Airspeed Oxford

infobox Aircraft
name=AS.10 Oxford
type= Training aircraft
manufacturer=Airspeed Ltd


caption= Belgian Air Force AS.10 Oxford
designer=
first flight= 19 June 1937
introduction=
retired=
status=
primary user= Royal Air Force
more users=
produced=
number built= 4,411
unit cost=
developed from=Airspeed Envoy
variants with their own articles=Airspeed ConsulThe 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.

Design and development

The Oxford, built to Specification T.23/36, was based on Airspeed's commercial 8-seater craft, the Airspeed 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.

The Oxford is 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. Bridgman 1988]

Operational history

The Oxford 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. Demand for the aircraft resulted in 8,751 being built by Airspeed as well as de Havilland, Percival Aircraft Company and Standard Motors. 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. Some Oxfords were used as Light bombers in Iraq.

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 to become 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.

An interesting fact about the Oxford is that, although it 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. Curiously for a twin-engine aircraft, the Oxford had a tendency to yaw which was nearly impossible to correct by trimming the aircraft. Landings could be tricky with a tendency to perform a ground loop (Gunston 1995).

Variants

;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.;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.;Oxford III:Powered by two Cheetah XV engines with 425 hp (315 kW) and Rotol constant-speed propellers, used for navigation and radio training.;Oxford IV:Flying test-bed for de Havilland Gipsy Queen IV engines.;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.;Oxford T.II:Only 9 of these were built, eight of them being conversions of Mk Is.;AS.41 Oxford:Used by Miles Aircraft as a Flying test-bed for Alvis Leonides engine, one conversion.;Consul:After the end of WWII, 150 aircraft already in production were completed as civilian transports; this type was known as the Airspeed Consul.

Operators

;AUS
*Royal Australian Air Force;BEL
*Belgian Air Force;flag|Denmark
*Royal Danish Air Force;flag|Canada|1921
*Royal Canadian Air Force;flag|Greece|old
*Hellenic Air Force;NZL
*Royal New Zealand Air Force
**No. 1 Squadron RNZAF
**No. 2 Squadron RNZAF
**No. 3 Squadron RNZAF
**No. 7 Squadron RNZAF
**No. 8 Squadron RNZAF
**No. 14 Squadron RNZAF
**No. 42 Squadron RNZAF;flag|Norway
*Royal Norwegian Air Force;flag|South Africa|1928
*South African Air Force;flag|Ceylon
*Royal Ceylon Air Force;UK
*Royal Air Force
*Fleet Air Arm;USA
*United States Army Air Forces

pecifications (Mk I)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=prop

crew=3
length main=34 ft 6 in
length alt=10.52 m
span main=53 ft 4 in
span alt=16.26 m
height main=11 ft 1 in
height alt=3.38 m
area main=348 ft²
area alt=32.3 m²
empty weight main=5,380 lb
empty weight alt=2,440 kg
loaded weight main=7,600 lb
loaded weight alt=3,450 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=

engine (prop)=Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah X
type of prop=radial engines
number of props=2
power main=355 hp
power alt=265 kW

max speed main=161 knots
max speed alt=185 mph, 300 km/h
max speed more=at 8,300 ft (2,500 m)
range main=830 nm
range alt=960 mi, 1,500 km
ceiling main=19,200 ft
ceiling alt=5,850 m
climb rate main=960 ft/min
climb rate alt=4.8 m/s
loading main=21.5 lb/ft²
loading alt=105 kg/m²
power/mass main=0.095 hp/lb
power/mass alt=160 W/kg

guns=0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers K machine gun in dorsal turret
bombs=250 lb (110 kg) carried externally

ee also

aircontent

related=
* Airspeed Consul
* Airspeed Envoy

similar aircraft=
* Avro Anson

References

Notes

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.
* 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.

External links

* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=419 Airspeed Envoy]
* [http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=424 Airspeed Oxford]
* [http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/Oxford.htm Fleet Air Arm Archive]
* [http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/airspeed-oxford/history.html Airspeed Oxford history]