An ex-Royal Navy Stinson AT-19 Reliant arrived in a crate at Oaksey Park airfield, Wiltshire on 22 January, after being shipped over for a new British owner from its former base at St Mary's County Regional Airport, Maryland. The aircraft, FK877/N69745, was one of 500-odd examples of the type supplied under Lend-Lease and operated by 24 second-line units of the Fleet Air Arm during the war years for navigational training and communications work. The first Reliant to be delivered to the FAA was FB544, which arrived with the Henstridge Station Flight in June 1944. Although the Royal Navy paperwork relating to FK877 was destroyed in 1956, it is known that the gull-wing monoplane served with 740 Squadron at Machrihanish and 703 Squadron at Thorney Island, and with the latter unit wore the code letter 'Z' on the cowling. The FAA aircraft were painted in extra dark sea grey and slate grey upper surfaces, with sky lower surfaces. Approximately 415 Reliants were returned to Norfolk, Virginia during early 1946, where an attempt by US authorities to sell them as surplus was thwarted, the AT-19 variant of the Reliant design having never been certified as a civilian aircraft. The Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation stepped in and bought them up, certifying them as the V-77.
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