One of the most common statements heard to emanate from die-cast aviation manufacturing companies is, “There are hardly any more aircraft types left to do”. Clearly, any aviation enthusiast will tell you that this is so far from being true, even before you start thinking of using current manufacturing advancements to produce much more accurate representations of aircraft that are already in our collections. Thankfully, Oxford Die-cast are certainly one of the most pragmatic manufacturers when it comes to new tooling ideas and this week, they have released not one, but TWO new models, which are appearing in die-cast for the very first time. We will look more closely at both of these models, but one of them is certainly of greater interest to the UK aviation collector – the long awaited and much anticipated arrival of the Avro Anson.
The Avro Anson – ‘Our Faithful Annie’
Without doubt, one of the most worthy aircraft types deserving of the description ‘unsung hero’ is the Avro Anson, which whilst not appearing on the favourite aircraft list of many aviation enthusiasts, became one of the most important aircraft available to British Air Forces during the Second World War. Making the transition from civil and mail transport aircraft to true multi-role military aircraft, the Anson was absolutely invaluable to the Royal Air Force throughout WWII, in both front line and support roles and is certainly deserving of more prominent recognition. Indeed, after the Vickers Wellington, the Avro Anson was the most heavily produced British multi-engined aircraft of the Second World War, with over 11,000 machines being built, with the basic airframe being suitable for modification to fulfil a variety of operational roles. It was also the first RAF monoplane aircraft to feature a retractable undercarriage, which soon became commonplace, but in those days really was cutting edge. Unfortunately for the Anson crew, this was a manual operation and required 160 cycles to retract and lower the main gear legs – so onerous was this task, that many flights would sacrifice the additional 30 mph cruising speed a retracted undercarriage would yield, by leaving the gear down. Doing this would cause a rather annoying cockpit claxon to sound a warning to the crew for the duration of the flight, but many would simply disengage this unit, as it was rather loud and annoying.
During the early part of WWII, RAF Coastal Command had a critical need for Maritime reconnaissance and search and rescue support, with the twin engines and size of the Anson being seen as the most likely candidate. The aircraft was modified to include a dorsal mounted defensive turret and a fixed forward mounted machine gun in the nose, so the Anson could defend itself, although this additional weight and drag had an adverse effect on range and performance. Although not noted for any offensive capabilities, the Anson did enjoy one notable success against the Luftwaffe’s vaunted fighter, the Messerschmitt Bf 109. In June 1940, a flight of three Avro Ansons was intercepted by no less than nine Me 109 fighters and whilst you may expect a rather predictable outcome, the Ansons acquitted themselves rather well. In a fighting melee that lasted many minutes, two of the attacking 109’s were shot down, with a third seriously damaged – that was more than enough for the Luftwaffe, who broke off the engagement and returned to base. All three of the Ansons made it home to base, with a rather extraordinary story to tell their squadron mates!
The Avro Anson was to find its ideal position in aviation history when relegated to support duties, allowing more modern and suitable aircraft to take the fight to the Luftwaffe, allowing the Anson to train aircrew for the coming battle. As a multi-engined flight training aircraft for Bomber Command, the Anson would train thousands of pilots, navigators and air-gunners in the skills they would need when posted to front line squadrons, where they would fly Hamdens, Whitleys, Stirlings, Halifaxes, Manchesters and Lancasters on missions deep into occupied territory. It performed these tasks safely and reliably for many years, without which, the RAF would have been seriously hampered in their efforts to go on the offensive. If only for this reason, the venerable old Avro Anson is very much deserving of a more prominent position in the heirarchy of successful RAF aircraft of WWII.
Avro Anson – A first for the Die-cast collector
One of the most significant omissions from our die-cast aviation collections of WWII aircraft has certainly been the Avro Anson, so when Oxford announced their intention to produce this model over twelve months ago, there was significant ordering activity from an excited hobby. Coming in their magnificent HISTORY OF FLIGHT range, which has the alternate undercarriage position option and is very much a competitor for the best that Corgi and Hobbymaster have to offer, this model is a superb representation of this important aircraft. We are already engaged in processing the high number of pre-orders we received for the Anson and having inspected this model closely, before photographing it for the website, I have to say that collectors will not be disappointed with this latest edition to their collections. This first release (72AA001) presents us with an RAF Coastal Command Anson Mk.I, which was involved in the attack by nine Bf 109’s, off the French coast. Flown by P.O Phillip Peters, from No.500 squadron at Detling, he and his crew claimed the two destroyed and one damaged enemy Me 109’s, in a 10 minute engagement, having already ordered the other two Ansons to return to base. Indeed, although it is not actually this actual aircraft, the example on display at the Imperial War Museum Duxford is in the colours of this famous machine MK-V and marks the astonishing achievement of this brave crew on this fateful day. A magnificent new model, this delightful Avro Anson can be viewed more closely by clicking on this NEW RELEASES link.
Luftwaffe Eagles – The Henschel Pair.
Continuing the theme of model aircraft produced in die-cast for the very first time, the OXFORD AVIATION range has been rather active in looking for subject matter that gives them total market dominance, even allowing for the fact that our hobby is now almost 20 years old. Without doubt, one of the most successful releases in this entire
range has been the magnificent Henschel Hs 123A biplane, which has just come back into stock after a very long and frustrating wait. Priced at an extremely attractive £12.99, this unique aircraft has been gratefully received by collectors, but caused a little bit of confusion with another New Tooling release, which is from the same German aircraft manufacturer. The new Henschel Hs 126A-1 is a very different aircraft and I have something to help you with identification of the two aircraft. As you can see in this side-by-side picture, there are distinct differences between the two aircraft, even though they were both produced by the Henschel company. The Hs 123 is a diminutive biplane close support aircraft, much loved by Luftwaffe pilots and ground units alike, for its simple rugged effectiveness, whilst the larger Hs 126 parasol observation aircraft is a very different beast. I suppose the most obvious design comparison for the HS 126 is the British Lysander, although the operational application of the aircraft was slightly different. The Hs 126 was a reconnaissance/observation aircraft, which did have the ability to defend itself, should it attract the interest of enemy aircraft. Usually found on the front line of any operation, the Hs 126 would provide invaluable information for advancing Wehrmacht units, including providing artillery spotting information and light attack duties. This first release wears the unique colours of the Condor Legion, in operations during the Spanish Civil War, the HS 126 is a valuable addition to our hobby.
Airfield Diorama Specials – Final New Release Update
We end our latest Newsletter by informing you about a number of new models in the ever popular airfield diorama series from Oxford. We can boast no fewer than five new releases this week, which are all available for closer inspection in our NEW RELEASES section, but I would like to focus on one model in particular. Following the end of the Second World War, BOAC needed a specific vehicle to transport passengers and their luggage between airports and city centre terminals. The answer was the Commer Commando 1 1/2 deck observation coach, which is a unique and attractive design and one which attracted the attention of the Royal Air Force. In military service, the Commer Commando crew bus would transport aircrew from briefing to dispersal in some comfort and must have made a pleasant change from using any vehicle available on the airfield. The vehicle which has been modelled by Oxford was delivered to the RAF in April 1947 and served at a number of RAF airfields around Yorkshire until 1957, when it was bought by Hull Cricket Club. Not the fastest vehicle in the world, the crew bus actually landed the team in trouble, as they were censured for turning up late for matches on a number of occasions. Now one of a small number of such vehicles still in existence, this beautiful vehicle can be found at The Yorkshire Air Museum, Elvington, which is a fitting home for this vehicle, which has so much history with the county. This extremely handsome new model is now available in our NEW RELEASES section.