Beverley, Hastings, Varsity, Noratlas, York, Anson etc

[jy]

New visits and extra detail re Yorks (from log book)
The May 17th G-AGNY York actually arrived from Nice and left on the 18th for Luton.
Another visit was Feb 18th 1950 G-AGNY Aldermaston to Nutts Corner on the 19th
I also have a visit on 27th June 1950 from and to Swanton Morley by G-AGNY also.
hope this helps
best
jy

[viscount]

Many thanks for your research "jy". Fascinating stuff. I've been writing much on the forum recently recording British Eagle's operations at Speke in the 1964-1968 period - it is very interesting to read of activity 15 years before that by Eagle.

[jy]

Glad I could be of help as far as I can see those are the only Liverpool movements in the book.

[viscount]

Now that I have revised and added to the text in places (Hastings and Valetta particularly) and replaced and considerably added to the photographic coverage, I was looking around for a good reason to 'bump-up' this thread back onto the Section front page. What I've come up with is a few more '40s and '50s military types, ones I could never hope to cover in full, but have images that deserve an airing. So without further ado a type once very frequent in the '50s, that completely disappeared in the late '60s.

THE AVRO C.19 ANSON AT SPEKE - THE FINAL YEARS

Almost certainly the Avro 652A Anson I visits go back to pre 1939. It was one of very few types to be in production pre-War, throughout WWII and continue with little change post-War. Military Ansons were very regular visitors throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s. However the early 1960s saw a sharp decline and by mid-decade visits were suddenly down to just a handful each year. As I have the complete Visiting Aircraft Logs for the 1960s all entered on Excel spreadsheet, I can document the final few years very easily by just copy and pasting the entries:

FINAL AVRO 19 VISITS TO LIVERPOOL AIRPORT, 1965 ONWARDS

Tue 26.01.65	VV981	Avro Anson C.19 	Bovingdon-Woodvale	     RAF, c/s 'MPJMG'
			                        and f&t Bovingdon	     with this time c/s 'HCT 50'
Sun 28.03.65	G-AHIC	Avro 19 series 2	f&t Staverton   	     Kemp's Aerial Surveys Ltd
Sat 01.05.65	G-AHIC	Avro 19 series 2	f&t Staverton   	     Kemp's Aerial Surveys Ltd
Sun 30.05.65	PH858	Avro Anson C.19 	f&t White Waltham	     RAF, c/s 'NOG 26'
Wed 30.06.65		Avro Anson C.19 	Andover-Pershore	     RAF, c/s 'CWG 50'
Mon 04.10.65	TX229	Avro Anson C.19 	Warton-Northolt  	     RAF, c/s 'FOU 35'
Tue 05.10.65	TX229	Avro Anson C.19 	Northolt-Warton	             RAF, c/s 'FOU 35'
Fri 25.03.66	G-APHV	Avro 19 series 2	Stansted-not noted dep 28th. Survey Flights Ltd, and local survey flights for several days
Fri 10.06.66	G-APHV	Avro 19 series 2	Edinburgh-Leeds 	     Survey Flights Ltd
Mon 15.08.66	G-AHIC	Avro 19 series 2	Teesside-Blackpool	     Kemp's Aerial Surveys Ltd
Sat 17.06.67	VL337	Avro Anson C.19 	Bovingdon-Woodvale	     RAF, c/s 'KDP 29', Southern Communications Sqdn
Sun 18.06.67	VL337	Avro Anson C.19 	f&t Woodvale     	     RAF, c/s 'KDP 29', Southern Communications Sqdn
Fri 28.07.67	TX209	Avro Anson C.19 	f&t Andover     	     RAF, c/s 'CKA 48'
Thu 17.08.67	G-APHV	Avro 19 series 2	Warton-Leeds/Bradford	     Survey Flights Ltd
Mon 25.09.67	G-APHV	Avro 19 series 2	Dublin-Gatwick   	     Survey Flights Ltd
Mon 16.10.67	G-APHV	Avro 19 series 2	Manchester-Leeds/Bradford    Survey Flights Ltd
Thu 30.05.68	G-AHKX	Avro 19 series 2	f&t East Midlands	     Kemp's Aerial Surveys Ltd
Fri 14.06.68	G-AHKX	Avro 19 series 2	f&t East Midlands	     Kemp's Aerial Surveys Ltd
Sat 14.06.69	G-AHIC	Avro 19 series 2	f&t Blackpool   	     Kemp's Aerial Surveys Ltd, conducting local surveys.
Sat 26.06.82    G-BFIR  Avro 19 series 2        Woodford-Duxford, dep 27th   Air Atlantique, painted as WD413 for Air Display.

Avro C.19 Anson Mk.XII PH831 at Speke 7th June 1953. As you work through these images note how the window shapes vary with mark and civil conversion.



VM418 is an Anson T.20, on 14th August 1953



TX238/B and Anson C.19, on Saturday, 10th October 1953



VV300/46 an Anson T.21, probably on 22nd April 1954. G-AJOT is a DH.104 Dove 1 of Cambrian Air Services (op by them 2.53 until 11.56), in Cambrian's initial colour scheme.



VV255/45 an Anson T.21, on Tuesday 6th July 1954 - from the code style, likely operated by the same training unit. The colour band around the rear fuselage is yellow,



VS572/CB:J a VIP transport Anson C.21, operated by 31 Squadron/Metropolitan Communications Squadron, who retained their WWII style squadron codes for many years. Visits to Speke are recorded on 14th July 1955, 21st January 1956 and 24th June 1956.



MG860 an Anson I was on delivery flight from military storage at Anthorn to Derby Aviation at Burnaston when it diverted into Speke on 2nd November 1955, completing the trip
two days later. The aircraft was never civilianised. This is an older Avro 652A Anson I with a lower cabin roof.



Another former military Anson I, N9828 is seen here circa 3rd March 1956 parked landside of No.1 hangar, on what was a car park by the 1960s.
It was one of several purchased by Liverpool based Federated Fruits for spares recovery for their own Anson aircraft. The aircraft eventually donated
to the fire service and did not last long on the 'dump'.



WB450 an Anson T.21 probably on 11th July 1958

A tiny image, which is not coming out full screen, of TX226 which put in some 120 visits through Liverpool in the period January 1957 to April 1961 while
the RAF Jurby Station Flight aircraft for the OCTU, Officer Cadets Training Unit based there. Despite being so common at Liverpool this is the better of only
two shots I've found of this aircraft! Does anyone have a good print of TX226 hidden away? The aircraft is currently under rebuild to display condition by the
Station Museum at Montrose in Scotland.



Avro C.19 VV973/G covered for the RAF Jurby based TX226 for a short period during July 1959 and made 3 visits f&t RAF Jurby in a three week time-span.

CIVILIAN ANSON AIRCRAFT IN THE 1950s and 1960s.

Federated Air Transport (Federated Fruit) of Liverpool had 3 Avro Anson I aircraft operating for them from Speke in the period March 1954 until the final pair were sold and departed 12th April 1961, at a time when Certificate of Airworthiness regulations were changing and the maintenance for commercial operation of aircraft such as the Anson was becoming very difficult as a result. I'll just show one image of each of their Ansons here, I'll add more into their company history elsewhere on NWAN.



G-AIPA was in service with Federated Fruit March 1954 to February 1958. Photo undated.

G-ALXC was in service March 1954 through until withdrawn and sold 1961, together with cockpit detail during 1961. Aircraft photo is undated.



G-AMBE was in service October 1958 through until withdrawn and sold 1961. Photo undated. The location is down towards the river, beyond Hangar 50.

There were other civilian Ansons visiting Liverpool too. Avro 19 EI-AGW was formerly G-AIYK and was Irish registered only April 1955 to October 1956, and is known to have visited
Speke on Wednesday 1st June 1955.



G-AMDA of Canadian Aero Service Ltd, operated by Derby Aviation Ltd, was equipped as a survey aircraft. Here at Speke on 6th June 1960. This aircraft is today preserved at Duxford as N4877/MK:V.



G-AHKX operated by Meridian Air Maps at Liverpool 13th April 1963. Later this aircraft was completely rebuilt and now flies with the Shuttleworth Trust at Old Warden.



G-APHV of Survey Flights Ltd visiting Liverpool on 17th August 1967.



WD413 Avro C.19 at the 1982 Liverpool Air Show. The aircraft at this time was registered G-BFIR and operated by Air Atlantique. Over the years has worn a variety of colour schemes and is currently G-VROE and based at Sleap, one of only two airworthy Ansons in Europe. This aircraft had previously visited Speke 21 years before on Friday 2nd September 1960 as a Communications Unit transport, f&t Booker.

[viscount]

FINAL APPEARANCES OF THE BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER AT LIVERPOOL

I've known about the existence of the photo below for quite some years, indeed it was used by Graham Ward in FoLA's 09/27. Feel it is time for another public airing of a surprising photo. The Beaufighter is very much linked to the 1939-1945 period, however there are two references in Phil Butler's logs of visits by Beaufighters to Speke in the early 1950s.

1950

Beaufighter TT.10 RD547/TH:N of 20 Squadron on 18th October 1950. No.20 Squadron between February 1949 and October 1951 operated in a Anti-Aircraft Co-operation (AAC) role initially based at Llanbedr, and from July 1949 at RAF Valley, although they frequently flew from Llanbedr. The operation of the AAC target-tug Beaufighters at Llanbedr is often referred to as No.5 CAACU (Civil Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit), I cannot establish if the two units operated together for a period, or if 5 CAACU was established when No.20 Squadron disbanded and was reformed in Germany with Vampires.

1951

A further Beaufighter TT.10 visit is recorded on 1st January 1951 with a visit by RD783/K. The fate of this aircraft has recently been covered and illustrated on NWAN Nostalgia in the Liverpool Airport and Region Aircraft Accidents and Incidents thread as on 14th May 1955 RD783/K crash landed at Bromborough on finals for RAF Hooton. Find page 3 of link: derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/13889/liverpool-aviation-accidents-incidents?



The image that triggered this post, Bristol Beaufighter TT.10 RD547/TH:M on start-up on the apron at Liverpool Airport 18th October 1950, as seen from the public balcony.
I have no idea what the structure down by the river bank is, but it must have been only temporary.

THE FINAL YEARS OF THE DH.98 MOSQUITO AT LIVERPOOL

The Mosquito outlived the Beaufighter in the CAACU role. The final operation of Mosquitos through Liverpool in the mid 50s with the THum Flight, Woodvale is covered with lots of detail and images on the thread: derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/13753/flight-woodvale-speke-images-restored

While Mosquito TA634 which was brought to Liverpool for preservation in 1963 until 1970 is covered on: derbosoft.proboards.com/thread/2946/d-h-98-mosquito-ta634