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Timeline |
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.
With the expansion of the Royal Air Force in the 1930s the service had an operational requirement (OR.42) for an advanced training aircraft, particularly for crews destined for bomber aircraft. The Avro Anson was considered for the role but it was thought an aircraft more difficult to fly was needed and Air Ministry Specification T.23/36 was issued on 10 July 1936 to Airspeed for a twin-engined training aircraft to meet OR.42.
The Oxford, built to Specification T.23/36, was based on Airspeed's commercial 8-seater aircraft, the AS.6 Envoy , designed by Hessell Tiltman. Seven Envoys had been modified for the South African Air Force as the "Convertible Envoy", which could be equipped at short notice with a machine-gun in a hand-operated Armstrong Whitworth dorsal turret and with bomb racks.
Airspeed Ltd. was founded by Nevil Shute Norway (later to become a well-known novelist under his first two names, Nevil Shute) and the talented designer Hessell Tiltman. In his autobiography, Slide Rule: Autobiography of an Engineer, Norway gives an account of the founding of the company and of the processes that led to the development and mass production of the Oxford. (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 bomb aimer 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 cockpit was a wireless operator station, facing aft on the starboard side of the fuselage. In the Oxford I a dorsal turret was 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.
Orders for were placed for a first batch of 136 aircraft, to allow a more economical flow-line production at the Portsmouth factory. The first prototype aircraft L4534 first flew at Portsmouth on 19 June 1937. Two variants were planned, the Mark I as a general-purpose training aircraft with a dorsal gun turret and the Mark II without a turret but fitted with dual-controls. As further large contracts for the aircraft were placed with Airspeed, (100 Mk Is and 100 Mk IIs) it was arranged that de Havilland Aircraft would build them at Hatfield later, to meet the demands for Oxfords for training. Other companies also built the aircraft.
A total of 8,586 Oxfords were built, with 4,411 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.
The Oxford (nicknamed the 'Ox-box') was used to prepare complete aircrews for RAF Bomber Command and could simultaneously train pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, gunners and 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 defence of the School against Iraqi forces.
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 wooden or Fairey-Reed metal propellers, the cockpit contained a propeller pitch lever, which had to be moved from "Coarse" to "Fine" for landing. This was to reinforce this important step for trainee pilots.
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.
Australia
From March 1941, the Royal Australian Air Force received both Oxford I and IIs from RAF contracts for use in Australia. Most of the survivors were sold in the early 1950s.
Canada
The Royal Canadian Air Force ordered 25 Oxford Is in 1938. They were taken from RAF stocks and shipped to Canada in 1939 and assembled by Canadian Vickers at Montreal. Issued to the Central Flying School, they were later joined by large numbers of RAF aircraft to equip the Service Flying Training Schools.
New Zealand
New Zealand was one of the first nations to order the Oxford in 1937 with a contract for five Oxford Is; the fifth aircraft was modified as a survey aircraft. They were delivered to New Zealand by sea and assembled at RNZAF Hobsonville at the end of 1938. The RNZAF placed further orders for six and then 30 Oxfords. With the start of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan a further 140 aircraft were allocated, which included the last batch of 30 ordered. In total the RNZAF operated 299 Oxfords between 1938 and 1952.
South Africa
As part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the South African Air Force was allocated nearly 700 Oxfords which started to arrive in South Africa from November 1940. Due to the intense training, 256 aircraft were lost to accidents. Most survivors were withdrawn in 1945 and had been sold by 1947.
United States
The United States Army Air Force units used 137 Oxfords on loan from the Royal Air Force. Mostly used as general-purpose communications aircraft in the United Kingdom and from June 1942 they were also used for Beam Approach Training. By the end of 1944, American types were available and all had been returned to the Royal Air Force by the end of the year. A small number had also been loaned to the USAAF in Australia by the Royal Australian Air Force. Two Oxfords were used by the United States Navy in the United Kingdom as communications aircraft.
Other users
As of April 2014 no Oxfords are in airworthy condition however there are restoration-to-fly projects in New Zealand, as well as components held by several private individuals and the RNZAF Museum for possible incorporation into future rebuilds.
Museum display
Under restoration/stored
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