View source for Taylorcraft Auster

{{Short description|1942 British liaison aircraft family}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=August 2008}}
{{Infobox aircraft
  |name = Auster
  |image =File:Taylorcraft J Auster Mk5 AN1600880.jpg
  |caption = Taylorcraft J Auster Mk5
  |type = [[Liaison aircraft]]
  |manufacturer = [[Auster Aircraft|Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited]]
  |designer = [[Clarence Gilbert Taylor]]
  |first_flight = <!--if it hasn't happened, leave it out!-->
  |introduction = [[1942 in aviation|1942]]
  |retired = <!--date the aircraft left military or revenue service. if vague or multiples, it probably should be skipped-->
  |status = <!--in most cases, this field is redundant; use it sparingly-->
  |primary_user = [[Royal Air Force]]
  |more_users = [[Royal Australian Air Force]]<br />[[Royal Canadian Air Force]]<br />[[Royal Netherlands Air Force]]
  |produced = <!--years in production, e.g. 1970–1999, if still in active use but no longer built-->
  |number_built = 1,630
  |unit cost =
  |developed_from = [[Taylor Cub]]
  |developed_into = [[Beagle Terrier|Beagle A.61 Terrier]]
}}

The '''Taylorcraft Auster''' was a British military [[liaison aircraft|liaison]] and observation aircraft produced by the [[Auster Aircraft|Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited]] company during the [[Second World War]].

==Design and development==
The Auster was a twice-removed development of an American [[Taylorcraft]] design of civilian aircraft, the [[Taylorcraft A|Model A]]. The Model A had to be redesigned in Britain to meet more stringent Civil Aviation standards and was named the '''Taylorcraft Plus C'''.<ref name="Mondey1994">Mondey 1994, p. 71.</ref><ref name="March2000">March 2000, p. 225.</ref> After the start of the Second World War, the company developed the model further as an [[air observation post]] (AOP)—flown by officers of the [[Royal Artillery]] and used for directing [[artillery]]-fire of the artillery.

[[File:Auster Taylorcraft C.2.jpg|thumb|Prewar Taylorcraft C/2, impressed by the RAF in September 1941, seen postwar]]
[[File:Auster I G-AHGW Barton 08.83.jpg|thumb|Auster I converted postwar to Taylorcraft Plus D, restored in wartime markings as ''LB382'' of 653 Squadron RAF]]

The Plus C was re-engined with the Blackburn [[Cirrus Minor (engine)|Cirrus Minor]] I [[Piston engine|engine]] and was re-named the '''Taylorcraft Plus D'''. Most of the civil Plus Cs and Ds were pressed into [[Royal Air Force]] service; the Plus Cs were re-engined with the Cirrus Minor I and re-named '''Plus C2'''.

Pre-war tests identified the Taylorcraft Model D as the most suitable aircraft for an AOP.  Three more '''Ds''' were purchased from Taylorcraft and a trials unit, D Flight, under Major Charles Bazeley RA, formed at Old Sarum on 1 February 1940. The flight with three Austers, one Stinson 105, three artillery and one RAF pilot, moved to France where they trained with artillery and practiced fighter avoidance with Hurricanes of the Air Component of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] before moving south to train with French artillery. The flight did not participate in the fighting and withdrew without loss to Britain. The War Office then ordered 100 [[Stinson L-1 Vigilant]]s. Formation of the [[RAF Army Cooperation Command]] in December 1940 led to the RAF rejecting the very notion of light AOP aircraft.

Intercession by General [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Alan Brooke]] led to an accommodation and the first AOP pilot course for artillery officers taking place in October 1940. In 1941, the first AOP squadron, 651, formed. Stinson Vigilants eventually arrived in early 1942 but most had been severely damaged in transit leading to the adoption of the Taylorcraft Auster 1 and an order for 100 aircraft was placed. Some of the Stinsons were resurrected but found to be too big for the AOP squadrons.<ref>Mead 1983, pp. 157–163.</ref>

The '''Auster II''' was a re-engined aircraft with an American {{cvt|130|hp}} [[Lycoming O-290]] engine. Due to the shortage of American engines that version was not built but led to the '''Auster III''' ('''Model E'''), which was the same as the Auster I but had a {{cvt|130|hp}} [[de Havilland Gipsy Major]] engine. The next development was the '''Auster IV''' ('''Model G''') which had a slightly larger cabin with three seats and used the Lycoming O-290. The main production version was the '''Auster V''' ('''Model J''') which was an Auster IV with [[Instrument flight rules|blind flying instruments]], and a conventional trimmer design.<ref>Ellison 1966, p. 72.</ref><ref>Hitchman 1989, p. 54.</ref>

Post war, the Auster Mark V was used as the basis for the [[Auster Autocrat|Auster J/1 Autocrat]] intended for the civilian market; the British firm having changed their name to [[Auster Aircraft|Auster]] and stopped licensing from Taylorcraft. Further military aircraft were supplied, the [[Auster AOP6]], Auster T7 (a trainer) and the [[Auster AOP9]].

==Operational history==
The Auster Mark III, IV and V were issued to twelve RAF, one Polish and three [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] (RCAF) air observation post (AOP) Squadrons. The first to deploy was [[No. 651 Squadron RAF|651 Squadron]]. The leading elements landed in Algiers on 12 November 1942 with eight aircraft, eleven Royal Artillery (RA) pilots, 39 RA soldiers and 25 airmen (mostly maintenance technicians). The normal strength of an AOP squadron was 12 aircraft, 19 RA officers (all pilots), 83 RA other ranks and 63 RAF including two administrative officers. Aircraft were fitted with an Army No 22 Wireless, an HF set providing two-way voice communications with artillery units and formations on the ground.

On 31 March 1943 Army Cooperation Command was disbanded, most of its assets being used to form the [[RAF Second Tactical Air Force|Second Tactical Air Force]]. Four squadrons (651, [[No. 654 Squadron RAF|654 Squadron]], [[No. 655 Squadron RAF|655 Squadron]] and [[No. 657 Squadron RAF|657 Squadron]]) fought in North Africa and Italy, being joined from August 1944 by [[No. 663 Squadron RAF|663 Polish squadron]]. The other seven RAF squadrons (Nos. [[No. 652 Squadron RAF|652]], [[No. 653 Squadron RAF|653]], [[No. 658 Squadron RAF|658]], [[No. 659 Squadron RAF|659]], [[No. 660 Squadron RAF|660]], [[No. 661 Squadron RAF|661]] and [[No. 662 Squadron RAF|662]]) operated after D-Day in France, the Low Countries and into Germany.

[[No. 664 Squadron RCAF|664 Squadron]], [[No. 665 Squadron RCAF|665 Squadron]], and [[No. 666 Squadron RCAF|666 Squadron]] RCAF were also issued with the Auster Mk. IV and V, formed at [[RAF Andover]] in late 1944 and early 1945. The RCAF squadrons were manned by Canadian personnel of the [[Royal Canadian Artillery]] and the RCAF, with brief secondment to the squadrons with pilots from the Royal Artillery; control was maintained in Britain by 70 Group, [[RAF Fighter Command]]. The three squadrons deployed from RAF Andover to the Netherlands, to Dunkirk in France, where the last Canadian 'shots' in Europe were fired and later to occupied Germany. [[No. 656 Squadron RAF|656 Squadron]] RAF was assigned to the [[Fourteenth Army (United Kingdom)|Fourteenth Army]] and used Austers in Burma, generally with flights assigned to each corps. In the European theatre a squadron was generally assigned to each corps but under command for technical matters of an RAF group.

The [[No. 16 Air Observation Post Flight RAAF|16 AOP Flight]] and [[No. 17 Air Observation Post Flight RAAF|17 AOP Flight]] of the [[Royal Australian Air Force]] (RAAF) operated Auster Mark III aircraft in support of the [[Australian Army]] in the [[Pacific War]] from October 1944 until the end of the war.<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Stewart |title=Military Aircraft of Australia |date=1994 |publisher=Aerospace Publications |location=Weston Creek|isbn=1875671080 |pages=216}}</ref>

Postwar Auster AOP aircraft were reorganised into independent flights (probably because the RAF used Wing-Commanders, equivalent to Lieutenant-Colonels, to command squadrons while the army insisted on Majors) including 1903 Flight in Korea that had artillery pilots from several Commonwealth countries. There was also an Auster-equipped 1913 Liaison Flight. Air OP flights also operated in the Malayan Emergency. Several AOP squadrons were reformed within the [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] in 1949 and these operated some AOP.5s, [[Auster AOP.6|AOP.6s]] and AOP.9s until at least March 1957, when the Auxiliary Air Force was disbanded. All Auster AOP units were transferred to the [[Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)|Army Air Corps]] when it was formed in September 1957, with AAC squadrons using numbers starting with 651. The air observation duties, counter-insurgency and casualty evacuation performed by Auster and similar [[light aircraft]] were generally taken over by light [[helicopter]]s from the mid-1960s.

Several Taylorcraft Austers formed, with other civil light aircraft, part of the initial equipment of the [[Sherut Avir]], formed in November 1947 as the air component of the Jewish paramilitary organisation [[Haganah]], which later became part of the [[Israeli Air Force]]. They were supplemented early in 1948 by six ex-RAF Austers that had been assembled from hulks of 25 aircraft purchased as scrap. These aircraft formed the core of Israel's air force in the early part of the [[1947–1949 Palestine war]], being used for reconnaissance and supply missions, while also being used to drop home-made bombs on Arab forces.<ref>Nordeen 1991, pp.6–7</ref>

==Variants==
[[File:Auster Mk III ExCC.jpg|right|thumb|Auster III]]

;Taylorcraft Plus C
:Original civilian version with a [[Lycoming O-145]]-A2 engine, 23 built (one prototype and 22 production aircraft).
;Taylorcraft Plus C2
:Plus C re-engined with a {{cvt|90|hp|kW}} Cirrus Minor I engine for the [[Royal Air Force]], 20 conversions.
;Taylorcraft Plus D
:Plus C with a 90hp Cirrus Minor I engine, nine built.
;Taylorcraft Auster I
:(Model D1) Military version of Plus C2, 100 built.
;Taylorcraft Auster II
:(Model F) Auster I with a [[Lycoming O-290]] engine, two built, later converted to Auster IIIs
;Taylorcraft Auster III
:(Model E) Auster I with a [[de Havilland Gipsy Major]] engine, two prototypes converted from Model F (Auster I) and 467 built new.
;Taylorcraft Auster IV
:(Model G) Three-seat version with a Lycoming O-290-3/1 H.O. engine, 253 built.
;Taylorcraft Auster V
:(Model J) Auster IV with blind flying instruments (Vacuum pump) and flap modification, and removable armour plate installed for pilot only, 791 built.
;Taylorcraft Auster Model H
:Experimental tandem two-seat training glider converted from a Taylorcraft B.

==Operators==

===Military operators===
[[File:Auster III R.Australian.AF Point Cook 03.88.jpg|thumb|right|Auster III of the Royal Australian Air Force at the RAAF Museum, Point Cook, Victoria, in March 1988]]
;{{flagu|Australia}}:
* [[Royal Australian Air Force]]<ref name="adf">[http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a11.htm ADF-Serials Auster Page]</ref> 56 Auster IIIs
** [[No. 2 Communications Unit RAAF]]
** [[No. 16 air observation post Flight RAAF]]
** [[No. 17 air observation post Flight RAAF]]
** [[No. 3 Squadron RAAF]]
** [[No. 77 Squadron RAAF]]
** [[No. 454 Squadron RAAF]]
** [[Aircraft Research and Development Unit RAAF]]
* [[Royal Australian Navy]]<ref name="adf" />
** [[723 Squadron RAN]]
** [[724 Squadron RAN]]
** [[725 Squadron RAN]]

;{{flag|Burma|1948}}
* [[Burma Air Force]] – Postwar
;{{flag|Canada|1921}}:
* [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]
** [[No. 664 Squadron RCAF]]
** [[No. 665 Squadron RCAF]]
** [[No. 666 Squadron RCAF]]
* [[Canadian Army]] – Postwar
;{{CZS}}
* [[Czechoslovak Air Force]] – three Auster IIIs, in service from 1945 to 1948.
;{{flag|Greece|old}}
* [[Hellenic Air Force]] – postwar, 20 Auster IIIs
;{{flag|Hong Kong|colonial}}
* [[Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force]] – Postwar
;{{IDN}}
* [[Indonesian Air Force]] – ex-Dutch aircraft
;{{ISR}}:
* [[Israeli Air Force]]
;{{JOR}} ([[Emirate of Transjordan|Transjordan]])
* [[Arab Legion]]
* [[Royal Jordanian Air Force]]
;{{flag|Libya}}
* [[Libyan Air Force]]
;{{NLD}}:
* [[Royal Netherlands Air Force]]
* [[Royal Netherlands Navy]]
** [[Dutch Naval Aviation Service]]
* [[Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force]] – postwar
;{{NOR}}
* [[Royal Norwegian Air Force]] in exile in the United Kingdom –  Nine aircraft in service from 1944 to 1945. Used by Nos 331 and 332 Norwegian Squadrons as communications aircraft.
;{{PAK}}
* [[Pakistan Air Force]] – postwar
* [[Pakistan Army]] – ex-Pakistan Air Force aircraft
** [[Pakistan Army Aviation Corps]]
;{{POL}}:
* [[Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain|Polish Air Force in exile in Great Britain]]
** [[No. 663 Squadron RAF|663 Polski Szwadron Powietrznych Punktów Obserwacyjnych]] (1944–1946)
;{{flag|South Africa|1928}}
* [[South African Air Force]]
;{{flagu|United Kingdom}}:
* [[British Army]]
** [[Army Air Corps (United Kingdom)|Army Air Corps]]
* [[Royal Air Force]]
[[File:Auster.aop9.tw511.arp.jpg|thumb|A Royal Air Force Auster warbird]]
** [[No. 651 Squadron RAF|No. 651 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 652 Squadron RAF|No. 652 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 653 Squadron RAF|No. 653 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 654 Squadron RAF|No. 654 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 655 Squadron RAF|No. 655 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 656 Squadron RAF|No. 656 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 657 Squadron RAF|No. 657 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 658 Squadron RAF|No. 658 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 659 Squadron RAF|No. 659 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 660 Squadron RAF|No. 660 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 661 Squadron RAF|No. 661 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 662 Squadron RAF|No. 662 (AOP) Squadron RAF]]
** [[No. 663 Squadron RAF|No. 663 (AOP) Squadron RAF]] 1947–1949

==Specifications (Auster V)==
{{Aircraft specs
|prime units?=kts

|ref= ''British Warplanes of World War II'' and ''British Aircraft of World War II''.
|crew=3
|length ft= 22
|length in= 5
|length m= 6.83
|span ft= 36
|span in= 0
|span m= 10.97
|height ft= 8
|height in= 0
|height m= 2.44
|wing area sqft= 167
|wing area sqm= 15.51
|empty weight lb= 1,100
|empty weight kg=  499
|max takeoff weight lb= 1,850
|max takeoff weight kg= 839
|eng1 name=[[Lycoming O-290]]-3
|eng1 type= flat-four piston
|eng1 number= 1
|eng1 hp= 130
|eng1 kw= 97
|max speed kts= 113
|max speed kmh= 209
|range miles= 250
|range km= 402
|range note= or {{cvt|400|nmi|km mi}} with long range tank fitted.
|stall speed kts=28
|stall speed kmh=51
|more performance= *'''Takeoff run:''' 91 ft (28 m)

}}

==Surviving aircraft==

{| class="wikitable"
!style=max-width:4em | Serial
!style=max-width:8em | Geographic location
!style=max-width:8em | Institutional location
!History
!style=max-width:8em | Photo
|-valign="top"
|NJ695
|[[Lee-on-the-Solent|Lee on the Solent, Hampshire, UK]]
|[[RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Daedalus)|The Historic Aircraft Hangar, "Bellman 4", Solent Airport, EGHF]]
|Auster Mk.IV, built in 1943 and deployed to France in July 1944. It was operated by 661 squadron in Europe until the squadron was disbanded. Demobbed and civilianised by Taylorcraft England, it was sold to a flying school in East Anglia in 1948, then to a French parachuting club in 1958, before returning to the UK in 1973. Currently in flyable condition, restoration to full airworthiness is planned to be completed in 2024.
|[[File:Auster AOP IV.jpg|alt=NJ695 Auster Mk.IV|thumb|NJ695]]
|-
|TW384
|[[Rakovník|Rakovník, Czechia]]
|[[Rakovnik Airport, LKRK]]
|Auster Mk.V, C/N 1753, To 20 MU Aston Down 31.8.45. To CS(A) at A&AEE, Boscombe Down 12.9.46 (to replace TW513 for photography of smokescreens & communications duties). To 20 MU Aston Down 13.7.48. To 1960 Flt/661 Squadron, Kenley 19.5.49; coded 'RCE-D'. To 19 MU St Athan 20.9.51. Sold 1953. Operated by [[Channel Airways]] from 1954 to 1974 as G-ANHZ. Sold to Switzerland in 1995 as HB-EZJ and fully restored in Switzerland to original condition. Since 2022 OK-BTA, privately owned by Jiri Hruska.
|
|-
|MS980
|[[Niederöblarn|Niederöblarn, Austria]]
|[[Niederöblarn Airport]]
|Auster MK.V built in February 1944 as MS980, issued to 661 Squadron "C Flight" on 15.06.1944; Transferred to 652 Squadron on 12.4.1945, released to 663 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force on 11.8.1949; Put in storage surplus 3.3.1954; civilized as G-ANGW and sold to the Austrian Flying Club "Fliegerclub Wien Aspern" registered since then in Austria as OE-AAT.
Was sold to Fliegerclub Fürstenfeld in 1964, removed from flying in 1984 and put in long term storage until 2004. Now restored to original authentic RAF WWII D Day factory config including camouflage between 2006-2012 by Erich and Matthias Lemmerer; Aircraft based in Austria;
|[[File:Luidolt Werner-0164334.jpg|alt=Austrian based MS980 Auster A.O.P. V |thumb|MS980 OE-AAT]]
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Aviation}}
{{aircontent
|related=
* [[Taylorcraft B]]
|similar aircraft=
* [[Fieseler Fi 156]]
* [[Piper Cub]]
* [[Polikarpov Po-2]]
* [[Stinson L-1 Vigilant]]
* [[Stinson L-5 Sentinel]]
* [[Taylorcraft L-2]]
|sequence=
|lists=
* [[List of aircraft of World War II]]
|see also=
}}

==References==

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Blackburn, George. ''Where The Hell are the Guns?''. Toronto, Canada: McClelland & Stewart Publishing, 1997. {{ISBN|0-7710-1504-6}}.
* {{cite journal |last1=Cortet |first1=Pierre |title=Rétros du Mois |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=December 1999 |issue=81 |page=43 |trans-title=Retros of the Month |language=French |issn=1243-8650}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Elliott |first1=Bryn |title=On the Beat: The First 60 Years of Britain's Air Police |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=January–February 1999 |issue=79 |pages=68–75 |issn=0143-5450}}
* Ellison, N. H. ''Auster Aircraft – Aircraft Production List.'' Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1966.
* Fromow, LCol. D. L. ''Canada's Flying Gunners: A History of the Air Observation Post of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery''. Ottawa, Canada: Air Observation Post Pilots Association, 2002. {{ISBN|0-9730055-0-5}}.
* Hitchman, Ambrose. ''The History of the Auster Aeroplane''. Bingley, UK: International Auster Pilot Club, 1989.
* Jackson, A. J. ''British Civil Aircraft since 1919, Volume 1''. London: Putnam and Company, 1974. {{ISBN|0-370-10006-9}}.
* Justo, Craig P. "Talkback". ''[[Air Enthusiast]]'' No. 107, September/October 2003. p.&nbsp;74. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}
* Ketley, Barry. ''Auster – A Brief History of the Auster Aircraft in British Military Service ''. Ottringham, UK: Flight Recorder Publications, 2005. {{ISBN|0-9545605-6-6}}.
* Macfarlane, Arrol. "Warlike Sketches, 1939-1945". {{ISBN|978-1537112718}}.
* Nordeen, Lon. ''Fighters Over Israel''. Guild Publishing, 1991. {{ISBN|9-781853-670985}}.
* {{cite journal |last1=Lopes|first1=Mario C.|title=Courrier des Lecteurs |journal=Avions: Toute l'aéronautique et son histoire |date=February 2000 |issue=83 |page=3 |trans-title= Readers' Letters |language=French |issn=1243-8650}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Lopes |first=Mario Canongia |title=In at the Deep End: The Auster in Portuguese Military Service |magazine=[[Air Enthusiast]] |date=March–April 1997 |issue=68 |pages=26–31 |issn=0143-5450}}
* March, Daniel J. ''British Warplanes of World War II: Combat Aircraft of the RAF and Fleet Air Arm, 1939-1945''. Rochester, Kent, UK: Grange Books plc, 2000. {{ISBN|1-84013-391-0}}.
* Mead, Brigadier Peter. ''The Eye in the Air – History of Air Observation and Reconnaissance for the Army 1785-1945''. London, UK: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1983. {{ISBN|0-11-771224-8}}.
* Mondey, David. ''The Hamlyn Concise Guide to British Aircraft of World War II''. London: Chancellor Press, 1994. {{ISBN|1-85152-668-4}}.
* {{cite journal |title=Pentagon Over the Islands: The Thirty-Year History of Indonesian Military Aviation |journal=Air Enthusiast Quarterly |date=n.d. |issue=2 |pages=154–162 |issn=0143-5450}}
* "Taylorcraft Auster". ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft''. (Part Work 1982–1985). London: Orbis Publishing, 1985.
* Willis, David. "Military Auster A to Z: Unarmed and in the frontline." ''[[Air Enthusiast]]'', Issue 121, January/February 2006, pp.&nbsp;40–57. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}.
* Willis, David. "Military Auster A to Z: Post-war use and experimentals." ''[[Air Enthusiast]]'', Issue 122, March/April 2006, pp.&nbsp;42–57. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}.
* Willis, David. "Military Auster A to Z: n different colours – Exports." ''[[Air Enthusiast]]'', Issue 123, May/June 2006, pp.&nbsp;64–72. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Auster V}}
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070223063953/http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/Auster.htm Fleet Air Arm archive]}}
* [http://www.austerhg.org/auster_mags/Auster%20Quarterly%20Volume%201%20Number%201.pdf International Auster Pilot Club magazine, 1974]

{{Auster aircraft}}
{{Czech liaison aircraft}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Auster aircraft]]
[[Category:1940s British military reconnaissance aircraft]]
[[Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1942]]
[[Category:Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear]]