Aeroplane Monthly 1986-05
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Personal album
Hawker Hart K3897 was built by Armstrong Whitworth and was first issued to 602 Squadron in mid-1934. It then passed to the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell; but on December 5, 1936 it lost out in an argument with a wall during an approach to Barkston and its flying career came to an end. Though superseded by the Hawker Hind and other types at home the Hart light bomber lingered on at the North-west Frontier of India until the outbreak of war in 1939.
Bristol Bulldog IIA K2166 was first delivered to 19 Sqn towards the end of 1931. After a period with the RAE it arrived at the Royal Air Force College, where it remained until October 21, 1935, when it was destroyed after failing to recover from a spin.
Hawker Fury I K2876 was delivered to the RAF in December 1932. Part of a batch often aircraft, K2876 entered service with 3 FTS and then passed to 6 FTS. In January 1940 the Fury became 1719M and presumably became an instructional airframe. Total production of the Fury I for the RAF amounted to 117 aircraft, built between 1930 and 1935. The type was allocated to Nos 1, 25 and 43 Squadrons and remained in first-line service until 1939.
Fairey Gordon I K2717. It was delivered to the RAF in 1932 and first flew with 1 Air Armament School (AAS) before pass­ing to 1 Armament Training Station (ATS). On August .5, 1939, K2717 was transferred to the Royal New Zealand Air Force. A total of 271 Gordons was built, including a number of converted Fairey IIIFs, from which the type derived.
Avro Tutor K3213 spent most of its flying life at the RAF College. In May 1938 it was grounded and given the serial number 1063M.
This Hawker Osprey III carrier-borne fighter, K3652, is seen high and dry at Cranwell during a visit there in 1935. It was delivered to 802 Sqn FA A in 1934 and ended its days at Orkvenica in Yugoslavia on July 29, 1938.
The Armstrong Whitworth Atlas Trainer was a two-seat dual-control trainer variant of the army co-operation Atlas. K1478 was probably delivered to the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell during the winter of 1930-31. Its flying career came to an abrupt end on October 22, 1935 when it spun in and was destroyed. The Atlas Trainer was issued to a number of training schools for advanced instruction and as a station communications aircraft. It differed in appearance from the standard Atlas by way of the modified rear cockpit, deletion of the Scarff gun-ring, the absence of the characteristic message hook and the forward-firing Vickers
A total of 124 D.H.60 Moths was built for the RAF. K1844 was a D.H.60M, a strengthened version of the Moth with a welded steel tube fuselage and wide cockpit doors. K1844 appears to have spent most of its time with the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell and was struck off RAF charge on February 27, 1939.