Avro York
| Avro 685 York | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Airliner , transport aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
July 5, 1942 |
| Number of pieces: |
259 |
The Avro 685 York was a four-engine British passenger and transport aircraft without a pressurized cabin . There were both civil and military versions. The York first flew on July 5, 1942.
The wings and tail of the shoulder wing were from the Avro Lancaster . Since the "York" had a much larger and deeper fuselage, an additional vertical tail had to be installed.
use
The first civilian variant of the York was delivered to the BOAC in 1944 . One of the prototypes was a flying conference room for Winston Churchill . The plane was called Ascalon and flew Churchill to the Yalta Conference in 1945. Other Yorks were used by Lord Mountbatten as Viceroy of India . Other users were Henry, Duke of Gloucester , as Governor General of Australia and Jan Christiaan Smuts , a South African statesman.
The Royal Air Force used the York, among other things, for transport flights to India . 208 military and 50 civil York were built. Many RAF machines were used for civilian purposes after they were retired. During the Berlin blockade in 1948/49, the Yorks flew over 58,000 sorties, which made up about half of the British deliveries to West Berlin . Douglas DC-3 and Handley Page Hastings played the rest .
The BOAC used in the postwar period, the York for flights from Cairo to Durban , with previously Short - flying boats had been carried out. Other civilian users in Great Britain included Eagle Aviation , Dan-Air , British South American Airways and Scottish Airlines . Abroad, the York was used by Trans Mediterranean Airways , Air Liban and Middle East Airlines from Lebanon, as well as the Argentine Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina . In Canada , it was used by Arctic Wings, Associated Airways , Maritime Central Airways, Pacific Western Airlines , Spartan Air Services and Transair Canada. The last machines were decommissioned in 1964 at Dan-Air and Skyways .
The military versions were used in Australia , France and South Africa as well as in Great Britain .
Special versions
- The York made available to the South African Prime Minister and Field Marshal Jan Smuts was used by Tropic Airways for air travel between Johannesburg and Amsterdam or London after his tenure .
- The Avro York "Ascalon" was a conference machine. It should get a separate pressurized cabin to save passengers like Winston Churchill from putting on oxygen masks. The plane was luxuriously equipped with a telephone, bar and small library. The pressurized aluminum cabin was successfully tested at Avro, but not installed due to time constraints. Later it was to be installed in the successor aircraft Douglas C-54 B, but the contractor Armstrong Whitworth finally decided against it.
- The York called "Endeavor" with the RAF serial number MW104 flew to Australia in 1945 and became the personal plane of the Governor General of Australia. It was the only machine of its type in service with the Royal Australian Air Force .
Production numbers
The York was built in Great Britain at Avro's Ringway, Yeadon and Woodford factories. Victory Aircraft in Toronto built the only Canadian York.
| year | Ringway | Yeadon | Woodford | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 1944 | 37 | 37 | ||
| 1945 | 42 | 12 | 54 | |
| 1946 | 63 | 28 | 91 | |
| 1947 | 13 | 13 | ||
| 1948 | 5 | 5 | ||
| total | 82 | 75 | 46 | 203 |
The five prototypes should be added to the military production: LV626 first flight July 5, 1942, LV629 first flight February 20, 1944, LV633 first flight March 26, 1943, LV639 first flight April 8, 1944, FM400, built by Victory Aircraft, first flight November 14, 1944.
The BOAC received five CI in 1944, twelve PCF in 1945 and 13 PCF (Passenger cum Freight) in 1946, for a total of 30 York. Twelve York were delivered to British South American Airways (BSAA) in 1946. Skyways received two CI's in 1946 and one CI in 1947, three York. A total of five York were delivered to Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina (FAMA), Argentina in 1946 (“24-seater” version).
This results in a total production of 258 York including the five prototypes.
Military users
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Incidents
From 1945 to the last flights in 1964, Avro York suffered 87 total losses. In 28 of them, 242 people were killed.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| crew | 5 |
| Passengers | 24 |
| length | 23.9 m |
| span | 31.1 m |
| height | 5 m |
| Wing area | 111.9 m² |
| Empty mass | 15,060 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 29,480 kg |
| drive | four Rolls-Royce Merlin XX V-12, each with 1,280 PS (950 kW) |
| Top speed | 479 km / h at an altitude of 6,400 m |
| Service ceiling | 7,010 m |
| Range | 4,830 km |
Preserved copies
Two non-airworthy aircraft are currently on display. One is in the RAF Cosford Collection and the other in the Imperial War Museum Duxford . Both are of the York C.1 type.
literature
- Leonard Bridgeman: The Avro Type 685 York. In: Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Studio, London 1946, ISBN 1-85170-493-0 .
- Donald Hannah: The Avro York. In: Aircraft Profile 168. Profile Publications Ltd., Leatherhead 1967.
- Harry Holmes: Avro. The History of an Aircraft Company. Second edition, Crowood Press, Marlborough 2004, ISBN 1-86126-651-0 .
- AJ Jackson: Avro Aircraft since 1908. 2nd edition, Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1990, ISBN 0-85177-834-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Derek A. King: Lancaster to York , o.O. 2018
- ↑ Accident Statistics Avro York , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on November 8, 2019.