Oh, Had I the Wings of an Avro

DESCRIPTION: "Oh, had I the wings of an Avro, Then far, far away I would soar, Right off to my pals down in Holland, And rest there the rest of the war."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Nettleingham-TommysTunes)
KEYWORDS: pilot war
FOUND IN: Britain
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Nettleingham-TommysTunes, #81, "Oh, Had I the Wings of an Avro" (1 short text, tune referenced)
Ward-Jackson/Lucas-AirmansSongBook, p. 65, "Wings of an Avro" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Roud #10805
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Dying Lancer" (tune)
NOTES [121 words]: In World War I (unlike World War II), the Netherlands were neutral, so what the pilot is saying is that he wants to be interned and safe from further fighting.
I would guess that the "Avro" mentioned is the Avro 504, since it is the only Avro aircraft mentioned in Stephen Pope and Elizabeth-Anne Wheal, Dictionary of the First World War, 1995 (I use the 2003 Pen & Sword paperback), pp. 52-53. It was a two-seat biplane, with the observer forward, initially used for reconnaissance and light bombing. Withdrawn from that service by 1915 (probably because it had a top speed of just 82 miles per hour and was limited in other performance areas as well), it served later in the war as a fairly successful training aircraft. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.8
File: NeTT081

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