Airspeed AS.65 Consul, British users

The Airspeed AS.65 Consul was a British twin-engined light airliner that was produced in the immediate postwar era.
Its roots can be traced back to the Airspeed AS.6 Envoy of 1934, which was militarised in 1937 to create a mass-produced trainer, the Airspeed AS.10 Oxford. The Oxford was massively produced, with almost 9.000 exemplars having been made.
Given that surplus Oxfords were common and inexpensive, from 1946 onwards one hundred and sixty two Oxfords were refitted for civilian use at Airspeed's factory in Portsmouth, and received the name of 'Consul'. They turned to be attractive for various airlines thanks to its clean lines and Airspeed soon offered a conversion kit.
The Consul saw service with various airlines all around the world, the type being specially popular with small scheduled charter and feeder airlines in the United Kingdom, where 32 airlines operated the type, among them, the prestigious British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) though in training flights only. It was also used by various private enterprises as executive transports.
Its wooden structure, however, added to the heavy wartime use, tricky handling and small seat capacity, played against the type. Many of the civil conversions were bought by military operators (such as Argentina, Israel, Turkey or Pakistan, among others - check out our previous posts on the subject) and the Consul was employed as VIP transport on air forces that had previously operated the Oxford.
Nowadays, there are just only two surviving Consuls, one of them being restored and the other one stored in pieces.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul
2. https://www.baesystems.com/en/heritage/airspeed-as65-consul
3. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/airspeed_as65.html
4. https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Airspeed:_Consul
5. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

Airspeed AS.65 Consul, more European users

The Airspeed AS.65 Consul was a British twin-engined light airliner that saw service with many airlines around the world. It was basically a civilian conversion from the AS.10 Oxford trainer. On this post we're covering the next countries and airlines:

• France: We've already wrote about the Consul in service with various French colonial airlines, specially in Indochina and Algeria. But it's worth pointing that there was a French airline, Airnautic, which operated from mainland France, that had three Consul in service. They were acquired in as late as 1957 and served until the early 1960s. One of them was used for survey works in French West Africa. By 1963 all three of them had been written off and sold for scrap. Oddly one of them, registered as F-BHVY wasn't scrapped until 1975.
  As we couldn't find graphical evidence of a Consul operating with this airline, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Iceland: One aircraft was registered by Flugfedir, Iceland's national airline in 1951. This aircraft was intended to cover the air route between Reykjavik-Glasgow and Liverpool but it crashed near Sheffield in April that same year killing its pilot, Magnusson and two crew members. As we couldn't find photos or pictures about this aircraft, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Ireland: Irish Government bought two Consuls in 1947 to be assigned one year later to Irish National Airway, Aer Lingus. One of them covered the regular route between Dublin and Liverpool until 1953 while the other one was sold to Pakistan one year later after being put into service with Aer Lingus, in 1949.
• Italy: One Italian airline, Trasporti Aerei Mediterranei (Mediterranean Air Transports) operated three Consuls between 1955 and 1963. There were other two Consuls which served with Italian owners. One of them served with the charter airline Aerofotografica SA from 1963 until 1964 when it crashed, and another one was bought in 1953 by a private owner but was sold shortly later, in 1954, to a British owner. As it doesn't seem to exist graphical evidence of a Consul in Trasporti Aerei Mediterranei's colours, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Monaco: A single Consul was registered as MC-ABA by Monte Carlo Airways in October 1946, but it wasn't delivered. As another aircraft on this post, the drawing is speculative. 
• Crown Colony of Malta: Two Maltese airlines, Chartair and Air Malta operated a total of six Consuls. They were operated from 1946 until the early 1950s.

Sources:

1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul

2.https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

Airspeed AS.65 Consul, part six, various European Users

The Airspeed AS.65 Consul was a British twin-engined light airliner which was a direct conversion from the previous AS.10 Oxford. All of them were converted in the immediate post-war period. Many of them were sold to many airlines all around the globe, among them, the following ones:

• Switzerland: One machine, originally registered as G-AIDX, was eventually sold in 27th June 1955 to a Swiss private owner who registered with Swiss codes, HB-LAT. This aircraft was interned in Sabadell, Spain, accused of nylon smuggling. According to one of our sources, this happened in 1952, but it wasn't until 1955 when the aircraft passed on to Swiss owners. After that it was sold in an auction in Barcelona.
  There was another Consul which ended in Swiss hands. Originally registered as El-ADC, this one was bought by the Aerocentro Sportivo Ticinese SA in Lugano, on 12th February 1959. It was later sold to Spanish Iberia airlines on 6th June 1962.
• Spain: A total of 9 Consuls served with various Spanish airlines. The main operator was Iberia which, in 1947, was in the need for cheap twin-engine aircraft for crew training which eventually operated 7 of them from the late 1940s until the early 1960s. Initially some of them were used for local flights but eventually all of them ended up as ground crew trainers.
  Spantax, another Spanish charter airline, also operated the type as they bought three machines and operated them in local flights, specially between the Canary islands and Spanish Sahara.
• Sweden: There were various Swedish operators of the Consul. These were Aero Nord Sweden, Aeropropaganda, Nordisk Air Transport and Transair Sweden. A total of 15 machines served with those companies mainly during the 1950s. Most of them were used in charter flights in Sweden. One machine, registered SE-BTD, crashed near the city of Gävle, on 14th July 1951 when serving with Aeropropaganda AB.
  Unfortunately we couldn't find graphical evidence of the Consul serving with these Swedish companies so the profiles depicted below should be considered as speculative.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul

2.https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

3. http://leandroaviacion.blogspot.com/2013/04/1952-bimotor-airspeed-as65-consul-hb.html (translated)

4. http://www.aviationcorner.net/gallery_en.asp?aircraft_type=Airspeed%20AS.65%20Consul&aircraft_type_id=1690 (translated)

5. https://www.iberia.com/es/fleet/historic-aircrafts/Airspeed_AS-65_Consul/

Airspeed AS.65 Consul, part five, more Asian users

The Airspeed AS.65 Consul was a British twin-engined light airliner which was conceived and manufactured in the immediate post-war period. All of them were conversions made to the Airspeed AS.10 Oxford trainer, which was based on.
A total of 162 machines were converted and it saw use all around the globe, among others, the following countries:

• British Malaya: The Consul was the first aircraft to be operated by the, back then, newly founded Malayan Airways. At least three of them were acquired in Singapore, which was part of Malaya, in 1947. They served until 1952. 
• Pakistan: Two Consuls saw service in Pakistan. One of them was acquired by the Government of that country in 1953 where it served until 1959. The other one was sold to a private owner, from Kenyan Hunting Aerosurveys airline, in 1959 but shortly later, on January 1st 1960 it caught fire at a hangar in Karachi and was destroyed.
• Turkey: Two Consuls were acquired in 1946 by the Turkish Air Force to be used as VIP transports. They remained in active duty until 1952 when they were sold to the private airline Gök-Tur Sirketi. One of them crashed on 22nd November 1952.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul

2. http://www.ole-nikolajsen.com/TURKISH%20FORCES%202004/airspeed%20fotos.pdf

3. http://www.tayyareci.com/digerucaklar/turkiye/1923ve50/airspeed-oxford.asp

4. https://aparm.net/ap-aaa_ap-azz/ap-aga_ap-agz/ap-agk.htm

5. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

6. https://www.airhistory.net/generic-type/113/Airspeed-AS-10-40-41-42-43-46-65-Oxford-Consul

Airspeed AS.65 Consul, part four, Middle-East Users

The Airspeed AS.65 Consul was a British twin-engined light airliner of the immediate post-war era. It was an airliner conversion of the previous AS.10 Oxford. With 162 machines converted, it saw use all around the world. In this post, we're taking a look at two middle-east countries that employed it:

• Israel: Back in October 1949, the Israel Air Force (IAF) founded the 141 Squadron, which served as the multi-engined flying school. This squadron was based at Tel-Nof air base, close to the city of Ekron. As its purpose was to train air crews in flying, navigation, radio operation, instrument flying and aerial gunnery, they were equipped with both Avro Ansons and Airspeed Consuls which were acquired from their former British operators, which supplied transport aircraft for the United Nations commission back in early 1949. The primary goal of the Consuls was to train pilots for manning both transports and fighter-bombers like the Douglas Dakota or De Havilland Mosquito. One year later, in 1950 the flying moved to Sirkin air base and the Consuls continued to operate from there. As they had seats for six passengers, they also took the role of VIP transports. In fact, it was the aircraft that took David Ben Gurion on a tour through Southern Israel in June 1949.
  The aircraft's poor mechanical status, the poor quality of of IAF's maintenance and the hard handling characteristics of the aircraft, caused the aircraft to be progressively taken out of service. In fact, of the initial eleven of them (some sources claim it was 14), by April 1957 only three of them remained serviceable.
  Israel's national airway, El-Al, operated one Consul as ground crew and pilot instructor. This machine was based in Lydda, and operated from July 1953 until 1957.
• Jordan: Two Jordan airlines, Air Jordan and Arab Airways Association, operated a total of eight aircraft. Air Jordan operated seven of them from Amman in small domestic flights from 1950 to 1951, and Arab Airways Association operated just one in 1951. 

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul

2. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/airspeed-a-s-65-consul

3. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/aa-mideast/israel/af/types/train1.htm

4. https://www.flickr.com/photos/9679871@N04/1392750765

5. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

Airspeed AS.65 Consul, part three, various Asian users

The Airspeed AS.65 Consul was a British twin-engined light airliner of the immediate post-war time. It was a conversion of the Airspeed As.10 Oxford military trainer surplus after the World War 2.
The type saw use with many airlines and air forces all around the globe and, on this post, we're going to cover the Asian ones:

• Burma: The Burmese Air Force got 7 aircraft that were supplied between September 1949 and February 1950. They were used as communications and light general transport aircraft. Two aircraft were bought by the Burmese Air Force in September 1949 from the Union of Burma Airways. Their fate and their looking are unknown, so the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Indochinese Union: Various airlines operated the Consul in the French Colony of Indochina. One of them was the Société Aigle Azur (Blue Eagle Society) which operated five Consuls in Indochina. One of them was destroyed by the Viet Minh on 4th March 1954 at Gia Lam airport, in Hanoi.
  Another important airline which operated the type in this region was the Société Indochinoise de Transports Aeriens (Indochinese Air Transports Society) which was a company operated by the local colonial government. This company operated at least 14 machines, most of them based in Saigon, in local flights to Phnom Penh. Many of them were resold to minor companies like Société Indochinoise des Plantations Reunies de Minot. As both the graphical material and information of these machines serving with those companies is rather scarce, the drawings should be considered as speculative.
• India: Shortly after achieving independence, the government of India acquired four Consuls, although some sources claim it was two of them. They were assigned to Airways (India) Ltd. which was one of the forerunners of Air India. Many of them were also acquired by local Maharajahs as private transports. As we couldn't find photos of these planes in Indian service, the drawing should be considered as speculative.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul
2. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/airspeed_as65.html
3. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

Airspeed AS.65 Consul, part two, various African Users

The Airspeed AS.65 was a British twin-engined light airliner that was designed by converting surplus AS.10 Oxford trainers into civilian use. Although it was, theoretically, for civilian use, many military, and paramilitary air forces throughout the world employed it. They type saw use in the African continent, specially in the following countries, territories and dependencies:

• Belgian Congo: As the Oxford turned to be a very positive aircraft for the Congolese environment, the Force Publique (the armed forces of the Belgian colony) decided to reinforce their Oxford fleet with some Consuls. As the Consul could be equipped easily with a freight door, it could fit stretchers into it, so they were mainly used as air ambulances. A total of six machines served with the Force Publique. They were acquired in 1948-1949 (some of them from the South African Natal Airlines) and by 1954-1955 or even 1956 they were all written off. Most of them were sold for scrap.
• France: According to our sources, four Consuls served with the French airline SA Aerotechnique, and one of them served with the Societe Algerienne de Transports Aeriens (Algerian Society of Air Transports). Charter airlines both of them. They served until the late 1950s when they were either sold or sold for scrap. As we couldn't find graphical evidence of the Consul serving with any of those airlines, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Colony and Protectorate of Kenya: The Kenyan-based airline East African Airways Corporation bought a single Consul from the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in May 1954. It operated from Nairobi until 12th November 1955 when it suffered a wood and glue failure and was therefore retired to be scrapped in that same city two years later, in 1957.
• Union of South Africa: Many Consuls served with various South African airlines like Commercial Air Services, Natal Airlines or Silver Flights. Some of them were acquired from the Belgian Congo and some others straight from converted Oxfords. Either way, by mid 1950s or even later, they all were scrapped or sold.
• Tanganyka territory: The Tanganykan airline United Air Services operated three Consuls which were delivered between 1947-1948. They were based on Dar-es-Salaam and in 1952 due to the bad ageing of the machines, two of them were scrapped. The remaining one was sold to W.A. Rollason Ltd., in Croydon, London in 1950.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul

2. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/airspeed_as65.html

3. http://www.belgian-wings.be/Webpages/Navigator/Photos/MilltaryPics/post_ww2/Airspeed%20Consul/aispeed_consul.htm

4. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

Airspeed AS.65 Consul, part one, various users

The Airspeed AS.65 Consul was a British light twin-engined airliner of the post World War 2 period. It was a civilian conversion of the Airspeed AS.10 Oxford surplus trainers.
The Consul was used by many nations and, in this case, international organization:

• Argentina: After the war, the Argentine Air Force bought ten Consuls (some source claims it was just five of them) which were delivered between June and December 1947. They were used as light transports. They served in that role through the 1950s and two of them suffered accidents. They were written off and scrapped some time during the 1950s.
• New Zealand: After the war, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) bought six Oxfords which were converted in 1948 to Consuls. They served with the No.42 Squadron RNZAF until the mid-1950s when they were either sold or scrapped.
• United Nations: The United Nations' commission in Israel operated six Consuls in the Middle-East. They were leased by Mortons, Chartair International Airways and Air Enterprises in 1947 to 1949. They were painted totally in white and bore the letters UN plus a number bearing from 90 to 100. While serving as a transport for the UN personnel, one was lost in a crash in a remote area of Lebanon on 11th February 1949.

Sources:

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Consul

2. http://www.britishaviation-ptp.com/airspeed_as65.html#prodlistAll

3. https://www.gacetaeronautica.com/gaceta/wp-101/?p=5991 (translated)

4. https://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contributions/GibbinsBryan/10665.htm

5. https://www.ab-ix.co.uk/pdfs/airspeed_oxford_&_consul.pdf

6. https://loudandclearisnotenought.blogspot.com/search/label/Airspeed%20Consul%20%2F%20Oxford (translated)

7. https://blackbusheairport.proboards.com/thread/663/airspeed-oxford-consul-blackbushe

8. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/nz-serials/nzconsul.htm