get the tail-wheel straight beforeopening the throttles and then to lead all the way to fl-rllthrottle with the starboard engine for. although thePilot's Notes mumbled something about "exhibiting aslight srving to starboard". in practice most aircralt l.rad

a pronounced swing to starboard. In the initial stages.it could not be held by rudder and brake alone andearly attempts at take-offcould be seen by the scrpentinepaths lollowed by the aircraft. Once speed mounted. asteady push on the stick raised the tail, improved thelorward vision and brought about more rudder effective-ness. The tail was held lairly high until flying spced wasreached (approximately 70 m.p.h.) to keep the aircralt

A line-up, possibl.v ut No. I F.T.S., R.N.Z.A.I;., of stnnt, oJ tlrc aurl).O:fbrds sent to Ncx,Zeulurul for thc Enpire Air Training Sthenrc. Noicone t'urttoufugecl uircruft in the line.

(Photo: R. Montgomery via R. C. Jones)

fro_m "porpoising" on-and-off and tl.ren a firm, steadypull back would bring the "Oxbox" cleanly into the air.As the speed mounted a jab of brake and tl.ren clean theundercarriage up and the good qualities ol the Oxfordbecame apparent. A climb away at 110 m.p.h. producedthe best climb (approximately 960 ft/min at ground level).And, once airborne the aircralt provided a good mountboth lor cross-country work (with a 900-mile range) forwhich it could be trimmed accurately to fly "hands-off',and lor the more energetic type ol exercises such asformation-flying. tail-chasing and so on. For thesepursuits the light, well-harmonized ailerons and thepowerlul but easily trimmed elevators were ideal and,had it been stressed for the job, the aircralt would nodoubt have made a good aerobatic mount but as it wasnot so stressed such manoeuvres were officially andproperly frowned upon. The only control which waslacking was the rudder which was somewhat sluggishand for which the trim was far from ideal; with the resultthat single-engined flying could be a tiring business (altature, incidentally. which rnade the Oxlord an idealconversion trainer for the Meteor) il carried on lor overlong.

Stalling was always an interesting business on theOxtbrd because occasionally one came across anaircralt that would stall straight but normally therervould be a reasonably pronounced wing drop. Howeverone never knew which wing rvas going to drop and the

Tlrc Royul Duni.ylr Air Fortc uctluietl .fbrtt-eiKht (.\-R.A.F. Or/ord\t(tcr tht lf ur./ttr trqining erl (onnuili(utiotls (luti(s.

(Photo : LP.M.S. Denrnark)

Sarcrul O.r/brds (otltinrcd to serte tith the ResertL' Flying Scltools intothe eurl.t l950s, HN309 b(ing on tha sttctlgth ol No. l5 R.F.S., Retlhill.

(Photo: A. J. Jackson)

O rforJ 43 26, one of rvnty bought by the Royul Noru'egiun Air Force fortruining duric, al Gukl(mo(n,scLn h(( ill S!'lu

Another Fleet Air Arm Orford, PHl85 belongecl to the Service TrialsUnit, No.778 Squadron ona,r' ,urtrd "0,9il#,

ff f.r(;""0"r""*nl

same aircralt would not always drop the same wing.This made it a very good training aircralt because thepupil soon acquired a habit of detecting and picking-upany wing that dropped belore the aircralt reached theincipient spinning stage unless the exercise took one

purposely to the incipient spin. Full spinning was notallowed; although, if tbe aircralt inadvertently got intosuch a position, it could usually be recovered usingnormal recovery action plus the assistance of inside

engine. Stalling took place, "clean", at 67 m.p.h. andlully "dirty" at 60 m.p.h.

The Oxlord was a pleasant aircralt in the circuit lor theview was good. It ambled around the circuit at a pleasant120 m.p.h. allowing plenty ol time downwind lor thevitai actions to be sorted out. With lull flap. a lairlypronounced nose-down attitude developed, giving an

excellent view of the intended landing path, the approachbeing made pt 80 m.p.h. with power, or 85 m.p.h. lor a

glide approach. At the flare out it was necessary to give

a firm heave on the "stick" to rotate the aircralt lortouch-down and in most cases one ended up with atail-down wheeler. Three-point landings required muchpractice and were certainly not to be recommended ilih.." *as the slightest cross-wind component' Thiswas .because the high ground-angle ol the Oxlordblanketed the none-too-effective rudder and, once the

aircralt was on its wheels again, that fiendish delightof the Oxlords to charge in any direction other thanstraight ahead would again manilest itself. With thefunway-consciousness of today, ground-loops are a

serious business but in the days ol the Empire AirTraining Scheme most ol the flying was done lrom plainfields and very olten it was deemed more discreet toamble off in a controlled swerve rather than risk remov-ing the undercarriage in a fight to persuade the aircraltthat one really was its master. Besides it kept the blokeslanding behind you awake!

DeveloperlJbr spinning trials urul also to stud)'tlE efie(ts of trinfns and

rurttteri, OxJbrtl N63i7 was u one-of contusioll tnJ llcnt nutl oJ it.s

rime, a; shivn here, at the Rorut Aiictaft ti,ff|,'jl'i,;; #,i[]l\\:l;;

Certainly the Oxford had its moments and no one

could truthlully say that flying it was "a piece of cake".But for this very reason it made an excellent pilottrainer and like many a good horse it behaved beautifullywhen handled well but tended to bite fools. Even so, itsover-riding advantage was that any pilot who had trainedon the Oxford could go on to more advanced "twins"with confidence knowing that they were, in reality,nothing more than overgrown Oxfords.

Series Editor: CHARLES W. CAIN

SPECIFICATION OF THE AIRSPEED OXFORDPowerDlantiMii. t'A ll) Two Atmstrong Siddeley Cheetah X seven-cyltnder air-iooreA raaiais. Maximum power output, take'ofl 375 h p. at 2,300r.p.m.; maxrmum power in flight (at 7,000 ft.), 355 h.p. at 2425 t.p.mrMl. Vt T*o Pratt & WhitnetWasD Junror R-985 AN-6 nine-cylinderirr-cooied radials. Maxrmum power output (take off and ln flight)450 h.p. at 2,300 r.P m

Propellers{Mks. l& ll) frxed-pitch, wooden.iwt< V) tla.'tron-Slandard rwo-blade. variable pitch metal

Fuel SystemTwo main fuel tanks belween spars oJ wing centre-sectioni two auxiliarytanks in outer wing sections interconnected with main tanks. Totalcapacity 1 50 lmperial gallons.

ConstructionWinos-Built rn three sections, centre-section and outer port andstarSoard wing sections Outer sections oI tapering chord and thicknessittached to ce"ntre'section at four spar-;oints Structure consists of twobox-soars of spruce and brrch three ply. Formet ribs consist of three-oart qrrder typ6. lnter spar bracing comprises built-up diagonal strutsFiyw"ood covbred w,ngi. Hanotey Page slotted ailerons Split. ltailing-edqe flaos full-soan between ailelons.Fuletaob-Burlt in two sections, of wooden semi-monococque con-structi6n. Forward section built as a unit complete with cabin Rearsection includes integral finiait tJnit Wooden Iramework with fabric covering Balanced rudderhinged to fin with hinge-line inclined forward. Trim-tabs fitted toelevators.IJidercarriaoe .Rearwatd-ret,dct ng type. foldrng into engine nacelleswrth lower-portion of main wheels exposed Low-pressure Dunloptyres; pneumatic wheel brakes. Non-retrdctable tarl-wheel with Dunloptyre.

AccommodationUo to three crew could be carried and stations are provided lor lirsl pilot,second pilot or navigator, bomb-aimer, wireless-operator, camera-operator and (Mk. I only) amidships turrel-gunner.

G AJGR wus one oJ the Orfords v'hich came on the civil tegister ufter theWar antl wus used Jbr photo-surte1, vork hy Hunting Aerosurveys.

(Photo: A. J. Jackson)

Used as a general hack and freight ai'cruft b)' Scotti.\h Avitttion, A.5.10.Orfortl G-AHDZ is sean here outside thc control totrer ut Croldon soona/ter the end of If orld War Two. (Photo: A. J. Jackson)

Entry effected by door at the rear of cabin on the port side. Walkwayson both wings between engine nacelles and fuselage.

ArmamentBomb-bay accommodating up to 'l 2 practice bombs located between thecenlre-section spars amidships; no bomb doors used. The Mk. I only had aremovable, revolving dorsal gun-turret made by Armstrong Whitworthcontaining one 0 303-in. Vickers "K" gas-operated machine-gun.

DimensionsSpan,53 ft.4 in.; length (overall) 34 ft.6 in.; height 1'1 ft.1 in.; wingarea 348 sq. lt.

Weights(Mks. l& ll) Empty but with fixed |oad,5,380 lb.; loaded,7,600 lb.(Mk. V) Empty but wirh fixed load, 5,670 lb.; loaded,8,000 lb.

Performance(Mks. I & ll) l/aximum speed at 8,300 ft. 182 m.p.h. (with turret), 188m.p h. (without turet); climb to 10,000 Jt. in '1 2 min.; service ceiling'I 9500 tt.; endurance 5 hr.; still air range, 925 miles approx.

OXFORD PRODUCTION DETAILSBuilt at Portsmouth by Airspeed (1934) Ltd.Oxfotd I14534 Prototype14535-4669 (L4556, 4557,4592, 4593, 461 0 not delivered)19651-9660,9680-9691N1190-1194N6250. 6299. 6320-6345 (625A-627O built without turrets)p1 860-1 899. 1 920-1 969. 1 980 2009. 2030-2044p8822-8434, 8855-8868, 8891-89'16, 8995-8998. 9020-

9046 (8832 & 8833 finished as Ambulances)R4062-4066R9974-9988T1001-1028, 1041-1061. 1't12,1141, 1167,1180.'t264-

1 288. 1 308-1 332x1 038-1 040AS41 4-523, 537 -57 1, 59'l -640, 665-7048F782-831. 845-889. 904 953. 967 9998G100-101, 113-132, 149-183, 196,245, 260-274. 546-

Built at Christchurch by Airspeed (1934) Ltd.Oxford Ix6520 6564, 6589 6623. 6643-6692, 6726-6750. 6764

681 3. 6835-687918469-492. 513 538

Oxfotd llx6880 6884. 6932-6981, 7031 7075, 7107 7156, 7176-

7200,7231-7265,7278-7311 250

25050

3oo

20075

500165185240

1'135

225

76'I 35

846

1433

175I t6

Built at Hatfield by De Havilland Aircraft Co. Ltd.Oxlord IN4560-4609. 4630 4659, 4681-4700, 4720-4739, 4754-

4403.4424-4453P6795-681 9. 6831-6880v3145 3194, 3204-3247, 3261-3296, 3310-3359, 3375

3404,3418-3442,v3456 3480. 3502 3540, 3555-3589, 3590-3604, 3623-

3647, 3665 3694,3719 3748,3768-3792, 3813 3862AR756,790, 804,853, 870-889, 909-953, 968 982AS144-1 88, 201-230, 254 279. 297 331. 347 3964T439-488, 502-536, 576-625. 641-685, 723,7 42. 760 799

Oxford llR6211,6244. 6263-6299, 6317-6358, 6371 6403

Built at Luton by Percival Aircraft Ltd.Oxlotd IP1 070-1 094ED197-204. 215 236, 251-300HM603-650, 666 700. 721-767. 783-813, 826-875, 889

91 8. 945-990

1 365

150

575, 588-637, 649-668 222E8414,423. 689-703. 717-761, 777-A26, 838-870, 884-

930.946-975 230HN2'17 239, 254-284, 298-346, 363-386, 405,441. 467-

495, 513 554, 576 614, 631-671,689 738, 754-790. 808,855 450

LX1 56-1 99, 21 3-245. 258 289, 30 1 -333. 347-369, 382-401,415 448,462 489,

LX502-541, 555-582, 595-6 1 7. 629 648, 66 1 -699, 7 1 4 -7 46,759-777 450

NM217,254, 270-314, 329-370.385-429, 444 488, 509550, 571 -61 5, 629-676, 681,720, 736 760, 776 810 450

PG925-956. 968-999 64PH112-157, 169,215, 227-268, 281-327. 339 378. 391-

425, 447-489.502-527PK248 269,282-309RR321-367,380-382

1501-1 525 (R.C.A.F. pre-war order)

Oxford ll19635-9650. 9692 9703N6347-6349, 636s-6384. 6400-6438P1 800-1 849P89'l 7-893'1, 8964-8994, 8835-8854R5938-5979. 5991-6038. 6050 6059. 6070 6114

61 63, 61 77-61 96T1062-1082, 1097-1111, 11a1,1215. 1243 1263, 1333-1348.'t371-1404AS705-709, 726-7 45. 7 64-813. 828-877 . 893-9428G275-304,31 8-337, 349-398, 415-459, 473-522, 541-545

N2250-255 AS.42lAS.43 R.N.Z.A.F. OxJord Contracl

Oxford VE8424-461 . 483-5 1 8. 535-584. 599-640. 654 677

LW727-759, 772,799, 813,835, 848-879. 891,927. 948,973. 985-999 1 95

LXl 1 3-1 53 40NJ280-322. 345 382.397-400 85

Oxford llw6546-6595, 6608-6657A8639-668, 685 7 29. 7 49,773AP387-436, 451 500B M67 1 -7 20. 7 37,7 85, 801 -844. 87 1 A7 7E 8978-999E D 1 08-1 57, 1 69-1 96

Oxlotd V1W928-930. 945 947

2580

?8788

800

100100100150

227A

550

3285050

R.A.F. Aircrafi ?rn25

2a6250bb

6129

One oJ hro Oxfords on the Swedish ciril tegister,cttrrenl Jbr a 1'eur,front Ottober 1951.

200

'142175200

8r55

One of the biggest citil users of Oxfords w,as Air Service Training atHamble where this photo oJ G- ALTP vus taken in 1948.

190

SE-CAI,I v'as only

Seen at Redhill with its military marks oudely painted out but codeletters " 3L:F' still therc is G AMFL, on its way to the Israeli Air Forcevia Britaviu.

Built at Coventry by Standard Motor Car Co. Ltd.Oxfotd Iv3865 39'14, 3933-3957. 3972-3996, 4016 4065, 4079"

4103,4',t24,4173,4192 4241,4259 4283 300DF220-264, 276-314. 327-367,390 433, 445489,501-536 250L8401429.442,462 50MP275 314, 338-376, 391 -430, 444-468, 470-474, 496 1 50

?50

N.B. This compilation is based on information supplied by the thenMinistry of Supply and differs from previously published lists largelyin the delineation between Mks. I & ll in the early batches. The possibilityof now establishing which is correct appeals remote-JDRR.

SERVICE USEThis information does not claim to be a complete listing of all the R A.Funits which flew the Oxford. Small units (e.9. Sration Flights, elc.) areomrtted and manv other unrts which tust had one Oxford as a "hack" butit does give a gobd survey ol the dtverse lypes of units wrth which thetype served.

Training UnitsCentral Flying School; Empire Central Flying School; Empire flyingSchool; Empite Radio School; Empire Air Navigation School; EmpireTest Pilots'School.Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 1 1, 1 5, 1 6, 17,19 &23. Flying Training Schools (alsodesignated Service Flying Training Schools during the Iirst part of theWorld War Two)Nos.8,9.10 &.14 Advanced Flying Training Schools (period 1952 4)Nos. 1, 2, 3. 6, 11. 14. 1a. 20 &21 (Pilot) Advanced Flying UnitsNos. 2, 6, 11, 16. 21.43, 51 . 61, 70. 81, 1O7 & 1 1 1 Operational TraininsU nitsNos. 1, 2, 5 & 8 Air Navigation Schools/Air Observer SchoolsNos. 2, 3 & 7 Flying lnstructor SchoolsNos.1,4 & 10 Radio SchoolsNos. 226, 228, 225, 23'l & 237 Operational Conversion U nils ( post- war)R.A.F. College. CranwellAir Transport Auxiliary Flyinq SchoolNo. I Beam Approach SchoolNos. 150'1, 1507, 1510, 1511, 1513,'1514. 1515, 1516, 15'17, 1519,1520. 1521, 1523. 1524, 1526,',1527. 152a. 1529, 1532, 1534, 1536,1537, 1540, 1542, 1545, 1546, 1547, 1 552, 1 555, ',] 556 & ',l 557 BeamApproach Training FlightsNo. 104 Flying Re{resher School (period 1952 4)Nos. 201, 205 & 206 Advanced Flying Schools (posl-war)No. 1 Parachute Training SchoolNo. 3 Glider Training SchoolNos.10,'15,22 & 25 Reserve Flying Schools (post-war)No.3 School of General Reconnarssance

Communications (Comm.) DutiesNos. 24, 51 1, 525 Squadrons; Metropolrtan Communications QQuadron;Fighter Command Comm. Sqn.; No. 1684 Flight. Coastal CommandComm. Sqn.; many Group Comm. Flts.; and innumerable Station Flights.

Little is known about the subsequent.fales of the Egyptian civil Oxforclssuch as SU AES. (Photo: via F. G. Swanborough)

Anti-Aircraft Co-operation DutiesNos. 5, 17, 34, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 567, 517, 595, 691 & 695 Sqns.Nos. 1 & 3 Civilian Anti-Aircratt Co-operation Units

Experimental and Development Establishments and UnitsAeroplane & Armament Experimental EstablishmentRoyal Aircraft EstablishmentAir Fighting Development UnitAirborne Forces Experimental EstablishmentCenlral Fighrer EstablishmentCentral Signals EstablishmentBomb Ballrstics Development Unit

Fighter Command UnitsNos.1&41Sqns.Nos. 500, 502, 504 & 608 Sqns., R. Auxiliary A.F.

CIVIL-REGISTERED OXFORDSEx-RAF ConversionsG-AFF|\il British Airways '1938G-AFVS Airspeed Ltd, doubtful if taken upG-AHDZ Scortish Aviation 3/46, sold France 7 /54G-AHGU Bristol Aeroplane Co. 5/46G-AHGW Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd. 6/46G. AHXA Brevet Flying Club 12/46 sold Egypt 8/47G-AIAT-G-AIAY B.O.A.C. 8/46j 'T and 'X to A.S.T. 4/51, 'V sold Hons

Kong 9/51 'W soid Sweden 1 1 /54G-AIRZ B.O.A.C. 8/46; Hunting Aerosurveys 3/51G-AITB Air Service Training (A.S.T.) 11146G-AITF Air Service Training (A.S.T.) 11146G AIUH Reid & Sigrist 10/47; Hunting AerosurveysG-AIVY B.S.A.A. 3/48; B.O.A.C. 149G-AJGR Hunting Aerosurveys 2/47G AJNC Fairey Aviation 5/47; sold Rhodesia '1 'll51G_ALTP A,S,T. 1i 50G ALTR A.S,T. 1/50G-ALXV-G-ALXY Lancashire Aircraft Corp 1/50-only G ALXV

c o nve rtedG-AMCX Adie Aviation /51; sold Spain 8/51G-AMFJ-G AMFM Britavia /51 l52sold lsrael (Air Force)G-AMHE Btitavia /52G-AOUT Eagle Aircraft Services /54EC-WGE 8/51F-B HVY 1 /57F-BBIU 6/54 Union Aeromaritime de TransportsLN-LAD-LN-LAE Det Norske Lultfartselskab; to R. Norwegian A.F.OY-ABS Dansk Lufttaxa; sold Sweden /50SE-BRX Aeropropaganda /50SE-BTP Sold FinlandSE-CAM 10/54; resold to UK 10/55SU-AER-SU AET, SU-AEY-SU-AEZ Egvpt I I 47VP-KMU L J. l\4aclachlan; Hunting Aerosurveys; Spartan Air ServicesvP-KOX 1 0/58VP-YIY Air Survey Co. 1 2/51vR-HFC 8/51XA-FAO-XA-FAT /45 possible ex-CanadaEx-R.N.Z.A.F.ZK-APK-ZK-APY G. M. Gouldi returned to RNZAF /49

C. M. Gould in New Zealand used a couple of ex-R.N.Z.A.F. Oxfortls for a while under civilian marks but returned them to the R.N.Z.A.F. in 1949.

Aircrull ProlilesThis nerv series of Aircraft Profiles commenced with No. 205 and continues the pattern ol the cornplete history ofthe Aircraft of the World established by the early Aircralt Profiles numbered 1 to 204.

The series is edited by Charles W. Cain, for many years Editor of The Aeroplane Spotter of World War Twoand beyond, and many well-known names have appeared among the authors and artists contributing to the series.

The continuing interest in and support of the Aircralt Profiles series has encouraged the Publishers to enlarge thecontents of the Profiles. From No. 216 onwards there are 28 pages in all aircraft Profiles. There are 4 pages incolour-which allows the presentation of additional side views, badges, symbols, etc.

New series

205 Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

206 Supermarine Spiffire Mark IX variants

207 Messerschmitt Bf 110 Night Fighters

208 McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom variants

209 de Havilland Mosquito Mark IV variants

210 Mitsubishi G4M'Betty'and Ohka Bomb

?tl Junkers Ju 87D variants

212 Fairey Swordflsh

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211 Grumman TBF/Eastern TBM Avenger variants

215 Arado Ar 234 Blitz

216 Petlyakov Pe-2 variants

217 Brewster Buffalo yariants

218 Bristol Blenheim Mark IV

219 Heinkel He 219 Uhu

220 Douglas C-47 variants (R.A.F. Dakotas)

Price structureParts 1-204 (old series)P arts 205-215 (new series)Parts 21 6 onwards

221 Supermarine Seafires (Merlins)

222 Biicker Bii 131 Jungmann yariants

223 Lockheed C-130 Hercules variants

224 Supermarine Walrus & Seagull variants

225 Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet

226 Republic F-105 Thunderchief variants

227 Airspeed Oxford variants

228 Fieseler Fi 156 Storch variants

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230 Dassault Mirage variants

231 Lublin R.XII232 Martin Maryland & Baltimore variants

233 Kawanishi 4-Motor Flying Boats(H6K'Emily' & H8K'Mavis')

234 Heinkel He 177 Der Greif

235 Awo Lancaster Mark II

Retail prices in U.S.A.Parts 1 -204 (oldseries) 85cParts2OS-215 $t.ZSParts 216 onwards $1 .50

Vl/hilst every effort will be nnde to nnintain this programme, the publishers reserve the right to change the sequence.

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Currently reached number 224-an indication of the Nervest of the current series, and alreadv gaining inter-populality of this scries. Covers aircraft of all major national acclamation for iis excellent ie-"xt, ur1i ill,-,.-aelorrautical trations. trIany lelexciting titles to come. tlatiorrs. \Vritten by Brian Rced, iuho has'lived *,ith,Published.monthly. Edited !y C. \V. Cain, orre of the rvritten about, and ivor.ked or-r u.d u.o.,r1d locomotiveileading- editols of the Aircraft \'Vorld, and backed by a all his life.team-ofspecialist authors, second to none in their field. Orre o1'the first series ever to present the reader rvithThc'oI'iqinal' o1'the top quality serics olcolour Aircrall accurate colour drarvings of 'lo.o^tii,r"r, these arer-eI'erence parts to be offered to the reader at economic plor.ing very popular oiitf, utt ,Lovers' of steam-rates-and now even better, irrorth| offraming,, to quote one reader.

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