Avro York (1946)

Work on a transport version of the Avro Lancaster began in 1941. The design used the wings, engines and tail of the Lancaster and a higher capacity box-section fuselage. The prototype first flew on 5 July 1942, when it was found that the slab-sided fuselage was susceptible to cross-winds, so a third fin was added to improve lateral stability. The third aircraft, LV 633, was equipped to VIP standard and joined the King’s Flight in May 1943. It flew King George VI on visits to North Africa and Italy and Prime Minister Winston Churchill to several of his most important wartime conferences.

Eventually 257 Yorks were built, 208 for the RAF and the remainder for BOAC and other airlines. BOAC used the York on several long-haul routes: its Springbok Service to Johannesburg, operated jointly with South African Airways, took 33 flying hours and two overnight stops. For these long journeys, the aircraft could be fitted with 12 bunks in addition to normal seating.

The York was a major contributor to the Berlin Airlift from June 1948 to May 1949, when the Soviets closed all land communication between the West and Berlin, and the city could only be supplied by air. British aircraft delivered over half a million tons of supplies to the beleaguered city; Yorks flew 58,124 of the RAF’s 131,800 missions.

After the war, BOAC used Yorks to replace their Shorts Empire Class flying boats and some ex-RAF aircraft were used by charter airlines like Skyways and Dan-Air, mainly for freight and trooping contracts. Yorks were finally withdrawn from service in 1964.

G-ANTK is one of only two complete Yorks that survive. It was built at Yeadon and delivered to RAF Merryfield on 7th January 1946, joining 242 Squadron RAF as MW 232 at RAF Oakington on 2nd May 1946. It was used in the Berlin Airlift and on 17 December 1948, flown by Flight Lieutenant Beeson, it brought into Gatow a cargo of canned meat, the 100,000th ton of supplies brought into Berlin by the British. In 1950/51 it was used by Fairey Aviation for in-flight refuelling trials.

In 1954 it was bought by Dan-Air, re-registered G-ANTK, and used mainly on long-range freight charters. It was finally retired to Lasham, Dan-Air’s engineering base, in April 1964, where it was used for a time by a local Air Scout group as a bunk-house! Eventually, Dan-Air offered the York to Duxford Aviation Society for preservation. It was dismantled and moved to Duxford in 1986.