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| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
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Aviation Art Prints  Countries UK Aircraft Index More Aircraft Initial A to D  Anson |
[UP] - Airspeed Courier - Albacore - Anson - Apache - Armstrong-Whitworth FK.8 - Avenger - Avro 504N - Barracuda - Battle - BE2C - Beaufighter - Beaufort - Beverley - Bisley - Blenheim - Bombay - Boston - Boxkite - Brigand - Bristol F2B - Bristol Scout - Buccaneer - Bulldog - Camel - Canberra - Catalina - Chinook - Corsair - Dakota - DC3 - Defiant - DH2 - DH4 - Dolphin - Dragon Rapide |
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| Text for the above items : |
Improbable Victory by Tim Fisher. 1st June 1940 - Pete Peters fights off an overwhelming attack over Dunkirk and destroys three fighters. Anson MKV flown by pilot officer Phillip Peters was leading a patrol of three Ansons of No.500 Royal Auxiliary Air Force Squadron over Dunkirk at the time the British Expeditionary Force was evacuating from the beaches. He was flying at around 50ft when his mid upper gunner reported that nine Bf109s were attacking. Dropping to wave-top height the slow obsolescent twin engined aircraft tried to shake off their pursuers. Two planes were severely damaged and Peters sent them home, leaving his own aircraft at the mercy of the enemy fighters. It was at this point that Peters was grateful for his 'secret weapons'. In addition to the Anson's nose gun and mid upper turret, guns had been fitted projecting out of the sides of the aircraft's long 'greenhouse' cabin. The extra guns were manned by the co-pilot and wireless operator. By throttling back and executing a number of skid turns Peters was able to out manoeuvre the enemy and allow his crew to fire on the attackers. The first Bf109 was finished off with the nose gun as it did a stall turn in front off the aircraft. The second was shot down into the sea. A third attacker sustained heavy damage and turned tail with the other pursuers. Peters set course for Detling. The news of the battle went on ahead of his arrival and he was greeted by applause and cheering of the squadron personnel. When the aircraft was inspected, only one bullet hole was found. It wasn't until later when he had his parachute repacked that another armour piercing bullet was found lodged in the silk. For the attack and morale boosting effect for the rest of the squadron, Peters was awarded the DFC. The remaining crew, Sergeant Spencer, Corporal Smith, Leading Aircraftsman Dillnutt and Leading Aircraftsman Cunningham all received the Distinguished Flying Medal. |
Coastal Command - Avro Anson Mk.I by Ivan Berryman. An Avro Anson Mk.I from Coastal Command is attacked by an Me109. |
Avro Anson by Ivan Berryman. An Avro Anson comes under attack from an Me109. |
Anson he Avro Anson originated from the Avro 652 commercial aircraft which first flew on 7th January 1935. It was a twin-engine British-built multi-role aircraft which saw distinctive service with both the Royal Air Force and The Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm as well as The Royal Canadian Air Force during and after the Second World War. The prototype 652A first flew at Woodford on 7th January 1935 and was developed from an initial airliner design and named after Admiral George Anson. The adaptation for a coastal reconnaissance role resulted in the production variant, the Avro 652a, which flew at Woodford on New Years Eve 1935 with the type entering service in March 1936 as the Anson Mk1. Initially it was flown with a 3-man crew but later developments in its reconnaissance role required a 4th crew member. The Anson entered service on 6 March 1936 with 48 Squadron equipped with the Anson. At the start of the Second World War, the RAF had received 824 Ansons and there were 26 RAF squadrons operating the Anson I: 10 with Coastal Command and 16 with Bomber Command. All of the squadrons in Bomber Command in 1939 with Anson Is were operational training squadrons that prepared crews for frontline service. 12 of the squadrons were in No. 6 (Operational Training) Group. Newly formed crews having completed individual flying and technical training were first trained as bomber crews in Ansons and then advanced to the various frontline aircraft types, which were also in the same squadrons with the Ansons. After training in the frontline aircraft type, crews would advance to the frontline bomber squadrons with those aircraft types (Fairey Battle, Bristol Blenheim, Vickers Wellington, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, and Handley-Page Hampden). At the start of the war, the Lockheed Hudson was beginning to replace the Ansons in Coastal Command with one squadron of Hudsons and one with both Ansons and Hudsons. Limited numbers of Ansons continued to serve in operational roles such as coastal patrols and air/sea rescue. Early in the war, an Anson scored a probable hit on a German U-boat. In June 1940, a flight of three Ansons was attacked by nine Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Remarkably, before the dogfight ended, without losing any of their own, one of the Ansons destroyed two German aircraft and damaged a third. The aircraft's true role, however, was to train pilots for flying multi-engined bombers such as the Avro Lancaster. The Anson was also used to train the other members of a bomber's aircrew, such as navigators, wireless operators, bomb aimers and air gunners. Postwar, the Anson continued in the training and light transport roles. The last Ansons were withdrawn from RAF service with communications units on 28 June 1968. The Royal Australian Air Force operated 1,028 Ansons, mainly Mk Is, until 1955 |
| Top Aces for : Anson | |
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown this aircraft. | |
| Name | Victories |
| James Lindsay | 7.00 |
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