Airspeed Courier

Any ideas as to her wartime usage /activities?

Chumpy, your wish is my command!

Peter Moss in Vol. 1 of ‘Impressments Log’ had this to say –

“[Impressed] 14.4.40. Used by the A.T.A. at Hawarden until it was flown to Portsmouth for its annual overhaul on 14.3.41. Delivered to Boulton & Paul, on loan, for communications duties 28.2.42. Returned to Portsmouth on 25.7.43 as Cat. B and delivered to No. 51 M.U. on 30.9.43, although it was passed to No. 5 M.U. five days later. X9437 was SOC on 12.4.44 as Cat. E1 but was reassembled for sale at Kemble in December 1945. It was sold to S/Ldr. R.J.Jones on 18.1.46………….”

and here endeth its service history. The entry for the Courier ends by saying that G-ACVF –

“was used for joy-riding till its C.of A. expired on 18.12.47 and was then WFU at Southend.”

Perhaps the ‘lack of spares’ bit, is a polite way of saying the thing was a bit knackered and rotten!!

Possibly well thrashed during her five year period of military impressment as X9347. Any ideas as to her wartime usage /activities?

Chumpy.

I would hazard that the “lack of spares” quoted by A.J.J. was a valid reason as only about six aircraft were still usable in 1939 of which only VF survived the war and as this had a Lynx engine of which there can’t have been too many spares left. A.J.J. also flew in this a/c in 1947 so I think he had his finger on the pulse generally. There would be no backup from Airspeed (or was it DH by then).

John

Aw c’mon – someone out there must know something!