Thursday 23 April 2020

Avro Anson, part Eight, Dutch, Irish and Norwegian users

The Avro Anson is a British multi-role aircraft that was designed before World War II and was massively manufactured, and sold to many countries all around the globe. Among them, the following ones:

  • Netherlands: On 1st June 1940, after the fall of Holland, the No.321 (Dutch) Squadron was formed in the Royal Air Force with Dutch personnel. The squadron was formed at RAF Pembroke Dock, in Pembrokeshire, Wales, but it was shortly rebased to RAF Carew Cheriton, in Pembrokeshire too, later on 28th July where it became operational. The squadron flew coastal and anti-submarine patrols equipped with Avro Ansons Mk.I until 18th January 1941 when the squadron was disbanded due to the lack of personnel and merged with the No.320 (Netherlands) Squadron which also flew the Anson, among other aircraft in the same role from RAF Pembroke Dock, from August 1940 until July 1941 when they were re-equipped with Lockheed Hudson Mk.III.
    After the War, a total of 25 ex-RAF Anson Mk.Is were donated to the Royal Netherlands Air Force. They had previously been refurbished at RAF Pershore, in Worcestershire, and were delivered in Twente, eastern Netherlands. They were used by a number of different units like Depot Vliegtuigen at Soesterberg Air Base, in Utrecht, the Technical Training Unit at Deelen Air Base, in Gelderland, the twin-engine conversion unit at Gilze-Rijen Air Base, in Southern Netherlands, and the 334 Squadron which is a communications and transport squadron based at Valkenburg Naval Air Base, in South Holland.
    A single Anson C.19 was bought from Royal Aircraft Establishment Llanbedr, in Gwynedd, Wales. It was bought for £200, received the code 'D-26' and it was bought for being displayed at Militaire Luchtvaart Museum (Military Aviation Museum) at Soesterberg Air Base, in Utrecht province.
  • Ireland: The Irish Air Corps ordered two Anson Mk.I in the mid-1930s and they were delivered to Baldonnel Air Base, in Dublin, on 20th March 1937. Two additional more were delivered on 19th January 1938 and formed the No.1 Reconnaissance and Medium Bombing Squadron. Five more were delivered on 2nd February 1939 as part of an order of 12 but the remaining seven machines were impressed by the RAF due to the beginning of the World War II before they departed Speke Airport, in Liverpool, and remained with the No.36 Maintenance Unit.
    During the War, the Ansons, together with the Irish Supermarine Walrus, operated from Rineanna aerodrome (nowadays Shannon International Airport) in County Clare. They were commited to perform coastal patrols from Wexford, in County Wexford, to Lough Swilly, in County Donegal, in the North-West coast of Ireland. The rough weather in this area caused accidents in which three Ansons were lost, though one of them was repairable. Two additional accidents happened and the Ansons were taken off from active service in late 1944 and scrapped.
    Three Anson Mk.XIX were ordered in 1946 and were delivered on 4th April that year. They equipped the General Purpose Flight, which was used for training, communications, freight and reconnaissance duties. Two were damaged in accidents and one was retained as a ground instructional machine but it was scrapped with the other remaining one in the early 1970s. One has survived and it's nowadays on display at the Irish Air Corps Museum. 
  • Norway: The Royal Norwegian Air Force operated twelve Anson Mk.XII in the communications role before their country was liberated. They were rebased to Oslo-Fornebu Airport between 5th and 9th June 1945 but were disbanded when the RAF left from Norway in December 1945.
    Therefore, ten Anson Mk.Is were given to the Royal Norwegian Air Force in August 1947. Those machines weren't in very good condition, one of them being lost when delivered. The remaining ones were re-furbished in Kjeller, Oslo and used for radio and navigation training. One of them was modified for Search & Rescue role and were eventually sold for civilian use in various countries.









Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._321_(Dutch)_Squadron_RAF
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._320_(Netherlands)_Squadron_RAF
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson
4. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson

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