Avro 504L

We're back with the enormous variants of the Avro 504, this time with the seaplane recon version of it.

The Avro 504L was a twin-seater recon biplane that flew for the first time on 1919. It was powered by either a 110hp LeRhône 9J, a 130hp Clerget 9B or a 150hp Bentley BR.1 and had the particularity that it wasn't used by the United Kingdom but by some Commonwealth countries and some other users as well.

At least 33 of them were built, being 16 converted from the 504K.
It was used by these countries:

• Australia: It served as the embarked recon airplane on board of both HMAS Australia and HMAS Melbourne Battlecruisers.
• Chile: Apparently the Chilean Naval Aviation some of them during the 1920s. As we couldn't find graphical evidence of this, the drawing is considered as speculative.
• Japan: The Empire of Japan employed some 504L most probably during the 1920s. It was also locally manufactured under license by Nakajima.
• New Zealand: The New Zealand Permanent Air Force employed some of them, during the 1920s too.

Sources:

1. http://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/108750

2. http://www.navy.gov.au/aircraft/avro-504l

3. http://www.nzmuseums.co.nz/account/3031/object/355965/black-and-white-display-print-of-walsh-brothers-flying-school-avro-504l-h2990-on-the-water-at-missi

4. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Avro 504K - Oceanian users

Now it's time for the Oceanian or ANZAC users of the Avro 504K.

The first contact of Australian pilots with the 504K was in England as the pilots of the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) belonging to the No. 5, 6, 7 and 8 training squadrons used them for their formation.
After the armistice and the end of the Great War, some of them were exported to Australia where they served with the newly created Royal Australian Air Force at Point Cook, home base of the Flying Training School. They arrived in Australia in 1922, and some of them were built locally under license by the Australian Aircraft and Engineering in Sidney, New South Wales. These locally manufactured machines were only 20pounds heavier than the original ones. Either way, they were replaced in the military service in 1928 when the Flying Training School bouth some De Havilland Cirrus Moth trainers to replace them.

The Avro 504K also served with the Permanent New Zealand Air Force, more exactly with the Kohimarama Flying School, in Auckland. As it's based in a very bad quality black & white photo, the colours should be considered as speculative. Apparently it beared the civilian registration G-NZAB.

Sources:
1. https://www.airforce.gov.au/raafmuseum/research/aircraft/series1/A3.htm
2. http://www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Walsh%20Bros%20Avro.htm
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504