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Lysander

Westland Lysander Mk. III(SD), the type used for special missions into occupied France during World War II.

Type Army co-operation & liaison aircraft
Manufacturer Westland Aircraft
Designed by Arthur Davenport, Teddy Petter
Maiden flight 15 June 1936
Introduction June 1938
Retired 1946 (UK)
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Egyptian Air Force
United States Army Air Forces
Number built 1,786

The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft. A liaison aircraft is a small usually unarmed Aircraft developed before World War II and primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing building testing selling and maintaining Aircraft, Aircraft parts Westland Aircraft was a British Aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset. William Edward Willoughby Petter (1908-1968 known as Teddy, was a British Aircraft designer He designed the Lysander, Whirlwind The maiden flight of an Aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1936: Events February British Marine Aircraft Ltd This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1938: Events Imperial Airways inaugurates scheduled service from London This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1946: Events January January 1 - a British South American Airways The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF (القوات الجوية المصرية) is the aviation branch of the Egyptian armed forces. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A liaison aircraft is a small usually unarmed Aircraft developed before World War II and primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting Westland Aircraft was a British Aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset. It was used during the Second World War and was renowned for its ability to operate from small, unprepared airstrips. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including This exceptional short-field performance made possible clandestine missions behind enemy lines that placed or recovered agents, particularly in occupied France. STOL is an Initialism for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe Aircraft with very short Runway requirements The German occupation of France in World War II occurred during the period between May 1940 to December 1944 Like other British army air co-operation aircraft, it was given the name of a military leader; in this case, the Spartan general Lysander. The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη Lysander (died 395 BC Λύσανδρος, Lýsandros) was a Spartan General and the commander of the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which was victorious

Contents

Design and development

In 1934, the Air Ministry issued the Specification A.39/34 for an army co-operation aircraft to replace the Hawker Hector. This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1934: Events January January 10 - 11 - A flight of six US The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force. This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM specifications for Aircraft. The Hawker Hector was intended as a replacement for the Hawker Audax Army co-operation aircraft Initially, Hawker Aircraft, Avro and Bristol were invited to submit designs, but after some debate within the Ministry, a submission from Westland was invited as well. Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history Avro was a British Aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally British and Colonial Aeroplane Company was a major British aviation company The Westland design, internally designated P. 8, was the work of Arthur Davenport under the direction of W.E.W. (Teddy) Petter. Chaka Fattah (born Arthur Davenport on November 21 1956 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) has served as a Democratic member of the William Edward Willoughby Petter (1908-1968 known as Teddy, was a British Aircraft designer He designed the Lysander, Whirlwind It was Petter's second aircraft design and he spent considerable time interviewing Royal Air Force pilots to find out what they wanted from such an aircraft. The result of Petter's enquiries suggested that field of view, low-speed handling characteristics and STOL performance were the most important requirements. STOL is an Initialism for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe Aircraft with very short Runway requirements

Davenport and Petter worked to design an aircraft around these features: the result was unconventional and looked, by its 15 June 1936 maiden flight, rather antiquated. Events 763 BC - Assyrians record a Solar eclipse that will be used to fix the Chronology of Mesopotamian history Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Lysander was powered by a Bristol Mercury air-cooled radial engine, high gull wings and a fixed taildragger landing gear faired inside large, streamlined spats. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion Engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central The gull wing is an aircraft configuration with a prominent bend in the Wing somewhere along the span, generally near the Wing root. Conventional landing gear describes an Undercarriage arrangement consisting of two main weight-bearing wheels forward of the aircraft's Centre of gravity, the Spats are a type of Shoe Accessory worn in the late 19th and early 20th century The spats had mountings for small, removable stub wings that could be used to carry light bombs or supply canisters. In appearance it was not dissimilar to the Polish LWS-3 Mewa. The LWS-3 Mewa (" Seagull " was the Polish observation and close Reconnaissance aircraft, designed in the late-1930s by the LWS

Despite its appearance, the Lysander was aerodynamically advanced; it was equipped with automatic wing slats, slotted flaps and a variable incidence tailplane. Slats is also a nickname for Australian cricketer Michael Slater, and NHL executive Glen Sather Slats are Aerodynamic Flaps are hinged surfaces on the trailing edge of the wings of a Fixed-wing aircraft. Angle of incidence is a measure of deviation of something from "straight on" for example in the approach of a ray to a surface or the angle These refinements gave the Lysander a stalling speed of only 65 mph (104 km/h, 56. 5 knots)[1]. It also featured the largest Elektron alloy extrusion made at the time: a single piece inside the spats supporting the wheels. Elektron is the registered Trademark of Magnesium Elektron Limited for a range of Magnesium Alloys The alloys include varying amounts of The Air Ministry requested two prototypes of the P. 8 and the competing Bristol Type 148, quickly selecting the Westland aircraft for production, issuing a contract in September 1936. This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1936: Events February British Marine Aircraft Ltd

Operational history

December 1942. Four Lysander Mark IIIAs of No. 1433 Flight RAF, based at Ivato, over a typical Madagascar landscape, shortly after the official end of the Madagascar campaign. (Photographer: Sgt J.D. Morris).
December 1942. Four Lysander Mark IIIAs of No. 1433 Flight RAF, based at Ivato, over a typical Madagascar landscape, shortly after the official end of the Madagascar campaign. Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern The Battle of Madagascar (or Operation Ironclad) was the Allied campaign to capture Vichy French -controlled Madagascar during World (Photographer: Sgt J. D. Morris).

The first Lysanders entered service in June 1938 equipping squadrons for army co-operation and were initially used for message-dropping and artillery spotting. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. An artillery observer is a soldier responsible for directing Artillery fire and Close air support (ground attack by aircraft onto enemy positions When war broke out in Europe, the earlier Mk Is had been largely replaced by Mk. IIs, the older machines heading for the Middle East. Some of these aircraft, now designated type L. 1, operated with the Chindits of the British Indian Army in the Burma Campaign of World War II. The Chindits (Officially in 1942 77th Indian Infantry Brigade and in 1943 Indian 3rd Infantry Division) were a British Indian Army "Special Force" that served See Indian Army for the post-independence (and post- partition) army of the Republic of India. The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including [2] Four regular squadrons equipped with Lysanders accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France. The British Expeditionary Force ( BEF) was the British army sent to the Western Front in France and Belgium on the outbreak of This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. These were put into action as spotters and light bombers. In spite of occasional victories against German aircraft, they made very easy targets for the Luftwaffe unless escorted by Hurricanes. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Almost half the Lysanders operating in and over France were lost and, with the fall of France, the type was quickly withdrawn from its army co-operation role. Back in England some went to work operating air-sea rescue for RAF pilots in the English Channel. Fourteen squadrons and flights were formed for this work during 1940-41, dropping dinghies to downed pilots.

Special duties

In August 1941, a new squadron, No. 138 (Special Duties), was formed to undertake missions for the Special Operations Executive to maintain contact with the French Resistance. No 138 Squadron RAF was a Squadron of the Royal Air Force, last disbanded in 1962 The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) (sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars " after Sherlock Holmes ' fictional group of helpers The French Resistance is the collective name used for the French Resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German Among its aircraft were Lysander Mk. IIIs, which would fly over and land in occupied France. While general supply drops could be left to the rest of No. 138's aircraft, the Lysander could insert and remove agents from the continent or retrieve allied aircrew who had been shot down over occupied territory and had escaped capture. For this role, the Mk IIIs were fitted with a fixed entry / exit ladder over the port side to hasten access to the rear cockpit and a large drop tank under the belly. The term drop tank (or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks in both aeronautics and spaceflight The Lysander proved to be a success in this role and continued to undertake such duties until the liberation of France in 1944.

Flying on moonless nights and without any navigation equipment other than a map and compass, Lysanders would land on short strips of land, such as fields, marked out by 4 or 5 torches. They were only designed to carry one passenger in the rear cockpit, but in case of urgent necessity, two could be carried in extreme discomfort. In this manner, the pilots of No. 138 and, from early 1942, No. 161 Squadron delivered 101 and recovered 128 agents from Nazi occupied Europe. No 161 Squadron RAF was a daylight bombing unit present in World War I using the Airco DH Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German [3] The Lysanders were painted matt black and flew from secret airfields at Newmarket and later Tempsford, but used regular RAF stations to fuel up for the actual crossing, particularly RAF Tangmere. RAF Tempsford in Bedfordshire, England was perhaps the most secret Royal Air Force airfield in World War II. RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, located at Tangmere village about 3 miles east of Chichester

Free French

The Lysander also joined the ranks of the Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (Free French Air Force, FAFL) when Groupe Mixte de Combat (GMC) 1, formed at RAF Odiham on 29 August 1940, was sent to French North-West Africa in order both to persuade the authorities in countries like Gabon, Cameroon and Chad, which were still loyal to Vichy France, to join the Gaullist cause against the Axis powers, and to attack Italian ground forces in Libya. The Free French Air Force (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres FAFL were the air arm of Free French Forces during the Second World War. RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the historic small village of Odiham in Hampshire, England Events 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708) This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1940: Events January January 6 - During the Winter War between Gabon (gəˈbɒn or /gaˈbõ/ in French) is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. Chad (Tchad تشاد Tshād) officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a Landlocked country in Central Africa. Vichy France, or the Vichy regime are the common terms used to describe the government of France from July 1940 to August 1944 Gaullism (Gaullisme is a French political ideology based on the thought and action of Charles de Gaulle. The Axis powers also known as the Axis alliance Axis nations Axis countries or sometimes just the Axis were those Countries Libya ( ليبيا ar-Latn Lībiyā; Libyan vernacular: Lībya; Amazigh:) officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab As with all FAFL aircraft, the Lysanders sported the Cross of Lorraine insignia on the fuselage and the wings, as opposed to the tricolor roundel first used in 1914, in order to distinguish their aircraft from those flying for the Vichy French Air Force. This article is about a symbol For the film see The Cross of Lorraine. The Lysanders were mostly employed on reconnaissance missions but were also used to carry out occasional attacks. A total of 24 Lysanders was used by the FAFL.

Other duties

The type also filled other, less glamorous roles such as target-towing and communication aircraft. Two aircraft (T1443 and T1739) were transferred to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) for training and 18 were used by the Fleet Air Arm. The British Overseas Airways Corporation ( BOAC) was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships All British Lysanders were withdrawn from service in 1946. This is a list of Aviation -related events from 1946: Events January January 1 - a British South American Airways

Export customers of the type included Finland (Mk I: 4, Mk III: 9), Ireland (Mk II: 6), Turkey (Mk II: 36), Portugal (Mk IIIA: 8), the United States (25), India (22) and Egypt (20). The Finnish Air Force (FAF ( Finnish: Ilmavoimat, Swedish: Flygvapnet) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Irish Air Corps (Aer Chór na hÉireann provides the air defence function of Oglaigh na hÉireann ( the Irish Defence Forces) in support of the Army and The Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri is a branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Portuguese Air Force ( PoAF) (Força Aérea Portuguesa FAP) is the Air force of Portugal. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. The Indian Air Force (Devanāgarī भारतीय वायु सेना IAST Bhartiya Vāyu Senā is the air arm of the Armed Forces of India and has the The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF (القوات الجوية المصرية) is the aviation branch of the Egyptian armed forces. Egyptian Lysanders were the last to see active service, against Israel in the War of Independence in 1948.

A total of 1,786 were built, including 225 Canadian examples that were licence-built during the late 1930s.

Variants

A Westland Lysander IIIA preserved at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
A Westland Lysander IIIA preserved at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Lysander Mk. The Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM's annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in I
Powered by one 890 hp (664 kW) Bristol Mercury XII radial piston engine. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Two forward-firing 0.303 in (7. 7 mm) Browning machine guns in wheel fairings and one pintle-mounted 0. The Browning M1919 is a.30 caliber Medium machine gun family widely used during the 20th century 303 in (7. 7 mm) Lewis or Vickers K machine gun in rear cockpit. The Lewis Gun is a pre- World War I era Squad automatic weapon / Machine gun of American design that was most widely used by the forces of the British The Vickers K gun known as the Vickers Gas Operated (VGO in British service was a rapid-firing Machine gun developed and manufactured for use in Optional spat-mounted stub wings carried 500 lb (227 kg) of bombs. Four 20 lb (9 kg) bombs could be carried under rear fuselage.
Lysander TT Mk I
Lysander Mk Is converted into target tugs.
Lysander Mk II
Powered by one 905 hp (675 kW) Bristol Perseus XII radial piston engine. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
Lysander TT Mk II
Target tug conversion of the Lysander Mk. II.
Lysander Mk III
Powered by one 870 hp (649 kW) Bristol Mercury XX or 30 radial piston engine, 350 delivered from July 1940. Twin 0. 303 in (7. 7 mm) Browning guns in rear cockpit.
Lysander Mk IIIA
Similar to the Lysander Mk I. Twin 0. 303 in (7. 7 mm) Lewis guns in rear cockpit.
Lysander Mk III SCW
Special version for clandestine operations. No armament, long-range fuel tank, fixed external ladder.
Lysander TT Mk III
Lysander Mk Is, Mk IIs and Mk IIIs converted into target tugs.
Lysander TT Mk IIIA
100 dedicated target tugs.
P. 12 Lysander Delanne
Experiment to try adapting the Lysander as a turret fighter, with twin tailed Delanne tandem wing and 4-gun Nash & Thomson power-operated tail gun turret replacing the empennage. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A twin tail is a specific type of Vertical stabilizer arrangement found on some Aircraft. A tandem wing aircraft usually involves two full-sized Wings both of which are full Airfoils. Nash & Thomson was a British engineering firm that specialised in the production of hydraulically-operated Gun turrets for aircraft A gun turret is a device that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions Empennage émpənij is an Aviation term used to describe the Tail portion of an Aircraft. [4]. Never proceeded past flying prototype with turret mock-up. A prototype is an original type form or instance of something serving as a typical example basis or standard for other things of the same category

Operators

Main article: List of Westland Lysander operators

Survivors

Westland Lysander Mk IIIA at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Westland Lysander Mk IIIA at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

A small number are preserved in museums in the UK and Canada and elsewhere. The following are units which operated the Westland Lysander. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres FFL) were French fighters in World War II who decided to continue fighting against Axis forces Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Brandon is a City in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. The surrounding area is often referred to as " Westman " Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, in the Udvar-Hazy Center located in the Chantilly, Virginia, suburb of Washington DC near Dulles International Airport has a Westland Lysander IIIA on display, painted in the markings of No. 138 Squadron RAF (famed for their clandestine missions in wartime Europe). The National Air and Space Museum (NASM of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington D The Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM's annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D Washington Dulles International Airport is a public Airport located 25 miles (40 km) west of the Central business district of Washington D No 138 Squadron RAF was a Squadron of the Royal Air Force, last disbanded in 1962

A number of Lysanders are in museums in Canada including a Mk II (serial no. R9003) at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Canada. The Canada Aviation Museum ( French: Musée de l'aviation du Canada) is the national aviation history Museum, located in Ottawa (ˈɒtəwə or sometimes /ˈɒtəwɑː/ is the Capital of Canada and the country's fourth largest municipality. This example is a composite of three aircraft and was restored by the RCAF as a Centennial project in 1967. A Mk IIIA (serial no. 2361) is in flying condition at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Ontario. See also List of attractions in Hamilton Ontario The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is a major Canadian aviation museum Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec It currently is painted in No. 400 "City of Toronto" RCAF Squadron markings. A Lysander IIIT was also on display at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada until July 2003 when it was disassembled and shipped to a museum in Portugal. The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum is located at the Brandon Municipal Airport in Brandon Manitoba. Brandon is a City in southwestern Manitoba, Canada. The surrounding area is often referred to as " Westman " Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Like many of the Lysanders that were retained in Canada as training aircraft, it was resplendent in bright "trainer" yellow.

The world's last airworthy Lysander is part of the Shuttleworth Collection based at Old Warden Airfield, Bedfordshire. The Shuttleworth Collection is an aeronautical and automotive museum located at the Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, England. Old Warden is a Village in Bedfordshire, England just west of the town of Biggleswade. Bedfordshire (abbreviated Beds) is a County in England that forms part of the East of England region. It is a regular at several vintage airshows, including the Shuttleworth displays and "Flying Legends" at Duxford. Duxford Aerodrome is located 8 Nautical miles (148 km south of Cambridge in the village of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England

A Lysander Mk IIIT (serial no. 1589) is a Canadian-built trainer on display at the Indian Air Force Museum (IAFM) at Palam, New Delhi.

Specifications (Lysander Mk III)

Orthographic projection of the Lysander Mk.I, with profile view of the Mk.III(SD) covert operations aircraft.
Orthographic projection of the Lysander Mk. I, with profile view of the Mk. III(SD) covert operations aircraft.

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

See also

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

References

Notes

  1. ^ Taylor 1969. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Henschel Hs 126 was a German two seater Reconnaissance and observation aircraft of World War II that derived from the Henschel Hs 122. Many aircraft types have served in the Royal Air Force since it was formed in 1918 by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service. This is a list of aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. For an explanation of the alphanumeric codes that follow many of the aircraft please see here. This list of military aircraft of the United States includes prototype pre-production and operational types p. 443.
  2. ^ Masters,  John. The Road Past Mandalay  Bengal-Rockland, 1961
  3. ^ Gunston, B. Classic World War II Aircraft Cutaways. London: Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-526-8.
  4. ^ Lysander Hybrid

Bibliography

External links

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