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Westland Lysander

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Lysander
Westland Lysander III (SD), the type used for special missions into occupied France during World War II.
Type Army co-operation
Manufacturer Westland
Designed by Arthur Davenport
Maiden flight 15 June 1936
Retired 1946 (UK)
Status Out of service
Primary users Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
Egyptian Air Force
U.S. Army Air Force
Number built 1,786

The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft used in the Second World War. It achieved fame through its ability to operate from short stretches of unprepared airstrip and its clandestine missions to plant or retrieve agents from behind enemy lines, particularly in Nazi-occupied France. Like other British army air co-operation aeroplanes, it was given the name of a military leader, in this case, the Spartan Lysander.

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. 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. The Westland design, internally designated P.8, was the work of Arthur Davenport under the direction of "Teddy" Petter. It was Petter's second aircraft design and he spent considerable time interviewing RAF pilots to find out what they wanted from such an aircraft, suggesting that field of view, low-speed handling characteristics and STOL performance were the most important factors.

Davenport and Petter worked to design an aircraft around the requested features: the result was highly unconventional and looked, by its 15 June 1936 maiden flight, rather antiquated. The Lysander featured a Bristol Mercury radial engine, high gull wings and a fixed taildragger landing gear inside huge spats. The spats had mountings for small, removable stub wings that could be used to carry bombs or supply canisters. In appearance it was not dissimilar to the Polish LWS-3 Mewa.

It was equipped with automatic wing slats and slotted flaps, which were novel features for the era. The combination of these wing enhancements gave the Lysander a stalling speed of 65 mph.[1] It also featured the largest Elektron alloy extrusion made at the time: a single piece inside the spats supporting the landing gear wheels. 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.

Operational history

File:MAD 000290.jpg
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).

The first Lysanders entered service in June 1938 equipping squadrons for "Army Co-operation" and were initially used for message-dropping and artillery spotting. 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. Four regular squadrons equipped with Lysanders accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France. 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. 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 1940/1941, dropping dinghies to downed pilots.

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. Among its aircraft were Lysander IIIs, which would fly over and land in France. While general supply drops could be left to the rest of No. 138's aircraft, the Lysander could insert agents on and off the continent, or bring back any downed allied aircrew who had been sheltered by the French. In this role, the Lysander proved to be outstanding, and it continued in this role 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 in country 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.[2] 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. All British Lysanders were withdrawn from service in 1946.

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). 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

File:Westland Lysander IIIA.jpg
A Westland Lysander IIIA preserved at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Lysander I
Powered by one 664-kW (890-hp) Bristol Mercury XII radial piston engine. Two forward-firing 0.303 in (7.7-mm) Browning machine guns in wheel fairings and one pintle-mounted Lewis or Vickers K gun for the observer. 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.1
Lysander Mk 1s converted into target tugs.
Lysander II
Powered by one 675-kW (905-hp) Bristol Perseus XII radial piston engine.
Lysander TT.II
Target tug conversion of the Lysander Mk II.
Lysander III
Powered by one 649-kW (870-hp) Bristol Mercury XX or 30 radial piston engine, 350 delivered from July 1940. Twin 7.7-mm (0.303-inch) Browning machine guns in the rear cockpit for the observer.
Lysander IIIA
Similar to the Lysander Mk I. Twin 7.7-mm (0.303-inch) Lewis machine guns in the rear cockpit for the observer.
Lysander III SCW
Special version for clandestine operations. No armament, long-range fuel tank, fixed external ladder.
Lysander TT.III
Lysander Mk Is, Mk IIs and Mk IIIs converted into target tugs.
Lysander TT.IIIA
100 dedicated target tugs.
Lysander Delanne
Modified Lysander with large twin-tail and tail turret.

Operators

Main article: List of Westland Lysander operators

Survivors

File:Westland Lysander at BCATPM.jpg
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 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).

A number of Lysanders are in museums in Canada including a Mk II (serial no. R9003) at the Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Canada. 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. 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. 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. It is a regular at several vintage airshows, including the Shuttleworth displays and "Flying Legends" at Duxford.

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)

General characteristics

  • Crew: One, pilot
  • Capacity: 1 passenger (or observer)
  • Length: 30 ft 6 in (9.29 m)
  • Wingspan: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
  • Height: 11 ft 6 in (3.50 m)
  • Wing area: 260 ft² (24.2 m²)
  • Empty weight: 4,044 lb (1,834 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 5,833 lb (2,645 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 6,305 lb (2,866 kg)
  • Powerplant: 1× Bristol Mercury XX radial engine, 870 hp (649 kW)

Performance

Armament

  • Two forward-firing .303 in (7.7-mm) Browning machine guns in wheel fairings
  • Two .303 Lewis guns for the observer
  • Four 20 lb (9 kg) bombs under rear fuselage.
  • Stub wings, if fitted, can carry 500 lb (227 kg) of bombs.

See also

Comparable aircraft

Related lists

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References

Notes

  1. ↑ Taylor, John W. R. "Westland Lysander." Combat Aircraft of the World from 1909 to the present. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. p. 443. ISBN 0-425-03633-2.
  2. ↑ Gunston, B. Classic World War II Aircraft Cutaways. London: Osprey, 1995. ISBN 1-85532-526-8.

Bibliography

  • Donald, David and Lake, Jon. (eds.) Encyclopedia of World Military Aircraft. London: AIRtime Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-880588-24-2.
  • Hall, Alan W. Westland Lysander, Warpaint Series No. 48. Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: Warpaint Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 970-000000-704-7.
  • James, Derek N. Westland: A History. Gloucestershire, UK: Tempus Publishing Ltd, 2002. ISBN 0-7524-2772-5.
  • Knightly, James. Westand Lysander. Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2006. ISBN 83-917178-4-4.
  • Mason, Francis K. The Westland Lysander, Aircraft in Profile Number 159. Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications, 1967. No ISBN.
  • Mondey, David. Westland (Planemakers 2). London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0134-4.
  • Ovčáčík, Michal and Susa, Karel. Westland Lysander Mks.I, II, III/IIIA, III(SD)/IIIA(SD), TT Mks. I, II, III. Prague, Czech Republic: Mark 1 Ltd., 1999. ISBN 80-902559-1-4.
  • Robertson, Bruce. Lysander Special. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1977. ISBN 0-7110-0764-0.

External links

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v • d • e
Lists relating to aviation
GeneralTimeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
MilitaryAir forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable incidents
and accidents		Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths
RecordsFlight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft

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