Airspeed Oxford
| AS.10 Oxford | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Oxford II inflight over Saskatchewan, Canada in 1942 | |
| Role | Training aircraft |
| Manufacturer | Airspeed Ltd |
| First flight | 19 June 1937 |
| Primary user | Royal Air Force |
| Number built | 8,586 |
| Developed from | Airspeed Envoy |
| Variants | Airspeed Consul |
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The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.
Contents |
[edit] Design and development
The Oxford, built to Specification T.23/36, was based on Airspeed's commercial 8-seater aircraft, the AS.6 Envoy. Seven of these had been modified for the South African Air Force as the "Convertible Envoy", which could be equipped at short notice with a single machine-gun in a hand-operated Armstrong Whitworth dorsal turret, and with bomb racks.
Nevil Shute Norway, later to become a well-known novelist under his first two names, was Managing Director of Airspeed Ltd during its early years and considered himself the "father" of the Envoy and Oxford. His autobiography, Slide Rule: Autobiography of an Engineer, gives an account of the founding of Airspeed Ltd and of the processes that led to the commercialisation of the aircraft. (He received the Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society for his innovative fitting of a retractable undercarriage to the aircraft.)
The Oxford was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a semi-monocoque constructed fuselage and wooden tail unit. Its main landing gear struts retracted into the engine nacelles. It used conventional landing gear configuration. With a normal crew of three the seating could be changed to suit the training role. The cockpit had dual controls and two seats for a pilot and either a navigator or second pilot. When used for bombardier training, the second set of controls was removed and the space was used for a prone bomb-aimer. When used as a navigation trainer the second seat was pushed back to line up with the chart table. Aft of the pilots' area was a wireless operator station, facing aft on the starboard side of the fuselage. In the Oxford I a dorsal turret is located amidships. The aircraft could be used for training navigators, bomb-aimers, wireless operators, air gunners and camera operators. The Oxford could also be used as an Air Ambulance.[1]
A total of 8,586 Oxfords were built, with 4,411 and by Airspeed at its Portsmouth factory, 550 at the Airspeed-run shadow factory at Christchurch, Dorset, 1,515 by de Havilland at Hatfield, 1,360 by Percival Aircraft at Luton and 750 by Standard Motors at Coventry.[2]
[edit] Operational history
The Oxford (nicknamed the 'Ox-box') [3] was used to prepare complete aircrews for RAF's Bomber Command and as such could simultaneously train pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, gunners, or radio operators on the same flight. In addition to training duties, Oxfords were used in communications and anti-submarine roles and as ambulances in the Middle East.
The Oxford was the preferred trainer for the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) and British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) which sent thousands of potential aircrew to Canada for training. 27 Oxfords were on the strength of No 4 Flying Training School RAF Habbaniya, Iraq in early 1941 and some were converted locally for use as light bombers to help in the successful defence of the School against threatening and attacking Iraqi forces.[4]
In 1941, the aviatrix Amy Johnson went missing in an Airspeed Oxford, presumably crashing into the Thames Estuary.
After the war, 152 surplus Oxfords were converted into small 6-seat commercial airliners called the AS.65 Consul. A few Oxfords were acquired by the Hellenic Air Force and used during the Greek Civil War by No. 355 Squadron RHAF.
Although the Oxford was equipped with fixed-pitch Fairey-Reed propellers, the cockpit contained a propeller pitch lever which had to be moved from "Coarse" to "Fine" for landing. This was done to reinforce this important step for training pilots. The Oxford had a tendency to yaw due to the "handing" or rotation of the engines, inducing p-factor. This condition was nearly impossible to correct by trimming the aircraft and landings could be tricky with a tendency for the aircraft to ground loop.[5] [N 1]
Oxfords continued to serve the Royal Air Force as trainers and light transports until the last was withdrawn from service in 1956. Some were sold for use by overseas air arms, including the Royal Belgian Air Force.
[edit] Variants
- AS.10 Oxford I
- To produce the Oxford I for the Royal Air Force, Airspeed increased the wingspan, modified the nose and employed fully cowled Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX radial engines of 355 hp (265 kW). The first Mark I flew on 19 June 1937 and entered service with the Central Flying School in November of that year. By the start of the war, about 300 Mk I Oxfords were in service with the RAF, while a number were also being used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force to train pilots for the RAF.
- AS.10 Oxford II
- The prevalence of powered turrets by the start of the war meant the Oxford's role as a gunnery trainer lapsed. The Oxford II, 70 of which were in service by the start of the war, dispensed with the turret and were used primarily as radio and navigation trainers.
- AS.10 Oxford III
- Powered by two Cheetah XV engines with 425 hp (315 kW) and Rotol constant-speed propellers, used for navigation and radio training.
- AS.10 Oxford IV
- Flying test-bed for de Havilland Gipsy Queen IV engines.
- Oxford T.II
- Only 9 of these were built, eight of them being conversions of Mk Is.
- AS.40 Oxford
- Civil conversion for radio research, two built.
- AS.41 Oxford
- Used by Miles Aircraft as a flying test-bed for Alvis Leonides engine, one conversion.
- AS.42 Oxford
- Oxford I to meet Specification T.39/37 for New Zealand.
- AS.43 Oxford
- Survey variant of the AS.42
- AS.46 Oxford V
- The final variant, upgraded to Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engines with 450 hp (335 kW) and Hamilton-Standard variable pitch propellers. Many Mark I and II Oxfords were upgraded to the Mark V standard.
- AS.65 Consul
- After the end of WWII, over 150 aircraft surplus ex-RAF Oxfords were converted for civilian transport operation; this type was known as the Airspeed Consul.
[edit] Operators
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[edit] Specifications (Mk I)
Data from Modern Trainer[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: 3
- Length: 34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
- Wingspan: 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m)
- Height: 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m)
- Wing area: 348 ft²[7] (32.3 m²)
- Empty weight: 5,322 lb (2,419 kg)
- Loaded weight: 7,500 lb (3,409 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah X radial engines, 350 hp (261 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 192 mph (167 knots, 309 km/h) at 8,000 ft (2,440 m)
- Endurance: 5.5 hr
- Service ceiling: 23,550 ft (7,180 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,340 ft/min (6.8 m/s)
Armament
- Guns: 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in dorsal turret
- Bombs: 16× 11.5 lb (5 kg) practice bombs carried externally
[edit] See also
- Related development
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- Related lists
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ Both propellors rotating clockwise would result in a clockwise yaw and vice versa. In later machines, such as the De Havilland Hornet, this would be eradicated by gearing one propellor to run clockwise and the other to run counter-clockwise, thus eliminating such torque-yaw.
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. New York: Crescent Books, 1988. ISBN 0-517-67964-7.
- Flintham, V. (1990). Air Wars and Aircraft: a detailed record of air combat, 1945 to the present. London : Arms and Armour. ISBN 0-85368-779-X.
- Gunston, Bill. Classic World War II Aircraft Cutaways. London: Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-526-8.
- Hamlin, John F. The Oxford, Consul & Envoy File. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2001. ISBN 0-85130-289-0.
- Middleton, Don. "RAF Piston Trainers No 9 Airspeed Oxford–Part One". Aeroplane Monthly, May 1980, Volume 9 No 5, ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 242–249.
- Middleton, Don. "RAF Piston Trainers No 9 Airspeed Oxford–Part Two". Aeroplane Monthly, June 1980, Volume 9 No 6, ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 322–327.
- "Modern Trainer." Flight, 30 June 1938, pp. 628–632.
- Pacco, John. "Airspeed Oxford Mk.I" Belgisch Leger/Armee Belge: Het militair Vliegwezen/l'Aeronautique militaire 1930-1940. Artselaar, Belgium, 2003, p. 89. ISBN 90-801136-6-2.
- Rawlings, John D.R. "The Airspeed Oxford". Aircraft in Profile, Volume 11. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1971.
- Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918–57. London: Putnam, 1957.
- Wilson, Stewart. Aircraft of WWII. Fyshwick, ACT, Australia: Aerospace Publications Pty Ltd., 1998. ISBN 1-875671-35-8.
[edit] External links
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