Supermarine Spitfire. Asian Users, part five. Thailand and Syria.

 

The Supermarine Spitfire was employed by both Syria and Thailand. 

Spitfire's operational history with Syria it's unclear. Some sources claim that the Syrian government bought a total of 20 Spitfire F.22 in 1953, while others claim it was in 1949. Anyway, it seems that most of them were delivered the next year, with Rhodesia selling seven additional ones. It also seems that the original intention of the Syrian Air Force was to have a total of 40 machines in service. 
Most of them were destroyed or phased out around 1958-1960 with some being found on the ground in the Six Days War in 1967. 

Spitfire's operational history with Thailand is, however, different. After World War 2 the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) was looking to modernize its aerial fighter fleet, which back then was composed by the Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa, so in 1950 they acquired a total of 29 second-hand Spitfire FR.XIVe (the mixed photo-reconnaissance-fighter variant) from Royal Air Force's stocks. However, only 24 could be put to flight with the rest being used for spare parts. 
Of those 24, one Spitfire was of the PR.XIX variant which served with the 1st Squadron of the No.1 Wing. A bit later, in 1954 the RTAF bought four additional FR.14 machines, however they were retired out of service one year later, together with the other machines due to their lack of maintenance. 

Sources:
1st https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Supermarine_Spitfire_operators#Syria
2nd http://www.worldairforces.com/countries/syria/syr.html
3rd http://www.wings-aviation.ch/11-RTAF/2-Aircraft/Supermarine-Spitfire/Fighter.htm
4th https://peterlewisdesign.tripod.com/thaimuseum/spitfire.htm
5th http://www.worldairforces.com/Countries/thailand/thl.html

Junkers Ju.52, Middle-East and one African users

 

Preliminary note: Yes, we know that the French Amiot AAC.1 Toucan was covered in a previous post. However, as we were not happy with the final result, we decided to remake them.

The Junkers Ju.52/3m is a German cargo plane that saw an enormous success, thanks to which, it was exported to many parts around the globe. On this post we cover the next users:

• Lebanon: It seems that Lebanon had in force a very small number (probably it was just one airplane) of AAC.1 Toucan (the French version of the Ju.52/3m which was produced during and after the World War 2). Anyway, this was never an important asset for the Lebanese Air Force. As we couldn't find any graphical evidence of a Lebanese Amiot AAC.1 Toucan, the drawing and its markings should be considered as speculative.
• Portuguese Mozambique: In 1936 the airline DETA (acronym for Direcçao de Exploraçao de Transportes Aéreos - Direction for Aerial Transport Explorations) was established with a small fleet of British-made aircraft that were used for airmail services. Soon after, this airline started carrying passengers too and, given the rapid expansion, they acquired Junkers Ju.52/3m in 1938. 
  This airline flew, during  the late 1930s domestic flights inside Mozambique only. With the start of the World War 2, most operations were halted.
  DETA resumed operations after the war and started to open new aerial routes with foreign neighbour countries or regions like Rhodesia, South Africa and Madagascar. The Ju.52/3m served with DETA until April 1960, making it one of the last worldwide operator of the Ju.52/3m on scheduled services. In June 1961 the company ordered three Fokker F.27-200 to replace their ageing Ju.52/3m.
• Syria: Just like in the case of Lebanon, it seems that Syria had a very small number of Amiot AAC.1 in inventory, probably just one airplane. In any case, this Toucan was never given any important task. Please note that the drawing is considered as speculative as we couldn't find graphical evidence.
• Turkey: In 1943 five Ju.52/3m that belonged to Lufthansa were sold to Turkey. These were delivered one year later and assigned to Devlet Hava Yollari (the immediate forerunner of Turkish Airlines) The Ju.52/3m served on the Istanbul-Ankara route and other secondary domestic routes until 1948 when they were replaced by American DC-3 for passengers and Douglas C-47s for cargo duties.

Sources:

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

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

3. https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2020/04/11/aac-1-toucan-frances-post-wwii-ju-52/

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

5. https://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/Gal3/2701-2800/Gal2785-Ju-52-Gerdan/00.shtm

6. http://www.thy-heritage.com/flit/

Avro Anson, part eleven, Middle-East users

The Avro Anson is a British multi-role, twin-engined aircraft that, with more than 11.000 machines manufactured, it saw action with many countries all around the globe. It was used by the next countries:

• Israel: An unknown number of Anson Mk.I were sent to Israel in 1948 acquired in the British civilian market. They were used by the No. 114 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force in the multi-engined, navigation trainer role, where they enjoyed an excellent safety record. All of them were written off in early 1956 and were used for fire dump exercises or were scrapped.
• Iran: When Iran declared War on Germany on 9th September 1943 forty-eight Ansons Mk.I were delivered to the Imperial Iranian Air Force via the maintenance unit stationed at RAF Habbaniya, in Iraq. They were delivered in three batches between May 1944 and June 1945 to equip the No.1 (Bomber) Squadron based at Doshan Tappeh Air Base, near Tehran. By 1945 the squadron was, most probably, operational. Additionally, a single Mk.XII was provided for the personal use of the Regent of Iran.
• Saudi Arabia: A single Anson Mk.I was operated by Airwork Ltd. before August 1948 at Taif, in the Mecca province. It was assigned to the British Training Mission but, by December 1949 it was already scrapped. As we couldn't find any graphical evidence of this airplane, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Syria: Six Ansons ended up in Syria from unknown origins (most probably second-hand markets) between 1948-1949. Two of them were converted for bombing purposes and were employed in the First Arab-Israeli War in May-June 1948. Some reports claim that they were armed with two 0.303 in machine guns placed in the rear turret and carried a bomb load of up to 500 lb. We couldn't find any graphical evidence of the Anson with the Syrian Air Force, so the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Turkey: Before the beginning of the War, in 1938, Turkey ordered a total of 25 Ansons. The first six ones were shipped to Turkey in May 1940 with the remainder of the order not being delivered. They were assigned to the Air School in Eskisheir, in the homonymous province, to replace the De Havilland DH.84 Dragon. The Ansons were used as bomber trainers and light transports. It's interesting to point out that the entrance door was placed on the starboard side of the rear fuselage. The last two Turkish Ansons were written off in 1946.

Sources:

1. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson

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