Old Warden, in Bedfordshire, is the home of the Shuttleworth Collection, which is just one part of Shuttleworth Old Warden Park. The estate was bought by the Shuttleworth family in 1872, and its connection with aviation matters evolved from Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth – a man whose interest in mechanical things led him to be heavily involved in motor racing, which lead naturally on to an interest in aircraft – after all it was possible to attend more then one meeting in a day if one flew between circuits!Richard purchased his first aircraft in 1932, a de Havilland Cirrus Moth, and increased his collection up to the point where he joined the RAF at the start of WWII. As a Pilot Officer he flew Fairey Battle light bombers, but tragically in August of 1940 lost his life during a night flight in one of these single engined bombers. His estate passed to his mother Dorothy, who in 1944 created a charitable trust in his name, and it is this trust that has enabled the estate to provide agricultural training and aviation related activities which continue unabated to this day.

This unique setting promised an early August feast of flying and pageantry for those who ventured forth on what promised to be a rain-free zone for at least one day during this disappointing summer. Fortunately for all who attended the weather was almost perfect with plenty of sunshine on hand, and only a strong gusting wind threatened to upset the day – some of the more delicate exhibits are too precious to risk during anything but the lightest of breezes. There was a strong representation of machinery on display with Luftwaffe markings – a sight that would have caused some consternation 65 years ago! None of these glorious aircraft was more welcomed than the Focke-Wulf Fw44 Stieglitz. The Stieglitz, (Goldfinch), was the first design guided by Kurt Tank after his move to Bremen from Albatros Fluzeugwerke. Work on the design began in 1931, and the two-seat biplane was designed from the outset for sporting and primary training use. After the usual ironing out of teething problems in early models, and a switch back to the reliable Siemens seven-cylinder radial engine, the Fw44C became an extremely successful design. With excellent publicity from the aerobatic exploits of airmen such as Emil Kopf and Ernst Udet, the Fw44 was produced in sufficient numbers, including license production abroad, to give the Focke-Wulf concern a foundation for future enterprises.

Another training aircraft on display was the Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann, a cabin monoplane which first flew in prototype form in February 1939. Although originally designed with sports touring in mind, its capabilities led to it supplanting other Bücker designs for the Luftwaffe’s standard basic trainer. Of mixed metal framework and wooden monocoque construction, the first deliveries for Luftwaffe service were made near the end of 1940. The example on display served with the Swedish Air Force at the F5 Training School until 1954, being purchased by the German Aero Club, and then private owners in Germany until it made its way to the UK in 2003. In additon to being produced at the parent company’s factory at Rangsdorf, wartime production was undertaken by Fokker in the Netherlands, AB Hägglund & Söner in Sweden, and by Zlin in what was known as Czechoslovakia. Production continued in both Sweden and Czechoslovakia after the war, and under license in Egypt at the Heliopolis works in the 1950’s where it was produced as the ”Gomhouria”, being supplied to the Egyptian Air Force.

One of the RAF’s counterparts to the Buecker Bestmann was the Miles Magister, an earlier design and the first monoplane trainer to be used by the Royal Air Force. It entered service in 1937 at the Central Flying School, RAF Upavon. From the famous Miles stable of all-wooden aircraft, the Magister helped to train thousands of airmen and for many was their first taste of the low-wing monoplane format which would lead onto aircraft such as the Supermarine Spitfire and the Hawker Hurricane. Designated M14A by Miles, nearly 1,300 were produced by 1941 at the Woodley, Reading location. Post-war large surplusses of these aircraft were sold on the to flying clubs and on the civil market under the designation Hawk Trainer Mk. III. 

A predecessor of the Magister in RAF service was the Avro 621 Tutor, designed in 1929 by the famous and prolific Roy Chadwick. The Tutor was designed to replace the venerable and incredibly successful Avro 504, which was only declared as obsolete in its 504N guise by the RAF in 1933. In this respect it can be said to have succeeded – the handling qualities of the 504N were superlative, the Tutor only slightly less so. The majority of type 621 were fitted with the 215hp Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV C engine, fitted with the distinctive Townend ring. The entry into service with the RAF progressed quickly as the Tutor was one of the first British aircraft to utilise the mass-production methods we are so familiar with today. Before this time there was a high proportion of handbuilt craftmanship required to complete each individual airframe. The jigs devised to construct sub-components for the Tutor airframe ensured a high degree of uniformity allowing the accelaration of overall airframe construction. K3215 is therefore a piece of aeronautical history, and even appeared in the film, ”Reach for the Sky”, though it suffered a crankshaft failure during filming. To see the Shuttleworth Collection’s Tutor cavorting at low level around the Bedfordshire countryside is a priviledge – it is the only surviving Tutor of over 800 built, some under license in South Africa and Denmark, but the majority by A.V. Roe and Co. Ltd.

Any mention of the Shuttleworth Collection would be incomplete without due credit being given to the “Shuttleworth Veteran Aeroplane Society”. The SVAS support the Collection in many ways; they help maintain airframes, acquire new exhibits, generate funds, and maintain decorum during the many events held at Old Warden every year, (woe betide he who disturbs the peace by leaving his car alarm activated!), the list could go on and on. To emphasise how unique the Collection and the people involved in its day to day existence are consider the Bristol M.1C, helping us look back at the early days of aviation. The M.1C is a replica constructed using traditional woodworking skills, and perpetuating the “string and fabric” age of aviation. Arising from a desperate shortage in the Royal Flying Corps of scout aircraft on the Western Front during the spring of 1916, the Bristol Company responded, using the relatively reliable Constantinesco-Colley interrupter gear allied to a Vickers machine gun and a monoplane format to produce a built prototype by July of 1916. It is recorded that the first flight of the prototype attained an indicated top speed of 132mph, (212kph), incredible for the time and powered by a 110hp Clerget rotary engine. History records that despite the performance offered by the new Scout and the desire for such an aircraft by the pilot officers of the RFC, it was considered that the landing speed of 49mph, (79kph), was too high for operational use. A production order of 125 aircraft issued during August 1917 led to aircraft being issued to Middle East squadrons. Some machines were issued to flying schools in the UK, and perhaps the most telling fact concerning the aircraft and its capabilities was that they these aircraft were invariably allocated as Senior Officer’s personal aircraft.

Sydney Camm’s contribution to the field of aviation is clearly defined when one thinks of some of the projects he was responsible for; consider the Hart, Fury, Hurricane, Tempest, Hunter, P.1127 – clearly a tremendous influence. One of these designs, the Hart, and its associated family of aircraft were the most produced military aircraft between the wars in Great Britain – numbers born from a sound capability and effectiveness. The Hawker Hind was part of the Hart family, an interim solution required of a better aircraft than its predecessors, but realizing that the age of the monoplane bomber was not too far away. First flown in September 1934, as a response to Specification G.7/34, the Hind made use of the Rolls-Royce Kestrel V engine, perhaps the biggest difference from the Hart. The Collection’s Hind is an ex-Afghan Air Force aircraft; one of eighteen delivered from 1938 onwards, and was collected in 1970, travelling over 6000 miles from Kabul to Old Warden. When Blenheims and Battles began to find their way into front line service with Bomber Command, Hinds were converted and relegated to training duty, and many pilots who would later fly Wellingtons, Halifaxes and Lancasters would have been acquainted with the Hind.

Edgar Percival started the Percival Aircraft Company in 1933, selling his interest in 1944 to the Hunting Group, though it was not until 1954 that the company was re-named Hunting Percival Aircraft. The Percival Provost came into being as there was a realization that the old regime of training pilots using the Prentice and Harvard was inadequate for the requirements placed on pilots progressing onto advanced jet aircraft. Percival had pre-empted Air Ministry Spec. T. 16/48 by developing type P.56 privately and their headstart lead to an official order for 200 aircraft in February of 1951. These aircraft were powered by the Alvis Leonides 126 engine, developing 550hp, (very similar to the Harvard). The manoeuvrability of the Prentice found much favour amongst trainees and instructors, and this was demonstrated at Old Warden within the tight confines of the aerodrome. When production ceased in 1956 a total of 387 had been built, but its logical development, the Jet Provost had already flown and been under trial by the RAF since 1955.

The legacy of the Trust was clear to see on this beautiful English summer’s day, a relaxed and appreciative audience enjoying unique and interesting flying in fine surroundings, and even the fact the Edwardian Collection was kept hangar side due to the stiff breeze gave no concern – after all it gave us a great reason to come along again later in the Summer.

Checksix would like to thank Karen Wilsher and Ian Frimston for their help on the day, and to all of the SVAS members who make the experience so alive and welcoming.

Scott Fellows / CHK6 UK

Release 4.0/2008

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