VH-BAF (2) Avro 652A Anson 1
Anson MH120 was one of
the small number retained by the RAAF for
postwar use and was sold as
late as February
1953 to Greenfields Air
Taxis of Albury NSW for 100 pounds. Gus Greenfield had
taken over the charter
business begun in Albury by Denys Dalton & John McInnerney (see
Proctors
VH-AYU
& AYV), and which included an
Anson VH-BLP
(ex DG913) used on charters and also
a scheduled passenger service
Albury-Holbrook-Wagga in 1951/52. VH-BLP was retired later in
1952 due to the poor condition of its wooden
wingspar, and MH120 was purchased as a replacement
and the registration VH-BLP was
re-issued to MH120. However, in the event, work on its civil con-
version was delayed for several years
until it was sold to Brain & Brown Airfreighters at Moorabbin.
It finally received its CofA in Sept 1957 at
Moorabbin as VH-BAF and went into use on general freight
and aerial survey
work. It is seen above at Moorabbin in 1960
with B&B
titling, and, in photograph
# 5, a rough image of it as MH120, also at
Moorabbin, in 1957. On 7 October 1960 VH-BAF
suffered a tire burst on takeoff from
Moorabbin when bound for King Island on a regular run to collect
crayfish. The resultant
ground-loop caused the undercarriage to collapse. The
damaged Anson was
stored in the Brian & Brown hangar at
Moorabbin until chosen as the prototype of a metal-wing con-
version that
Brain & Brown planned would keep Mk.1 Ansons flying in Australia
well past the DCA
grounding date of June 1962. Work
commenced in 1961, using a spare Avro XIX metal mainplane
and tailplane
purchased from RAAF stores in Adelaide, left over from the two Avro
XIXs used by the
RAAF at Woomera, VM374 &
VM375. Avro XIX style windows and the fitting of Cheetah XV
engines completed the
modification. The conversion was finally finished and the
highly modified "new"
VH-BAF took to the air at Moorabbin in May
1963. B&B's plan to convert several more Ansons
(one to be powered by
P&W R985 Wasp Juniors) was abandoned
due to the length of time it took
them to do -BAF. Immediately
below (image # 2) is a hangar shot of it undergoing the transformation.
The color image (# 3) shows -BAF at Moorabbin in November 1963 just
after the metal wing conversion.
By the time the color shot (# 4)
was taken at Ballarat
in the early 1960s, Terry Brain had taken over
ownership of it, and it carried the
cabin titling "Terry
&
Richie Brain". Terry Brain continued to fly this
metalized Anson
for another ten years after B&B ceased operating as a freight
carrier. Finally, it is seen
at a very wet Essendon in December 1975
looking remarkably pristine (shot # 6). VH-BAF then
spent time at the ill fated Wangaratta Air
World museum. It was the last airworthy Anson Mk 1 in
Australia
until it was sold in New
Zealand in 2002. It was completely
restored at Wakefield,
(near Nelson) N.Z. by 2012.as ZK-RRA in
full "glasshouse" configuration, dressed
up,obviously, as
a
"warbird" See photo No 7 below.
Photo credits: Top and # 5 - Neil
Follett (c/o
Geoff Goodall collection).
No 2
- Dick Hourigan
(c/o Geoff Goodall collection)
No.
3
- John Hopton (c/o Geoff Goodall
collection).
No 4
- Barry Maclean.
No
5
- Geoff Goodall
No
6
- Greg Banfield
No
7
- Rowan Hughes
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.