When it entered service with No. 48 Squadron RAF Manston in March 1936, the Avro Anson became the first monoplane type to be given squadron status, and was also the first RAF aircraft to have retractable landing gear.
The RAF Anson Mk.I was armed with a fixed .303 machine gun mounted in the front, operated by the pilot, and a single Lewis gun mounted in a manually operated rear turret. It could also be fitted with a small bomb load, which was required by the submarine-hunting aircraft operated by Coastal Command.
Although the Royal Air Force entered World War II with 26 squadrons equipped with Avro Ansons, they were largely obsolete as combat aircraft and were quickly relegated to a support training role, a task for which the Faithful Annie was particularly well suited.
As part of the Empire Air aviation training programme, many thousands of aircrews destined for service with Bomber Command received training both in the UK and overseas.
