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The Balliol T2 was an advanced trainer for the RAF to meet specification T745 (1945). It was initially designed to have a turbo prop engine and was given an Armstrong Siddeley engine with which it flew in 1948. There were problems with this engine and as the RAF had many Rolls Royce Merlin engines from World War 2 the Balliol was given a Merlin 35 engine. There were 2 accidents, the first was when the plane was coming in to land at Pendeford and the propellor disced thus stopping the plane. The second accident, in 1948, involved the test pilot Lindsay Neil and Peter Tishaw who were performing a high speed dive over the factory when the windscreen caved in. Sadly both men were killed when the plane crashed at Coven Heath. 267 Balliols were built, mostly for the RAF, 12 for the Ceylon Royal Air Force and approximately 20 for the Royal Navy. Why Balliol? J. D. North who designed the plane had a lot of contact with Balliol College, Oxford re aerodynamics.

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