Avro Anson G-AHKX is owned and operated by the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden, UK and is painted I the colours of  RAF Coningsby Station Flight to represent RAF serial TX176.

Origins and development

The Anson traces back to the mid-1930s when the Air Ministry in Britain asked for a relatively economical landplane capable of maritime reconnaissance to supplement flying boats. A.V. Roe & Company (Avro) responded with the Type 652A, which after testing won the competition and was adopted as the Anson.

The prototype made its first flight in March 1935. Production began in 1936 and by the time production ended, over 11,000 examples had been built  in the UK and  Canada.

Service life of G-AHKX / TX176

The airframe in question (c/n 1333) was constructed in 1946 as an Avro Nineteen variant (which became the Anson C.19 in RAF service) and later registered G-AHKX. It is painted in the markings of TX176, a C.19 that served with the RAF Coningsby Station Flight in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

After military service the airframe entered civil use, was restored, and now resides with the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden.

Historical Importance

While the Anson was soon out-classed in front-line reconnaissance roles, it found its true calling as a multi-engine trainer and communications/liaison aircraft. It trained thousands of aircrew under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and served until the late 1960s in RAF ancillary roles.

The G-AHKX / TX176 airframe is one of the few airworthy examples left, which connects us to that era of aviation training and development.