Jaimnies) Iiyinitiliys presleyJames iiynthy Arturgiuszezak Westland LYSANDERSeale plans Dariusz Karnas Printed by: saute ul. Zeromskiego 4, 27-600 Sandomierz tel. +48 (15) 832 31 92; fax +48 (15) 832 77 87 www.wds.pl marketing @wds.pl PRINTED IN POLAND Content ents Acknowledgements. sania Introduction. The first Lysander .. Changing duties Into Service. North Africa & Greece... Palestine & Syria Madagascar . Andaman Islands... Foreign production & service. Canada, France India & Burma Ireland (Erie) Egypt Finland... Portugal Turkey: USA Yugoslavia & Lavi New Tasks ASR. Target towing Royal Navy use. Special Duties Combined operations. Health War... Technical... Experimental & testin Postwar Pilot's view. Lysander units Serials & producto Lysander Performance & Dimensions. Bibliography Survivors 101 107 108 10 13 1S 123 185 Previous page. Westland Lysander Mk lila G-BCWL while based at IWM Duxford and operated by the Aircraft Restoration Company in Air Sea Resewe colours. This aircraft is now in the USA. James Kightly. Back cover. Shuttleworth's Lysander chases the moon, most appropriately for ‘an aircraft painted in one of the moonlight Squadrons colours. Rob LeighDedication To the crews that flew and maintained the Lysander around the globe - and toall of the restorers that have kept at least one Lysander in the air, in different places and at different times for the past 40 years. And in memory of Steve Young, aviation enthusiast and friend. 8th April 1969 - 24th July 2005. Acknowledgements This book was started in Oxfordshire, continued in Ontario, and in Oxford- shire again, and later in British Columbia. It was finished in Victoria, Australia — which rather delayed things! ‘The Lysander is one of those famous but under-regarded types about which ‘everybody’ knows ‘something’, Sadly, many of those facts prove not to be facts, and sorting truth from fiction is a particularly challenging if not fiddly task for this class of aircraft. Many highly regarded authors and references perpetrate errors of varying degree of magnitude, and I have tried hard to provide the cor- rect information, or where we cannot prove it, to say that we don’t know. For any errors contained, we apologise, and would appreciate them being brought to our attention so that we can correct them in any future editions. Numerous people have provided snippets or chunks of information, often previously unpublished, and for that they have my sincere gratitude, Ihave also chosen to incorporate a number of firsthand accounts to bring the story to life. T have provided a bibliography of worthwhile and useful publications, which can be taken as a qualified recommendation. Many people have assisted, and I wish to record my thanks to them here. John ‘Smudge’ Smith, who answered an array of detailed questions overnight; Colin Swann and John Romain of the Aircraft Restoration Company. Andrew Appleton for US restoration input. Fred Ballam, of the Westland Archives, without whom this book would be a lot shorter. The BBC ‘People's War” website proved a mine of anecdotal information which gives a grassroots view of Lysander operations. Jim Buckel sent a regular stream of photos and answers on the CWH Lysander and a CD of 600 pictures to keep me going, not forget- ting the CWH Lysander team themselves. Don Clarke and Mike Grierson for the Middle East photos. Alex Crawford was kind enough to provide various pointers despite having his own MMP books to write. Artist Don Connolly for permission to use a copy of his painting, Christopher S, Eldridge who spotted the exhaust oddity on the Air Warfare Forum. Jerry Shore of the Fleet Air Arm Museum, George Paul of IWM Duxford, Tony Kearns for help with the Irish end, Pam & Jim Laing, Warren & Mary-Lee Laing for their hospitality while working on the book. The other members of the MMP team. Brian Marshall, Tony Osbourne and Jagan Pillariseti all added key pieces to the jigsaw. Monica Walsh of the RAAF Museum archive, Andy Simpson and the other helpful staff atthe RAF Museum and Jodi Ann Eskritt, Curator, RCAF Memorial Museum,Daniel Stockmans of SOT, Harold E. Wright of St John Heritage provided Belgian and Canadian input respectively. Andy Sephton and Chris Morris plus the Shuttleworth crew, for the work, answers and access to their Lysander. As ever, Jerry Vernon responded to a number of vague questions with a wealth of information. Jochen Verschoore made some Belgian connections for me, while Joao M. Vidal of the Portuguese Air Force Museum threw some illumination into an obscure area, and Anthony G Williams, gunnery expert, answered a couple of tricky queries. ‘My thanks to the various photographers who have kindly allowed the use of their photos here, and I am indebted to the various authors whose works are listed in the bibliography. I am also particularly greatful to all those whose words I have quoted throughout the text, without whom the book would have far less of a human story. L also thank posters on the Air Warfare, Planetalking, Pprune and Flypast Forums for feedback on a number of areas. Finally, and most important, my wife Bev Laing for proof reading and especially all the = s 3 ES a] other support a partner gives, James Kightly, Melbourne, 2006 Abbreviations A& AEE Arms & Armament Experimental = MC Military Cross Establishment MM Military Medal AA Ack-Ack (Anti aircraft gunfire) NAS Naval Air Squadron AC Amy co-operation (Squadron) OTU Operational Training Unit ADC Aide de Camp POW Prisoner of War AOP Air Observation Post RAE Royal Aeronautical Establishment ARC Aircraft Restoration Company = RAF Royal Air Force ASR Air Sea Rescue RAAF Royal Australian Air Force AWM Australian War Memorial RCAF Royal Canadian Air Force BEF British Expeditionary Force REAF Royal Egyptian Air Force CAM Canada Aviation Museum, RNVR Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve Ottawa. TAG ‘Telegraphist / Air Gunner CBE Commander of the British TT ‘Target Tug Empire SAS Special Air Service CFS Central Flying School (RAF) SBAC Society of British Aircraft Companies CMF Canadian Museum of Flight, Lan- SD Special Duties gley SOE Special Operations Executive CWH Canadian Warplane Heritage SOT Sabena Old Timers DFC Distinguished Flying Cross SM&PI Sikorski Museum & Polish Institute DSO Distinguished Service Order SIS Secret Intelligence Service EATS Empire Air Training Scheme TNA ‘The National Archives, UK (Formerly FAA Fleet Air Arm Public Record Office) GOCc General Office Commanding USAAF United States Army Air Force HM His/Her Majesty WAAF Woman's Auxiliary Air Forve TAF Indian Air Force TAS Indicated Air Speedsander first flew it was something out of the ordi- nary, both in looks and in high and low speed performance; ranging from 55 to 300mph. The Lysander is also a unique aircraft technically. To this day it was the only production aircraft with fully automatic flaps actuated by aerodynamic slats. Conservative in its structure, it was innovative in its aerodynamic concept. Imaginative design resulted in an aircraft with a phenomenal speed range Although a failure in its original role, the unexpected nature of the war it was engaged in meant that it was to find a niche in two unforeseen tasks: air-sea rescue and dropping off or picking up agents from enemy-held territory, both of which will ensure the Lysander will not be forgotten. During the war its unique silhouette ensured that it was easy to distinguish, and even today, the Lysander is a distinctive shape in museums - and thanks to a few dedicated organisations - in the sky. It was popular with ground crew and airerew, and the pilot’s position was a magnificent throne from which to aviate. Good pilots explored the aircraft's amazing handling abilities and achieved ‘many unusual and often ineredible feats with the Lysander, although it could, and did, bite the overconfident pilot. Not able to operate successfully in war without the advantage of air supe- riority or the cover of darkness, it nonetheless managed to fill vital roles and undertake mundane tasks from the sub-zero snows of Canada to the dust, heat and monsoon rain of India. We will try to sketch in the background to the his- tory of the Lysander, aiming to shine a light on some of the lesser-known areas of its career. We also will try to provide a detailed look at the type, of interest to the modeller, engineer, and we hope, pilot The prototype Lysander seen at Westlands home of Yeovil, Somerset. RAF Museum P9266.Prototype Lysander K6127 Showing the form it was {first flown in, with wooden two bladed propeller and uncovered undercarriage. RAF Musewn P9263, rototype ‘The Lysander was essentially the response to a WWI concept. It's an old cliché that the Generals alway’ prepare to fight the last war, and it is important when studying WWII and pre-WWIL history to bear in mind the mindset of the allied armed forces: namely, experience of static trench warfare and a war of attrition, planned around the fixed Maginot line, During WWI, Artillery Obser- vation, ‘Art-Obs’ or ‘Arty R’ for Artillery Reconnaissance, was essentially the main role for military aviation —helping the artillery see their fall of shot. That's what the Generals wanted, and the development of aerial reconnaissance defined the role of the air arm. Scout aircraft (later renamed fighters) were originally there to stop these nosy aircraft and crews Throughout the inter-war period the Air Ministry had specified army co-operation aircraft of conservative design. Only two aspects had changed since WWI the first was that even more (minor) tasks had been added to the requirements, and the second was a need to act in an ‘Air Police’ role. This latter requirement was brought on by the RAF’s stratagem of taking over many of the Army’s frontier jobs, managing the margins of Britain's dominion, As the British enjoyed complete ait superiority on these edges of the empire, nothing practical could yet be learned about operating army co-operation aircraft in an evenly-matched war. Specification A39/34 issued in late 1934 was intended to result in a mono- plane replacement for the Hawker Heetor and Hawker Audax biplanes (which had entered service in 1932), and this type was expected to be suitable for worldwide use, the RAF’s zones of operation including the Indian sub-continent as well as Westen Europe. Operation from Canada to Finland probably wasn’t expected, although the Far East may well have been. The specification also asked for the aircraft to have rear defence, bomb racks, the ability to dive bomb, andtoe paraphernalia of army co-operation of the day: photographic fittings, radio sd a message pick-up hook, Wanting everything, the requirement expected the aircraft to also be able to serve as a long range and night-fighter. Few companies would have believed it a good contract, as only a few air- aft might be ordered and it would probably become outdated quickly. Only Westland and Bristol (with their Bristol type 148) tendered prototypes for the ct, Avro and Hawker dropping out early on, The Westland company had a good history of aircraft production as a sub- contractor, but a less happy one of getting their own designs into production. Westland was at this stage a wholly-owned subsidiary of the family firm Petters (1) Westland TFET The upper view clearly a and absence of cowl flaps, shows the unspatted wheels, as well as the primed but not painted fuselage fabric. A semi-spat seems to be fited over the tail wheel. This looks differ- ent to even the prototype's final tail wheel spat design. RAF Musewn P9264, It is often easy to overlook how clean the design as, but this angle on the effectively ‘unfinis- 1ed’ prototype shows how few excrescences there were from the start. RAF Museum P9265.how odd the now Lysander probably cemed when it was new The Transport Archive. Ltd. Westland also had a new Technical Director, who had been imposed on the board. W. Edward W. “Teddy’ Petter BA was the son of Sir Ernest Petter, who himself was the son of the company’s original founder, and Sir Emest was Chairman of the Board. Teddy Petter was therefore in an unenviable position between his family and Westland’s professional staff. It is worth noting that in 1934, the co-opting of Teddy Petter on to the board of Westland Aircraft ‘Works by Sir Emest caused the resignation of Robert Arthur Bruce, the highly- experienced and respected Managing Director, and Geoffrey Hill, a brilliant designer and power behind the ‘Pterodactyl’ series of prototypes. The works ‘manager Was also changed soon after, and the company was reconstituted by Sit Edward as Westland Aircraft Ltd in 1935. There is no doubt that Teddy Petter’s arrival radically changed the course of the company. Interestingly, Westland’s first step in designing a response to A39/34 was to investigate what the pilots, engineers and ground crew ‘in the field” wanted, a move not always regarded as desirable by the hidebound Air Ministry. Chief Designer Arthur Davenport, Teddy Petter and Chief Pilot Harald Penrose toured the army co-operation squadrons and gathered the pilots’ and airmen's views. It is also possible that this was a shrewd move to build a sound working team of these three. Although Petter is often quoted as the designer, documents in the Westland Archives clearly show that Davenport led the design process. The main challenge was to have a machine that would be fast enough in a modern war (and able to get about a battlefield swiftly) but which could also loiter and fly very slowly. Good views for the pilot and observer, plus the positioning of a wide range of army co-operation bits and pieces all added to the choice of high wing design. Original ideas, including one with an under-Fitted with the metal prop and spats, adorned the RAF Hendon w Types’ number 6 the Lysander is ready to debut, Westland Archives & RAF Museum P9267. Second prototype K6128 is seen here, during the A&AEE trials fited with the stub-wings, stores carriers and some W.W.l era 112 1b High Explosive bombs. RAF Museum P9268.Bench dive brakes Another (Mercury engine) Lysander was provided with bench type airbrakes, but despite photographs of it, there appears to be no information as to why it was done. It is probable that the Lysander was acting as a test bed, rather than the fitment being regarded as a Lysander improvement, Footmotes 1. Bowyer, Air Pictorial. 2. James, Westland Aircraft since 1915 3. Ovcacik, M Westland Lysander, 4+ 4. BBC People’s War website. A2358038 5. Williams, private correspondence Top: Another angle on the Blackburn Steiger wing equipped Lysander. Note the complex pitot tube and spring-loaded airspeed plate on the port wingtip. RAF Museum P6132 Bottom: A photograph of the dive-brake equipped Lysander, No documents appear to have sur- vived to explain this modification's objective. Westland Archives.Although poor quality, this phota shows ane of the Canadian sprayers, recorded as CF-FOA, seen here in action with the spray rig visible below the wings. James Kightly Collection. Postwar ‘The Lysander was an obsolete type at the war's end, and quickly vanished from service. There were a couple of attempts to utilise Lysanders for civilian purposes, but only one organisation in Canada managed to find work for the type. Canadian sprayers Four Lysanders were put on the civil register by Westland Dusting Serv- ice/Westland Spraying Service, of Edmonton (later High River) Alberta in 1948, where they were used for agricultural spraying. Jerry Vernon recalls: “I understand they stopped it when they realized what dangerous stuff they were using. [heard that one of their pilots later died from the long-term effects of ingesting the spray materials. They ceased operations, and the aireraft were scrapped.” ‘The Lysanders were MkII CF-DGL-X RCAF 451 Mk.II CE-DRL RCAF 433 Mk.II CF-FOA RCAF 2382 c/n 1223 MKIILCE-GEJ RCAF 700 (ex-RAF R2047) ‘The main fuselage tank (95 gallons) was used for the spray material, while a smaller fuel tank (45 gallons) was fitted in the centre section behind the cockpit, and spray booms were added. ‘There are a couple of photos of a Lysander with a spray rig attached, working a field. CF-FOA, for instance, was registered until 1955, after which is it was recorded as having been scrapped and used as landfill,Wartime ferry pilot H, A. Taylor recalled; “...the Lysander might fairly be described as an interestingly schizophrenic affair. When treated as a normal aeroplane it behaved more or less as such; when required, by short field cir- cumstances or at the whim of a test-pilot to provide a passable imitation of an Autogiro it became an entirely different, and even, if not handled firmly, occasionally recalcitrant device. The basic reason for this Jekyll and (mildly) Hyde behaviour — which also provided a better-than 4:1 speed range — were the full span slots and the automatically-operated flaps... “It was a relatively simple aeroplane, with not much more than the two-pitch propeller and fore-and-aft trim to worry about in the way of vital action drill, and you could map-read your way comfortably along in weather conditions which would be harassing, to say the least, when delivering a Hurricane or Spitfire with limited downward fields of view.”* Pre-Flight Andy Sephton, Chief Pilot of the Shuttleworth Collection, took over Lysander G-AZWT from John Romain of ARC. Andy recalls: “Walking out to the machine was the first time I'd taken a good look at her. My first impression was one of size; she was big. A cockpit check was necessary before walkround, but how do I get up there? John came to the rescue, showing me where the This view of the Lysander with a Spitfire Mk.V in the background clearly shows hhow good the Lysander pilot’s view was, both ‘over the noise and above and below the wing in comparison to fighters of the eva, James Kighilyfootsteps were and demonstrating a neat change of foot rest half way up to prevent arriving at the top of the stairs with crossed legs.”* Darryl Stinton, pilot of G-BCWL in the 1980s observed this problem with even more wry humour: “One can end up facing backwards in the cockpit, like getting onto a horse the wrong way. This can be turned to advantage because it gives good close up view of the upper surfaces of the wings and slats, and you ccan read the non-standard gauge on the 95 gallon fuel tank behind the pilot's seat. Check that the inboard slats are free and that both flaps go down when they [the slats] are pulled forward.”* Take-Off The Pilot's notes state: “A steep angle of climb can be obtained by climbing at 70 mph or even down to a minimum of 6Umph this is an emergency operation and should only be performed if necessitated by operational considerations. If engine failure occurs while climbing at this speed, the nose must be pushed down instantly, otherwise at least 600 feet will be lost before control is regained.” Andy Sephton said of this and the other prohibitions in the pilot's notes: “T know I’ve never read such warnings before in the Pilot’s Notes of an aireraft in service, Comments like these are more at home in a critical report following an unsuccessful test flight!” Andy added; “The engine is powerful for an aircraft of this size. This leads to a high-energy propwash which flows over the tailgroup and markedly increases the efficiency ofthe tailplane at high power. Consequently, although the aircraft's speed is about the same on take-off und landing, the position of the tailplane is fully up (leading-edge down) with the engine off (landing), and almost fully down (leading edge up) when the engine is producing high power (take-off) Ifthe tailplane is set in the wrong position for take-off, even with full-forward control column, an uncontrollable pitch-up would occur. Given the twenly-od applications of tal trim to move from one extreme to the other, itis unlikely thatthe aircraft would survive this mistake.” Back in the war, the pilots had other concerns: 161 Sqn pilot Hugh Verity recalled his first operation after much practice. This time he had lots of fuel, a “Joe” in the back and was about to be flying at night, “Before getting take-off clearance muttered to myself “TMP fuel and gills’ checking that the tail actuat- ing wheel was set for TAKE-OFF, the mixture control in NORMAL and the pitch control pushed in for fine pitch. The fuel gauges were all reading full because it was to be a seven-hour trip. The gills were open to increase the airflow over the engine. At 20:20 hours, I turned onto the long flarepath, eased the throttle fully open and took off. When I was at the safety speed of 80mph, | eased the stick back and climbed away, tuning onto my first heading...” Handling Korean War pilot Dwight Brookes of California had Lysander N7791 restored to flight in California. Despite the challenges of this restoration of analien aircraft thousands of miles from its origin, Dwight enjoyed the challenge, He recalled the first flight: “Passing through 7,000 feet everything was pretty well stabilised and the view, [ noticed for the first time, was unbelievable. Just like ‘Cinerama’... I had left the side windows down and the top sliding canopy open just in ease and the air was getting cooler now... And then I noticed for the first time that I had been trimming all the time and never realised it. The 18 Lysander pilots who had visited the restoration site had all told me about this and they were right. The Lysander is sensitive to trim and it needs the floating elevator. There are no trim tabs, as such, on the airplane.” Special Duties pilot Peter Vaughn-Fowler noted another idiosyncrasy; “Another similar wheel on the right side raised and lowered the seat, This could cause embarrassment at times; if dive bombing was being carried out and the seat was not in the fully up position, you found yourself plummeting to the bottom of the cockpit when high G-forces were applied.” Likewise wartime Lysander pilot Robert Kronfield remembered; “In the air the Lizzy was extremely manoeuvrable and at low speeds could be turned on a postage stamp: the top speed, in excess of 230mph, was faster than some of the single seaters in service use atthe time of its conception and a comfortable 180mph cruise could easily be maintained.” Ferry pilot H. A. Taylor wrote; “...the slots and flaps did not, as one might have expected, come into action when pulling out ofa dive, or, except at very low speeds, in tight tums, Some of the earlier production Lysanders had a cockpit- operated slov/flap locking device to guard, no doubt, against this prospectively dangerous possibility. This was later deleted...” Andy Sephion shows the correct method of boarding the aircraft. James Kighily. Westland Ui EELUCLThis photo clearly shows the landing auitue of the Lysander, just before a three-point textbook touch- down - the slats deployed «and automatic interlinked flaps down, as well as the full ail-down trim ofthe all moving tailplane. itis also clear thatthe eleva- tors would not be able to ‘overcome the angle of attack of the tailplane if full power was suddenly applied. Nick Blacow, Test pilot Andy Sephton casts a more moder, tet pilot’s analytical eye over the controls: “The aircraft was found stable, and casy to fly, but the elevators and to some extent the ailerons were heavy. It would not have mattered too much for the long transits of the Special Operations role, but Army Co-opera- tion must have been hard work.” (On the slats and flaps, Andy adds; “...it is a remarkable system. The wing changes shape as required (0 provide the pilot with the most efficient wing profile for the ambient flight conditions. What's more itis achieved by good aerodynamics and not digits as we have to do today.... More importantly, the pilot can never forget to lower the flaps for landing, not can he forget to retract them before the limiting speed is reached after take-off."* Illustrating some of the challenges in getting the operation of vintage air- craft right, John Romain of ARC tells a couple of interesting stories: “Over the last twenty years, four Lysanders have been restored to flying condition, but all have suffered from engine problems that limited their flying to only a few hours. At least three also suffered from longitudinal trim problems that, along with engines that ran roughly or unreliably, led their pilots to feel the aircratt was not as desirable as history would have them believe.” John then described how ARC’s expertise on the Mercury engine led to ARC being asked to “sort out” Brian Woodford’s Lysander; “The initial test flights highlighted a very heavy tail-down load during cruise flight that could not be trimmed out. A look through the aircraft’s records confirmed that this had been apparent since its restoration and was considered ‘normal’ even though it required constant forward pressure on the stick to fly straight and level! Afier considerable research, it was discovered that the tailplane-actuating jack hadbeen fitted with a late bracket style that gave the wrong range for the type of, tailplane fitted. It was only after a retired gentleman donated his notes to ARC that it was discovered that Lysanders used in the target-towing role had different tailplanes, With the correct bracket fitted, the trim system was perfect and the aircraft now flies as it should.” Correct ballast was important, as H. A. Taylor recalls; “On this occasion a rigger decided to come along for the ride and [failed to check that the equiva- lent ballast had been removed, The five-minute circuit was an exceptionally ‘unpleasant one; with minimum power and full forward trim the nose could only be held down with all the two handed pressure on the stick which I was capable of applying.”* Peter Vaughn-Fowler was able to use the armament: “The fixed front guns, which were mounted one in each of the undercarriage spats, were temperamen- tal. I don’t believe anyone ever achieved a completely empty ammunition tray. ‘These were in the fusclage immediately below the pilot and the ammunition was fed down the ammunition struts to the guns, This always led to a jam after a few bursts.”* Unlike the other airworthy Lysanders, the Shuttleworth machine has been fitted with a (dummy) long range tank, as well as an external ladder. Andy Sephton; “Both combine to reduce lateral stability to the extent that the aircraft wanders exeessively in yaw, However, the maximum speed achievable in level flight is not much different to that without the tank, owing to the higher engine power and (I suspect) the relatively high drag of the rest ofthe aircraft... Yaw stability is low with the tank and good without it."* Landing Dwight Brookes says of his first landing; “Base to final was normal, but she didn’t want to come down. At 90mph the outboard slats deployed and, after te-trimming, the inboards deployed at $Smph. We held this until it was obvious we could make the field. I levelled off high and dropped it in carefully as “Fish” [his flight observer, Lockheed test pilot ‘Fish’ Salmon] had requested before the flight. Lysanders are landed in a three-point attitude because of the weight and short moment of the airframe design. They like to nose over if one is not careful, but the touchdown was normal and we stopped in 800 feet and taxied in.”? Andy Sephton observes; “During training all pilots are taught that it is dangerous to reduce speed to lose height on the approach. This is because a normal aircraft approaches at a relatively small margin above stall speed - and a stall at such a low altitude could be catastrophic. As we have seen, this is not so with the Lysander, A normal Lysander approach is carried out at twice the stall speed, so there is a more than adequate safety margin to carry out such a manoeuvre."* ‘Sqn Ldr. Robert Kronfield collected ‘his’ aircraft from Harald Penrose per- sonally. Reflecting on the short-field performance, he said; “These spats...also housed the powerful landing lights that were diagonally adjustable from the cockpit. The landing lights were indeed a joy to use, as the spats were constantly in view and one could literally inch the wheels down onto the ground on the darkest night without the assistance of any other external aid.EET Ey A trick effect was also obtainable by keeping the speed down to about ‘SOmph and holding the stick firmly back; the throttle was then manipulated between the half and quarter open position and the Lizzy would come down like a lift. The last manoeuvre did, however, require considerable skill, as at not less than 25 feet, full throttle had to he applied and the stick eased forward a fraction at the same time and faulty timing could, and sometimes did when executed by the inexperienced, result in the undercarriage doing the splits to the accompaniment of expensive noises. “This spectacular type of descent was only used in extreme emergencies as normally in any sort of wind with gentle use of the very efficient pneumatic brakes my own landing run seldom exceeded 160 yards (146 metres) and in a moderate breeze using the automatic boost control cut out Ihave actually taken off in 36 yards (33 Metres).”" Footnotes @ HA Taylor, Air Enthusiast, July 1972 b Andy Sephton, Propswing, the SVAS Journal, Winter 1998. € Darryl Stinton, Vintage Aircraft 19, Jan-March 1981. Andy Sephion, Pilot, May 2003 Hugh Verity, We Landed by Moonlight, page 17. f Dwight Brookes, Air Classics Vol.11, No.1, Jan 1975 & Group Captain Peier Vaughn-Fowler, Royal Air Force, the Aircraft in Service, Temple Press h Sqn Ldr Robert Kronfield, Air Classics Vol.11, No.l, Jan 1975 i HA Taylor, Air Enthusiast, July 1972 j Andy Sephton, Propswing, the SVAS Journal, Winter 1998. k Andy Sephion, Pilot, May 2003 1 John Romain, Flight Journal, June 2000 m HA Taylor, Air Enthusiast, July 1972 n Peter Vaughn-Fowler, Royal Air Force, the Aircraft in Service, Temple Press. © Andy Sephion, Pilot, May 2003 p_ Dwight Brookes, Air Classics Vol.11, No.1, Jan 1975 4 Andy Sephton, Pilot, May 2003 1 Sqn Lr Robert Kronfield, Air Classics Vol.11, No.1, Jan 1975Lysander Units & codes Note: This is a list based on various sources and photographs, of RAF or Dominion units only, and includes units exclusively equipped with Lysanders and others with only flights ora few Lysanders on strength. Unit Duty Code Unit Duty Code Spd sfoxe [Amore [sod ‘[ es AinsaRee [AQ 25 Ee am rseanco [a Sen iF [ Amro 3a AiseaRew [NY ee ees 205 AieSeee [MF Sen dan AiFae | Amyeven. —_[- 25 mae 13 Amiow [Weraenons| [arse fea le 3guhdiarToee [Amyeoon [> 285 hee in Gee Ly 950 iE 135 Araycoun. _[aviooaterosion9] [senate [Amyeoon [a ves Ammycoy [I UGateox03e9] [STS Seite: sp Amyeron [HN oscar —[Amyeoan [50 2s eames ae aera [ae 2 alates Ta sie amen 35 conmsisons |- B85 moe | 110 Sqn RCAF Amy co-op. SP 613 Sqn Army c0-0p_ £ wiisercar —[amycoon [> site Amveoan. [WAX isakca [aemyeoon TANASHA [Thain [> Tis [amy co Samorenear [Teas [ov 18559 one = Ee ae eee ES noru ‘Training AY ue) Behe 18. 280TU ‘Training va aE See ei woru Training XF 158 Sowa [MaeriR = SEES 15 ree re 225 Sqn. Army co-op, | LX Anti-Aireraft C = “a saacerian —_| dar teSe) aie mc. sonore [Sa 2a Amyevon | Contin Os 2675 ConnanioeW vwirion | toestos 2 fave ae aR 7550 es 186-0 Tit TangBy co8'z asics WRI POPCOT = 340861 ASE 31 988" 09T'r By reel Wd rrO'r wBiogy Aadury 7 Wess wos wOteL Ww 000%, wocee] Bowe Bugien aos * wBlz spf soe w9ee SPA ye wore SpA OEZ neyo 1s 389/901 uns HO 94°. a | Pror frunON (HI FLe) SPR ODE wos Xoo WE OST Spa SoT wot] PUTEH HOS di (05 dogs + #005 + ++ sund ounjew cog Suunorg xz | ‘sund ouyoeu go¢-Suumag x7 | “sund ouysoU egg SuMNCIG xz yun wos San 6OF swones 6] Same Or HON 6 SMT GOR] SUOHTES i) 81+ suoes 6 Woe WORT OST Sao somicer] Swi se sancer) soir 66 Pu + ye womes $6 ay SET a1 0809 By S897 1026's Wylex YO-ORL4 Cy sc & Ct (A > | Lysander production batches & serials MkL 2 prototypes: K6127, K6128 2 14673-14738 (Includes L4731-L4733 - cancelled Portuguese order] 66 35 R2572, R2575-R2600, R2612-R2652 Total Mk.1; Mk.II 14739 - LA816 1.6847-L6888, N1200-N1227, N1240-N1276, N1289-N1320, PI7L1-P1745, P9051-P9080, P9095-P9140, P9176-P9199 R1987-R2010, R2025-R2047 Mk.II Total Mkt 5 R8991-R90B0, R9OS6-R9O79, R9100-R9135, 11422-11470, 11501-11535, T1548-11590, T16104 ‘T1655, 11670-11709, T1735-T1 711 350 W6939-W6945, W6951-W6960 17 Mk 'V9280-V9329, V9347-V9386, V9401-V9450, V9472-V9521, V9538-V9557, V9570-V9519, V9642-V9681, V9704-V9740 347 TT MK.IIA 1V9751-V9753, V9775-V9824, V9844-V9869, V9BBS-V9906 100 ‘Total Mk.IIL:| 964 Overall Total} 1672 For Production [Note: This does not include aircraft diverted from RAF stocks.) MkI Finland 14678, L4681, L4682, L4703 became LY 123 - L¥126. 4 Egypt ‘¥500-Y517 18 MkII France o1 1 Ireland 61-66 (611 & 66 Mod to TT.Mk.11) 6 Turkey 3101-3136 36 Canadian built 416-490 5 Mk.II Canadian built 2305-2454 Built as MKIUA TT. 150Aircraft Transferred To BOAC for traning T1443, T1739) | To Canada as 1536 voa7T To Canada, RCAF 700 2047 (Postwar CF-GFI) - - CF-DGL-X, 2383 - CF-FOA, R2047] Canadian civil use To Egyptian Air Force as Y518, 19000 2650, 1.9000 To Finland as LYM4-LY122 8991-28999 T1445, T1570, T1576, V9295, V9303, ¥9349, V9360, To Fleet Air Arm 9372, V9384, V9410, V9497, V95I1, ¥9574, ¥9600, 9654, V9662, V9663, V9667 14798, L4807, L6869, N1208, NI245, N1300, P1713] P1735, P1736, P1738, P9059, P9078, P9102, P9103, P9134 vee a Re P9181, P9184, R2036, R2039, R2040, R2043, R045] R2046, V9614 L124, L4740, 14748, 14765, 14767, 14770, L4786, LA794] To Indian Air Force A801, 14816, NI212, N1255, P9120, P9131, P1675,P9176| P9178, P9179,P9180, R1987, R203, DG447 To Portuguese Amy as 361-368 Wi, 9321, V9363, V9439, V95S5, V9594, V9705, To UK DG442-447 RAF, but only 438-440 delivered. | 434, 436-440 14687, P1680, P9122, R9OL 1, T1469, T1517, T1524, T1552, ‘T1574, T1616, T1682, 9299, V9302, V9356, V9495, 9506, V9512, V9665, V9741, V9743, V9776, V97T8, V9817, V9867, V988S ‘To USAR, initially 2025th & 231st Gunnery Fits Aircraft modified Mod to P-12 K6127 Pregnant Perch, ventral gun __| L4673 Mod to Mk. La674 Dual control A675 Mod. TT.MKI 2572, R2575, R2578, R581, R2587-89, R2598, R2632, R238 Mod, TT.Mk.I 6867, N1289, N1320, P9099, R198 P1666, P1668, P1681, P1683, R2651, R2652, N1209, N1289, N1320, P1715] P9109-P9111, P9113-P9115, P9117, P9123, P9125, P9126, P9128, P9130, P9133, Mod, TT Mk.II] TISTO, T1576, T1445, T1450, T1453, TH456, T1458, T1461, T1532, T1534 ‘T1571, T1583, T1616, T1623, T1626, T1633, T1642, 71674-11679, T1688 ‘T1692, T1699, T1746, T1750, T1752, T1763 R2626, R9009, R9106, T1456, T1508, T1583, T1750, T1770, T1771 (prototype), Mod to MK.III(SD) 9287, V9289, V9353, V9367, 9495, V9512, V96IS, V966S, V9674, VOOR V9818, V9822, V9823, V9867, VOBRS, VO8R9{ Lysander Boulton-Paul turret fitted P1723 Blackburn Steiger wing POIOS Ski trials 459, 2425, Pattern aircraft for Canadian TEM. Crop sprayers Mod to glider ug Nicely illustrating the challenges of correctly identifying a Lysander, here is one of the data plates of the US based Bristol Heritage Collection aircraft RCAF 1176, with the correct serial visible twice, but also with the serial 1175 on «an adjacent piece upside down. Andrew Appleton Westland Lysander Dimensions (All Marks) Length 30 fi6 in 9.29 m Wingspan 50 fi0 in 15.24 m Tailplane span 1206 in 3810 m Stub wing span 178 in 5.380. Height 14 ft6 in 442m Wheel track 9 #0 in 2.740 m Wing Area 260 Sq ft 24.15 SqmBibliography Books & Journals A& AEE, Westland Lysander A,39/34 aircraft: trials K6128. The National Archives, AVIA 18/637. Air Ministry ‘The Lysander I Aeroplane Mercury XII Engine Ist Edition. The National Archives, 1938 AIR 10/2169. - Pilot's Notes: Lysander I Aeroplane: Perseus XII Engine. ‘The National Archives, 1940 AIR 10/2502. ~ Lysander IIT and TTA Aeroplai Archives, 1941 AIR 10/2503. - Lysander IIL (TT) and IITA (TT) Aeroplanes: Mercury XX or 30 Engine. The National Archives, 1941 AIR 10/2504, ~ 161 Squadron Operational Record Book, The National Archives, ATR 27. = 613 Squadron Operational Record Book, The National Archives, AIR 27. Blake, W.H.C. Naval Lysanders. Air Pictorial, July 1967. Bowyer, Michael J F, Wesland Lysander. Air Pictorial, April 1967. Brookes, Dwight F Lysander Restoration. Air Classics, Vol 11, No.1, January 1975. ss: Mercury XX Engine, The National Daniels, Stephen Brewster Rescue from the Skies ~the story of the Airbome Lifeboat, HMSO, 1993. 011772761X. Doyle, Paul A Where the Lysanders Were. Forward Airfield Research Publishing, 1995. Ellis, Ken Very Special Duty. Peter Arkell. Flypast, No.287, June 2005. James, Derek N. Westland Aircraft since 1915. Putnam, 085177847X. Legrand, Jean-Michael La fondation “Les Sabena Old Timers” presente Lysander “de la tourmente au clair de lune...”, Legrand, Belgium, 1998. Lukins, A.H. The Book of Westland Aircraft. Aircraft (Technical) Publica~ tions Lid. Harborough Pub Co, Ltd, 1944. Mason, Francis K No.159 The Westland Lysander. Profile Publications. Undated. Maynard, John Hugh Verity. Aeroplane, Vol.29 No.12, December 2001 Mondey, David Planemakers 2; Westland, Janes’, 1982. 0710601344, Ovcacik, Michael & Susa, Karel Westland Lysander Mks.l, I, LIVIA, AL(SDYIA(SD),TT Mks.L IIL. 4+ Publications Prague, 1999, Penrose, H.J. A 1938 Westland Experiment, Flight, June 19th 1947. Robertson, Bruce Lysander Special. Jan Allan, England 19775 G | S GS ( > oo Romain, John Clandestine Warrior. Flight Journal, June 2000. Scott, Gerry Manston Rescue. Wingspan International, Issue 9, Jan/Feb 2002. Sephton, Andy Flying the Lysander. Propswing, Journal of the Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society, Winter 1998, Getting to know Lizziv. Acro- plane, January 2000. Shuttleworth’s Lysander, Pilot, May 2003. Shores, Chris, Dust Clouds in the Middle East. Grub Street, 1996. 189869737X. Stinton, Darrol The Westland Lysander Ill. Vintage Aircraft, No.19, Jan-Mar 1981. Straw, EJ. Turkish Lysanders, Air Pictorial, July 1967. Taylor, H.A. The Westland Lysander, Air Enthusiast Vol.3, 1972/3. ‘Turner, Michael Royal Air Force, The Aircraft in Service since 1918, Temple Press, 1983, 0600349330. Verity, Hugh We Landed by Moonlight, Crecy, 2000, 0947554750, Wavell, A. P. Air Operations in Burma & Bay of Bengal. The London Gazette, No,38229, 11th March 1948, Websites 211 Squadron RAF. http://hometown.aol.com/griermike/private/21 1SqnPagel. html Aces of the Luftwaffe, http://www luftwaffe.cz/ Australian War Memorial. http://www.awm.gov.aul BBC People’s War. http/svww.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/ British Artillery In World War 2 - Nigel F Evans. hup:/members.tripod. com/~nigeleffindex.htm British Pathe. http://www-britishpathe.com/ Cannon, Machine Guns And Ammunition - Anthony G Williams. http://www. quarry.nildram.co.uk/ Combined Operations. http//Avww.combinedops.com/ Egypt's Forgotten Lysanders - David Nicolle. htp:/Avww.acig.org/artman/pub- lisharticle_254.shtml Indian Air Force - Bharatiya Vayu Sena. http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/ TAF The Library & Archives of Canada. hutp://www.colleetionscanada.ca ‘The London Gazette online. http:/iwww.gazettes-online.co.uk The National Archives (Formerly the PRO). http:/Avww nationalarchives. gov.uk ‘The Transport Archive: http:/Avwwatransportarchive.org.uk/The Lysander was an obsolete type at the war’s end, and quickly vanished from service. There were a couple of attempts to utilise Lysanders for civilian purposes, but only Westland Dusting Service in Canada managed to find work for the type. Despite its rarity and oddity, there have been many attempts over the years to fly a Lysander as a warbird, and while most operators have eventu- ally grounded their machines, this has generated a number of museum display aircraft - truly a synergy of the warbird and museum movements, ‘The vast majority of surviving Lysanders are from Canada; they are either from Canadian production or Westland-built and shipped to Canada. Sadly, the majority of the surviving Lysanders war service is not known, Because of the modular nature of their construction there has often been understandable confu- sion over particular aircraft identities — panels stencilled with one Lysander’ s serial number being gathered up with sections from another machine, and the identity from the pane! being assumed for all. We present our list as the aircraft are represented today, and the reader is advised to bear in mind that most of these aireraft have at least parts from other machines, while accurate recording of a serial has been a challenge to say the least! We are lucky that there are now more preserved Lysanders in various stages of rebuild and on show than at any time since W.W.II. We have been able to use most of these to add depth to our walkround section. The following list is also presented, therefore, to clarify which aircraft has been used in the photos, and to enable the reader to find out where they can see a real Lysander. The good news is that while there may only be one flying Lysander at the time of writing, there are several in good hands in major national collections, and there are no- less than three under rebuild to fly. Finally, this is a list of complete Lysanders - there are other Lysander parts collections in store, with identities, some in the initial stages of rebuild, but these have not been included here. One of the rare occasions when nwo Lysanders have been seen together. More, it was five Mercuries on song, with the Blenheim and Gladiator joining in Flying Legends, Dux- ford, James Kightly - C L-| & HS wn ES C]Coming in at the home base of Old Warden, his could almost be an agent pick-up. Nick Blacow. On display in Army co-op colours, R9125 still has the rear cockpit interior «as converted for special duties. James Kighaly. Shuttleworth Collection, UK ‘The most active Lysander is the only airworthy machine in the world at the time of writing, and itis in the safe hands of the Shuttleworth Collection. It is V9552, a MK.IILA registered as G-AZWT, and it was restored to fly by the moch-missed Strathallan Aircraft Colleetion, flying in 1979 (as V9441 AR-A) after arriving in Scotland in 1971. Due to problems with the reliability of the Mercury engine, it was stored between 1987 and 1997 when it was flown down to Duxford by John Romain, and where the engine, which had even given John a hard time on the way down, was made to behave by the ARC Mercury specialists. It flies at Old Warden today in an all black scheme as V9367 MA-B and was fitted with a dummy long-range tank by the Shuttleworth engineers. RAF Museum, UKWestland-built Lysander Mk.IITR9125 is probably the most historic exam- ple of the type, and rightly resides in the RAF Museum. It actually served with 161 Squadron in 1944, after its first operational posting with 225 Sqn on 29th September 1940 with whom it undertook anti-invasion patrols, and then was later being converted to a target tug, after which it worked with the Central Gunnery School. This was the aircraft, painted as JR-M, used in the film ‘Now it Can be Told” about the SOE in 1944. Now displayed as LX-L, most visitors don’t realise its fascinating history, and that itis both the oldest Lysander and the only surviving genuine spy-dropper. Imperial War Museum, Duxford UK Canadian Lysander Mk.IITA V9300 (RCAF 1558) was registered as G-LIZY_ for the British Acrial Museum with an intent to restore it to airworthy condition. However, setbacks due to the Blenheim accident resulted in its restoration to static condition by the Aircraft Restoration Company and sale to the [WM. [tis now on display as MA-J, the aircraft of Hugh Verity, a most appropriate subject as the man who made the operations of 161's Lysanders most famous. Aircraft Restoration Company, UK 9300 in the IWM Duxford Superhangar. James Kightly. ‘A 2005 photo of the fuselage of V9132. At the time of writing, the wings are almost finished and the fuselage will be next. Brian A Marshall N7| On one of the engine runs undertaken before winter set in in 2005. Jim Buckel, Parked up and not telling. Greg Putz. ‘The Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford have Westland-built Lysander 'V9132 under active rebuild to fly, which is exciting news. Thanks to John ‘Smudge’ Smith, we know that it was number 33 off the production batch built at Yeovil during 1940, although it has a number of 1938 parts in it as well. So far, John estimates that they have been able to save (and reuse) 95% of the metal structure of the wings. The aireraft flew with 225, 613 and 4 Sqns in the UK before being shipped to Canada. Detective work on the aircraft's history con- tinues, and any information would be appreciated via the IWM at Duxford Canadian Warplane Heritage The Canadian Warplane Heritage are steadily progressing on the restoration of their Lysander, 2363, a MK.IIIA (in bright TT colours) to airworthy condition, which it is hoped will be imminent, as taxiing trials had commenced in 2005. Registered C-GCWL it will be at least the third Lysander to fly as a warbird in North ‘a, but will be the first warbird to fly anywhere in the world in the ‘TT scheme: an important part of military history, one often-overlooked aspect of the war and a major Canadian training contribution. Whereatt’s Warbirds, CanadaLeft: The prototype at RAF Hendon. Note that on this side the ‘New Types umber ‘6" is on the forward fuselage. This photo clearly shows the covling without cooling gills. The angled {framing of the observer's sliding canopy, also not carried over to the produc ffon aircraft can be seen James Kightly Collection ‘A moving horizontal tailplane, replacing the second attempted fix of trim ‘s2bs, was fitted next in order to aid the trim. However, this caused a completely ‘sew problem: if power was applied for a go-around after an aborted landing, ‘Ge sircraft pitched up and exceeded the control authority available, 'To over- ‘shoot, the aircraft had to be re-trimmed before applying any significant power. ‘Penrose saw the risks for service pilots in wartime, but was over-ruled and a ‘eeming placard in the cockpit was regarded as a sufficient compromise under ‘he pressure of wartime expansion and production. Despite Penrose’s serious concern aver the handling risks, and probably dee to the imminent threat of war, the Air Ministry awarded a contract for 144 Liysanders in September 1936, two months before the flight of the second proto- ‘type K6128, on 11 Decomber. Penrose, being a test pilot, always demonstrated the Lysander to its maximum; and on occasion misled following aireraft andLysander MK IITA C-FVZZ.2365 belongs to Harry Whereatt of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Canada, along with a number of other airframes. Harry's aircraft is complete, and theoretically airworthy, but no-one is telling if it has actually flown or is going to fly again. It is in the rate but striking TT colours it may well have worn in wartime service. Canadian Ba of Flight Seen at EXPO 86, the Cana- dian Museum of flight's ‘Gossamer’ Lysander. James Kightly Collection. ‘ a One of the most unusual restoration sagas was the effort of the Canadian Museum of Flight to build a see-through *Gossamer’ Lysander for the Vancou- ver Expo 86, which had a theme of ‘Transport’, A major effort in four months managed to complete RCAF 2349 and have it on show in time, parts for the restorations having been collected from as far apart as Texas and Saskatchewan, and donated by warbird family Ed, Mark & Rose Zalesky. Since then it has been on show at the Muscum’s then peripatetic homes, setting in Langley B.C. and with its transparent covering providing a very different view of this form of construction. National Aviation Museum, Canada In immaculate condition, 'R9003" nestles under the wing of the Museum's Lancaster. James Kighily| Restored and flown during | the seventies 2346 gets air under her tyres again in 2005. Richard Wallach ‘This aircraft, a Lysander Mk.II painted as R9003, was rebuilt from a number of different Westland and Canadian Car airframes during the 1960s by Capt B Lapointe, flying on December 29th 1967 at Winnipeg. Itis unusual because it is acknowledged as a composite airframe. After a number of flights the machine was donated and flown to the museum where it is displayed as a British built Lysander I, as it served with 110 Sqn RCAF in England during 1940 National Air & Space Museum, USA In 1974 American Dwight Brookes flew Canadian built Lysander 2346 (registered N7791 and painted as N7791 AC-B of 138 SD Sqn) after a two year restoration from Van Nuys, California, making it the only US flown Lysander. Originally it had been owned by eccentric farmer and collector Ernie Simmons of Tillsonburg, Ontario, and it passed through a number of hands before reaching Dwight. Despite relishing the challenge of restoring, flying and maintaining this unique ‘bird’ (for instance overcoming problems with the carburettor with help from Rolls Royce Bristol Engines) he eventually donated it to the NASM in 1979. They loaned it to the United States Air Force Muscum in Dayton Ohio, who displayed it between 1979 and 1997. After a few years in store, it was hung in 2005 in the giant hall of the Udvar Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, in Washington. Fantasy of Flight, USA Today grounded (but theoretically airworthy) Canadian Lysander Mk.IIla (construction number 1244) is one of Kermit Weeks’ amazing collection at the Fantasy of Flight, Polk City. It was shipped to the US and re-assembled in 2001, after finishing an intermittent flying career in the UK after a restorationto fly originally completed in 1977, as 9281 RU-M for Philip Mana, later being acquired by Doug Arnold, A crash landing that left it overtumed in a field (rather like a wartime SOE Lysander) in 1983 resulted in another rebuild for new owner Brian Woodford, and flying yet again in 1987, and later being operated by the Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford as V9545 BA-C between! 996 and 1998 before its sale across the Atlantic. Indian Air Force Museum As a result of seeing the Lysander ‘R9003° in 1967, when visiting the National Aeronautical Collection at Rockliffe, Canada, Air Chief Marshall Arjan Singh, CAS of the Indian Air Force, was very interested in seeing if it would be possible to obtain a Lysander for the Indian collection from Canada. As it happened Air Marshal Reyno RCAF found that 402 (Auxiliary) Sqn were completing the restoration of Lysander Mk III 1589 as a centennial project. It ‘was generously donated to the Indians, and handed over after a flight by Her- cules to India in September 1967 in Palaam, New Delhi. In return, the Indians donated Liberator HE773 to Canada, and a RCAF team flew that aircraft all the way home - a huge undertaking. Lysander 122 display atthe local Sun n Fun airshow, Mike Shreeve. Repainted ina broad interpretation of wartime colours, nevertheless 1589 is a treasured relic of the Indian Air Force Museum. Jagan Pillariseuti i 2In happier days when overflying La Ferte Alais near Paris. James Kightly. The ex-Brandon Lysander iemporar- ily nthe restoration area at Le Bourget. Laurent Boulestin. Sabena Old Times, Belgium Another airworthy rebuild underway at present is the Lysander Mk.IITA 'V9546, registered OO-SOT for the Belgian group Sabena Old Times. The aircraft was restored originally between 1982 and 1988, and flew as 2442 MA-D in Belgium, France and Britain at shows. Ground-looped on landing at Brussels in January 2002, it required a major rebuild, Despite some initial doubts, the team are rebuilding itto fly, and have taken on another airframe (currently anonymous) to rebuild to static display for the Musee Royal de I’ Armee in Brussels. Musee de I’ Air et l’Espace, France Lysander MILIIIA 2375 has tured into a globe-trotter after static restora- tion by the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum at Brandon, Manitoba, who had it between 1988 and 2000, Sold to Germany, it was offered to the Portuguese Air Force Museum who declined it after examination, and is now in the restoration shop of the Musee de I’Air outside Paris, awaiting rebuild. At last France may finally have an example of the type that did so much to support the Marquis. Previously, another anonymous Canadian example was destroyed in a hangar fire with a number of other aitcraft in 1990, and as noted earlier, the genuine Lysander Mk.1ll (SD) donated to France after W.W.II seems to have simply disappeared. Third time lucky?Parked just after arrival at Duxford, 1244 “VO2RI” was awaiting an over- sid ‘haul by ARC. Mark Ansell. 4 — 123124 Top: The Canadian Warplane Heritage Lysander with the wings newly attached, a couple of years ago. Jim Buckel. Lysander1244 after a repaine into ASR colours while operated by ARC at Duxford. James Kightly The s still in its previous, Strathal- lan-applied scheme, but with the new black long-range tank tached, James Kightly utleworth LysanderTwo photos of the CWH Lysander under- taking is first engine runs at Hanilion | Ontario on May 20th 2005. Jim Buckell. : ; ; A», { 3 iy Se \ Roy Z= y = y s = Top: The Shuttleworth Lysander taxies up the slope at Old Warden before the long-range tank was fitted. Note the angle of anack of the horizontal tailplane. James Kightly. Below: David Henchie of the IWM is introduced to the newly arrived Lysander by ARC member Neville Gardner James Kighily:‘The Sabena Old Timer's Eysander taris past at La Ferte Alais. James Kighty. : = ‘Three Lysanders together at Ducfort for Flying Legends in 1995. James Kightly. Bottom: The IWM-owned sia- tic Lysander V9300 was rolled cout to join the other airworthy Lysanders at Duxford on the Flying Legends weekend in 1995, James Kightly. 127: 3 8 <|This page and previous. The photos attached to __ the A&AEE Report on the incident that occurred to the second prototype on May 20th 1937. As well as showing how much fabric hhad been lost, and thus lift (and, incidentally, giving an excellent contemporary view of the wing structure for the modeller) the loosened Fabric on the port wing is Just visible in the second Photograph. The National Archives, Avia 18/637, perhaps other pilots into trying to emulate his ‘3-point take off and climb at 45 degrees.' Trim difficulties were not the only serious problem with the type. On May 20th 1937, while flying the second prototype and undertaking diving tests, the pilot, Squadron Leader R W Collings, suddenly heard a loud report. The stick was snatched from his hand and the aircraft went inverted. Collings could not ‘move the control column and had lost the top of his canopy. According to the official report; “He was having difficulty in leaving the cockpit when the aireraft steadied down after a second loud report. He then decided to right the aircrafi, trimmed out of the dive, half rolled and brought it back to the aerodrome.” ‘What had gone wrong? “60 -90% of the top surface of the starboard wing had gone. The tailing edge portions ofthe ribs aft ofthe rear spar had collapsed. The port wing fabric top surface was wrinkled and loose and on cutting away the fabric it was found that a similar failure of the ribs had commenced.”?The cause was the use of atrial lightweight fabric instead of the normal Irish linen. The phlegmatic Squadron Leader RW Collings cared an Air Force Cross for his skill and bravery. Although the return to the conventional Irish linen and fixing solved the problem, at least one other aircraft, as we shall see, ater lost its wing fabric in Royal Navy use ‘The competing Bristol 148 prototype flew on October 15th 1937, and its speed ranged from 62mph to 25Smph, but its low wing and retractable under- carriage counted against it as the exceptional view and robust undercarriage favoured the Lysander. ‘The origins of the name ‘Lysander’ are mildly interesting in that army co-operation aircraft were given classical names, and Lysander was a Spartan general who had raised a fleet to beat the Athenian navy. He later was regarded as a diplomat of the ancient world, That aside, the probability is the name was chosen for its familiarity due to a popular song, ‘the British Grenadiers", that runs: “Some talk of Hector and Lysander and heroes such as these.’Westland VENT Top: From the Air Publica- tion on the Lysander, this shows the fuselage frame structure. Note the cockpit edging for the pilot’s and observer's positions. TNA. ‘Two photos of the star- board side panelling on the TWM aircraft. Unlike the airworthy (and thus modified) examples, this aircraft is a static restoration missing some pieces but with a good deal of original wartime ‘equipment fitted. MMP. Next page: Two drawings from the Lysander Air Pub- lication (APIS82R) showing the location of the equipment as originally set up for Army co-op, and (below) the vari- ‘ous inspection panels. INA.OCATION OF INSPECTION PANELS IN MAIN PLANES & FUSELAGE. FIG.9. DS Ayo wi TAIL DRIFT SIGHT 2 Ai ISI 6 H OVER AIR Di IRIP-PATCH OVER CAMERA GUN MIG. AThe forward panel area, Note the fuel tank on the right, MMP. Top right: One of the spring. loaded footsteps. MMP. Middle: The remov- able panel is a neat but noticeable fit, MMP. Lower: Another level of examination: with the covering missing, but the wooden substructure over the fuselage frame. Ne the control runs are fitte. ET (TF F Lys Westland 1ae PUOISE MyTop left: The upper rear tutledeck interior. Middle left: Two of the Tufnol control run guides (the control push-rods are missing). Middle right: The position of the ‘guides on the frame, and the build ‘out from the frame to the curve of the fuselage, Starboard, laoking forward. All MMP. Previous page: top. The interior as | ic was meant to be fitted out for Army co-op work. TNA. Lower. Looking aft inside the rear fuselage towards J the tail. The flare chutes are missing here, The tailwheel strut can be seen. Note the way the wooden formers are attached to the fuselage frame. MMP. ) and the ing battery external supply socket BI for engine sta When the base air field opened and a Trolley Ace plugged in here. TNA s hatch would beWestland (ECT Top: The AP 1582B showing the rear fuselage haich. The starting handle (155) is shown and the vital tail ballast »weights (154) are always meant to be visible through the transparent panel (165); circular on Canadian-built aircraft, rectangular on Westland aircraft. There are further weights (162) on the rear fluor, and near therm - just visible - are the flare tubes (164). The cover (167) is over the tail bar lifting tube (166) —all good material for dioramas. TNA. Right: The real hatch on the WM example. MMP. Lower: The hatch (on the Langley aircraft) for the observer to deploy the target drogues through on the TT examples. James Kightly. 134Top: A modern version of the SD ladder, here on the SOT example. Note the GI differences between this and 2 the Shuttleworth aircraft as J seen below. James Kighily. Westland Two good views of the genuine overload tank fitted between the cockpits on the SD aircraft, an the RAF Museum's genuine SD example. This extra is often overlooked, but shows why communication berveen pilot and passengers was impossible, James Kightly