Lysander Aircraft - The Westland Lysander is a British Army support and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during World War II.
Outdated in an army support role, the aircraft's short performance enabled covert missions using small improvised airstrips behind Allied lines, particularly in occupied France with the help of the French Resistance. , to transplant or restore opal. Royal Air Force Co-operation aircraft are named after legendary or historical military leaders; In this case it was Spartan Admiral Lysander Chaos.
Lysander Aircraft
In 1934 the Air Ministry issued the specification A.39/34 for Army support aircraft to replace the Hawker Hector. Hawker Aircraft, Avro, and Bristol were initially invited to submit designs, but after some discussion within the Ministry, a submission from Westland was also invited. Westland Design, internally named P. 8, was the work of Arthur Dufport under the direction of "Teddy" Peter. This was Peter's second aircraft, and he spent a great deal of time interviewing RAF pilots to find out what they wanted from such aircraft. The Army wanted tactical and artillery reconnaissance aircraft at a height of about 15,000 yd (14 km) behind the Emmy front—to provide photographic reconnaissance and artillery fire observation in daylight. Results of Pater's empirical questions indicated that field of view, low-speed processing characteristics, and STOL performance were important requirements.
Westland Lysander Mark I Squadron 225 Model
Westland Lysander Mk.III (SD) in all black camouflage as used for special night missions in occupied France during World War II.
Dufport and Butter designed an aircraft to incorporate these features. The Lysander was to be powered by a Bristol Mercury air-cooled radial engine and had high wings and fixed conventional landing gear mounted on an inverted square-section U-tube supporting the wing struts at the top, and using inboard fountains for the gallery. The large streamlined clips on the wheels also contained a mount for a Browning machine gun and fittings for the removable wings which could carry light bombs or supply canisters.
The wings had a reverse turn towards the root, giving the impression of a BT gull wing from some angles, although the finches were straight. It had a keel-type hull with light wood stringers to give it an aerodynamic shape. The forward fuselage was duralumin tube attached with brackets and panels, and the next section was joined with stainless steel tubes. The panels and brackets are cut from channel extrusions rather than formed from sheet steel. The front strut and lift struts were projectiles. The wing itself was fabric covered and had a greater thickness at the strut anchorage, similar to the later markings of the Stinson Reliant high-wing transport monoplane.
Despite its looks, the Lysander was aerodynamically advanced; Equipped with fully automatic wing slides and slotted flaps
Take To The Skies
And a variable incidence tail plane. These improvements gave the Lysander a stopping speed of only 65 mph (56 kn; 105 km/h).
The tube supporting the wings and wheels was the largest e-alloy extrusion ever built. One such large extrusion was a conventionally built assembly due to the difficulties involved in building the Canadian-made machines. Ordering two prototypes of the P.8 and a competing Bristol Type 148 aircraft, the Air Ministry quickly selected Westland Aircraft for production and issued a contract in September 1936.
The high-lift hardware gave the Lysander short takeoff and landing (STOL) performance that was greatly appreciated by special mission pilots such as Squadron Leader Hugh Verity. The wings were fitted with automatic slats that retracted away from the leading edge as the airspeed decreased towards stall speed. These chips control the automatic flaps. So the slow ride was greatly simplified, "and Lysander could have been brought to the ground, if not like an elevator, then at least like an escalator."
The inner slats were attached to the flaps and an air damper in the port wing that controlled the running speed of the slats. The outer slats were fully functional, disconnected and each fitted with an air damper. On a normal approach, as the airspeed drops to about 85 mph (74 kn; 137 kn/h) and halves to 80 mph (70 kn; 130 kn; 130 km/h), inboard slides and flaps will begin. The pilot has a locking lever that he can set to automatically lock the flaps after they have landed.
Raf Museum's Westland Lysander Returned To Her Former Glory
The first Lysanders left service in June 1938, formed squadrons to support the Army and were initially used to drop messages and artillery signs. When war broke out in Europe, the older Mk.Is were replaced by Mk.IIs, older machines destined for the Middle East. Some of these aircraft, now designated the Type L. 1, served with the British Indian Chindits in the Burma Campaign of World War II.
Four regular squadrons equipped with Lysanders escorted the British Expeditionary Force to France in October 1939, and another squadron joined them in early 1940. After the German invasion of France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940, the Lysanders were called to duty as observers. and light bombers. Despite occasional victories against German aircraft, they made very easy targets for the Luftwaffe Eve by storm.
After their withdrawal from France during the Dunkirk evacuation, they continued to fly missions to drop supplies to Allied forces from their bases at Gland; On a mission to deliver supplies to troops stranded in Calais, 14 out of 16 Lysanders and Hawker Hectors are missing. A total of 175 were deployed in May and June 1940, and 118 Lysanders were lost in or over France and Belgium.
With the fall of France it became clear that this type was not suitable for a coastal patrol and troop support role, which Air Marshal Arthur Barratt, Commander-in-Chief of the British Air Forces in France, described as "totally ineffective". . the work ; A faster and less fragile ship was needed.
Westland Lysander First Flight!
The opinion of Army AOP pilots was that the Lysander was too fast for artillery aiming purposes, too slow and ineffective for evading fighters, too large for quick concealment on the landing field, and too small for use on soft ground. Heavy and developed by the British Royal Air Force. Without ever asking the military what is needed.
And during the invasion of Britain, they were assigned to attack the landing beaches with light bombs and machine guns.
They were replaced from 1941 by camera-equipped fighters such as the Curtiss Tomahawk and North American Mustang for reconnaissance missions, while light aircraft such as the Taylorcraft Aster were used for artillery support.
Some of the UK-based Lysander WTs will operate air and sea rescue operations, and transport RAF crews in the English Channel.
A History: John Romain & Westland Lysander V9312
In August 1941, a new squadron, No. 138 (Special Mission), was formed to carry out special operations missions to maintain clandestine liaison with the French Resistance.
Among its aircraft was a Lysander Mk III, which flew and landed in occupied France. While Garal supply drops can be left for the remaining ships in No. 138, Lysander can place and remove disturbances from the continent or recover Allied aircrews killed in occupied territory and escaped capture. Mk.IIIs for this role were fitted with a fixed port side ladder for access to the aft cockpit and a large underbelly drop tank. Lysanders were painted matte black overall (some early examples had tan/grey tinted upper surfaces and later examples had gray/grey upper surfaces) for smooth glide. Operations almost always took place within a week of the full moon, as the moon was essential to navigation. The ship performed these duties until France gained independence in 1944.
Lysanders were stationed at airfields at Newmarket in Suffolk and later at Tempsford in Bedfordshire, but used the regular RAF fuel stations for actual crossings, notably RAF Tangmere. Flying without any navigational equipment other than a map and compass, Lysander will land on small parts of the ground, such as fields, marked by four or five flares, or, to avoid landing on the ground, wearing a special padded suit, has landed. At a very low altitude it rolled to a halt in the field.
They were originally designed to carry a single passenger in the aft cockpit, but for SOE use the aft cockpit was modified to carry two passengers in a severely disturbed position in case of immediate need.
Covert Operation Lysander Westland Lysander Mk Iiia Of 161 Squadron,
From the pilots of No. 138 and No. 161 Squadron starting in 1942, 101 Agts were flown in from Nazi-occupied Europe and 128 Agts were recovered.
The Germans did not know much about British ships and wanted to study them. Soldiers captured the Lysander intact in March 1942 after its pilot was unable to destroy it after it crashed, but a train hit a lorry carrying Lysander, destroying the cargo.
In the Far East, from 1944, No. 357 Squadron RAF operated six SD Lysanders on a cruise dropping Agats in support of Army Forteth in Burma.
Lysanders were also used as tow and communications vessels. Two aircraft (T1443 and T1739) were transferred to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).
Brand New Sealed Matchbox 1:32 Lysander Mk.1/mk.iii 1/32
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