Avro 652

Avro 652

Manufacturer: Avro
Designed by: Roy Chadwick
First flight: 7 January 1935
Introduced: 11 March 1935
Retired: March 1942
Primary users: Imperial Airways Air Service Training Ltd Fleet Air Arm
Produced: 1935
Number built: 2
Developed into: Avro Anson

The Avro 652 was a British light civil airliner of the 1930s built by A.V. Roe and Company Limited. It was a twin-engine, low-wing monoplane with a retractable undercarriage, and a tailwheel. Although only two were produced, it formed the basis for the successful Avro Anson.

Design and development

Imperial Airways issued a specification to Avro in 1933 for a light airliner to transport four passengers for up to 420 mi (676 km) at a cruising speed of 130 mph (210 km/h). By August, Roy Chadwick's team had produced a design study. This had to be revised when Imperial changed the specification to enable the machine to fly the Karachi-Bombay-Colombo night mail service but the amended design was accepted and an order for two aircraft was issued in April 1934. The first aircraft flew on 7 January 1935, and the type was certificated in March of that year.

Operational history

The aircraft were delivered to Imperial Airways at Croydon on 11 March. They served with Imperial until 1938, when they were sold to Air Service Training Ltd.

After the outbreak of war, both 652s were impressed by the Air Ministry for service with the RAF but both were transferred directly to the Fleet Air Arm in 1941 and served with 811 Squadron until struck off in March 1942.

Aircraft

G-ACRM Named Avalon by Imperial Airways, later to Fleet Air Arm as serial DG655. G-ACRN Named Ava by Imperial Airways, later to Fleet Air Arm as serial DG656.

Operators

Australia

Woods Airways

United Kingdom

Air Service Training
Imperial Airways
Fleet Air Arm
Royal Air Force

Specifications (Avro 652)

Data from Imperial-Airways.com

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Capacity: 4 passengers
Length: 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m)
Wingspan: 56 ft 5 in (17.2 m)
Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)
Wing area: 410 ft² (38.1 m²)
Empty weight: 5,375 lb (2,437 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 7,400 lb (3,358 kg)
Powerplant: 2x— Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah V radial engine, 270 hp (201 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 163 kn (188 mph, 302 km/h)
Cruise speed: 143 kn (165 mph, 265 km/h)
Stall speed: 60 mph ()
Range: 687 nmi (790 mi, 1,271 km)
Service ceiling: 19,000 ft (5,791 m)
Rate of climb: 770 ft/min (3.9 m/s)

Related development

Avro Anson

Comparable aircraft

Airspeed Envoy
Bristol 142
Percival Q.6

Jackson, A.J. (1974). British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1. London: Putnam. ISBN 0 370 10006 9.

Avro 652 Pictures and Avro 652 for Sale.

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Source: WikiPedia