Avro 504K - North American Users

Now's the turn for the North American users of this excellent British trainer.

• Canada: The Avro 504K was the very first training airplane ever flown by the Canadian Air Force. It served initially with the Royal Flying Corps Canada, then with the newly created Canadian Air Force and finally with the Royal Canadian Air Force and was locally built in Toronto by the Canadian Aeroplanes Ltd. They were all converted to 504N model on 29th June 1927.
• Mexico: Mexico adquired some of them to equip their trainer squadrons, where they served from 1919 until 1923 when they replaced by the Avro Anahuac, a locally built version by the Talleres Nacionales de Construcción Aeronáutica - TNCA (National Aeronautical Manufacture Workshops) which was also known as the Avro 504k Mk.II.
• United States: It served to train the American volunteers first and the official USAAC pilots later. They served in the American Expeditionary Force training site located at the French town of Issoudun and in July 1918 fifty-two of them were adquired by the American commanders. After the war some were shipped to the USA where they served as trainers. Unfortunately they crashed shortly after due to the inexperience of American pilots with rotary engines.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504

2.  http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/46/Old-Gold--the-Golden-Centennaires-of-1967.aspx

3. http://www.gob.mx/sedena/documentos/material-aereo-historico-de-la-f-a-m (translated)

4. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/MuseumExhibits/FactSheets/Display/tabid/509/Article/197405/avro-504k.aspx

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 - Foreign Users

We keep drawing. This time it's the turn for the airplane that, arguably, was the best airplane of the whole Great War.

The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 was a British biplane fighter of the first world war.
Given that we are covering the foreign users of this airplane, we are going to center on the S.E.5a model.
The S.E.5a model was an improved version of the initial S.E.5 model. It was powered by a 200hp Hispano-Suiza 8b engine and some of them were powered by a 200hp Wolseley Viper.

It was license built in the USA by the Austin Motor Company and also by Ebehart Aeroplane company.

The countries covered in this entry are:

• Argentina: The Argentine Naval Aviation bought some of them as late as 1927 and used them as advanced trainers.
• Australia: Some SE5a were given to Australia as part of the imperial gift after the end of the Great War and they constituted the backbone of the very early Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). They served until 1929 when they were replaced by the Bristol Bulldog.
• Canada: The Canadian Air Force employed SE.5a together with Sopwith Dolphin in the No.1 fighter squadron. However, as we couldn't fin graphical info, both the colours and registrations are speculative.
• Chile: The Chilean Military Aviation Service bought some SE.5a in 1924 to equip the newly formed 1st Aviation Company.
• Ireland: Apparently one SE.5a served in the Irish Air Corps during the Irish Civil War. It operated from the Fermoy aerodrome, in southern Ireland and was destroyed due to an engine failure. We couldn't find graphical evidence, so the drawing must be considered as speculative.
• Japan: The British Aviation Mission on Japan took one Viper-engined SE.5a to Japan after the armistice in order to serve in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. We couldn't find any graphical info about that airplane so it must be considered as speculative.
• Poland: The Polish Air Force bought at least one ex-RFC from the United Kingdom and was used in the Polish-Soviet war.