Baldonnel yesteryear

[Tony Kearns]

Hi IAS,
This is not a criticism OK?, the correct designation is Avro XIX Civil Photographic that is the CAA identification. I realise that the three were always referred to as Ansons and appeared in pilots log books as either Anson or A 141 etc. Its last flight was in January 1962 hence its grubby appearance in the picture. It differed from the RAF Anson 19 with which it is often compared. The same applies (here we go again) as in the case of the GSU fixed wing aircraft as according to the CAA it is an Islander, Defender series. Some will say splitting hairs, but it depends on how accurate you want to be, I wish to try to attain accuracy. Glad you liked the Vampires, I too always liked them but I do not think that they would have caught a Canberra, remember it held the altitude record for a long time.
Tony K

[sealion]

I remember the Commentator at the 2000 airshow getting into a public debate with the Air Corps commentator on the CASAs. The Commentator insisted that they were built by Airtech in Indonesia,while the Air Corps chap(May have been Kevin Byrne) suggested they both go to the aircrafts nameplate to find exactly where it says "Deanta in espana" '>

[R.P.Y.]

Excellent pics Tony, brings back memories, I worked on many of these aircraft while in the Don 1973 to 1978. The 'Anson' spent all of that time in the 'Apprentice Hanger' except for the odd Families Day outing.

[Irish251]

In relation to intercepting the Canberra, English Electric's Chief Test Pilot, R.P. Beamont, recounted that in 1951 he flew a Canberra B.2 through US airspace at 50,000 ft. while en route from Gander to Baltimore.  

USAF F-86 fighters attempted to intercept it but, embarrassingly, ran out of "puff" at 42,000 ft.  The Canberra further annoyed the Americans by refusing to disclose its height to ATC, on the basis that this was classified info!  

I think it's safe, on the basis of this account, to say that a Vampire would have fallen well short of a Canberra at its maximum cruise level.

[pym]

i was under the impression the canberra flew quite low

i dare say if it had been at 50,000ft it wouldnt have been noticed in the first place

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi all
With regard to official designations of aircraft,confusion can readily arise.In the case of the Islander/Defender, the Air Corps' aircraft is an Islander first and a Defender second.It is still a BN-2 but flies under turbine power hence the 2T subtype.A person is not wrong in calling it an Islander.To avoid having to undergo an expensive  certification of what is essentially the same aircraft, the manufacturers are still using the same Type Certificate but with an addendum to allow for the modification to turbine power.An extreme example is the Fokker 50, late of Aer Lingus.It was radically different than it's forebear, the F27, but it is designated the F27 Mk 050, so as not to have to recertify at huge expense.
regards
GttC

[John K]

Excellent photo's, Tony. I'm glad you can share them with us-keep them coming! On the subject of numbers, I'd like to know what happened to the -300 and -400 series Tristars!