Which Baffins returned to active service in World War II?

Short answer

The ones that returned to the active unit list were New Zealand's Baffins, which before hostilities had mainly been used as trainers and were reactivated due to the threat from surface raiders. In Britain the type went into storage and played no part in the conflict.

Published: November 5, 2026 · Updated: November 5, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Which Baffins returned to active service in World War II?

HMS Furious 15

From the Ripon to the Baffin

The Baffin was a development of the Ripon whose main change was replacing the water-cooled Napier Lion with a 545 hp (406 kW) Bristol Pegasus I.MS radial. As early as 1928 Blackburn had pointed out that replacing the Lion with a modern air-cooled radial offered several advantages. Dispensing with the Lion's heavy radiators reduced weight and thereby increased payload, and air cooling also simplified maintenance.

New Zealand's Baffins

In August 1937 New Zealand agreed to buy a first batch of twelve Baffins from the Air Ministry, delivered in November of that year. It also bought the 17 airframes in best condition that were still in storage, delivered over the course of 1938. Before hostilities these aircraft had been used largely as trainers, but once the threat posed by surface raiders became apparent, the New Zealand Baffins returned to the list of active units.

The end of the type's career

In Britain, by contrast, the Baffin went into storage, did not return to British service with the outbreak of the Second World War and played no part in the conflict. In New Zealand, the Baffins were replaced by the larger, American-built Lockheed Hudson before the outbreak of war with Imperial Japan. According to accounts, the last Baffins were scrapped at Rongotai in 1941.