Miles M.14 Magister. Part four. More European users

 

The Miles M.14 Magister is a British two-seat elementary trainer aircraft designed and built by British aircraft manufacturer Miles, which was used by many foreign users, among them, the following ones:

• Latvia: The Latvian Aviation Regiment (Latvian Air Force of the 1930s) had two Magisters in strength. When the USSR invaded in June 1940, they were captured and tested by the VVS (Soviet Air Force). Later, in June 1941, when Germany invaded, they were re-captured by the Luftwaffe which employed them in the Sonderstaffel Buschmann. Their ultimate fate is, however, unknown.
• Portugal: The Portuguese Arma da Aeronáutica Militar (Military Aeronautical Arm) operated ten Miles Magister supplied by the British during the World War II. They were in active service as trainers until the early 1950s.
• USSR: The VVS evaluated some ex-Baltic Magister planes for a brief period of time. When Germany invaded, they were re-captured by the Luftwaffe.

Sources:

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

2. http://www.airwar.ru/enc/other2/i17.html (translated - there's a mention both Latvian and Soviet Magisters)

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

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 

Miles M.14 Magister, part two, American and African users.

 

The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat trainer monoplane designed and manufactured by Miles aircraft which was used by various Commonwealth users around the globe, among them, the following ones:

• Canada: The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) employed an unknown number of Magisters as basic trainers. As we couldn't find graphical evidence, the drawing should be considered as speculative. 
• Egypt: Forty-two Miles Magisters are known to have served with the Royal Egyptian Air Force (REAF). They constituted the main trainer of the REAF during World War 2 and the immediate post-war period. 
• South Africa: Many Magisters are known to have served with the South African Air Force (SAAF) as elementary trainers. They served along the M.2 Hawk, which was the earlier variant of the type.

Sources:

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

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

3. Putnam & Co. - Miles aircraft since 1925 

Miles M.14 Magister, part one, Asian and Oceanian users

 

The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat trainer monoplane designed and manufactured by Miles Aircraft. It was used by various Commonwealth users, among them the following ones:

• Australia: At least up to five Magisters are known to have served with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), some of them prior to the war and some of them during the war, with Nos. 451 and 456 Squadrons, used mainly as squadron hacks. 
• British Malaya: The Malayan Volunteer Air Force is known to have employed some 'Maggiebombers' (Magisters fitted with small practice bombs) for training roles. As we couldn't find graphical evidence of this, the drawing below should be considered as speculative.
• New Zealand: The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) employed two Magisters with Nos.1 and 42 Squadrons. After the war many were used by private aero clubs, like the one depicted below.
• Turkey: In 1941 the British government sold an initial batch of 25 Magisters Mk.I, followed by 75 more in 1942. Eventually, 76 in total were delivered in 1941, but six of them were lost en route. A Turkish aircraft manufacturer, Kayseri aircraft Ltd., obtained the rights for manufacturing the type and, therefore, five machines were built between 1941 and 1942. Those rights were transferred to THK (Türk Hava Kurumu - Turkish Aeronautical Association), in Ankara, which manufactured additional 20 machines. 
  Every Turkish Magister served with the Hava Harp Okulu (Turkish Aerial Academy), assigned to the two companies of the 1st Training Battalion. They served between the years 1942 and 1950 and, eventually some of them until 1963 after the refoundation of the Turkish Air Force in 1951.
• Thailand: Both Royal Thai Air Force and Royal Thai Navies employed an unknown number of Magisters as trainers after World War 2. 

Sources:

1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Magister

2. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/magister.htm

3. https://collection.motat.nz/objects/2475/aircraft-miles-m14a-magister-zk-ayw-painted-as-l8353

4. http://www.tayyareci.com/digerucaklar/turkiye/1923ve50/miles-magister.asp

5.Scale Aircraft Modelling Magazine - October 1997 - Miles Military Trainers

Miles M.9 Kestrel

 

The Miles M.9 Kestrel was a British two-seater single-engined monoplane which was used as an advanced trainer. A single prototype was built for the Royal Air Force (RAF).

The M.9 was Miles' first high powered aircraft with aerodynamical clean lines, cantilever wings and tailplane. It's not clear if it was named after the bird of prey or after the engine it was powered by, the Rolls-Royce Kestrel.

It was equipped with thick wings, as the Miles Hawcon had, with a root thickness to chord ratio of about 12%. They had an inverted gull form, with anhedral inboard, which, on the outer part, became dihedral. The wings carried ailerons just after the outboard of Miles split trailing edge flaps in two sections of each wing. The main undercarriage was set at the lowest point of the wing and, in order to keep the legs short, they retracted backwards, with the wheels rotating into the plane of the wings. The Kestrel was also fitted with a tail wheel. Both rudder and elevator were fitted with trim tabs. It was made out of wood with spruce frames covered in beech plywood and dope fabric sheath. Both instructor and student sat under a simple perspex canopy, with the minimum framing and extra clean pannels in the fuselage sides, behind the rear seat. Forward seat was placed at around mid-chord. 

It was powered by a single Rolls-Royce Kestrel XVI engine which yielded 745 hp of power and drove a three-bladed propeller and had a chin radiator under the nose. 

The only prototype, registered as G-AEOC, was built privately by Miles, and flew for the first time in May 1937. Shortly later, on 26th June, it appeared at RAF Hendon display, where it showed remarkable performance for a trainer with top speed of 295 mph (475 km/h) at 14.000 ft high (4.270 m). Those numbers were comparable to the Hawker Hurricane fighter. That's why the British Air Ministry deemed the machine as premature, and ordered the first North American Harvards instead. 

However, realizing that, during wartime, there could be supply problems, the Air Ministry reacted and placed a huge £2.000.000 order for the Kestrel successor in June 1938, making it the most expensive contract for a trainer aircraft back then. This would eventually serve as the prototype of the Miles Master I.

Once that programme kicked off, the Kestrel was used for a series of stalling experiments and the fitting of slats on the leading edges of the wings. 

By 1943, the Kestrel had completed its usefulness and was returned to Reading to be dismantled. The engine was removed and used to drive the fan of a new wind tunnel being built at the factory.

It was not armed, though it had provision for a single 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun at the starboard wing, outboard the landing gear and a camera in the matching port side position. It could also carry up to eight small practice bombs on two central section racks. 

Sources:

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

2. Scale Aircraft Modelling Magazine. Volume 19 Number 8. October 1997.

Blériot-SPAD S.710

 

The Blériot-SPAD S.710 was a French experimental fighter of the 1930s 

Its inception can be traced back to 1934 when the French Air Ministry issued a requirement for a single-seat fighter (C1). This requirement suffered many changes until 16th November 1935 when it was decided to split it in two categories: light fighters powered by an engine rated between 400 and 500 hp and heavy fighters with engines rated between 800 and 1.000 hp. In this later category, eleven project were presented, with only six of them being ordered as prototypes. André Herbemont, designer of the Blériot-SPAD S.510, presented a biplane, against the Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, Bloch Mb.150, Dewoitine D.513, Loire-Nieuport LN.161 and Loire 250, monoplanes all of them.

The S.710 was an evolution of the S.510, which was itself an evolution of the S.9. The S.710 had a duralumin fuselage with a covered cockpit equipped with a sliding canopy. Wings were covered in fabric and they were different each other. It was powered by a single Hispano-Suiza 12Ycrs engine rated at 860 hp and, although the only prototype was never armed, the proposed armament was one engine-mounted 20 mm cannon firing through the propeller hub, four 7,5 mm machine guns mounted on the wings and one 7,5 mm aft-firing machine gun in the rear fuselage. It was also equipped with retractable undercarriage and an V-type or "butterfly" tail configuration. This tail arrangement had already been previously tested on an S.92 with promising results. 

Work on the prototype began in October 1935 and was completed shortly after. It wasn't however, until April 1937 that it was tested. On 8th June it exceeded a speed of 300 km/h (186 mph) in level flight. On 15th June, Louis Massotte, the test pilot, noticed a flutter in the tail surfaces when flying at only 200 m (656 ft) high and tried to perform an emergency landing. Unfortunately the aircraft went out of control and crashed into the ground killing Massotte. The flutter phenomenon was relatively unknown back then and this accident put an end to the project.

Sources:

1. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blériot-SPAD_S.710 (translated)

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blériot-SPAD_S.510

3. http://www.aviastar.org/air/france/bleriot_s-710.php

Blériot-SPAD S.510

 

The Blériot-SPAD S.510 was a French single-seat biplane fighter which entered service with the Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) in 1936.

Designed by André Herbemont to meet a 1930 requirement of the French government for a new fighter capable of achieving a speed of 325 km/h (202 mph) at an altitude of 3.500 m (11.500 ft) (those requirements were later increased to 350 km/h at the same altitude) with an armament of either four machine guns, one 20 mm cannon and two machine guns or two cannons. Herbemont submitted a proposal based on his own previous Blériot-SPAD S.91 design and it was the only biplane contender. 

The S.510 was an all-metal, with fabric-covered wings and tail and a monocoque rear fuselage. It was equipped with a fixed landing gear and was powered by a single Hispano-Suiza 12Xbrs liquid-cooled V12 engine rated at 690 hp of power which drove a two-bladed propeller.

Typical armament configuration consisted on four 7.5 mm MAC 1934 machine guns mounted under the lower wing, with the exception of the prototype which had two guns mounted on the fuselage. Later production examples were powered by an Hispano-Suiza 12Xcrs which allowed a 20 mm cannon to be mounted between the engine's cylinder banks and fire through the propeller hub. 

The first and only prototype flew for the first time on 6th January 1933 and, when tested, some flight problems arose, resulting in the enlengthening of the central fuselage by 40 cm (16 in) and its vertical surfaces being enlarged. When evaluated in 1935 at the Centre d'expériences aériennes militaires (CEAM) at Reims, against the Dewoitine D.500 monoplane (which was already in production) the S.510 showed greater maneuverability and climb rate. Therefore, an order for an initial batch of 60 aircraft was placed on 30th August 1935. 

Performance was comparable to that of the British Gloster Gladiator and, with its armament configuration, it had heavier attack capabilities than other biplane fighters of its era, namely the Italian FIAT Cr.32 or Cr.42, or the German Heinkel He.51, among others. However, the S.510 was despised to obsolescence before being adopted officially, although when it was designed, many pilots believed a biplane fighter would perform better than a monoplane in dogfights, thanks to its tighter turning circles. It enjoyed one year of usefulness, as it was adequate for 1936, but it was quickly outclassed by other monoplane fighters such as the Morane-Saulnier Ms.406 or the Dewoitine D.520, to name a few.

The first S.510 were delivered to the Armée de l'Air in early 1936 as a replacement for the Morane-Saulnier Ms.225 of Groupe de Chasse 1/7 (GC 1/7) from May 1937 and the Nieuport-Delage NiD.62 and NiD.629 of GC II/7 from July 1937. That same year they also equipped the Weiser Circus aerobatic team in a display that was held all across France that year. In 1938, after the Munich Crisis, every S.510 was fitted with radios and some of them were equipped with revised exhaust tubes to be used as night fighters. From January 1939, GC 1/7 began to transition to the Morane-Saulnier Ms.406, discarding their last S.510 in February, while GC II/7 began to replace them later that year and by early September (shortly after the start of the war) they had fully replaced the S.510 by Ms.406s.

In August 1939 obsolete fighters placed in storage were assigned to various Escadrilles Régionales de Chasse (ERC - Regional Fighter Flights) to train reservist pilots. Two flights were formed in mainland France equipped with a mixture of S.510 and NiD.622. These were ERC 3/561 at Saint-Inglevert airfield, at Pas-de-Calais and ERC 4/561 at Villacoublay, in Seine-et-Oise. In October both ERC were merged to form Groupe Aérien Régional de Chasse II/561 (GARC II/561) based at Le-Havre-Oteville airfield, in the Seine-Maritime department. 

On 18th January 1940 GARC II/561 was renamed to GC III/10 and received Bloch Mb. 151 during the following weeks, to allow the unit to transition to the frontlines. The S.510 were returned to their initial trainer roles and were used as such until the armistice in June 1940. 

Around ten S.510 were sent to Algeria and Morocco to serve in ERCs in Oran and Rabat. In May 1940 the ERCs in French North Africa were combined to form a new group, GC III/5 with, among other machines, those ten S.510 previously mentioned. However, in late May they were replaced by Ms.406 machines.

Some reports claim that the S.510 also served with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War. However those were proven fake.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blériot-SPAD_S.510

2. http://equinoxe.dk/SCWaircraft/didnt.html