https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_York
The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the
Second World War. The design was derived from the famed Avro Lancaster heavy
bomber that was being produced at the time for the Royal Air Force (RAF);
several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to priority
being placed on the Lancaster instead, production of the York proceeded at a
slow pace until 1944, after which a higher priority was placed upon transport
aircraft.
The York saw service in both military and civilian roles with various operators
between 1943 and 1964. In civilian service, British South American Airways
(BSAA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) were the largest users of
the type. In military service, large numbers of Yorks were used during the
number of the type were used as air transports of heads of state and government;
VIPs who flew on Yorks, included British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,
French General Charles de Gaulle, Indian Governor-General Lord Mountbatten and
South African Prime Minister Jan Smuts.
The Avro York is a high-wing cantilever monoplane using an all-metal
construction, bearing many similarities to the Lancaster from which it was
derived. The wings use a two-spar structure, which internally housed seven fuel
tanks contained 2,478 gallons between the spars. The outboard panels of the
wings are tapered on both edges and are furnished with detachable tips. The
wings feature all-metal hydraulically-actuated split trailing edge flaps and
carry the four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in four underslung nacelles attached
to the front wing spar. Each engine drives a three-bladed constant-speed fully
feathering metal propeller, manufactured by de Havilland Hydromatic. The
fuselage is of a semi-monocoque construction complete with a flush-rivetted
skin, and was built in five separate sections.
In a typical passenger configuration, the York could accommodate a 21-seat
three-abreast arrangement split between the fore and aft cabins; the main
entrance door along with cloakrooms and lavatory were set between the two
cabins, a kitchen and baggage hold was located at the rear of the cabin.
Emergency exits were present in the ceiling of each cabin. Passengers were
subjected to considerably noisy conditions, which was due to the aircraft's
engines. From a pilot's perspective, the York typically proved to be reasonably
pleasant to fly
Role
Transport
Manufacturer
Avro
Designer
Roy Chadwick
First flight
5 July 1942
Introduction
1944
Retired
1964
Status
Two examples on display
Primary users
Royal Air Force
BOAC
British South American Airways
Skyways Ltd
Produced
Number built
259 (including prototypes)
Developed from
Avro Lancaster
In 1945, No. 511 Squadron became the first squadron to be fully equipped with
Yorks; eventually a total of ten squadrons of RAF Transport Command were wholly
or partially equipped with the York. In military service, the York was used on
all of the trunk routes operated by Transport Command, such as the critical
During the Berlin Airlift, RAF Yorks from seven different squadrons flew over
58,000 sorties to provide the city with vital supplies between 1948 and 1949. In
total, in excess of 1,000,000 tons was carried by the York fleet; the type had
borne close to half of the British contribution, alongside other aircraft such
as the Douglas Dakota and Handley Page Hastings. Following the end of the
Airlift, the RAF retired much of their York fleet; around 40 of these were sold
onto civilian operators while many others were scrapped due to the onset of
corrosion. During the 1950s, numerous military contracts were issued to civilian
York operators.
On 21 February 1944, the first civilian York (G-AGJA), initially built for the
RAF as MW103, received its airworthiness certificate, thus clearing its delivery
shortly thereafter to the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). On 22
April 1944, the York inaugurated an initial UK-Morocco-Cairo route. Following
the diversion of the first five RAF production Yorks to BOAC, it was decided to
allocate a further 60 to the airline. Early BOAC operations were conducted in
closely collaboration with No. 216 Group RAF; this led to some early Yorks
bearing a confusing combination of both civilian registrations and military
external markings.
Flights were soon established to Johannesburg, South Africa, in conjunction with
South African Airways; Yorks assigned to this route outfitted with a total of 12
sleeping berths in addition to passenger seating due to the journey time. The
majority of BOAC's York fleet were fully furnished passenger airliners or as
combi passenger-cargo aircraft.
Specifications (Avro York)
General characteristics
Crew: five (two pilots, navigator, wireless operator, cabin steward)
Capacity: 56 passengers
Payload: 20,000 lb (9,100 kg)
Length: 78 ft 6 in (23.9 m)
Wingspan: 102 ft 0 in (31.1 m)
Height: 16 ft 6 in (5 m)
Empty weight: 40,000 lb (18,150 kg)
Loaded weight: 65,000 lb (29,480 kg)
kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 298 mph (258 kn, 479 km/h) at 21,000 ft (6,400 m)
Range: 3,000 mi (2,600 nmi, 4,800 km)
Service ceiling: 23,000 ft (7,010 m)
Rate of climb: 820 ft/min (4.2 m/s)
Power/mass: 0.079 hp/lb (130 W/kg)
*
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