Post by viscount on Oct 21, 2021 14:40:39 GMT 1
AVRO C.19 TX226, NOW WITH MONTROSE AIR STATION HERITAGE CENTRE
INTRODUCTION
My main interest on a visit to the Montrose Museum in June 2018 was the Avro C.19 TX226 which they acquired from deep store in the Coventry area earlier this year. It is predictably not in good shape, but they are confident they can rescue her as they have good woodworking skills (all the wood fittings require attention), while most of the metal frame is there with only light corrosion in places. The wings are metal, however the all-important centre section (one piece across the fuselage but only with one engine mount and undercarriage) was stored outside under wraps, so I could not assess the condition. Having looked over Mike Davey's Avro 19 G-AGPG before the decision to scrap the fuselage but save the nose, I would say that TX226 is in much better condition and way more complete. A very big job they have taken on to restore her to display, but not working, condition. Having seen the finish quality of the Be.2a, there is hope for the Avro C.19 - they would really have liked an Anson I to be representative of those operated at Montrose early in WWII, but they are even less available as a project than a Mk.19.
THE LIVERPOOL CONNECTION
My second interest in this aircraft is that at one stage in it's career it was a very frequent visitor to Liverpool Speke in the period I've been researching and typing out the logs for. TX226 was operated by the RAF Jurby Station Flight on communications duty for the resident non-flying unit, the OCTU - Officer Cadet Training Unit. TX226 is first noted in the Speke Logs in January 1957, and recorded visiting 107 times over the following four and a half years, last appearing on 12th April 1961 before replacement by TX213 which served at Jurby until the OCTU and Station were closed 30th September 1963. However TX226 did reappear at Speke on two further occasions in 1962 flying from White Waltham and Topcliffe.
AIRFRAME HISTORY
Built 1946 as an Avro C.19 series 1 (with wooden wings) by A.V. Roe at their Yeadon (Leeds) factory and delivered to the RAF early Summer 1946. At some stage in her military service the wooden wings were replaced with metal ones, so making her a series 2 aircraft. TX226 served with the CBE (Central Bombing Establishment) at RAF Marham and maybe RAF Lindholm, RAF Coningsby Communications Flight, RAF Hemswell Station Flight, 187 Squadron (aircraft ferry unit based Aston Down), OCTU RAF Jurby, FTCCF (Flying Training Command Communications Flight), then to Shawbury 27MU, allocated 7865M January 1965, to RAF Colerne Station Museum 1965. Restored and repainted early '70s back into standard Transport Command colours. Sold at auction March 1976 on closure of RAF Colerne as surplus to RAF Museum requirements. Purchased by Mr B.Walker, a collector of tractors and aircraft at Watering Farm, East Dereham, Norfolk; moved into storage at Little Staughton airfield, Cambridgeshire in May 1977. Placed as Lot 17 in the August 1984 Christies Aviation Auction at Duxford, however prior to the event was acquired by the I.W.M. for around £1,700 and delivered by road to Duxford 28th August 1984. Initially displayed dismantled on a Queen Mary, but then placed in long-term storage. Purchased by Air Atlantique Historic Flight as a spares source for their flier WD413/G-VROE (ex G-BFIR) and moved to Coventry Airport 17th February 1998, later to long-term storage off airfield at Coventry. Acquired by Glenn James as part of an extensive spares package when he purchased the airworthy G-VROE/WD413 from Air Atlantique March 2017. Sold to the Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre end of 2017 and moved to Montrose end of April 2018. Work on restoration will commence once the current Sopwith Camel replica is completed and is estimated to be a 6 year project. At least that is what I've been able to put together mostly from W&R - anyone have the Air Britain Anson history book and can look up their history for TX226 for me, hopefully with dates from the RAF service card?.
IMAGES OF TX226
To my amazement in all the local b&w photo collections I have access to, there is not a single photo of TX226 at Speke, lots of other C.19s, but not TX226. She was so common 1957-1961, no one bothered to consider taking a photo of her! Can others who have photos from that period have a good look and see if they can find shots of TX226 as Montrose would love to have shots of her as a working aircraft. I know 'Garstonboy' has searched his collection for me, the best I can currently do is a reproduction of a tiny print from a Phil Butler original discovered in an MAS Flypast magazine, so the dot matrix for litho printing shows when enlarged. Seen at the top of this post, quite typically, outside No.1 hangar.
AT MONTROSE, JUNE 2018
Seen not long after the components of TX226 had been collected by Montrose Museum and moved into the restoration shed - not that much larger than the aircraft itself. Indeed the wing centre section was stored outside covered by a tarpaulin. The The poor condition is immediately visible, however the structure seems sound despite the long move north.
AT MONTROSE, OCTOBER 2019
All sections of the aircraft are now indoors, having been moved to the WWI vintage hangar which Montrose Museum had not long before taken the lease on. Work to strip the fabric and wood and primer the now revealed metal work is quite apparent. The long job is preparing and replacing the woodwork and then fabric and putting it all together again.
