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An RAAF Anson navigation/gunnery trainer overflies Sydney's harbourside suburbs during World War Two. Anson production continued for 17 years at which time some 11,020 aircraft were built, over a thousand of which served in the RAAF (Defence PR)
In Australian Service – Avro Anson
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The Avro Anson
Part Thirteen in a Series Examining the Airliners That Established Civil Aviation in Australia
The Avro Anson has several unique claims to fame in Australian aviation history. In its RAAF role, it was used in greater numbers during World War II than any other aircraft. In a wider context, it is the most numerous twin-engined aircraft to have served in Australia, eclipsing even the seemingly unconquerable DC-3. However, for various reasons, it did not have the lasting qualities of the Douglas classic.
A. V. Roe & Co Ltd of Manchester were approached by Imperial Airways Ltd on 18 May 1933 with a specification for a modern low-wing twin-engined aircraft with good speed and range characteristics. The influence of new aircraft designs originating from the United States had moulded Imperial Airways’ thoughts as to what they would see as desirable qualities for a new small twin-engined passenger airliner. Avro’s previous experience with the Avro-Fokker airframe proved of considerable assistance. By August, Roy Chadwick’s design team came up with the Avro type 652, a four-seater aircraft capable of a 150 mph cruising speed coupled with a range of 600 miles. Powerplants were two Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah V engines of 270 hp each. In this adaptation of the Avro-Fokker designs, the one-piece wooden wing was relocated from the high wing position to a low wing configuration. The two crew sat side by side and enjoyed good visibility through a five-panel windscreen.
While the construction of the first aircraft was underway, the deteriorating situation in Europe was to have a major impact on the fortunes of the Avro type 652. The British Air Ministry approached Avro and requested them to consider tendering for a twin-engine aircraft required for coastal patrol work. The military requirement was so similar to the Imperial Airways specification that Avro had little difficulty in formulating a military proposal. On 19 May 1934, the Avro design was handed to the Air Ministry. Known as the model 652A it incorporated several changes. Power was provided by Cheetah Vis of 290 hp in helmeted cowlings, a single Lewis gun was installed in the roof above the wing and a Vickers gun was mounted in the pilot’s position on the port side. The bomb load of 360 lb was accommodated in the centre section. Other alterations were the substitution of square windows and the relocation of the door to the starboard side. While work on the military version continued, the initial flight of the first Civil 652 took place at Woodford on 7 January 1935 flown by F. B. Tomkins.
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