de Havilland Vampire. Part Ten. More European Users

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter designed and developed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second British jet fighter to see service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), but it was also employed by many users all around the globe. Among them, the following ones:

• Austria: Austria was allowed to have an air force in 1955. The Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte (Austrian Air Force - ÖL) accepted an offer from Sweden in 1956 for 23 surplus Vampire single-seat fighters. Those were overhauled by Svensk Flygtjanst AB (a Swedish regional airline) and were acquired via a Belgian broker that same year. Eventually only three were delivered with registrations allocated for experimental or evaluation machines. By 1960 the ÖL had already disposed of them.
  In 1957 the ÖL ordered one Vampire T.11 and two T.55 directly from de Havilland. They were delivered in March. Later, five more trainers were ordered, including the last T.55 built at Chester. Three ex-RAF were refurbished at Hatfield and delivered to Austria in 1964. By April 1972 all the Vampires in the ÖL were withdrawn from active service.
• Finland: In 1953 the Finnish Air Force (FAF) received six Vampires FB.52. They were operated by HavLv 11 and 13 (Havittajalaivue or fighter squadron in Suomi) based at Pori (Satakunta) first and Utti (Kouvola - Kymi province) later. As in 1953 there was a shortage of aviation kerosene in Finland, paraffin oil was used instead. This oil congealed at -35ºC causing some few flame outs, without accidents.
  The Vampires were grounded many times due to teething problems and lack of spares. They, however, became quite reliable with time. Between 4th July 1957 and 11th August 1958 the FB.52s were assigned to HavLv 21 of the Hame Wing, based at Luonetjarvi Air Force Base, located in the district of Tikkakoski, Jyväskylä. 
  As the Finnish were satisfied with the Vampires, they ordered four Vampire trainers in  March 1955. They consisted on a company demonstrator and three coming from the cancelled Ceylon order. This order was later increased to 9 aircraft.
  One Vampire FB.52 was supplied to the FAF 1961 by Interarmco, a weapons dealer. It was used as a ground instructional frame until 1963.
  The last flight of a Finnish FB.52 took place on 2nd February 1965 while the last T.55 flew with the FAF for the last time on 15th July 1965.
• France: In 1948 the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) sought to replace its fighter squadrons with jet fighters, so they ordered 30 Vampires F.Mk.1 straight from Hatfield. To this end, five French pilots were sent to Hatfield in October 1948 for a conversion course, at the end of which, they ferried the Vampires to France.
  Those 30 Vampires F.Mk.1 were delivered between 15th December 1948 and 8th January 1950 and, before that order was completed, an agreement was reached for 94 ex-RAF Vampires FB.Mk.5, all of them delivered between 31st May 1949 and 9th March 1950. 
  Meanwhile, the Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Sud-Est (SNCASE - South-Western National Society of Aeronautical Constructions) signed an agreement with de Havilland to manufacture 67 Vampire FB.51 under license with parts supplied by de Havilland. It was also agreed that SNCASE would build 120 FB.51 machines with parts made in France, including the Rolls-Royce Nene engine, built under license by Hispano-Suiza. 
  Design differences between the FB.Mk.5 and Se.535 was considerable and had direct impact on production parts. The only similarities between both aircraft were the forward part of the fuselage, the tailplane, booms and avionics. One significant albeit small change, was the air intake in the wing roots. This part was modified by adding a thin protective section to allow the enlargement of the intake for the Nene and the fitment of a flexible fuel tank. The whole fuel system had to be redesigned so that there were 15 tanks around the aircraft against 9 in the FB.Mk.5.
  This increased the fuel capacity of the Mistral, but created other problems. Pressure air-venting was required to prevent flexible tanks parting from the wing. Therefore, engine mountings were completely redesigned and the cowlings reinforced causing deformation and variation to the profile, leading to unwanted in-flight vibration. The cowling needed to be larger and stronger, so it was completely redesigned. Landing wheels were also modified by de Havilland to allow for better braking and higher tyre pressures to compensate for the increase in weight.
  The first French-assembled FB.51 flew on 27th January 1950 and the first French-built FB.51 on 21st December. SNACSE divided production of the aircraft between Marignane, Marseille, where fuselage, tail booms and canopy were produced, La Corneuve, at the Seine department, where fuselage fuel tanks were produced and Toulouse, Haute-Garonne department, where sub-assemblies were built. 
  Flying with the Hispano-Suiza Nene 104B engine it was known as the Se.532/535 Mistral. This variant saw a total of 247 machines completed plus four pre-production machines between June 1953 and February 1954. 
  French Vampires were widely used against North African natives during the Algerian war of 1951-1961 as counter-insurgency aircraft fitted with rockets, bombs and napalm.
  Some Vampires, among them four F.Mk.1, were modified as radio-controlled drones to test the air-to-air MATRA missile. One FB.Mk.5 was modified to test a reverse thrust Goblin engine in 1951 and two Mistrals were experimentally fitted with oleo-pneumatic skis attached to the mainwheels for trials between 1954 and 1956.

Sources:

1st Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

2nd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_de_Havilland_Vampire_operators

Airspeed AS.10 Oxford, part four, Various Users

The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a British twin-engined multi-purpose aircraft designed and developed by Airspeed Ltd. With 8.504 aircraft made, many of them were exported to various countries. Among them, the following ones:

• Denmark: At the end of 1946 the Royal Danish Air Force received 44 Oxfords that had belonged to the Royal Air Force (RAF). They were used for advanced flying training at the city of Karup, in Jutland. They were also used occasionally for communications and aerial photography and were withdrawn in 1956.
• Free France: The Free French Air Force received five new Oxfords in 1944. They were assigned to the 'Group Artois' (Artois Group) which was based at Pointe Noire (French Equatorial Africa - nowadays Republic of the Congo). They were used in auxiliary tasks, like aerial ambulances, until 1st July 1947 when the unit was deactivated.
• Finland: One Oxford T.1 was sold to a private Finnish owner in Denmark. It served through the 1950s until it was sold to another private owner. The one machine depicted below was equipped with skis. One of the few Oxford to feature such equipment.
• Greece: Due to the British help that Greece received after the World War 2, 19 Oxfords Mk.I/Mk.II were delivered in August 1945. They were followed in 1947 by 13 more and a number of them were equipped with bomb racks. Two Oxfords were equipped with photo-reconnaissance equipment, making them, together with the North American AT-6 Texan, the only dedicated recon aircraft available for the Royal Hellenic Air Force back then.
  They served through the Greek Civil War mainly in the reconnaissance role and were written off in 1948. It's unknown if they were used in the multi-engine advanced training role.
• Netherlands: The Airspeed Oxford was used by both the Royal Dutch Air Force and the Royal Dutch Naval Aviation Service. Initially, back in the No.1316 (Dutch) Communications Flight of the Royal Air Force, there were many Oxfords serving during the latest stages of the War. Additionally, three Oxfords were in service with the No.320 (Dutch) Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
  All those Oxfords, 28 according to some sources, passed on to serve with the Royal Dutch Air Force and were assigned to the AVOT (Additional Twin-Engine Pilot Training unit) at Twente, in Eastern Netherlands. They were also used for training the pilots of the Gloster Meteor, but by 1950 they were replaced by the Beechcraft AT-7.
  The Royal Dutch Naval Aviation Service received in early 1946 three Oxford on loan. They were used for training the so-called 'Detachment Aircraft Carriers, VKS' which was based at RAF Heston, in Middlesex as part of the 701 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm. From there, they performed regular flights to Schipol, Valkenburg and Eindhoven. In July those three aircraft were bought and were based in May 1947 at Valkenburg Naval Air Base, in the Netherlands, for liaison and photo-reconnaissance duties. Shortly later they were assigned to the No.320 Squadron for 'General Purpose Duties'. In 1951 a new squadron, the No.5 was formed and some Oxford were assigned there.
  Anyway, in 1952 and 1953 every remaining Oxford was written off from service as they were in poor conditions. They were replaced in their roles by the Beechcraft SNB-5/TC-45J  Navigator.

Sources:

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

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

3. https://www.haf.gr/en/history/historical-aircraft/airspeed-oxford-mk-i-ii/

4. https://kw.jonkerweb.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=746:airspeed-as-10-oxford-mkii-uk&catid=82&lang=en&showall=1&limitstart=&Itemid=544

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI, part eleven, Other European users

The MiG-15UTI served all across the globe, and it was also used by the following countries:

• Armenia: When the country was declared independent in 1991, some UTIs were left behind. They were incorporated into the newly created air force and were used in the Nagorno-Karabah war in the light-bomber role in 1992. All of them were presumably lost in that war. As we couldn't find graphical evidence of the type serving with the Armenian Air Force, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Bulgaria: The MiG-15UTI became the main trainer aircraft for the Bulgarian People's Army Air Force in the early 1950s when they were bought from the USSR. They served alongside other types like the Aero L-29 or the Aero L-39 until the fall of Communism in 1989 and even beyond as the type was still in active service in 1992. However, it was retired shortly after and replaced by the L-39 and the Pilatus PC-9. 
• Chechen Republic of Ichkeria: The Chechen National Guard Aviation had at least one MiG-15UTI that received the Chechen roundel. However it was destroyed on the ground during the first hours of the Chechen War in 1994. 
• Finland: In 1954 the MiG-15 was offered to Finland by the USSR, but the Finnish Air Force wasn't interested in the type, however, some years later, in 1962, as they needed an intermediate trainer before completing the transition to the MiG-21F-13, four MiG-15UTIs were ordered. In spite the UTI's good flying characteristics, the UTI didn't handle very well on ground and, as it didn't meet the demands of the Finnish Air Force, it wasn't used very much. It served until 7th February 1977 when it's last flight with the Finnish Colours took place.
• Romania: The Air Force of the People's Republic of Romania imported a total of 60 both Aero CS-102 (the Czechoslovak license-built MiG-15UTI) and MiG-15UTIs from 1953 until 1960. Given to the UTIs good flying characteristics and robustness, they were in service until 1992 making it, with more than 40 years, one of the most longeve aircraft to ever serve in the Romanian Air Force.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15

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

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

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

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

6. https://www.ilmailumuseot.fi/tuotteet.html?id=20171/255089

7. http://www.aripi-argintii.ro/aparatdezbor.php?p=24 (translated)