Miles M.14 Magister, part three. Some European users.

 

The Miles M.14 Magister was a British two-seat elementary trainer aircraft of the 1930s which was used mainly by the Royal Air Force (RAF) but also by many other users such as the following ones:

• Belgium: After the war, three Magisters were transferred to Belgium on 3rd October 1946. They were employed as instructional aeroframes at the technical school in Safraanberg, Flanders. During the following year, the aircraft was made airworthy and was delivered to No. 367 Squadron of the No.169 Wing, based at Evere airport in Brussels. It was employed as a courier until 1953 when it was written off and sold to a private owner. Later, during the 1970s bought by the Belgian Royal Army Museum and is nowadays in display there.
• Estonia: The Estonian Ohukaitse (Air Defence) bought a single Miles Magisters in 1938. They were assigned to the 3rd Aviation Division based in Tallinn. It served alongside with another Estonian-built and designed PTO-4 as the basic trainer for the Estonian Air Defence and during 1939 it took part, together with another two PTO-4s in an official state visit to Latvia. In 1940, when the USSR invaded the Baltic countries, they were captured by the VVS (Soviet Air Force).
• Germany: The Sonderstaffel Buschmann (a Luftwaffe unit composed of Estonian volunteers) operated a single ex-Latvian Miles Magister registered as SB+AF. 
  It was also employed by an Ausbildungswessel, an unit established by the Luftwaffe in Latvia which operated ex-Latvian Air Force aircraft. During their service with the Luftwaffe they were only used as reconnaissance planes. 
• Ireland: In 1939 (though, according to some other sources it was in 1938) the Irish Air Corps bought 27 Magisters which constituted their basic trainer throughout the whole war and the postwar, as they were retired in 1952.

Sources:

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

2. https://www.belgian-wings.be/miles-magister

3. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235039699-miles-m14a-magister-estonian-air-force-1938-1940-rs-model-172/

4. https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonderstaffel_Buschmann (translated)

5. https://www.feldgrau.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1392

6. Scale Aircraft Modelling - October 1997 - Miles Military Trainers

7. Putnam & Co. - Miles aircraft since 1925 

Junkers Ju.52/3m more European and British users

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German passenger and cargo airplane that was used all around the globe by both air forces and airways from the 1930s to the 1950s and, in some cases, even beyond. In this post we're covering the following users:

• United Kingdom: Although not used by the Royal Air Force, the Ju.52/3m saw service in the United Kingdom as it served with the following airlines:
• British Airways Ltd.: In 1936 and 1937 three Ju.52/3m were operated by this airline together with some other types, to operate various night mail contracts to Lille in France and Cologne and Hannover, in Germany. 
• British European Airways/Railway Air Services: In November 1946 British European Airways (BEA) opened its first aerial link between London Croydon airport and Belfast Sydenham airport via Liverpool. This line was served by ex-Luftwaffe Ju.52/3m and was operated by another airline called Railway Air Services on behalf of BEA. The next month Sydenham was replaced by Nutts Corner, also in Northern Ireland, and the Ju.52/3m (which received the nickname of "Jupiters" by their British pilots) were replaced with Douglas Dakota cargo and passenger aircraft. 
• British Overseas Aircraft Corporation (BOAC): According to Wikipedia the BOAC had one or more Ju.52/3m in inventory, however, we couldn't find any graphical evidence, so it was decided not to drawn an hypothetical version.
  
  
• Estonia: In 1939 the Estonian A/S Ago (the Estonian national airline back in the 1930s - not to be confused with the German aircraft manufacturer AGO Flugzeugwerke) ordered two Ju.52/3mg3gce passenger planes in 1939. The first one arrived in Estonia on 5th October 1939, piloted by the Estonian pilot Peeter Olt, and the second one was delivered on 19th October. 
  When the Soviets occupied the Baltic States in June 1940, both were assigned to Aeroflot, the Soviet national airline, however, they remained parked at Jägala airport, in Estonia, until February 1941 when they were taken back to Riga. Later they were assigned to some special squadron of the VVS (Soviet Air Force) in Moscow, where, apparently were not employed for the remaining of the war.
• Finland: In 1936, with the completion of Helsinki's and Turku's airports, Finland's national airway back then, Aero Oy, sought for larger passenger airplanes. That's when three Ju.52/3m were bought with an additional one being bought later. At the outbreak of the Winter War in late November 1939, any civilian aerial operation from Helsinki was deemed as too risky, so Aero Oy ceased operations, but they were resumed when this conflict terminated in March 1940. It seems that during peace negotiations, in June 1940, one Ju.52 was shot down over the Gulf of Riga by two Soviet Tupolev SB-2 bombers. 
  During the Continuation War, the company kept regular flights to Stockholm, Tallinn and Berlin, among other destinations until the outbreak of the Lapland War in September 1944. Overall the Ju.52/3m served with Aero Oy (which, by the way, was the forerunner of Finnair) until 1948 when they were replaced by more modern types.

Sources:

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Junkers_Ju_52_operators

2. https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnair (translated)

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnair

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Ltd

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_European_Airways

6. http://www.militaar.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28659 (translated)

Avro Anson, part six, some European Users

The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined multi-role aircraft that was used by many countries all around the globe. The following European countries had the Ansons serving with them:

• Belgium: In 1947 the British Government authorised deliveries of a number of Ansons Mk.I for the new Belgian Air Force. They were delivered to Evere airfield, in Brussels though few of them survived for long time. One was flying by No.7 Wing as a squadron hack flying crews to Schiphol, Amsterdam to work in Fokker's factory to pick up the newly built Gloster Meteor F.8 which were being manufactured under license there in 1950.
  The No.21 Smaldeel (Squadron) was equipped with Ansons which were separated into various different flights when the unit received the Douglas DC-4 for long range transportation.
  The Air Force's Main Transport Flight had also Douglas C-47s as its personnel was part of the No.525 Squadron during the War. This squadron was known as the 'Verbindingsflight' and took two Ansons into service when they departed RAF Hendon in August 1946. The flight was later upgraded to squadron-strength and named 'No.367 Squadron' and was later renamed as '21 Smaldeel' and was used for communications duties.
  One C.19 one was also used by SABENA (Belgian National Airline) to cover some internal aerial routes before it was sold to Air Congo and sent to the Belgian Congo. Two more served with Air Congo (making a total of three) and one of them served with John Mahieu Aviation in Brussels.
• Czechoslovakia: Three Ansons were given in total to Czechoslovakia after the War. Two Mk.XII and a single Mk.I but one of them crashed into the sea off the Danish coast. The remaining two were assigned to the Air Traffic Regiment of the newly formed Czechoslovak Air Force in 1946 and 1947. Their fate is unknown.
• Estonia: One Anson Mk.I was delivered to the Estonian Air Force in 1936 (although some sources claim it was in 1937). It received the serial 158 and when the country was occupied by the USSR, it was passed on to the Soviet Air Force.
• Finland: Before the War, the Ilmavoimat (Finnish Air Force) ordered three Ansons Mk.I. Finnish pilots were trained at Woodford in Stockport, Greater Manchester and the first Anson arrived in Utti, Finland, on 27th September 1936. The three Ansons were initially used for twin-engined aircraft training, while the Bristol Blenheim bombers arrived. When the Winter War started on 30th November 1939, they were used for aerial reconnaissance works. During one of those missions, one of them was lost to a crash in February 1940, another one crashed in 1943, when it was written off. The last one survived until 1947 when it made its last flight.

Sources:

1. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson

3. http://britishaviation-ptp.com/avro652_3.html

4. https://www.armedconflicts.com/Avro-Anson-C-Mk-12-t50511

5. http://www.svazletcu.cz/eng/csl2_2.html#

Avro 504R Gosport

The Avro 504R was a mixed modification in order to update the original 504K. It featured the same skid as the 504K, but had the engine and wings of the 504N. It was presented to the RAF but it wasn't found suitable for the training role due to the low reliability rates.

It was sold to Argentina, where it was locally produced by the Fabrica Militar de Aviones (Military Airplane Factory), Estonia, where it served until 1940 and the Peruvian Air Force, where also some ex-Argentinean made machines ended-up.

Sources:
1. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other1/avro504r.html (translated)
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_504