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G-AMLZ Percival P.50 Prince (c/n P.46)

The aircraft is painted in the livery worn by the aircraft whilst in service in the 1950s with the Shell Refining & Marketing Co Ltd. External restoration is now almost complete thanks to the painstaking efforts of SAHG volunteers over the years.


Percival Prince History

In 1945, as the economy started to recover from the Second World War, company executives were forced to travel around the UK and Europe in a handful of ex-military aircraft. The DC-3 was too large and the Avro Anson was too noisy and uncomfortable to travel in over long distances.

Percival and other British manufacturers competed in the development of a design that would serve the needs of business executives to fly over distances of 500 to 1000 miles. In late 1945, Percival came up with a high-winged, twin-engine aircraft known as the P.48 Merganser of all metal construction with fabric control surfaces powered by two de Havilland Gipsy Queen 51 piston engines.

This aircraft was completed in mid 1946 and flown at the SBAC show at Radlett the following September. At this time the main competitor was de Havilland which was developing the Dove. They would not produce the Gipsy Queen engine for Percival so the aircraft had to be redesigned and Percival approached the motor manufacturer Alvis to produce a new engine for the aircraft.

The new aircraft was designated as the P.50 Prince and had many upgrades to the previous design in being all metal construction and could carry up to 10 people with a small cargo door at the rear. An initial batch of 10 aircraft was ordered and the final number produced in all marks was 74. The first flight was on 13th May 1948 (G-ALCM c/n P.50/1) and first delivery was to Hunting on 31st January 1950. Others were delivered to the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and civilian operators.


Percival Prince Specifications 
(Source: Aircraft of the World 1965 by Derek King)


Wingspan:   56ft (17.07m)
Length:   46ft 4ins (14.13m)
Height:   16ft 1ins (4.9m)
Powerplant:   2x Alvis Leonides radials
Cruise speed:   183mph (294kmh)
Range:   460 miles (740km) (max payload)
No. of passengers:   10/12


Timeline History


13/11/1951     First registered as a series 3E (short nose) for Shell Refining &
                       Marketing Co Ltd.
14/11/1952     Certificate of Airworthiness issued.
13/07/1954     Sold to Winston Freer Martin.
19/07/1956     Sold to Stewart Smith & Co.
14/10/1968     Sold to Timothy Meadows Clutterbuck.
29/03/1971     Withdrawn from use, stored at Coventry Radio Dept for preservation.
09/10/1984    Cancelled as Permanently Withdrawn from Use. Sold in 1994 to Air
                      Atlantique Historic Flight for possible restoration to flying condition
17/02/1997    Moved to Caernarfon Air World
2007              Acquired and dismantled by SAHG, stored at Millom
23/11/2008    Moved to Speke

References: Air Britain Historians, NW Air News, David Lindsay
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