The Airspeed Ayrshire: its development and service.

[Rheged]

Another orphan backstory for people to use as they see fit. Unfortunately, there isn't a 1/72 Ambassador kit available, just a 1/144 Welsh models  vacuform.  That said,  if anyone wants to add to this material, or try to achieve an Ambassador out of a Constellation and a bits box.......


The Airspeed Ayrshire: its development and service


In late 1942, in the midst of the chaos and carnage of the Second World War, a committee was established under the leadership of Lord Brabazon (1)  to investigate the future needs of the Britain's civilian airliner market following World War II. It was assumed  even then by the Civil Service that the war would be won. It was recognised that converted military airframes......Lancastrian, York, Sandringham.....were stop-gaps and that new types specifically for civilian use should be developed. Five new types were proposed:-

Type I: a very large, long-range landplane for the North Atlantic route.
Type II: an economical replacement for the Douglas DC-3 for European services.(2)
Type III: a four-engined, medium-range landplane for the Empire routes.
Type IV: an advanced jet mailplane for the North Atlantic.
Type V: a twin-engined, fourteen-passenger feederliner.
Type II was later divided into IIa, piston engined  and  IIb turbine engined.

Two prototypes of the Airspeed company's design, initially known as the AS57  were ordered by the Ministry of Aircraft production in August 1945, with the first flight taking place on 10th July 1947.  Somewhat surprisingly, BEA were enthusiastic about the aircraft.  By now named the Ambassador, an order for 20 was placed. 

Airspeed offered the AS 60"Ayrshire" to  Air Ministry Specification C.13/45 for a medium-range military transport  with a rear loading ramp.  10 were initially ordered, but a subsequent review of  projected performance data led to cancellation as "not sufficient to meet Air Ministry requirements" (3)  The standard Ambassador was also offered  to meet  Air Ministry Specification C.26/43  for a medium range trooping aircraft but this was not taken up.

In early 1951, with the Korean War in progress and defence funding available, further consideration was given to  production of the AS 60 Ayrshire.  The Ambassador  had shown in service   that it had exceptionally good low speed handling characteristics and a trials aircraft had demonstrated that a range of turbine engines could be successfully utilised (4). The original wing design had assumed a four engined aircraft and installing these was not considered a major task.   The RAF ordered an initial batch of 20 Ayrshire C1 transports, capable of carrying either 40 paratroops or  three Landrovers for air-dropping  or 12000 pounds of freight.  In early 1952, five Ayrshire CC2 aircraft were ordered for use by the Queen's Flight and the carriage of VIP passengers.  The latter aircraft had the pressurised fuselage of the Ambassador, and were described as "fitted with extra navigational and passive defence  features".   It has long been rumoured that these airframes were also equipped with cameras and radio/radar receivers  to be used on flights taking government officials to conferences and meetings throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Following the success of the Ambassador turbo-prop trials aircraft, Rolls Royce Dart engines were retrofitted  in all RAF aircraft, and a new batch of 30 was ordered in 1955 as the Ayrshire C4. The Ayrshire squadrons took part in the Suez operation, dropping paratroops to seize the Suez Canal Authority control centre.  In response to intelligence reports that the Egyptian Air Force had established dispersal airstrips in the desert, Landrovers and troops were dropped near the  Fayoum oasis to investigate and if necessary render the airstrips inoperable.  No such airstrips had in fact been created, but all the troops and their vehicles returned in good order to the Cairo area, having been supported by fuel and ration drops from Akrotiri based Ayrshires.

Akrotiri was served for most of the 1950's by AS Ayrshire trooping flights from various UK RAF bases.  90 squadron RAF ran these Milk Runs with a mixture of Hastings and Ayrshire aircraft, the more modern looking Airspeed machines  becoming known as Pedigree Ayrshires.

During the middle and  late 1950's, there was a gentlemen's agreement between the Air Ministry, the Foreign Office and their Swedish equivalents that P A Air Services could operate regular flights from Dyce  airport, Aberdeen to Stockholm Arlanda and on via the Aaland Islands  to Helsinki. Flying ex-BEA aircraft this private company worked on contract to a number of UK and Swedish companies .    Information released after the demise of USSR has revealed that P A Air Services was part of the  UK Crown Agents organisation, the secretive group known as Perfidious Albion PLC (5)  Photographic coverage is said to have been obtained of just about every port in the Baltic and vast amounts of electronic/radar data recorded.

The Ayrshire E3 was operated by  192 squadron as they phased out time expired Avro Lincoln and Boeing Washington aircraft.  This was intended as a temporary measure  with Comet R2 aircraft intended as the permanent equipment of what later became 51 squadron. Despite this "temporary "  measure, 4 Ayrshire E3's of 90 group (later Signals Command) operated out of  several RAF Germany airfields until  1964.

Commonwealth countries were offered the AS Ayrshire  in generous terms, in an attempt to break the United States grip on the military transport market.  Australia took 16 aircraft, modified for desert/outback conditions as the RAAF Adelaide, Canada bought 12 RCAF Alberta airframes with cold-weather equipment and uprated undercarriage for use in the North-West Territories and New Zealand operated 4 standard Ambassadors for general transport duties.

By 1959, the AS Ayrshire fleet was becoming obsolescent, and Hawker Siddeley  Aviation had begun work on  what was to become the successor aircraft, the HS Andover. Although the Ambassador was "state of the art" when first designed in 1946, in 1960 it had become what one pilot described as "State of the Ark", with "the cockpit so designed that every instrument and control was in exactly the wrong position".  By 1965, the Ayrshire fleet was running out of fatigue hours, with many aircraft withdrawn for scrapping .  The last 4 Airspeed aircraft in RAF service were dispatched to RAF St Athan and  ETPS  / RAE Farnborough .  Currently, one is held at Duxford, one at Wroughton and two in a disassembled state at the  RAF museum, Cosford.



(1)   Brabazon Committee, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brabazon_Committee
(2)   Manufacturers have been offering DC3/C47/Dakota replacements  for some  decades now, but this venerable Douglas product is still soldiering on.
(3)   The Air Ministry requirements were so unrealistic that it is doubtful that the transport aircraft required has yet been designed or manufactured (20.2.2022)
(4)   Napier Naiad and Nomad,  Bristol Proteus,  Rolls Royce Dart and later the Tyne.
(5)   Perfidious Albion PLC,  see :-https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=34970.msg555620#msg555620


Someone said that they liked footnotes in backstories, so I've tried to oblige

[JayBee]

I love this. 

Of course I DO live in Ayrshire which I must say makes me just slightly biased, but what the heck. 

[The Wooksta!]

Contrail did an Ambassador in 72nd, that *might* have gone to Neil Gaunt.  Either will fetch stupid money on ebay.

[McColm]

You mean something similar to this,  the blue model.

It's based on a 1/72 Heller Lockheed Constellation with Rolls-Royce Griffons and a pair of turbojets . The  middle tail fin has been removed . This build was known as the ' Connie Francis '.
I no longer have it,  lost in time  but not forgotten.

[Lost Cosmonauts]

I like it!

I love this. 

Of course I DO live in Ayrshire which I must say makes me just slightly biased, but what the heck. 

Same here, we all have our cross to bear

[McColm]

Maybe you could write a few backstories for my builds, this will give me the incentive to finish them. 

[Rheged]

Maybe you could write a few backstories for my builds, this will give me the incentive to finish them. 

I'll have a go at some of them if you wish.  If you can give aircraft name, intended purpose and approximate period of service,  I can try to invent something.  It may take a while as I'm commuting from Hereford to Carlisle every 3 weeks or so to help little sister sort out our late mum's house.

[The Wooksta!]

There are currently two Contrail Ambassadors on eBay.

[Rheged]

There are currently two Contrail Ambassadors on eBay.

Thank you for finding these for us, but I'm afraid that neither my finances and nor building skills are up to Contrail construction.     I'll stick to words and admire the modellers skills.

[63cpe]

It could be a backstory for this build: https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=49461.0

Cheers,
David aka 63cpe