The Auster AOP.9 was a British military air observation aircraft ("
Air Observation Post
Air Observation Post (AOP) is an aeroplane or helicopter used in the role of artillery spotter by the British Army and Commonwealth forces. In this role, either the pilot of the aircraft or another crew member acts as an observer watching for tar ...
") produced by
Auster Aircraft Limited
Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.Willis, issue 122, p.55
History
The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited, m ...
to replace the
Auster AOP.6
The Auster AOP.6 was a British military air observation aircraft produced by Auster Aircraft Limited to replace the numerous wartime Taylorcraft Auster aircraft then in-service.
History
The Auster AOP.6 (Auster Model K) was designed as a succe ...
.
Design and development
The Auster AOP.9 was designed as a successor to the
Auster AOP.6
The Auster AOP.6 was a British military air observation aircraft produced by Auster Aircraft Limited to replace the numerous wartime Taylorcraft Auster aircraft then in-service.
History
The Auster AOP.6 (Auster Model K) was designed as a succe ...
. Like its predecessor, it was a braced high-wing single engined monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage.
Although having the same general appearance, the AOP.9 was a new design, with larger wing area and a more powerful engine. The wing and tail were metal-skinned, but the fuselage and ailerons were fabric-covered.
The fin and rudder assembly were more angular in the new aircraft with a noticeable dorsal fillet. A combination of the more powerful 180 hp (134 kW)
Blackburn Cirrus Bombardier
The Blackburn Cirrus Bombardier was a British four-cylinder inline aircraft engine, developed and built by the Blackburn Aircraft company in the mid-1950s. The engine featured fuel injection.
Variants
;Cirrus Bombardier 203
:Military version, ...
engine, larger wings and large flaps gave it an improved take-off and landing performance compared with the AOP.6. It could operate from ploughed fields and muddy surfaces using low pressure tyres and strengthened undercarriage.
The cabin held three seats, pilot and passenger side-by-side and the observer behind, facing either forwards or rearwards.
The aircraft was also designed to be convertible into a two-seat light transport with an interchangeable rear floor.
In this configuration the observer sat alongside the pilot.
The prototype ''WZ662'' first flew 19 March 1954.
Auster Aircraft allotted its model designation B5 to the AOP.9 design.
Operational history
Deliveries started to the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
in February 1955,
replacing AOP.6s in the regular AOP squadrons, the auxiliary squadrons disbanding in March 1957 before receiving AOP.9s. Until the formation of the
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
(AAC) in September 1957, Army personnel flew RAF aircraft based in RAF squadrons.
The aircraft were in action with
No. 656 Squadron from September 1955, flying an average of 1,200 sorties per month. By the end of
Operation Firedog
The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces ...
in
Malaya on 31 July 1960, 656 Squadron's AOP.6 and AOP.9s had carried out 143,000 sorties.
The AOP.9s were involved in several of Britain's other end of Empire conflicts;
653 Squadron AAC used them in Aden in the early 1960s, flying from Falaise, Little Aden.
[AOP.9 in Aden](_blank)
/ref> They stayed in service until 1966 and were the last fixed wing AOP aircraft used by the AAC, though their light transport role was taken over by Beavers
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...
.
The South African Air Force operated its AOP.9s from 1957 to 1967.
The Army Historic Aircraft Flight maintain an AOP.9 in flying condition at Middle Wallop
Middle Wallop is a village in the civil parish of Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England, on the A343 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Over Wallop. The village has a public house, The George Inn, and a ...
.
In the 1970s, 19 AOP.9s joined the UK civil register, and in 2008 14 remained, though only about three of these had a current certificate of airworthiness. The sole Beagle E3/Auster
AOP.11 ''G-ASCC'' was flying[UK Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Register G-ASCC](_blank)
/ref> until an accident in 2007.
Variants
;Auster AOP.9
:Only production version, 182 built.
;Auster AOP.11
:Three-seat AOP machine with a 260 hp Continental IO-470-D 6-cylinder horizontally opposed more powerful engine, that raised the maximum speed to 142 mph (228 km/h) and the empty weight to 1,806 lb (816 kg). Apart from the engine, the AOP.11 was almost identical to its predecessor. Early in its career (photo, right), the undercarriage had spats, though these were later removed. Only one, a converted AOP.9 was produced, making its first flight on 18 August 1961 with serial ''XP254''. A year later it was registered to Beagle aircraft, that had taken over Auster in 1960, as ''G-ASCC'' where it was known as the Beagle Mk 11, the E.3 or as the A.115. It was sold into private hands in 1971.
;Auster 9M
:A number of army surplus aircraft were bought by Captain Mike Somerton-Rayner in 1967. One was converted as an Auster 9M with a 180 hp (134 kW) Avco Lycoming O-360
The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 producing ...
-A1D piston engine. The 9M first flew on 4 January 1968, and gained a Certificate of Airworthiness on 30 April 1968 The aircraft was still airworthy in 2009.
Operators
Military operators
;
*Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force (RHKAAF) was a Hong Kong Government department based in Hong Kong. It was formed as an air force in 1949 as part of the Hong Kong Defence Force. In preparation for the transfer of sovereignty from the Uni ...
about 4 ex-British AAC aircraft
*various ACC AOP and Independent Flights stationed in Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
in the 1950s and 1960s
;: 35 aircraft
* Indian Air Force
*Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
;:
*South African Air Force
"Through hardships to the stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment ...
Two aircraft
**No 42 Squadron SAAF
;: 146 aircraft
*Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
** 653 Squadron
** 656 Squadron
**Advanced Fixed Wing Flight
**Army Flights: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21.
**Various Army Regiments
*Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
** 651 Squadron
** 652 Squadron (1956–1957)
** 656 Squadron (1955–1957)
** 657 Squadron
**Light Liaison Flight, South Korea
**Christmas Island Flight, 160 Wing
**1900 Flight (Hong Kong)
**38 Group Communications Flight Upavon
Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...
**Light Aircraft School Middle Wallop
Middle Wallop is a village in the civil parish of Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England, on the A343 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Over Wallop. The village has a public house, The George Inn, and a ...
Specifications (AOP.9)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Auster Aop.9
High-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
1950s British military reconnaissance aircraft
A.O.P.9
Aircraft first flown in 1954