AVRO 626 'PREFECT'

The Avro 626 Prefect was a British biplane training aircraft with a metal structure, covered with linen, with a fixed landing gear from the interwar period and World War II. The drive was provided by a single engine Armstrong-Siddeley Lynx IVC with a power of 240 hp. The prototype flight took place in 1930. About 200 examples of this aircraft were produced in the course of serial production. The machine did not have a permanent armament. AV Roe and Company Ltd., after the great success of its previous machine - Avro 621 - decided to develop an aircraft that is very similar in structure, but more universal and intended for export markets. Avro 626 Prefect was to be used not only to train pilots, but also air observers, bombardiers and navigators. It differed from its predecessor with a more extensive set of on-board mechanisms, a simplified design and a place to mount a deck rifle, which the Avro 621 did not have. The design has won a large group of recipients, including the air forces of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Egypt and Portugal. A small batch of Avro 626 Prefect also entered RAF equipment, where it was a supplement to the Avro 621. The machine was withdrawn from service with the British Air Force in 1945.