Probably the most loved aircraft in our current fleet, our Avro Anson is a fairly late model, build in 1950 as a navigational trainer. But the design was almost nearly 20 years old by then!

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The Avro Anson entered service in 1936, when it became the RAF's first type to feature retractable undercarriage. The first aircraft to enter service did so with Coastal Command, where they carried out reconnaissance and anti-shipping patrol duties. These early aircraft carried a fixed forward firing machine gun and a further gun mounted in a movable dorsal turret. Instead of the individual windows on our aircraft, early Ansons had fully glazed sides which exposed the network of struts and bracing inside the wood and fabric fuselage, conferring to their alternative nickname, "Flying Greenhouse".  

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But it was as "Faithful Annie" that the marvellous Anson became most widely known. They were renowned for their reliability, safety and ability to absorb damage. As more than one wartime pilot commented, "Whatever happened, you could always rely on old Annie to get you home safe."

 

Large numbers of the type served in the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and numerous other air forces before, during, and after the Second World War. The Anson remained in use until 1972.

 

Our Anson, G-VROE, is the only one of it's kind left flying in the UK today.