Bristol Beaufighter, part ten. Bristol Beaufighter in German, Italian and Portuguese service.

 

The Bristol Beaufighter was also employed, albeit in small numbers by the following countries:

• Germany: There is one photograph suggesting that at least one Bristol Beaufighter Mk. IC was captured by the Germans and put to flight in Luftwaffe markings. However, as the picture we had access does not enjoy the highest quality available, the drawing we made below should be taken with a grain of salt.
  
  
• Italy: On 7th January 1942 a Beaufighter Mk. IC registered as T4887 was on an Overseas Air Despatch Unit flight from Gibraltar to Malta when landed by mistake at Magnisi airfield, close to Augusta and was captured intact by the Italian personnel. This happened because the Italians were jamming the Malta radio-beacon with a jammer truck placed for that purpose at Porto Palo. Both the pilot, Flt. Sgt. Jones and the navigator, Flt. Sgt. Bold were taken prisoners.
  The aircraft was quickly taken to Guidonia, the testing centre of the Regia Aeronautica (the Royal Italian Air Force) and was repainted with Italian markings and colours and even received an Italian registration: MM4887. 
  At Guidonia the Beaufighter spent almost one year, where it was flew tested by many pilots, who praised the excellent avionics and the power of the Bristol Hercules engines. 
  Oddly enough, the Italian engineers did not consider necessary to reverse engineer the British throttle lever action, which was totally abnormal for Italian pilots. 
  After testing was completed, the Beaufighter was assigned to 235ª Squadriglia of Comando Intercettori Leone (235th Flight of Leone Interceptor Command) in mid-December 1942 but it did not last long as it was lost to a take-off accident at Venegono airfield, close to Milan, on 29th January 1943. The most probable cause for the accident was an erroneous throttle control input by the pilot, Tte. Ercole Norace Zedda, who died in the accident, while Flight engineer Sgt. Mg. Motorista Sacchi was severely injured.
  
  
• Portugal: A total of sixteen Beaufighters TF. Mk. Xs were bought by the Forças Aéreas da Armada (literally 'Navy's Air Forces') and were shipped between March and April 1945. 
  All those aircraft were based at Portela de Sacavem airfield, close to Lisbon by Esquadrao 'B' ('B' Squadron) of the Forças Aéreas da Armada. Those Beaus received Portuguese serials ranging from BF.1 to BF.16 and the squadron also operated from Averio airfield under command of Centro de Aviaçao Naval de S. Jacinto (S. Jacinto Naval Aviation Centre).
  On 22nd October 1945 one Beau, BF.4 crashed at Ovar beach, close to S. Jacinto, killing the pilot, 1st Lt. Felix F. Lobo and Sgt. Antunes Nogueira and the wireless operator, Luis Pacheco, dying from the burns he got while trying to rescue his partners from the burning plane. The crash was caused by a broken drive shaft on one of the engine oil pumps, so Bristol sent mechanics to Portugal to repair and modify the remaining airframes to prevent this from happening. 
  A replacement Beaufighter TF. Mk. X (ex RD862) was supplied by Bristol and received the Portuguese registration of BF.17. 
  The Beau was kept in service with Forças Aéreas da Armada until 1950 when Esquadrao 'B' was disbanded and two of the remaining Beaus were assigned to the Instituto Superior Técnico (Technical High School) at Lisbon to serve as instructional airframes, while another airframe was passed to the South African Air Force in exchange for a Spitfire Mk. IX registered as ML255. 
  Those two airframes remained at the Instituto Superior Técnico until 1965 when one of them, BF.10 was sent to Oficinas Gerais de Material Aeronáutico (General Aeronautical Material Workshops) at Alverca, Lisbon, where the national aeronautical museum was founded on 1st July 1969 and BF.10 was restored for display. 
  The other airframe, BF.13 (ex-RD253) was shipped back to the United Kingdom as a gift from the Portuguese government to the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was later restored at RAF St. Athan (Glamorgan, Wales) before being placed on display at the RAF Museum in Hendon on 15th March 1971 where it can be seen nowadays.

Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufighter
2nd Bancarella Aeronautica - Ali Straniere In Italia 6 - Prede di Guerra
3rd Scale Aircraft Modellers Datafile 6 - Bristol Beaufighter

Supermarine Spitfire. European Users, part seventeen. The Spitfire in Portugal.

 

During late 1942 eighteen Spitfires, which were ordered before the beginning of the war, were delivered to Portugal, to form the bulk of their Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautics - Portuguese Army's aerial branch). Those Spitfires were given the registration numbers of 370 to 387 and were assigned to equip Squadron XZ. Portuguese squadrons were marked with a set of letters that also served as a code painted on the aircraft. 
By virtue of the treaty that granted the Allies the right to use the bases in the Azores islands, Portugal was going to receive, for free, 36 Spitfire Mk. Vb, among many other aircraft. 
Those 36 Mk. Vb were shipped between October 1943 and January 1944.
Eventually thirty-three aircraft were delivered, were given the registration numbers of 1 to 33 and were assigned to aerial base of Ota (located in a civil parish close to Lisbon and officially called as 'Base Aérea Nr. 2'), where they were employed to form two new squadrons (Squadrons RL and MR) that were part of the Fighter Group stationed there.
In 1947 sixty more Spitfire Mk. Vb (mostly of the LF sub-variant) were bought from Royal Air Force's surplus. This new batch received the numbers of 34 to 92. 
Some were assigned to form a new squadron, Squadron ZE, while the rest were sent to supplement the numbers of the already existing ones. 

On 1st July 1952 the Portuguese Air Force (Força Aérea Portuguesa) was created and, as a result, the Aeronáutica Militar ceased to exist, resulting in a deep reorganization of every Portuguese aerial unit. 
Three Spitfire squadrons were merged into two (Squadrons 20 and 21), this time designated with numbers and still based at Ota. At the same time, the aircraft designation system was changed, with the Spitfires receiving a four digit code, in which the first digit indicated the category of the aircraft (in the case of the Spitfire it was the number 4 - 'fighter'), the second the type within the category (Spitfire - 3), while the other remaining two were the aircraft's own number. Example given, the previous Spitfire number 26, was now 4326. 
Anyway one year later, in 1953, the Spitfires were written off service.

Sources:

1st AJ-Press - Monografie Lotnicze 40 - Supermarine Spitfire Part 3 (translated)

2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Supermarine_Spitfire_operators#Portugal

Miles M.9 Master. Part two. More Foreign Users

 

The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer which was designed and built by Miles Aviation Company. It was used mainly by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) but some other users also employed the type, among them, the following ones:

• Belgium: One Master II ,which previously belonged to the RAF (Belgian) training school at Snailwell (Cambridgeshire), was used as a ground instructional airframe at the Technical School of Saffraanberg in February 1946. Most likely this machine was destroyed in a fire that took place at the school two years later on 8th August 1948. The remains were scrapped as it didn't reappear in inventory when the school reopened at Tongeren.
• France: A small number of Master II were used by the French Armée de l'Air in Morocco from 1946 to 1948 serving in various piloting schools set up there. Odd enough, they bore RAF style markings and roundels but in French tones of red white and blue. 
  Some Master III (a version powered by the 825hp Pratt & Whitney engine) were also used by the École de Pilotage (Flying School) at the city of Cognac during 1947 and 1948. They were used as interim machines until the North American T-6 Texan were supplied in numbers. 
• Ireland: A total of twelve former RAF Master II were purchased by the Irish Air Corps. Six in 1943 and other six in 1945. They were employed as trainers until 1949, when it was decided to replace them by the Percival P.56 Provost in the 1950s.
• Portugal: As part of a treaty to use Azores Islands as bases, two Master III were delivered to Lisbon on 10th October 1941. These were followed by eight additional ones delivered during the month of April 1942. 
  The Masters were assigned to the Base Aérea Nº1 (No.1 Air Base) at Sintra, Lisbon, to train their pilots from fixed landing gear aircraft to retractable ones. In September 1942 two Masters were sent to Lajes Air Base, in the Azores, to train their pilots, as the old Gloster Gladiators based there were to be replaced by the Supermarine Spitfire. 
  In September 1943 four additional Master II were delivered by the United Kingdom and were assigned to Sintra Air Base. The Miles Masters in Portugal were kept in active service until 1950 (though some sources claim their use was stretched until 1958).

Sources:

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

2. https://www.belgian-wings.be/miles-master-ii

3. https://www.traditions-air.fr/unit/ecole_centre/31500.htm (translated)

4. http://avions-de-la-guerre-d-algerie.over-blog.com/article-les-miles-master-et-martinet-116685844.html (translated)

5. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/user/every/ireland-af-all-time-aircraft-used-listing.htm

6.https://altimagem.blogspot.com/2013/02/59-miles-master.html (translated)

Bristol Blenheim, part four. More foreign users

 

The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber designed and manufactured by Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was used during the first half of the Second World War by the Royal Air Force (RAF), but by many foreign users too:

• Poland: Reportedly, No.307 (Polish) Night Fighter Squadron operated two Blenheims. One of the Mk.I variant and another of the Mk.IV variant. 
  Furthermore, one Blenheim ad-hoc converted into VIP transport was used as the personal transport of General Wladislaw Anders, commander of 2nd Polish Corps. As we couldn't find pics of these Blenheims, the drawings should be considered as speculative.
• Portugal: In order to honor their ancient alliance, ensure their neutrality and use their bases in the Azores Islands, the Portuguese Government was provided with various British aircraft. Among them was a bath of 12 Blenheim Mk.IVf in September 1943. These were assigned to Esquadrilha B (Squadron B) of the Aviaçao Naval (Naval Aviation - Portuguese Naval Air Arm) which made for its first land-based unit. They were serialled B-1 to B-12 and were based at Portela de Sacavem, in Lisbon.
  The Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautics) received ten Mk.IV which were assigned to Esquadrilha ZE (Squadron ZE) based at the town of Ota and commandeered by Captain Joao Jose Ribeiro Ferreira, who died on 30th August 1944 when his Blenheim crashed. 
  Three additional Mk.Vs were supplemented later. These Mk.Vs flew also with the Aviaçao Naval, though it's not clear if these were the same that had previously belonged to the Aeronáutica Militar. Anyway, the Blenheims remained in service with Portugal until 1948.
• Romania: The Romanian Government was among the first customers of the Blenheim Mk.I. They received a batch of 34 Blenheim Mk.I between May and November 1939 to equip their bombing and long range reconnaissance squadrons Nos.1,2,3 and 4 of the Fortele Aeriene Regale ale Romaniei (FARR - Royal Romanian Air Force). When Romania joined the Axis in November 1940, spare parts for British-supplied aircraft became a problem, which was somehow eased with the inclusion of three ex-Yugoslavian Blenheim Mk.I and spares in September 1941. 
  The Romanian Blenheims saw action during the Barbarossa Campaign, from 21st June 1941 onwards. During the initial opening stages of that campaign, four Blenheim were lost to Soviet anti-air fire. The Blenheims were used in support of Romanian ground troops during the siege of Odessa in 1941. However, logistic problems for the British-supplied aircraft were being felt this early on in the campaign and in late 1941 the FARR was largely withdrawn to rest. By early 1942, only 13 Blenheim were in active, number which was increased, thanks to the work of FARR's mechanics, to 27 later that year.
  Escadrila 1's (Squadron 1) Blenheims flew recce missions supporting Axis troops in their assault on Stalingrad. This squadron lost four Blenheim during that campaign and then they withdrew to Ciocarlia, in Romania, where they flew their Blenheim covering the northern areas of the Black Sea. The Blenheims in this squadron remained in active until 23rd August 1944, though, by that date they had only six serviceable machines, and one of them was shot down by friendly fire near Ploesti and other was captured by the advancing Soviet forces.
  When Romania switched sides in late August 1944, the three remaining Blenheims were employed for reconnaissance duties. However, they were in such poor condition that they were assigned to transport duties and, eventually, they were withdrawn from active service after an eventful career with the FARR.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bristol_Blenheim_operators#Poland

2. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 26 - Bristol Blenheim

3. Osprey Publishing - Combat Aircraft 5 - Blenheim Squadrons of World War 2

Junkers Ju.52/3m in Portugal

 

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German transport plane that also served in Portugal and its colonies, though this colonial usage we already covered it in a previous post.

The Ju.52/3m was used in metropolitan Portugal by Aero Portuguesa, which was the first official Portuguese airline with scheduled international flights. The airline was founded in 1934 and shortly later some Ju.52/3m were acquired. They covered various routes between Portugal and French Morocco and later a new link with Brazil was opened. The Ju.52/3m served until 1953 when Aero Portuguesa was merged with TAP (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses - Portuguese Air Transports - the main Portuguese airline nowadays) and the Ju.52/3m were replaced by more modern types.

Regarding its usage by armed forces, to write about the Ju.52/3m in Portugal, is to write about the history of Esquadra 502 (Squadron 502). This unit was founded in 1937 and since December was equipped with Ju.52/3m as it was intended to fulfil the role of night bomber. They were kept in that role until mid 1940s when, given their obsolescence as a bomber, they were redistributed to various units located in Sintra and Ota, all of them close to Lisbon, to serve as aerial transports.

Later, in 1952 the Portuguese paratrooper unit was created in Tancos, dependant on the Portuguese Air Force (PAF) with one Ju.52/3m being assigned to this unit to serve as a paratrooper transport.

On 12th April 1956 a mixed squadron was created with two subordinated flights (though they were flights in name only as they were over-strengthened),  one with 22 Piper L-21 mixed with Airspeed Oxfords intended to serve in the training and liaison role and another one with five Ju.52/3m to serve in the pure transport role. This squadron was disbanded in December 1959 in order to be reformed and create the Esquadra de Instruçao Complementar de Pilotagem e Navegaçao em Aviôes Pesados (EICPNAP - Complementary Instruction Squadron for Piloting and Navigation in Heavy Airplanes) whose purpose was to train pilots for paratroop drops. In order to keep the Ju.52/3m active for longer time, two of them were retrofitted with Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engines.

The EICPNAP was reinforced during November and December of 1960 with 15 additional AAC.1 Toucan machines bought directly from France in order to increase the amount of trained paratroopers to fight in the tumultuous Portuguese colonies of Angola, Guinea and Mozambique. In late 1963 the EICPNAP was disbanded only tu be succeded by the Esquadra de Treino e Transporte de Tropas Pára-quedistas (ETTP - Paratroop Training and Transport Squadron) which was a change in name only as their location, aircraft and mission was maintained. Shortly after this change, the old Ju.52/3m and Amiots were replaced by American Douglas Dakota C-47.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Junkers_Ju_52_operators

2. https://esquadra.emfa.pt/link-502-005.002.001.002.001-junkers-ju-52 (translated)

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

4. Signal Squadron - Aircraft In action 186 - Junkers Ju-52 in Action

Airspeed AS.10 Oxford, part five, various European Users

The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a British twin-engined multi-purpose aircraft which was designed and developed by Airspeed Ltd. With more than 8.500 exemplars manufactured, it saw service with many countries all around the globe. Among them, the following ones:

• Norway: From 1947 until 1953, when they written off, the Royal Norwegian Air Force had a total of 22 Oxfords serving in three squadrons (Nos. 333, 334 and 335). Four aircraft were sold between 1951 to 1953 to the Norwegian airline Wideroe which employed the aircraft for photo-surveying Norwegian territories in a commission for the Norwegian Geographical Society. Eventually only three of them were sold with the fourth one not being registered as sold and was hold by the Royal Norwegian Air Force for spare parts. The aircraft were taken out of service in 1960 and were used at Fornebu, Oslo, as target practice.
• Poland: At least one unit of the Polish Air Force in exile had some Oxfords in their rows. Among them there was the No.16 (Polish) Flying Training School which from July 1941 until December 1946 employed them as trainers at RAF Newton, in Nottinghamshire.
• Portugal: Both Portuguese Army and Navy received six Oxfords in 1943 as part of the Operation Oatmeal (thanks to which the Allied set up bases in the Azores islands). When the Portuguese Air Force was formed in 1952, there were still four of them in active service. 
• Sweden: The Swedish charter airline Transair Sweden AB had three Airspeed Oxford in 1950 as part of their fleet. They were used with the aim of flying newspapers from Stockholm to other parts of Sweden. They served until September 1955 and December 1959.
• Yugoslavia: Five Oxford were obtained from Norway, via H.A. Berg, under the mutual Defence Aid Programme in 1951. They were used by an unknown unit based at Pancevo as twin-engined trainers for the De Havilland Mosquito crews. They were withdrawn from service in 1958.

Sources:

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

2. https://www.wikiwand.com/no/Airspeed_Oxford (translated)

3. https://codenames.info/operation/oatmeal/

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

5. http://transairsweden.com/aircraft/airspeed/

6. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7160847?descriptiontype=Full&ref=AIR+29/570

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Newton

8. http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/yugo/af2/types/trainers.htm

To know more about the Oxford in Norway:

1. https://flyblader.com/onewebmedia/Nr%2012%20Oxford.pdf (in Norwegian)