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General => Armed Forces => World War Two => Topic started by: Treetotal on Thursday 29 June 17 15:15 BST (UK)
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This is a postcard photo of my late Father's taken during the second world war and I would love to be able to put a name to the aircraft.
It's taken me four years to prise my Father's war photos from my Brother's clutches ::) ;D ;D ;D
Thanks for looking.
Carol
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Avro Anson aka Avro 19.
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Brilliant....thank you so much Keith, it's much appreciated :D
Carol
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To add a little more to Keith's reply.
It is an Anson Mk.I of 502 (Ulster) Squadron, part of Coastal Command, who flew the Anson from Jan 1939 to Oct 1940 from RAF Aldergrove, Belfast on patrols over the North Atlantic.
Paul
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Thanks very much Paul for your very informative response...very much appreciated :D
Carol
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Carol you are so lucky to have finally got those photos off your brother. When my father passed away in 1976 two of his service photograph albums went missing, never to be seen again. Treasure them :D
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Aw...how disappointing :-\ I would be gutted. These are so precious. My Brother got everything war related which is fine, but he was a bit shy at loaning them to me but now I also have copies of 14 photos of crew members from the HMS Victory in 1941.
Carol
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The British Legion have a monthly magazine, perhaps you could write a small article for them with a few photographs :)
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Thanks for that suggestion...I will give it some thought :D
Carol
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It could be the Avro Oxford. This came out earlier than the Anson, which I've flown in many times. Both were used in the outset of the WW2.
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It could be the Avro Oxford
This is definitely an Anson. The Airspeed Oxford was in service at the same time but that was a very different design.
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Thanks for your interest 12tootsi and Shaun....my son Is in the RAF and has had it confirmed that Keitht and Palmtree's information is correct.
Carol
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My father has written on the reverse of this: "On 1st January 1945, a German air attack destroyed this Anson and two other planes we had been repairing." He was with a Repair Gang. He fixed up Ansons a lot.
The planes would come back shot to bits and he and his gang had to do the best they could to get them back in flying condition as quick as possible. Amusingly, in the photo, the arrow on the Anson's fuselage points to my father!
He was at Molsbroeuk aerdrome in Brussels when this was taken.
P.S. Problem with attaching photo of an Anson - sorry about that!
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Hi Doddsie and thanks for sharing....what a great photo to have. It might be a good idea to post it on the photo restoration board to have it repaired and cleaned, remember to rename the file if you re-post it though.
Carol
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My father was also an air mechanic. He worked in this country on many different types of aircraft. He was also a pilot but too old for front line duty. He told me the story of the time when he had an Anson under his charge. It was unserviceable in that it ran out of puff much above 1,000 feet. A snotty young Squadron Leader came up to my father and announced that he had to get to Oxford immediately and expected to be flown there in the Anson. When told that it was U/S he said he didn't care, he wanted it anyway, so my old man flew it from Lytham St Annes to Oxford at treetop height. The Squadron Leader was as sick as a dog.
Keith
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That gives a new meaning to Comeuppance ;D ;D
Good on your Father Keith ...I hope he enjoyed the pay back.
Carol
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Snotty young Squadron Leaders can get themselves and others killed unnecessarily!
Anson introduction 1936
Retired from the RAF 28 June 1968. As a boy I saw many an Anson fly over.
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A few years ago, I was surprised to read somewhere that there were more Ansons built during the war than any other plane. My father loved that plane. He joined at Glasgow before the war - in 1936. Planes fascinated him. He was in the RAF for 10 years.
People forget that just to SEE a plane in the early thirties was a very rare, hugely exciting event. He was at Glasgow, Montrose, Wick, Weston Super Mare (Locking) and various other places, before going over to Belgium soon after D-Day. He and my mother were bombed at Wick and Weston, etc. Usually they had the chance to make for an air raid shelter but sometimes they didn't bother. Several times they were forced to hide under the bed.
They had married in September 1939!!! My mother then followed him around. One odd thing is that they were in lodgings ("digs") right next to most airports. ...I speculate that if you were Ground Crew this was normal, but if you were a "Flyer" you were in Nissen huts next to, or near the airstrip. Dad used to tell me that he and those of them who repaired the planes looked up to those who flew them with huge respect and admiration at all times. And quite right too!
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I was in 153 Squadron ATC c1956 - 1960. One could go down to RAF White Waltham, nr Maidenhead, Berks sunday mornings for air experience.
Lots of Ansons and Chipmunks. Once airborne, on one occasion, pilot beckoned me up front and he let me fly it most of the time, except for when there were little black clouds. The Anson had had engine trouble and he was air testing it. This was down to Selsey Bill and back.