at
RAF Little Rissington,
Gloucestershire, in formation flight The Oxford (nicknamed the 'Ox-box') was used to prepare complete aircrews for
RAF Bomber Command and could simultaneously train pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, gunners and radio operators on the same flight. In addition to training duties, Oxfords were used in communications and anti-submarine roles and as air ambulances in the
Middle East. The Oxford was the preferred trainer for the Empire Air Training Scheme and
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), with over 2,900 sent to Commonwealth countries;
Australia, Canada (where the majority of training was carried out), New Zealand, South Africa, and Southern Rhodesia. 27 Oxfords were on the strength of No 4 Flying Training School
RAF Habbaniya,
Iraq in early 1941 and some were converted locally for use as light bombers to help in the
defence of the School against Iraqi forces. Oxfords continued to serve the Royal Air Force as trainers and light transports until the last was withdrawn from service in 1956. A small number of ex RAF Oxfords were converted to civilian use post-war, along with 152 more that were converted into 6-seat commercial airliners called the
AS.65 Consul. Meanwhile a fair number of surplus RAF aircraft were sold for use by overseas air arms, some as early as 1943, but mostly post-war. (see below) Most Oxfords in the UK were equipped with a knotted rope from the pilot's seat to the rear door to assist evacuation should the plane inadvertently be put into a spin, which it was almost impossible to recover from. When the pilot(s) released their seat belts centripetal force would hurl them to the rear of the plane, beyond the exit door, from which it was impossible to crawl forward to the door. The rope was installed as a response to a test by four "boffins" who tried to recover from a spin from 18,000 ft. When no recovery happened no matter what was tried the four released their harness and were hurled to the rear of their plane and there remained helpless as the spiral descent continued. However all was not lost. The plane was in such a
flat spin when it reached the ground that it skidded sideways over the surface of a field until the tail section hit a haystack and broke off. The four "boffins" walked away relatively unharmed, the knotted rope being their only positive remedy for an Oxford in a spin.
Australia From November 1940, the Royal Australian Air Force received 391 Oxford I and IIs from RAF contracts for use in Australia. Most of the survivors were sold in the early 1950s.
Canada The Royal Canadian Air Force ordered 25 Oxford Is in 1938. They were taken from RAF stocks and shipped to Canada in 1939 and assembled by Canadian Vickers at Montreal. Issued to the Central Flying School, they were later joined by large numbers of RAF aircraft to equip the Service Flying Training Schools. 819 Oxfords of all Marks were operated by the RCAF in Canada for the BCATP during the war.
New Zealand New Zealand was one of the first nations to order the Oxford in 1937 with a contract for five Oxford Is; the fifth aircraft was modified as a survey aircraft. They were delivered to New Zealand by sea and assembled at RNZAF Hobsonville at the end of 1938. The RNZAF placed further orders for six and then 30 Oxfords. With the start of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan a further 140 aircraft were allocated, which included the last batch of 30 ordered. In total, the RNZAF operated 299 Oxfords between 1938 and 1952.
South Africa As part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the South African Air Force was allocated nearly 700 Oxfords which started to arrive in South Africa from November 1940. Due to the intense training, 256 aircraft were lost to accidents. Most survivors were withdrawn in 1945 and had been sold by 1947.
United Kingdom Amy Johnson's Final Flight In January 1941, whilst flying an Oxford for the
Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA),
Amy Johnson flew off-course in adverse weather conditions, until her aircraft crashed into the
Thames Estuary. Accounts vary, but it is generally accepted that she bailed out, then succumbed to the intense cold whilst in the water, and may then have been dragged underneath a rescue vessel. In difficult sea conditions, the Captain of the rescue vessel, Lt Cmdr Walter Fletcher, entered the water in an attempt to retrieve what was thought to be a body, but he lost consciousness in the extreme cold, and died in hospital several days later.
United States The
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) used 137 Oxfords on loan from the Royal Air Force. Most were used as general-purpose communications aircraft in the United Kingdom; from June 1942 they were also used for
Beam Approach training. By the end of 1944, American types were available, and all USAAF Oxfords had been returned to the RAF. A small number had also been loaned to the USAAF in Australia by the Royal Australian Air Force. Two Oxfords were used by the
United States Navy in the United Kingdom as communications aircraft.
Other users ;Belgium • When the Belgian section of the Royal Air Force returned to Belgian control as the
Militaire Vliegwezen/Aviation Militaire (became the Belgian Air Force in 1949), the RAF donated thirty Oxfords to form a flying training school. They were used until the late 1950s with the last aircraft being donated to the Brussels War Museum in 1960. ;Belgian Congo :In April 1944 six Oxfords were transferred to the
Force Publique in the Belgian Congo, they were withdrawn from use in 1955. ;Burma • At least 15 Oxfords along with some Consuls were supplied to the Union of Burma Air Force in the late 1940s with some being modified to carry pod-mounted forward facing machine guns and rocket projectiles. ;Ceylon • Three former RAF Oxfords were delivered to the Royal Ceylon Air Force in 1953. ;Czechoslovakia • It is reported that some Oxfords were given the type code D42 and were used for bombing training. ;Denmark • From the end of 1946 the Danish Air Force received 44 former RAF Oxfords for advanced flying training at Karup, they were also used for communications and aerial photography, all were withdrawn by 1956. ;Egypt • RAF Oxfords where loaned to the Royal Egyptian Air Force but at least one was transferred in 1948. ;France • The Free French Air Force in Equatorial Africa (Groupe 'Artois') received five new Oxfords in 1943 and these served until 1946. ;Greece • The Royal Hellenic Air Force received at least 33 Oxfords in 1947 for transport and aerial photography. ;India • When India became independent in December 1947 nine Oxfords were transferred to the Royal Indian Air Force, later Indian Air Force from December 1949. ;Iran • Three Oxfords were delivered to the Imperial Iranian Air Force. ;Israel • Three Oxfords and eleven Consuls were used by the Central Flying School of the Israeli Defence Force Air Force for twin-engined training in the early 1950s. ;Netherlands • From May 1946 the Royal Netherlands Air Force received 28 Oxfords for aircrew training, they had been withdrawn from use by 1952. • In October 1947 the Royal Netherlands Navy received three Oxfords for multi-engined and navigation training from Valkenburg, two former Royal Netherlands Air Force aircraft were added in 1951, all were withdrawn by 1952. ;Norway • The Royal Norwegian Air Force bought twenty surplus Oxfords from the RAF in 1947. ;Portugal • The Portuguese Army and Navy each received six Oxfords in 1943 under Operation Oatmeal, by the time the Portuguese Air Force was formed in 1952 four aircraft were still in service. ;Turkey • The Turkish Air Force were supplied with 50 Oxford I's in 1943 and these were joined by twenty more between 1946 and 1947. They were replaced by the
AT-11 in the early 1950s and the survivors were scrapped. ;Yugoslavia • Five Oxfords were supplied to the Yugoslav Air Force between 1951 and 1958 by Norway under the Mutual Defence Aid Program and used for twin-engined training of Mosquito crews. ==Variants==