Westland Lysander

The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft of World War II. It achieved fame through its ability to operate from short stretches of unprepared airstrip and its clandestine missions to plant or retrieve agents behind enemy lines, particularly in Nazi-occupied France.

In 1934, the Air Ministry issued a specification, A.39/34, for an army co-operation aircraft to replace the Hawker Hector. Initially, Hawker, Avro, and Bristol were invited to submit designs, but after some debate within the Ministry, a submission from Westland was accepted as well. The Westland design, internally designated P.8 was the work of Arthur Davenport under the direction of Edward Petter, who spent much time interviewing RAF pilots to find out what they wanted from such an aircraft. This research suggested that field of view, low-speed handling characteristics, and STOL performance were the most important factors, and Davenport and Petter worked to design an aircraft around them. The result was highly unconventional, and, in 1934, apparently antiquated. The Lysander featured high gull wings, and fixed undercarriage carried in huge spats which had mountings for small, removable stub wings that could be used to carry bombs or supply canisters. On the other hand, the aircraft was equipped with automatic slats and flaps, novel features for the era. The Air Ministry requested two prototypes of the P.8 and the competing Bristol Type 148, and quickly selected the Westland aircraft for production, issuing a contract in September 1936.

The first Lysanders entered service in June 1938 and were initially used for message-dropping and artillery spotting. When war broke out in Europe, the type equipped four squadrons of the British Expeditionary Force in France. When these were put into action as spotters and light bombers, they made very easy pickings for the Luftwaffe and the type was quickly withdrawn from its original role. It was not long, however, until the Special Operations Executive adopted the aircraft to fly missions in support of the French Resistance, smuggling agents on and off the continent, dropping weapons, radios, and equipment, and rescuing downed aircrews. In this role, the Lysander was outstanding, and it continued in this capacity until the liberation of France. The type also filled other, less glamorous roles such as target-towing and communication aircraft. It was also licence-built in Canada to fill these roles. All British Lysanders were withdrawn from service in 1946.

Export customers of the type included Finland, Ireland, Turkey, Portugal, the United States, and Egypt. Egyptian Lysanders were the last to see active service, against Israel in the War of Independence in 1948.

A total of 1,786 were built, including 225 Canadian examples. A small number are preserved in museums in the UK and Canada.