56 RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS
PIONEER AND TWI
1950 TO 1969
SCOTTISH AVIATION
“The type was also used in support of
infantry units during the Brunei campaign
from 1962 to 1966 and as Forward Air
Controllers with 20 Squadron at RAF
Tengah, Singapore in 1969.”
the Malayan Emergency
(Operation Firedog) as well as in
Aden and Cyprus.
During Firedog the Pioneers kept
the jungle forts supplied and by the
time the war was over in July 1960,
some 38,000 Pioneer sorties had
been flown.The type was also used in support
of infantry units during the Brunei
campaign from 1962 to 1966 and
as forward air controllers with 20
Squadron at RAF Tengah, Singapore
in 1969.
The last examples in mainland UK
service were those of 230 SquadronA
mong the best-performing
Short Take Off and Landing
(STOL) aircraft to serve with
the RAF were the Scottish Aviation
Pioneer and its twin-engined
derivative, the Twin Pioneer or
‘Twin Pin’.
The Pioneer was designed to
meet the requirements of Air
Ministry Specification A.4/45 for
a light communication aircraft
and originally flew with a 240hp
(179kW) de Havilland Gipsy Queen
engine. The prototype flew on
November 5, 1947 but performance
was disappointing and the aircraft
failed to win the RAF order.
Undeterred, Scottish Aviation
redesigned the prototype for civilian
use as the Pioneer II, powered by
a 520hp (388kW) Alvis Leonides
radial powerplant. It was re-flown
on May 5, 1950 and demonstrated
excellent STOL performance. As
such it was ordered by the RAF
as the Pioneer CC.1 for use as
a communications and casualty
evacuation (casevac) aircraft.
Production examples were fitted
with full-span controlled leading-
edge wing slats and large-area
Fowler-type trailing-edge flaps,
which enabled the aircraft to take off
and land in less than 225ft (69m).CASEVAC DUTIES
The aircraft entered service with
267 Squadron in Kuala Lumpur, in
February 1954 and went on to be
used for casevac duties duringType: Transport, communications, counter-insurgency and medical
evacuation
First fl ight: June 25, 1955; entered RAF service 1958
Powerplant: Two 550hp (410kW) Alvis Leonides radials
Dimensions: Span 76ft 6in (23.32m), length 45ft 3in (13.79m)
Weights: Empty 10,200lb (4,267kg), all-up 14,600lb (6,623kg)
Max speed: 165mph (266km/h) at 2,000ft (610m)
Range: 398 miles (641km)
Capacity: 13 troops or 2,000lb (907kg) or cargo. Bomb load: 1,000lb (454kg),
four 500lb (227kg) or four 250lb (227kg) bombs beneath the wings
and a pair of Browning machine guns, or a single Bren gun in the
fuselage door
Replaced: Scottish Aviation Pioneer
Taken on charge: 39
Replaced by: Westland WhirlwindSCOTTISH AVIATION TWIN PIONEER
Right
RAF Pioneers operating
from an austere desert
air strip in 1960. KEY1918 2018