The Airspeed Oxford was a critical component of the British and Commonwealth forces aerial training program during World War 2. The type appeared in two notable forms as the "Oxford I" and the "Oxford II" with a few subvariants emerging between. The Oxford I series was charged with the training of bomber and gunnery personnel while the Oxford II was used to train navigators and radio personnel on the finer points of their respective crafts. As such, the Oxford series as a whole became a rather indispensable addition to the British Empire - serving to train numerous aircrews for their very specialized functions. First flight of the prototype occurred on June 19th, 1937.
Design-wise, the Airspeed Oxford was of a conventional design and overall arrangement. The engines were mounted along the leading edges of their respective low monoplane wings which straddled the cockpit. The cockpit was, itself, heavily glazed to provide for maximum views at nearly all angles in flight (including a perfect view of each engine). A single vertical tail fin was affixed to the tail unit as were a pair of horizontal tailplanes. There were enough crew accommodations for up to three personnel. The undercarriage was of a tail-dragger configuration, made up of a pair of single-wheeled main landing gear legs and a small tail wheel at the rear. Only the main legs were retractable and these only partially so under each engine nacelle.
Armament was optional and utilized in the training of bomber and gunnery personnel. A 7.7mm Vickers K machine gun could be mounted to a dorsal position while 16 x 11.5lb practice bombs could be stowed in the internal bomb bay.
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Specifications
Airspeed Ltd - UK Manufacturer(s)
Australia; Belgium; Burma (Myanmar); Ceylon (Sri Lanka); Denmark; Canada; Czechoslovakia; Egypt; France (Free French Forces; Greece; India; Iran; Israel; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Poland; Portugal; South Africa; Turkey; United Kingdom; United States; Yugoslavia Operators
OPTIONAL:
1 x 7.7mm Vickers K Machine Gun in dorsal gun position.
16 x 11.5lb practice bombs (drop bombs) in internal bomb bay.
0 Hardpoints
AS.10 Oxford Mk I - Bombing/Gunnery Trainer; increased wingspan from commercial model; fitted with Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IX radial engines of 355 horsepower in engine cowls; redesigned nose assembly.
AS.10 Oxford Mk II - Radio/Navigation Trainer; sans powered turret.
AS.10 Oxford Mk III - Radio/Navigation Trainer; fitted with 2 x Cheetah XV engines of 425 horsepower.
AS.10 Oxford Mk IV - Developmental Test Bed Aircraft for de Havilland Gipsy Queen IV powerplants.
Oxford T.II - Improved Oxford; mostly converted from Oxford Mk.I models (8); 9 examples.
AS.40 Oxford - Civilian conversion model; radio testbed; 2 examples converted.
AS.41 Oxford - Developmental Test Bed Aircraft for Alvis Leonides powerplant; single example.
AS.42 Oxford - New Zealand Air Force Variant
AS.43 Oxford - Survey Platform based on AS.42 model.
AS.46 Oxford Mk V - Fitted with Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engines of 450 horsepower; final production variant; standardized model for Oxford Mk I and Oxford Mk II types.
AS.65 Consul - Civilian Post-War Transport Models.
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