Search the Community

Airspeed Oxford & Consul – Warpaint #136 Guideline Publications The Oxford was a development of an earlier design to fulfil a role as a trainer and small airliner before WWII, an opportunity that Airspeed hadn’t been afforded before it hooked up with Swann Hunter to obtain a higher profile that allowed them to bid for government contracts such as the twin-engined trainer that became the Oxford, which was used extensively for pilot and gunner training as well as a multitude of other tasks throughout its long and varied career. Powered by a pair of Cheetah X engine, it was capable of doing a creditable impression of a bomber of the day, and was a pleasant aircraft to fly, with a comfortable airy cockpit and polite handling. It was also used for other tasks, such as communications, air ambulance in military service, and all manner of other jobs in civil and industrial service, especially after the war when many Oxfords were converted to Consuls without the military equipment, freeing up space for passenger seats, load area, or other equipment. The type eventually became obsolete, and most airframes were retired after a long career, sometimes changing hands more than once. Those that weren’t lost to the occasional accident were generally worn out and scrapped, but a few survived in one form another, finding their way into the hands of worthy groups of people that set about restoring them. Most restored aircraft went direct to museum display, but one or two were capable of flight once restored, although there aren’t any currently flying at time of writing. The Book The book by author William Harrison is in the usual Warpaint format of portrait A4(ish) with a soft card cover but for the time being at least, with higher page counts of recent editions, it utilises a perfect binding instead of the usual pair of staples to accommodate the genuine total of 48 pages plus genuine content printed on the four sides of the glossy covers, including a two-page spread of plans in 1:72, penned by Sam Pearson. The initial section details the birth of the type in detail, with some interesting titbits of information included, then the subsequent pages detail the relatively few types, with only the ambulance variant appearing out of the norm. Many of the later photos are in colour, with some from the wide range of overseas operators of the Oxford and Consol, as well as the usual official sources and historical records that were kept by the developers, restorers, civilian operators, and manufacturers. The pages include a lot of useful photos with informative captions of aircraft on the apron, on the field, in the air, during trials, and even some photos of damaged aircraft that had crashed, one ending up embedded in a shed. The Profiles section is extensive, running to eight pages, and shows a range of colours in which the type was painted, including some of the military and more colourful schemes, such as the Royal Flight airframe in blue and red, as well as some that were used as hacks by US Squadrons in the UK that were either partially or totally repainted from their British delivery colours. My favourite variant is usually the slightly weird one, but it seems that the makers didn’t see fit to mess about with the basic design very much, perhaps out of respect for the clean, graceful lines of the original, or simply because it wasn’t Airspeed’s way of working. Of the schemes that are shown in the eight pages of profiles, the stars-and-bars does look quite interesting, at least to me, as does the Royal Flight option, but I also like the British option with a turret, which works out conveniently well as it happens. The In Detail section is an interesting look at the aircraft at close range that although it only spans a single page, gives a look at the aircraft from some unusual angles that will be of interest to most modellers. Speaking of models, we’re fortunate to have kits in the dominant 1:72 and 1:48 scales, although the 1:32 modellers might be a little upset at that statement for two reasons. Special Hobby’s 1:48 kit is being re-released shortly as I write this, and as I have been reading through, I’ve become more fond of the Oxford than previously, and it’s the turreted variant so is quite appealing. I’ll try to remember to cross-link the book and kit when both are online. Conclusion The Warpaint series always gets a thumbs-up due to their consistent layout and quality. This is an excellent book that will see plenty of use by anyone interest in, or in building this unsung hero that trained so many of our bomber pilots and gunners during WWII. Note: You can buy either the traditional physical version of the book by following the link below, or the digital version if you’re more modern and forward thinking, or have limited storage space. Digital reference is starting to grow on me. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of