The slightly less well known

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Armstrong Whitworth Ensign


The Armstrong Whitworth Ensign was a four-engine airliner built during the late 1930s.

Work started on the A.W.27 Ensign in 1934 after receipt of a specification from Imperial Airways for a monoplane airliner with four Armstrong Siddeley Tiger engines.
The first aircraft was ordered in September, with delivery expected in 1936. Eleven more were ordered in May 1935.An order for a further two aircraft in December 1936 brought the total to 14.

The Ensign was a high-wing monoplane of light alloy construction and an oval, semi-monocoque fuselage with a conventional tailplane.It had retractable landing gear and a castoring tail wheel. The main landing gear was hydraulically operated and retracted into the inner engine nacelles. The cockpit had side-by-side seating for two pilots ; there was also accommodation for a radio operator. The fuselage was divided into separate cabins, either four cabins with accommodation for 40 passengers or three cabins with room for 27 by day or 20 at night with sleeping accommodation.

Production of their Whitley heavy bomber for the RAF was a priority, and work on the Ensign proceeded slowly Several changes were requested by Imperial, slowing production further. As a result, the Ensign's maiden flight did not take place until 24 January 1938.Imperial Airways named the prototype "Ensign" and as such the "Ensign Class" was applied to the whole fleet. The aircraft were fitted out for either Empire routes (eight aircraft) or European routes (four aircraft). The former carried 27 passengers in three cabins or 20 sleeping; the latter 40 passengers across three cabins and a four-person "coupe" aft of the third cabin.

11 aircraft were in service at the outbreak of World War II, with a twelfth following soon after. All were withdrawn in October 1939; they were to be camouflaged before flying a new route from Heston Aerodrome to Le Bourget Airport, Paris. The aircraft remained in service after formation of BOAC that November, but instead of being taken up for military service, remained civilian under direction of National Air Communications.

The aircraft were found to be lacking in performance for their wartime role, it was decided to fit the remaining eight aircraft with Wright Cyclone G.102A engines.

The final two aircraft that had been ordered by Imperial in 1936, were equipped with more powerful 1100 hp Wright Cyclone geared radial engines and completed as A.W.27A Ensign Mk IIs.The new engines significantly improved performance and allowed the Ensign to be used in hot climates and at high altitude. At the same time, other modifications were incorporated.

From 1944, towards the end of their service, the Ensigns were used between Cairo and Calcutta. When taken out of use for their Certificate of Airworthiness overhauls, the camouflage dope, which, in combination with the heat, had been rotting the fabric surfaces, was removed and thereafter the Ensigns were in a "natural" finish.
After the war ended the aircraft returned to the UK, all were finally scrapped in 1947.

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Armstrong Whitworth Scimitar

The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.35 Scimitar was a British single-engine biplane fighter aircraft from the mid-1930`s.

The A.W.35 Scimitar was a development of the Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 fighter, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Panther 735 hp engine, with a lowered nose decking and an enlarged fin and rudder. The first prototype was a modification of the second A.W.16, and first flew in this form on 29 April 1935. A second prototype was constructed by converting another A.W.16.

Four Scimitars were ordered for the Norwegian Army Air Service, and an agreement signed for licence production. After testing in late 1935, the four Scimitars were delivered to Norway in 1936.
The licence was cancelled later that year when it was found that the aircraft was unsuitable for operation on skis without further design changes. The Scimitars remained in use in the training role at the outbreak of the WW2. When the Germans invaded in 1940 the Scimitars were all undergoing maintenance and could not be made operational in time.

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Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52


The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 was a flying wing aircraft design of the late 1940s for research into a proposed flying wing jet airliner.

AW Aircraft proposed a jet-powered six or four-engine flying wing airliner design, using a laminar flow wing, during World War II It had to be a large aircraft in order to provide passenger head-room within the wing. The low-speed characteristics of the design were tested on a wooden glider known as the A.W.52G; the glider was designed to be roughly half the size of the powered A.W.52, which in turn would be about half the size of the airliner.
Construction of the AW.52G began in March 1943, with the glider making its maiden flight, towed by an AW Whitley bomber. In 1944, Armstrong Whitworth received a contract that would allow them to produce two A.W.52 prototypes for evaluation, nominally as mail carrying aircraft.

The A.W.52 was intended for high speed and was an all-metal turbojet-powered aircraft, with a retractable undercarriage; aerodynamically it had much in common with the glider. Both aircraft were moderately-swept flying wings with a centre section having a straight trailing edge. The wing tips carried small end-plate fin and rudders, which operated differentially, with a greater angle on the outer one. Roll and pitch were controlled with elevons that extended inward from the wing tips over of the outer, swept part of the trailing edge. The elevons moved together as elevators and differentially as ailerons.

The crew sat in tandem in a nacelle, the pilot was just forward of the wing leading edge, providing a better view than in the glider. The pressurised cockpit was slightly off-set to port. The engines were mounted in the wing centre section, close to the centre line and so not disturbing the upper wing surface.
The first prototype flew on 13 November 1947 powered by two Rolls-Royce Nene engines of 5,000 lbf thrust each. This was followed by the second prototype on 1 September 1948 with the lower-powered 3500 lbf Rolls Royce Derwent. Trials were disappointing: laminar flow could not be maintained, so maximum speeds, though respectable, were less than expected. Take-off and landing runs were longer than for a conventional aircraft due to angles of attack.

On 30 May 1949, while diving the first prototype at over 300 mph test pilot J. Lancaster encountered a pitch oscillation believed to be caused by elevon flutter which rapidly increased to incapacitating levels.Lancaster ejected from the aircraft using its Martin-Baker Mk.1 ejection seat, becoming the first British pilot to use the system in a "live" emergency.It was fortunate that he was alone in the aircraft as the second crew member was not provided with an ejection seat.

Surprisingly the aircraft, stopped fluttering and glided down to land itself in open country with relatively little damage. Following this incident, and in view of the disappointing results obtained, no further development of the flying-wing formula was undertaken by Armstrong Whitworth, who concentrated on the A.W. 55 propeller-turbine airliner. The second A.W. 52 was handed over to the RAE at Farnborough, where it was used for experimental flying until it was finally disposed of in June 1954.

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Armstrong Whitworth Apollo.


The Armstrong Whitworth AW.55 Apollo was a 1940s four-engine turboprop airliner.

The AW.55 Apollo,was a low-wing monoplane with retractable tricycle landing gear which folded into the wings. It had a conventional tail unit with a mid-placed cantilever horizontal tailplane. It had a pressurised fuselage with seating for 26-31 passengers. It was powered by 4 x Armstrong Siddeley Mamba ASM.2 which were expected to produce 1,270 shp plus 307 lbf static thrust for the production aircraft. When the prototype Apollo was ready to fly the engine could only produce 800 shp. Two prototypes - one completely fitted out - and a static test fuselage were ordered by the Ministry of Supply and construction started in 1948. The prototype (serial VX220) first flew at Baginton, Coventry on 10 April 1949.

The aircraft was unstable and underpowered,after nine hours of test flying it was grounded to try to solve some of the many problems.Test flying resumed in August 1949 but the aircraft had further engine problems. Changes were made to the design of the tail unit including fitting a dorsal fin and increasing the fin area to improve stability and control.
Further engine problems stopped the trial and test flights. The company started a selling campaign to European airlines, but the continual engine difficulties caused the decision in June 1952 to abandon development of the aircraft entirely.

The two prototypes had been paid for by the Ministry of Supply and the prototype aircraft entered service at the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down in September 1952. The second aircraft (serial VX224) followed in September 1953 and was later used by the Empire Test Pilot's School during 1954 for multi-engine pilot training. The prototype was broken up in 1955 and the second aircraft was passed to the Structures Department at RAE Farnborough. The aircraft fuselage was used at Farnborough for water tank pressure testing until it was scrapped in the 1970s.

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Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy

The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy was a British post-war transport/cargo aircraft.

It was the final aircraft to be designed and produced by aviation company Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although given different internal design numbers, the AW.650 civil and AW.660 military models were,much the same design, while both models also shared the "Argosy" name.
The AW.65 was redesigned to use four Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines, and thus was re-designated as the AW.650. On 8 January 1959, the first Argosy conducted the type's maiden flight. On December 1960, the type received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification, enabling the initial civil version, referred to as the Series 100, to enter civil service.

Military planners took interest in the Argosy and asked for a new specification for a militarised variant, designated AW.660. First flown on 4 March 1961, this model featured double the range of the Series 100 and otherwise differed by an alternative door arrangement, which was largely to facilitate paratroop operations. Furthermore, an improved civil variant, the Series 200, was introduced at the request of airline (BEA). First flown on 11 March 1964, this model featured a new wing incorporating a fail safe structure, being stronger and lighter than its original counterpart. The Argosy was operated by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and various civil operators across the globe for numerous years. The type was withdrawn from RAF service during 1978, while the last Argosy was retired from civil operations during 1991.

Some may recall Argosy G-ARPN which crash landed at Aldergrove in April 1982 after a failure of an undercarriage leg.It first flew in May-59 as G-APRN. After taking part in the prototype test programme it was delivered to BEA British European Airways in Nov-61. It was only with BEA for 4 years.It was sold to ABC Air Bridge Carriers in Jun-73. It was leased to the British Aircraft Corporation in Nov-75, returning to ABC in Jan-76.

The type was withdrawn from RAF service during 1978, while the last Argosy was retired from civil operations during 1991,74 aircraft were completed.

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Arrow Active

The Arrow Active is an aerobatic aircraft built in the 1930s.

The Arrow Active is a single-seat biplane of conventional configuration, with single-bay, staggered wings of unequal span and chord. The upper and lower wings are joined by a single strut. The undercarriage is fixed, with a pair of mainwheels and a tail-skid. It was originally powered by a 115 hp Cirrus-Hermes IIB engine.
The second aircraft featured a more powerful 120 hp de Havilland Gipsy III and was designated Active 2. It also differed from the Active 1 in having a strutted, conventional centre section, a slightly different shaped fin and rudder, and smaller, but wider wheels.

Arrow hoped the military might show an interest in the aircraft, this did not transpire, and the Active was flown as a sports plane. The Active 1 G-ABIX received its Certificate of Airworthiness on 21 May 1931.The Active 2 G-ABVE was certified on 29 June 1932 and flew in the King's Cup in both 1932 and 1933. Slightly faster than the Arrow 1, it recorded a speed of 137 mph.

G-ABVE is still active after being rebuilt in 1958 and 1989.

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Auster J/1B Aiglet

The Auster J/1B Aiglet is a light civil utility aircraft developed in the 1950s.

The Auster J/1 Autocrat of 1946 had achieved considerable sales success but orders died away in the late 1940s. Few sales were achieved in the important Australian market as the Autocrat's 100 h.p. engine was not powerful enough for the harsher summer conditions experienced there.

In 1950, Auster Aircraft used an uncompleted Autocrat airframe and wing structure to produce an upgrade,which incorporated a larger fin and rudder to compensate for the installation of a 130 h.p. de Havilland Gipsy Major engine.
The prototype first flew in 1950 and was followed by several conversions of Autocrat airframes, but construction soon switched to the use of new airframes. Most sales were made in Australia and New Zealand. The majority of aircraft were exported engineless to Kingsford Smith Aviation Services in Sydney where they were completed and tested before delivery.

The Aiglet was particularly suited to use by agricultural spraying and dusting contractors. Most sales were to Australia and New Zealand.After withdrawal from crop-spraying use during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the survivors were purchased by aerial photo contractors, aero clubs and private owners.Many of these aircraft were fitted with an extra fuel tank beneath the fuselage.In all 86 aircraft were produced of the type.

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Auster Workmaster

The Auster J/1U Workmaster is a late 1950s single-engined single-seat high-wing agricultural monoplane.

Following the experience of developing the J/1B Aiglet agricultural aircraft, Auster developed a more powerful successor the J/1U Workmaster. It the same basic Autocrat fuselage, but it was strengthened and had dorsal fin fillets added, low pressure tyres and a 180 hp Avco Lycoming engine.
It carries 90 gallons of spray fluid in a tank beside the pilot, with an extra seat for a passenger. The 180 hp engine driving a McCauley v.p. propeller giving it ample power; and slotted ailerons and balanced tail controls providing good handling.

Ten aircraft were built,the Workmasters were mainly operated in West Africa, three later returned and are currently (2009) on the U.K. civil aircraft register.

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Auster Arrow

The Auster J/2 Arrow is a 1940s single-engined two-seat high-wing touring monoplane.

The Arrow was designed as a successor to the pre-war Taylorcraft Plus C monoplane. A development aircraft, a side-by-side two-seater first flew in 1946 powered by Lycoming O-145-B3 flat four air-cooled engine.
Import restrictions on the sale in the UK of American-built engines resulted in most of the 44 aircraft completed being exported, mainly to Australia.Later some examples were re-imported to the UK, where several aircraft remained active in 2011.Production versions were powered by a 75 hp Continental C75-12 air-cooled flat-four,which was good for a max speed of just under 100 mph.44 aircraft were completed and the aircraft first flew in 1945.

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Auster Adventurer

The Auster J/5 Adventurer is a three-seat light high-wing monoplane of the late 1940s.

The Adventurer three-seat high-wing monoplane was developed from the J/1 Autocrat with extra power by fitting a 130 h.p. Gipsy Major engine, to enable more flexible operations in the hotter climate of Australia and New Zealand, where most examples were sold. Unlike the similarly powered J/1 Aiglet and J/1N Alpha, the Adventurer retained the smaller tail surfaces of the Autocrat, the new engine was set back for the original fin area to remain adequate.

The prototype Adventurer was converted to the new standard from a J/1 Autocrat c/n 2093 and first flew on 15 November 1947.This was followed by a further 58 production examples delivered between 1948 and 1952.

Most J/5s were sold to private pilot owners in Australia and New Zealand where they were given the name Adventurer. Eleven Adventurers were still in service in Australia as of 2009 and one in New Zealand. Six were sold to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and four to the Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF). Five aircraft were completed for agricultural use as the J/5A Cropduster and served in Africa and Pakistan.

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Auster Aiglet Trainer

The Auster J/5 Aiglet Trainer was a 1950s British single-engined four-seat high-wing training and touring monoplane.

Despite its name, the aircraft type had nothing to do with the Auster J/1B Aiglet, it being an aerobatic development of the Auster J/5 Autocar.
The Aiglet Trainer was based on the J/5 fuselage with new wings and stressed for aerobatics. The prototype first flew on 2 June 1951.
Most Aiglet Trainers were bought by private pilots and flying clubs, but 15 went to the Pakistan Air Force, 14 to the Iran Civil Aviation Club and two to the Lebanese Air Force.

The production versions were powered by  a de Havilland Gipsy Major 1 4-cylinder inline engine, 130 hp, which gave a max speed of 127 mph and a cruise of 110 mph.
Production ran from 1951 to 1958, and 77 aircraft were completed.

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Auster Tugmaster

The Auster 6A Tugmaster was a high-wing monoplane glider tug converted from surplus former military Auster AOP.6s.

The Auster Tugmaster is a high-wing braced monoplane with a fixed tailwheel landing gear and powered by a 145 hp de Havilland Gipsy Major engine. The Tugmasters had their engines modified to civilian standards as the Gipsy Major 10 and they were also fitted with larger tail surfaces. Because of the original radio fit had been removed the second passenger sat in a sideways-facing seat behind the pilot and not side-by-side although three aircraft were fitted with dual controls and side-by-side seating.

Auster Aircraft bought 104 surplus Auster AOP.6 and T.7s. Initially 29 airframes were modified for glider towing as the Auster 6A Tugmaster. Each aircraft was stripped as necessary and re-built with minimum cost.About 50 were converted as three-seater touring aircraft for civilian use as the Auster 6B, later designated as the Beagle A.61 Terrier.

The first conversion,flew on 5 July 1960 and was produced by Air Tows Ltd at Lasham and was fitted with an electrically-driven winch; five more were modified by Air Tows.Twenty one were converted by Auster with a conventional Auster-designed towing hook. Other conversions were carried out by a number of organisations including one by British European Airways employees at London Heathrow Airport for their own gliding club. Some surplus Royal Canadian Air Force Auster AOP.6 aircraft were also converted in Canada for glider towing.

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Auster D.6

The Auster D.6 was a four-seat light aircraft, a development of the Auster Autocar with a horizontally opposed engine.

It was available with a choice of two engines, a 160 hp Lycoming O-320 or 180 hp Lycoming O-360. When Auster was taken over by Beagle Aircraft in September 1960, development of the D.6 was dropped, while the D.4 and D.5 continued in limited production. Only four D.6 aircraft were completed, one D.6/160 (later converted to D.6/180 standard) and three as D.6/180.

First flight was 6th May 1960

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Austin Greyhound

The Austin Greyhound was a two-seat biplane fighter aircraft of World War I.

In 1918,the RAF issued a specification for a replacement for the Bristol F.2 Fighter to be powered by the new ABC Dragonfly radial engine. The Austin Motor Company, who had produced large numbers of aircraft, including 800 Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, submitted a design by J Kenworthy, formerly of the Royal Aircraft Factory, which was named the Austin Greyhound. An order for three prototypes was placed on 18 May 1918.

The Greyhound was a two-bay biplane of all-wooden construction.The Greyhound's engine was covered by a conical cowling, with the cylinder heads exposed.
The first prototype was built, but problems with the Dragonfly engine soon emerged, which was found to be overweight and severely underpowered, and to have unsolvable reliability problems,all meant that testing was significantly delayed.
The second prototype was delivered to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment in January 1919,followed by the first prototype in May and the third in February 1920. Although performance was much improved, no production was ordered of any of the competitors, with the Bristol Fighter remaining in service until 1932. The last Greyhound remained in use as a flying test bed at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough until June 1922.

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Austin Whippet

The Austin Whippet was a single-seat light aircraft designed just after the First World War.

John Kenworthy, chief designer of the Austin Motor Company, designed a small single-seater light aircraft in order to cash in on an expected boom in private flying. The resulting aircraft, named the Austin Whippet, was a small single-seat biplane of mixed construction, with a fabric covered steel tube fuselage, and single-bay, folding wooden wings. The wings avoided the need for rigging wires by use of streamlined steel lift struts.

The first prototype, powered by a two-cylinder horizontally opposed engine, flew in 1919, receiving its C of A  in December that year.Production aircraft were powered by a 45hp six-cylinder Anzani air-cooled radial, and four more aircraft followed before Austin abandoned aircraft production in 1920, when it realised that the postwar depression was limiting aircraft sales.
Of the five aircraft built, two were sold to New Zealand, while another was sent by its owner to Argentina. One of the New Zealand aircraft remained in existence in the 1940s.
An replica of Whippet K-158 is currently on display at the Aeroventure South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum in Doncaster, UK

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Aviation Traders Carvair

The Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair was a large transport aircraft powered by four radial engines.

It was a Douglas DC-4-based air ferry conversion developed by Freddie Laker's Aviation Traders (Engineering) Limited (ATL), with a capacity generally of 22 passengers in a rear cabin, and five cars loaded in at the front.
The DC-4's lack of pressurisation made it ideal for low-altitude cross-Channel flights that did not go high enough to require a pressurised cabin. This made the proposed structural conversion straightforward.The conversion entailed replacing the forward fuselage with one 8 feet 8 inches (2.64 m) longer, with a raised flightdeck in a hump to allow a sideways hinged nose door. It also entailed more powerful wheel brakes and an enlarged tail,which was a completely new design.The engines, four Pratt & Whitney R-2000 Twin Wasps, were unchanged.

The prototype conversion first flew on 21 June 1961. Twenty-one Carvairs were produced in the UK, with production of aircraft 1, 11 and 21 at Southend Airport and the balance at Stansted Airport. The final three aircraft were delivered to Australia's Ansett-ANA, which supplied its own DC-4s to ATL for conversion, the previous 18 aircraft were purchased by ATL and either sold on or transferred to associate company British United Air Ferries (BUAF). One of the two aircraft still flying in June 2007 was an ex-Ansett airframe. A second Ansett aircraft was abandoned at Phnom Penh in 1975. The first flight of the last conversion, number 21, for Ansett, was on 12 July 1968.

The Carvair was used by Aer Lingus, BUAF and BAF among others, and was used in Congo during 1960–1964, under contract to the United Nations. Aircraft for Aer Lingus were quickly convertible between 55 seats and 22 seats with five cars. Some aircraft were pure freighters with only nine seats. One aircraft had 55 high-density seats and room for three cars. BAF was the last operator in Europe of the aircraft, keeping them flying into the 1970s.British United Carvairs made an appearance in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger as Auric Goldfinger and boarded G-ASDC bound for Switzerland while Goldfinger's Rolls-Royce car was being loaded through the Carvair nose.

Of the 21 airframes, eight were destroyed in crashes, three aircraft survive, one is still airworthy in Texas.

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Aviation Traders Accountant


The Aviation Traders ATL-90 Accountant was a 1950s twin-engined 28-passenger turboprop airliner.

The ATL-90 Accountant was a turboprop airliner designed as a possible replacement for the DC-3. It was powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops and first flew from Southend on 9 July 1957.
The only Accountant, registered G-ATEL, was displayed at the Farnborough Airshow in September 1957 but attracted little commercial interest.It was a distinctive design with a very large vertical tail as a noteable feature. The aircraft last flew on 10 January 1958, development was abandoned and the aircraft was scrapped in February 1960.

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Avro 500

The Avro Type E, Type 500, and Type 502 made up a family of early British military aircraft.

The Type E biplane was designed in parallel with the slightly earlier Avro Duigan, differing mainly in being slightly larger and having a more powerful 60 hp water-cooled E.N.V. engine.
Both were two-bay tractor biplanes with unstaggered parallel-chord wings with rounded tips, a deep rectangular section fuselage bearing rectangular steel-framed stabilisers, elevators and rudder with no fixed fin, and an undercarriage with a pair of wheels mounted on a leaf-spring and a long central skid projecting forward of the propeller. This aircraft layout dominated aircraft design for twenty years: the Avro 500 and the contemporary B.E.1 are among the first truly practical examples built.

The aircraft first flew on 3 March 1912 ,top speed and rate of climb did not meet expectations,however the aircraft excelled in every other way. As its performance was not up to Roe's expectations, a second example was built, modified to take the much lighter 50 hp Gnome air-cooled rotary engine. This first flew on 8 May 1912, and a height of 2,000 ft was attained in five minutes.
A few days later the aircraft demonstrated its ability to meet the requirements laid down by the War Office for a "Military Aircraft" that had been published in connection with the forthcoming Military Aeroplane Competition, and the authorities were impressed enough to buy the aircraft and placed an order for two more examples of the aircraft, which Roe now renamed the Avro 500.

Avro 500s were flown by the British armed forces during the first years of the war, mostly as trainers. In service, most were fitted with ailerons and a revised rudder.18 aircraft were completed.

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Avro 533 Manchester

The Avro 533 Manchester was a World War I -era twin-engine biplane photo-reconnaissance and bomber aircraft.

Originally designated the Avro 529B, the new 320 hp ABC Dragonfly I nine-cylinder engine was specified, but with a redesign in July 1918, the type number was subsequently changed to Avro 533. When the original engines were not available, the 300 hp Siddeley Puma engine was substituted on the second prototype in November 1918, this acquiring a new designation, the Avro 533A Manchester Mk II, and first flying in December that year. An American 400 hp Liberty engine was also proposed as an alternative.

The Avro 533A Manchester Mk II flew for the first time in December 1918.By March 1919, Avro sent the first prototype to AAEE at Martlesham Heath for official trials before its eventual return to the Avro factory. The aircraft was a large, and mainly conventional design of wood-and-fabric construction typical of the time. Open cockpits were retained, although later modifications were planned for passenger compartments in the interior.In December 1919, the second prototype received its Dragonfly I engines, becoming the Avro 533A Manchester Mk I.

There were few differences between the two types, other than the Mk I having a slightly reduced lower wing surface, and enlarged tailfin and rudder to correct control problems indicated in testing.Flight tests indicated a lower performance than anticipated which resulted in Avro reconsidering the type's trials, and eventually led to the abandoning of the third prototype.
In March 1919, Avro proposed a passenger airliner, the Avro 537, that would be based on the earlier bomber version. The plans were later dropped and all the Type 533 prototypes were scrapped.

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Avro Baby

The Avro 534 Baby was a single-seat light sporting biplane built shortly after the World War I.

The Avro Baby was a single-bay biplane of conventional configuration with a wire-braced wooden structure covered in canvas. It had equal-span, unstaggered wings which each carried two pairs of ailerons. Initially, the aircraft was finless and had a rudder of almost circular shape. There were later variations of this. The main undercarriage was a single-axle arrangement and with a tailskid.
The prototype first flew on 30 April 1919 but it crashed on the nearby foreshore two minutes into the flight due to pilot error. The second prototype flew successfully on 31 May 1919.

The first Babies were powered by a water-cooled inline Green C.4 engine of pre-1914 design,though thoroughly revamped postwar.It produced 35 hp and most of the later Babies also used this engine design,though some variants used either a 60 hp ADC Cirrus 1 or an 80 hp le Rhone. These new-build Greens were about 6 lb (3 kg) lighter. Nine aircraft were built in total.

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Avro 548

The Avro 548 was a civil trainer aircraft built World War I.

It`s design was based on the Avro's 504 military aircraft, but it had an inline engine and a third seat. The prototype, designated 545, first flew Oct 1919 with a Curtiss OX-5 V-8 engine, but this proved unsuitable for the civil market due to the engine's weight and the complex cooling system. An air-cooled 80hp Renault engine was used instead, and the designation 548 applied to this configuration.
Often, these aircraft were usually customised for their buyers and most differed from each other in equipment and detail; some were actually retrofitted war-surplus 504s. Many were used as civil trainers, others for pleasure flights, personal transport, or racing.

A revised and re-engined version, the 548A resulted when fitted with an ADC Airdisco engine, a development of the Renault which gave 120 hp. This engine greatly improved performance.In total 38 aircraft were completed.

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Avro 549 Aldershot.

The Avro 549 Aldershot was a single-engined bomber aircraft.

The Aldershot was designed to meet a 1920 Specification for a long-range day and night bomber to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Condor engine.The Air Ministry gave Avro a contract for two prototypes, designated Aldershot I, on 2 December 1920.
The first prototype flew in October 1921. As a result of test flying, the fuselage was lengthened by 6 ft (2 m) in order to improve directional control, being displayed in this form at the RAF Display at Hendon on 24 June, the second prototype flying in July with the lengthened fuselage and a modified undercarriage.

It was a three-bay biplane, with a steel-framed fuselage with plywood and fabric covering, and wooden wings. Pilot and navigator were seated side by side in a cockpit behind the upper wing trailing edge, with additional accomm for the navigator/bomb-aimer, in a cabin in the fuselage, which had four circular windows on each side. A gunner sat in a separate cockpit behind the pilot,was armed with a Lewis gun. Another Lewis gun could be fitted to a ventral mounting in the cabin, while there was provision for a fixed, forward-firing Vickers machine gun operated by the pilot, although this was rarely fitted.

On 26 January 1923, the Air Ministry ordered 15 aircraft under the designation Aldershot III.The only operator of the aircraft was No. 99 Squadron RAF,receiving its Aldershots from July 1924. The Aldershot was mainly used for night flying, but occasionally flew day bombing exercises. By 1925, the Air Ministry had decided that heavy bombers should have multiple engines, and 99 Squadron started to re-equip in January 1926, with the Aldershots being replaced in Squadron service by March that year.

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Avro Bison

The Avro 555 Bison was a single-engined fleet spotter/reconnaissance aircraft from the 1920`s.

The Bison was designed as a carrier-based fleet spotter and reconnaissance aircraft. An order for three prototypes was placed in October 1921.The Type 555 Bison, was a two-bay biplane, powered by a 480 hp Napier Lion engine. The fuselage was constructed of steel tube, with the pilot sitting in an open cockpit forward of the wings, and the engine cowling sloping steeply down ahead of the pilot. An enclosed cabin with large rectangular windows on each side housed the navigator and radio operator, with headroom to stand up, while a cockpit for a gunner armed with a Lewis gun on a Scarff ring was provided in the rear fuselage.

The first prototype flew in 1921,with an order for 12 Bison Is soon following. The aircraft had handling problems, however, caused by interference of the pilots cockpit with the airflow over the upper wing. This was resolved by revising the wing design of the second prototype, it  flew in April 1923. Further production orders followed with these modifications incorporated as the Bison II, while some Bison Is were modified to a similar standard.

First deliveries were to the RAF in 1922 for coastal reconnaissance work with No. 3 Squadron RAF. Naval aircraft served on HMS Argus, HMS Eagle and Furious and onshore at Gosport, England and Hal Far, Malta. The aircraft were retired in 1929 when they were replaced by the Fairey IIIF.

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[Angry Turnip]

Avro Andover

The Avro Andover was a 1920s military transport aircraft.

The RAF required a successor for the outdated Airco DH.10 so Avro designed and constructed the Avro Andover, a single-engined biplane designed to serve as a passenger plane and also as an air ambulance.
The fuselage was a steel tube frame covered with canvas and plywood. The fuselage was a completely new design,but  the wings, undercarriage and the tail unit were taken from the Avro Aldershot bomber. The pilot and navigator sat in an open cockpit directly under the leading edge of the upper wing; a passageway led from the cockpit to the passenger cabin. The aircraft held twelve passengers or six stretchers.
The aircraft were powered by a 695 hp Rolls-Royce Condor III V-12 water-cooled piston engine, driving a two bladed propeller.

The first flight of the Andover was on 28 June 1924.The "Desert Air Route" was transferred to Imperial Airways, so no order was placed by the RAF, and Avro manufactured only three Type 561, which were transferred to RAF Halton, location of Princess Mary's RAF Hospital. In spite of the lack of commercial success, a single Type 563 variant was developed by Avro, which had an additional washroom and a baggage compartment. After test flights in March 1925 in the passenger aircraft was lent to Imperial Airways and made cross-channel trial flights in the summer of 1925. This was the first Avro aircraft to be used in airline service. Imperial Airways returned the aircraft to the RAF in January 1927.

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[Angry Turnip]

Avro 626

The Model 626 was developed by Avro from the Model 621 (Tutor) for export to smaller air forces, the idea being that the 626 would be a single multi-role aircraft. The 621 and 626 were both two-seaters, but the 626 had an additional cockpit behind the rear seat of the 621 and accessible from it. This additional cockpit was fitted with a Scarff ring for a machine gun and carried equipment for air navigation, wireless and gunnery training. It was almost identical to the Tutor with a conventional fabric-covered, metal airframe and single-bay wings. Most of the 626s, like the Tutors had an 240 hp Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC engine, but most of those supplied to the Egypt and Brazil used a 260 hp A.S. Cheetah V.

The prototype was first flown in 1930,Avro began an aggressive sales effort to introduce the Model 626 to customers throughout the world. After demonstrations in Buenos Aires and a record-setting flight over the Andes, the aircraft was commandeered by Argentine military officials to help quell a local uprising. The 626 performed so well that an order was immediately placed for 14 additional aircraft. The biggest users were the Air Forces of Chile, Greece, and Portugal. Numerous sales were made to foreign air forces up to 1939, some of which survived in second-line service until 1945.

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