Airspeed Envoy
Encyclopedia

The Airspeed AS.6 Envoy was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 light, twin-engined transport aircraft designed and built by Airspeed Ltd.
Airspeed Ltd.
Airspeed Limited was established to build aeroplanes in 1931 in York, England, by A. H. Tiltman and Nevil Shute Norway . The other directors were A. E. Hewitt, Lord Grimthorpe and Alan Cobham...

 in the 1930s at Portsmouth Aerodrome, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

.

Development and design

The Envoy was designed by N.S. Norway
Nevil Shute
Nevil Shute Norway was a popular British-Australian novelist and a successful aeronautical engineer. He used his full name in his engineering career, and 'Nevil Shute' as his pen name, in order to protect his engineering career from any potential negative publicity in connection with his novels.-...

and A. H. Tiltman
A. H. Tiltman
Arthur Hessell Tiltman FRAeS , known as Hessell Tiltman, was a notable British aircraft designer, and co-founder of Airspeed Ltd....

 as a twin-engined development of the Courier
Airspeed Courier
|-See also:-External links:**...

. It used the same wooden construction, outer wing panels and retracting main undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...

.

The Envoy was a twin-engined low-wing cabin monoplane of all-wood construction apart from fabric covered control surfaces. It had a rearward retracting main undercarriage with a fixed tailwheel. The aircraft was built in three series, the Series I was the initial production variant which did not have trailing-edge flaps, seventeen built. Thirteen Series II variants were built with split flaps and the Series III (19-built) was similar but had detailed improvements. Each series of the Envoy was sold with a choice of engines including the Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah V or Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC radial engines. These different engines were housed under a variety of cowlings, mostly short chord Townend ring
Townend ring
A Townend Ring is a narrow-chord cowling ring fitted around the cylinders of an aircraft radial engine to reduce drag and improve cooling.-Development:...

s but also wider chord cowlings with and without blisters for cylinder heads.

The prototype, G-ACMT, first flew on 26 June 1934 and in July 1934 appeared in public for the first time at an exhibition by the Society of British Aircraft Constructors
Society of British Aircraft Constructors
The Society of British Aerospace Companies, known as SBAC was the UK's national trade association representing companies supplying civil air transport, aerospace defence, homeland security and space...

 (SBAC) at Hendon. Small scale production then began at the Portsmouth factory.

Operational history

The first production Envoy I, G-ACVH, flew in October 1934 and was used as a company demonstrator. The second, also a Series I but fitted with Wolseley Aries III
Wolseley Aries
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:**...

 radial engines, was delivered to Lord Nuffield
William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield
William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield GBE, CH , known as Sir William Morris, Bt, between 1929 and 1934 and as The Lord Nuffield between 1934 and 1938, was a British motor manufacturer and philanthropist...

. This aircraft was due to fly in the MacRobertson Air Race
MacRobertson Air Race
The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race took place October, 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The idea of the race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, and a prize fund of $75,000 was put up by Sir Macpherson Robertson, a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer, on the...

 from England to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in 1934 but the aircraft was damaged and withdrawn from the race. Another aircraft, a specially modified version with long-range tanks (the AS 8 Viceroy
Airspeed Viceroy
|-See also:-References:* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft . Orbis Publishing.* Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10006-9.-External links:* * *...

) got as far as Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 before leaving the race due to damage. One Envoy took part in the Schlesinger Race
Schlesinger Race
The Schlesinger Race, also known as the "Rand Race", the "Portsmouth - Johannesburg Race" or more commonly the 'African Air Race', took place in September 1936. The Royal Aero Club announced the race on behalf of Mr I.W...

 to Johannesburg, but crashed, killing two of a crew.

Orders soon came from the whole Commonwealth. Two aircraft went to the Ansett Airlines in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. North Eastern Airways and Olley Air Service in the UK also used the AS.6. In Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

, the CSA
Czech Airlines
Czech Airlines j.s.c. , trading as Czech Airlines , is the national airline of the Czech Republic and temporary in Slovakia with its head office on the grounds of Ruzyně Airport in Ruzyně, Prague...

 ordered four AS.6 Envoy JC in 1937.

In May 1937, the British King George VI traded the de Havilland Dragon Rapide
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...

 of the King's Flight for an Airspeed AS.6J Envoy III. The AS.6's good stability and flaps
Flap (aircraft)
Flaps are normally hinged surfaces mounted on the trailing edges of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft to reduce the speed an aircraft can be safely flown at and to increase the angle of descent for landing without increasing air speed. They shorten takeoff and landing distances as well as...

, as well as its low landing speed (less than 100 km/h) was decisive. The aircraft received the registration G-AEXX and was painted in distinctive red and blue colours.

The Airspeed AS.6 Envoy also entered the Air Forces of different countries. The British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 used a few AS.6 in a military configuration. The aircraft was used in the Air Forces of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and some others. Seven machines were ordered for joint use by the South African Air Force
South African Air Force
The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...

 and South African Airways
South African Airways
South African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...

, with three being delivered in military form and four delivered to South African Airways, where they were used on the air route between Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

 - Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...

 - Port Elizabeth on 12 October 1936. Each of these seven aircraft could be transformed by a work crew of four within four hours from the transport version into a light bomber or reconnaissance aircraft. In this configuration the crew consisted of four; pilot, navigator, radio operator and gunner.

In October 1936, the British Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...

 ordered 136 Envoys for crew training. These further developed aircraft were given a new company designation as the AS.10 and entered RAF service as the Airspeed Oxford
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...

.

Japan

Six Envoy-Is were delivered to Japan in 1935 for services linking Japan with Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...

. These were followed by 10 aircraft license built by Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...

 at Nagoya. The aircraft were named Hina-Zura (en: Flying Crane). The aircraft were used by the Japan Air Transport
Japan Air Transport
was the national airline of the Empire of Japan from 1928 to 1938.-History:Commercial aviation began in Japan with the privately-held Japan Air Transport Institute, which pioneered passenger service between Sakai, Osaka and Tokushima on Shikoku island on 3 November 1922.On 30 October 1928, the...

 and Manchukuo National Airways
Manchukuo National Airways
was the name of the national airline of Manchukuo. It is sometimes referred to as Manchukuo Air Transport Company.Manchukuo National Airways was established on 26 September 1931 in Fengtian by order of the Japanese Kwantung Army, out of the Manchurian branch office of Japan Air Transport, the...

; it is believed the rest were operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...

 under the designation LXM.

Wartime

During the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

, ten AS.6 Envoys were obtained by the Spanish Republicans
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....

, with the Nationalist side using two, including one that defected from the Republicans, as transport, reconnaissance aircraft or light bombers.

During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

 captured some machines and used them as trainer aircraft. The Luftwaffe gave one aircraft to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 on 22 January 1942, as reparation for the accidental shooting down of a Finnish de Havilland Dragon Rapide
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...

. This aircraft was used between 1942 and 1943. Likewise, one aircraft was used between 1941 to 1943 by the Slovaks.

Postwar

One of the RAF Envoy IIIs survived the war and operated as G-AHAC for civil charter operators until it was scrapped at Tollerton airport, Nottingham
Nottingham Airport
Nottingham Airport is located in Tollerton, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated south east of Nottingham City Centre, and signposted on the A52 at Trent Bridge and on the A606—this makes it one of the closest airports to a city centre in the UK...

 in 1950.

Airspeed Ltd, Portsmouth

AS.6 Envoy I
Powered by two 200-hp (149-kW) A.R.9
Wolseley Aries
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:**...

 piston engines. 5 built

AS.6A Envoy I
Powered by two 240-hp (179-kW) Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC radial piston engines. 5 built

AS.6D Envoy II
Powered by two 350-hp (261-kW) Wright R-760-E2 Whirlwind 7
Wright R-760
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...

 radial piston engines, eight built.

AS.6E Envoy III
Powered by two 340-hp (254-kW) Walter Castor
Walter Castor
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9...

 engines. 5 built

AS.6G
Powered by two 250-hp (186-kW) Wolseley Scorpio I engines.

AS.6H Envoy
Powered by two 225-hp (168-kW) Wolseley Aries
Wolseley Aries
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.-External links:**...

 III engines. 1 built

AS.6J Envoy III: Seven-seat light transport aircraft. Powered by two 350-hp (261-kW) Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX radial piston engines. 27 built
AS.6JC Envoy
Powered by two 350-hp (261-kW) Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX radial piston engines. 4 built

AS.6JM Envoy
Powered by two 350-hp (261-kW) Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX radial piston engines. 3 built

AS.6K Envoy III
Three-built.

AS.8 Viceroy
Airspeed Viceroy
|-See also:-References:* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft . Orbis Publishing.* Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10006-9.-External links:* * *...

A special, one-off racing aircraft was developed from the Envoy: the Airspeed AS.8 Viceroy
Airspeed Viceroy
|-See also:-References:* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft . Orbis Publishing.* Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1. London: Putnam, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10006-9.-External links:* * *...

.

Operators

The Envoy also saw service in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...

, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

  • Ansett Airlines

 Independent State of Croatia
  • Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia
    Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia
    The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia, the Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske was the national air force of the Independent State of Croatia during World War II, founded under German authority in April 1941...


  • ČSA
    Czech Airlines
    Czech Airlines j.s.c. , trading as Czech Airlines , is the national airline of the Czech Republic and temporary in Slovakia with its head office on the grounds of Ruzyně Airport in Ruzyně, Prague...


  • Finnish Air Force
    Finnish Air Force
    The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...


 Nazi Germany
  • Luftwaffe
    Luftwaffe
    Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

    (small numbers)

  • Japan Air Transport
    Japan Air Transport
    was the national airline of the Empire of Japan from 1928 to 1938.-History:Commercial aviation began in Japan with the privately-held Japan Air Transport Institute, which pioneered passenger service between Sakai, Osaka and Tokushima on Shikoku island on 3 November 1922.On 30 October 1928, the...


 Manchukuo
  • Manchukuo National Airways
    Manchukuo National Airways
    was the name of the national airline of Manchukuo. It is sometimes referred to as Manchukuo Air Transport Company.Manchukuo National Airways was established on 26 September 1931 in Fengtian by order of the Japanese Kwantung Army, out of the Manchurian branch office of Japan Air Transport, the...


 South Africa
  • South African Airways
    South African Airways
    South African Airways is the national flag carrier and largest airline of South Africa, with headquarters in Airways Park on the grounds of OR Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The airline flies to 36 destinations worldwide from its hub at OR Tambo International...

     operated four aircraft.
  • South African Air Force
    South African Air Force
    The South African Air Force is the air force of South Africa, with headquarters in Pretoria. It is the world's second oldest independent air force, and its motto is Per Aspera Ad Astra...


 Spain
  • Spanish Republican Air Force
    Spanish Republican Air Force
    The Spanish Republican Air Force, , was the air arm of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939...


  • Spanish Air Force
    Spanish Air Force
    -The early stages:Hot air balloons had been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Alfredo Kindelán, Leonardo Torres y Quevedo directed the construction of the first Spanish dirigible in the Army Military Aerostatics Service, created in 1896 and located...


  • North Eastern Airways
  • Olley Air Service
  • Private Charter Ltd
  • Royal Air Force
    Royal Air Force
    The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

    • No. 24 Squadron RAF

Accidents and incidents

Cheetah-powered Envoy, VH-UXY, piloted by Charles Ulm
Charles Ulm
Charles Thomas Philippe Ulm AFC was a pioneer Australian aviator.-World War I:Ulm joined the AIF in September 1914, lying about his name and age to get in. He fought and was wounded at Gallipoli in 1915, and on the Western Front in 1918.Charles Ulm was married twice. In 1919 he married Isabel...

, disappeared in December 1934 during an attempt to fly the Pacific route between Oakland and Honolulu. It had been specially built with long-range fuel tanks in the cabin.

Maxwell Findlay
Maxwell Findlay
Captain Maxwell Hutcheon Findlay DSC, DFC was a World War I flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories. He remained in the RAF postwar for a couple of years before going on to a civilian aviation career that ended with his death in the Johannesburg Air Race of 1936.-World War I:Findlay was a...

 fatally crashed another Envoy, modified with long-range fuel tanks, in northern Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

 during the October 1936 Johannesburg Air Race.

Specifications (AS.6J Series III )

See also

External links

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