The Anson was a twin-engine military aircraft which was widely used during World War 2 as a trainer but also as for maritime reconnaissance, transport and aerial photography. Postwar, many were converted to civilian use. First introduced in 1935, production only ended in 1952 by which time some 11,020 had been produced, making it, after the Wellington, the second most-produced British multi-engine aircraft of World War 2.
The Anson and Biggles[]
Despite the large numbers produced, occurrences of the Anson in the canonical Biggles books are scant. One supposes he never needed an aircraft this size. When he needed to commute in Britain, the Auster or Proctor sufficed. When he needed to go far afield, he would use the Wellington or later the Merlin.
There is only one mention in Biggles and the Plane That Disappeared where he says an Anson carrying seven Polish crew crashed in the Cairngorms and was only found several months later by a deerstalker.
W. E. Johns might have been referring to the Anson DJ106 which crashed crashed on Ben MacDui on 21 August 1942. But there were only five crew and none of them were Polish.[1]
In derivative works[]
In L'Oasis perdue, Biggles and co. come across an Anson which formerly belonged to Nigel Waddington in the desert near the Lost Oasis. There are supplies and some petrol on board. Later they salvage a propellor from it to repair their own De Havilland Dragon Rapide.
The Anson which Biggles and co. discover in the desert. Later Nigel Waddington refers to it as "my old Hamilcar", but it is clearly an Anson - note the characteristic windows. Of course, he might have named his plane after Hamilcar Barca, the Carthaginian general.
In Le dernier Zeppelin, Biggles, Ginger and Bertie used an Anson to do a reconnaissance of the Suez Canal and later to search for Algy who had crashed in the desert.
The Anson which Biggles flew in Le dernier Zeppelin. Note the artist's attention to detail. EG228 really was an aircraft registration assigned to an Anson.[2]
Specifications[]
- Crew: Three-four
- Length: 12.88 m
- Wingspan: 17.22 m
- Empty weight: 2,500 kg
- Max. Takeoff weight: 3,900 kg
- Engines: Two × Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX radial engines, 350 hp each
- Maximum speed: 188 mph (163 kn, 302 km/h) at 7,000 ft
- Range: 790 mi (690 nmi, 1,271 km)
- Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,791 m)
- Armament
- 1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) machine gun in front fuselage
- 1 × .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in dorsal turret
- 360 lbs of bombs
References[]
- ↑ Avro Anson Mk.I DJ106 of No.19 Operational Training Unit. See this site for details of the Anson crash. Some of the wreckage is still there and there is a memorial plaque to the crew.
- ↑ RAF aircraft serials