Avro 504

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The Avro 504 is a single-engine biplane bomber made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during World War I totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years,<ref name="Holmes"/> making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in any military capacity during the First World War. More than 10,000 were built from 1913 until production ended in 1932.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="BAE Systems">Template:Cite web</ref>

Design and development

File:Avro 504K dwg.jpg
Technical drawing

First flown from Brooklands by Fred "Freddie" Raynham on 18 September 1913,<ref name="Jackson Avro p53">Jackson 1990, p.52.</ref> powered by an Template:Cvt Gnome Lambda seven-cylinder rotary engine, the Avro 504 was a development of the earlier Avro 500, designed for training and private flying. It was a two-bay all-wooden biplane with a square-section fuselage.

File:Avro 504 by ndrwfgg.jpeg
Avro 504K from the Shuttleworth Collection

Manufacturers

The following companies are recorded as manufacturing the Avro 504 under licence.<ref>Flight 1954 p87</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Operational history

File:Foster Mount Avro504.jpg
Foster-mounted Lewis gun on night fighter Avro 504K
File:StateLibQld 1 111320 Flight Commander Smith flies for the Peace Loan, 1919.jpg
"Flight Commander Smith flies for the Peace Loan" Queenslander Pictorial (1919)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Small numbers of early aircraft were purchased by the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) prior to the start of the First World War, and were taken to France when the war started. One of the RFC aircraft was the first British aircraft to be shot down by the Germans, on 22 August 1914. The pilot was 2nd Lt. Vincent Waterfall and his navigator Lt Charles George Gordon Bayly (both of 5 Sqn RFC)<ref>"Casualty Details:Vincent Waterfall". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 10 January 2010.</ref><ref name="Jackson Avro p56">Jackson 1990, p.56.</ref> The RNAS used four 504s to form a special flight to bomb the Zeppelin works at Friedrichshafen on the shores of Lake Constance. Three set out from Belfort in north-eastern France on 21 November 1914, carrying four Template:Cvt bombs each. While one aircraft was shot down, the raid was successful, with several direct hits on the airship sheds and the destruction of the hydrogen generating plant.<ref name="Mason Bomber p21">Mason 1994, p.21.</ref>

Soon obsolete as a frontline aircraft, it came into its own as a trainer, with thousands being built during the war, with the major production types being the 504J and the mass production 504K, designed with modified engine bearers to accommodate a range of engines to cope with engine shortages. 8,340 Avro 504s had been produced by the end of 1918.<ref name="Bruce ptII p87">Bruce 16 July 1954, p.87.</ref>

In the winter of 1917–18 it was decided to use converted 504Js and 504Ks to equip Home Defence squadrons of the RFC, replacing ageing B.E.2cs, which had poor altitude performance. These aircraft were modified as single-seaters, armed with a Lewis gun above the wing on a Foster mounting, and powered by Template:Cvt Gnome or Template:Cvt Le Rhône engines. 274 converted Avro 504Js and Ks were issued to eight home defence squadrons in 1918, with 226 still being used as fighters at the end of the First World War.<ref name="Mason Fighter">Mason 1992, p.127.</ref>

Following the end of the war, while the type continued in service as the standard trainer of the RAF, large numbers of surplus aircraft were available for sale, both for civil and military use. More than 300 504Ks were placed on the civil register in Britain. Used for training, pleasure flying, banner towing and even barnstorming exhibitions (as was ongoing in North America following World War I with the similar-role, surplus Curtiss JN-4s and Standard J-1s); civil 504s continued flying in large numbers until well into the 1930s.

The embryonic air service of the Soviet Union, formed just after the First World War, used both original Avro 504s and their own Avrushka (" Little Avro") copy of it for primary training as the U-1 in the early 1920s, usually powered by Russian-made copies of the Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine. This Russian version of the 504 was replaced by what would become the most produced biplane in all of aviation history, the Polikarpov Po-2, first known as the U-2; the type remained in Soviet service till the late 1920s, and much later elsewhere.

Although Avro 504s sold to China were training versions, they participated in battles among warlords by acting as bombers with the pilot dropping hand grenades and modified mortar shells Template:Citation needed.

The improved, redesigned and radial-engined 504N with a new undercarriage was produced by Avro in 1925. After evaluation of two prototypes, one powered by the Bristol Lucifer and the other by the Armstrong-Siddeley Lynx, the Lynx-powered aircraft was selected by the RAF to replace the 504K. 592 were built between 1925 and 1932, equipping the RAF's five flying training schools, while also being used as communication aircraft. The 504N was also exported to the armed forces of Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Greece, Siam and South Africa, with licensed production taking place in Denmark, Belgium, Canada, Siam and Japan.

The RAF's 504Ns were finally replaced in 1933 by the Avro Tutor, with small numbers continuing in civilian use until 1940, when seven were impressed into RAF service, where they were used for target- and glider-towing.

The 504 was the first British aeroplane to strafe troops on the ground<ref name ="Bruce pt I p43">Bruce 9 July 1954, p.43.</ref> as well as the first British aircraft to make a bombing raid over Germany.<ref name="Holmes"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was also the first Allied aeroplane to be downed by enemy anti-aircraft fire and was the first aircraft flown by many future aces, including Billy Bishop.

The 504 is easily recognisable because of the single skid between the wheels, referred to as the "toothpick" in the RAF.Template:Citation needed

Variants

File:Aviation in Britain Before the First World War RAE-O572.jpg
Early 504 with 80 horsepower Gnome Lambda engine
Original model
  • 504A:
Modified with smaller ailerons and broader struts. Template:Cvt Gnome engine.
  • 504B
Version for RNAS with larger fin. Template:Convert Gnome or Le Rhône engine.
  • 504C
Single-seat anti-zeppelin aircraft for the RNAS. The 504C was fitted with an extra fuel tank, in place of the observer.
  • 504D
Single-seat anti-zeppelin aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps. Six built.
  • 504E
Template:Convert Gnome Monosoupape engine. Ten built.
  • 504F
Template:Convert Rolls-Royce Hawk engine. One built.
  • 504G
Two-seat weapons training variant of the Type 504B for the RNAS. The Avro 504G was intended as a bombing/gunnery trainer, with provision for a Scarff ring mounted on the upper longerons, though the final ten delivered had no provision for a gun. Fitted with one 80 hp Gnome powerplant. 50 built and delivered between June 1917 and January 1918. 30 built by Avro and 20 constructed by The Regent Carriage Company.
  • 504H
504C modified for catapult trials. 80 hp (60 kW) Gnome engine.
  • 504J
504A modified to mount a Template:Convert Gnome engine.
File:First aeroplane in Iceland.jpg
This Avro 504K was the first aeroplane in Iceland, taken there in 1919
  • 504K
Two-seat training aircraft. The 504K had a universal mount to take different engines. Single-seat fighter (Comic) conversion used for anti-zeppelin work. Several were assembled in Australia by Australian Aircraft & Engineering.<ref name="Wilson">Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Convert Clerget 9B, Template:Convert Gnome Monosoupape or Template:Convert Le Rhône 9J engines.
File:Avro Dyack used by QANTAS ca. 1921.jpg
Qantas 504K Dyak (c. 1921)
  • 504K Mk.II
Hybrid trainer based on 504K fuselage with 504N undercarriage and wings and powered by rotary engine. Built under licence in Mexico as Avro Anahuac.<ref name="Jackson avro p105">Jackson 1990, p.105.</ref>
  • 504L
Floatplane version. Template:Convert Bentley BR1, Template:Convert Clerget or Template:Convert Le Rhône engines.
File:Avro504L1920.jpg
504L floatplane (1920)
  • 504M
Three-seat cabin biplane. Only one was ever built. Template:Convert Gnome engine.
  • 504N
Two-seat training aircraft. Redesigned postwar trainer for RAF with Template:Convert Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine. 598 built.
File:Avro504n left.png
504N left side view
  • 504O
Floatplane version of 504N. First aircraft to fly above the Arctic Circle in 1923 Oxford Expedition.
  • 504P
Unbuilt version of the 504N with side-by-side seating.<ref name="Jackson Avro p127">Jackson 1990, p.127.</ref>
  • 504Q
Three-seat cabin biplane. The 504Q was built for the Oxford University Arctic Expedition. Only one was ever built, powered by an Armstrong Siddeley Lynx engine.
  • 504R Gosport
Reworked trainer with revised, lightweight structure. Five prototypes flown 1926 to 1927 with various engines (100 hp/75 kW Gnome Monosoupape, 100 hp/75 kW) Avro Alpha, (140 hp/104 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major and (150 hp/110 kW) Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose), with the Mongoose chosen for production aircraft. Ten were sold to Argentina, with 100 more built by FMA under licence in Argentina. Twelve were exported to Estonia, remaining in service until 1940, and an unknown number to Peru.<ref name="Jackson Avro p129-33">Jackson 1990, p. 129-133.</ref>
File:Avro 504R Gosport with Avro Alpha motor NACA Aircraft Circular No.49.jpg
504R Gosport
  • 504S
Two-seat training aircraft. Built under licence in Japan by Nakajima.
  • 540
Observer training version of 504K for Japan.
  • 582
Experimental version of 504N, with new wings of RAF 30 aerofoil section, Frise ailerons on the bottom mainplanes, wing struts reduced to a "K" arrangement and a simplified undercarriage. Converted back to 504N standard in 1928 for Bristol Titan engine test bed.
  • 585
504R modified with 504N undercarriage and Template:Convert Avro Alpha engine.
  • 598 Warregull
Two-seat trainer based on 504N for Australia, not built.
  • 599 Warregull II
Redesigned version of Type 598, not built.
  • Yokosuka K2Y1
Japanese version of the Avro 504N, given the long designation Yokosuka Navy Type 3 Primary Trainer, powered by a Template:Convert Mitsubishi-built Armstrong Siddeley Mongoose radial piston engine, 104 built.
File:Yokosuka K2Y 1938.jpg
Yokosuka K2Y (1938)
  • Yokosuka K2Y2
Improved version of the K2Y1, powered by a Template:Convert Gasuden Jimpu 2 radial piston engine. 360 built (K2Y1 and K2Y2).<ref name="Mikesh p276">Mikesh and Abe 1990, p. 276.</ref> Watanabe built aircraft were given the long designation Watanabe Navy Type 3-2 Land-based Primary Trainer.
  • U-1 (Uchebnyi – 1) Avrushka
Russian copy of the 504K. Over 700 built.<ref name="Jackson Avro p104">Jackson 1990, p. 104.</ref><ref name="BAE Systems" />
  • MU-1 (Morskoy Uchebnyi – 1)<ref name="BAE Systems" />
Russian seaplane version.
Brazilian Navy designation of the 504K.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • I2A
Brazilian Navy designation of the 504N and 504O.<ref name=":0" />
  • B.F.4
(Template:Langx) Royal Siamese Air Force designation for the 504N.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Operators

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  • Argentine Army Aviation Service – purchased 10 directly from Avro, with a further 34 license-built by FMA from 1928 to 1937. In service until 1938.<ref>Magnusson 2007, p. 155</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref group=n>The 504 is listed in several sources as having been used by the Argentine Air Force. This is because its predecessor, the Army Aviation Service, was established in 1912 and dissolved in 1945 when the Air Force was created.</ref>
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  • Belgian Air Force purchased 50 British-built 504Ks from 1920 to 1922, with a further 27 being built under license by SABCA<ref name="Jackson Avro p88">Jackson 1990, p.88.</ref> These were replaced by the 504N, 17 being built by Avro in 1929–31,<ref name="Jackson Avro p123">Jackson 1990, p.123.</ref> and 31 being built under license.<ref name="Jackson Avro p124">Jackson 1990, p.124.</ref>
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  • Polish Air Force – 1 Avro 504K (captured from the Soviets in 1920).<ref>Morgała, Andrzej (1997). Samoloty wojskowe w Polsce 1918–1924 [Military aircraft in Poland 1918–1924] (in Polish). Warsaw: Lampart. p. 118. Template:ISBN.</ref>
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  • Soviet Air Force – With original British-built examples, and Soviet built U-1 Avrushka copy.
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Surviving aircraft and replicas

Australia
File:Qantas Replica Mascot Airport.JPG
Qantas Avro 504K replica with Sunbeam engine displayed at Qantas Domestic Terminal
File:G-BYKV-E3747 (16432335898).jpg
Replica Avro 504K on display at RAAF Museum.
Canada
Finland
New Zealand
Norway
  • Unknown – 504K on static display at the Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodø, Nordland. It was in service from July 1921 to 1928 and has been on display at the museum since 1995. It is painted with the registration number 103, which belonged to 504A that crashed in 1919.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Russia
United Kingdom
United States

Specifications (Avro 504K)

File:Dux U-1 - MU-1 1923.svg
Dimensioned drawing of Russian Avro 504K copy known as Avrushka (Little Avro) U-1/MU-1 (reverse engineered by Sergey Ilyushin c. 1923)

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Notable appearances in media

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See also

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Footnotes

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Notes

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Bibliography

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