Avro York
| Avro York
|
|
|
| Description
|
| Role | Passenger/freight transport
|
| Crew | 5
|
| Passengers | 24
|
| First Flight | July 5, 1942
|
| Entered Service |
|
| Manufacturer | A V Roe
|
| Dimensions
|
| Length | 78 ft 6 in | 23.9 m
|
| Wingspan | 102 ft 0 in | 31.1 m
|
| Height | 16 ft 6 in | 5 m
|
| Wing Area | 1,205 ft² | 111.9 m²
|
| Weights
|
| Empty | 33,200 lb | 15,060 kg
|
| Loaded | 65,000 lbs | 29,480 kg
|
| Maximum takeoff | lb | kg
|
| Powerplant
|
| Engine | 4 × Rolls-Royce Merlin XX
|
| Power (each) | 1,280 hp | 950 kW
|
| Performance
|
| Maximum speed | 298mph @ 21,000ft | 479km/h @ 6,400m
|
| Combat range | 3,000 miles | 4,830 km
|
| Ferry range | km | miles
|
| Service ceiling | 23,000 ft | 7,010 m
|
| Rate of climb | 820 ft/min | 250 m/min
|
| Wing loading | 53.9 lb/ft² | 263 kg/m²
|
| Power/Mass | 0.079 hp/lb | 0.129 kW/kg
|
The Avro York was a passenger and freight transport of the 1940s, in both military and civilian applications. Initially designated the Avro type 685 it combined the wings and undercarriage of the Lancaster bomber with a much larger rectangular fuselage. The increased forward area necessitated fitting a third fin to retain control.
The first civilian York was delivered to BOAC in 1944. One of the prototypes became a flying conference room for Winston Churchill - it was named Ascalon and flew Churchill to the Yalta Conference in 1945. Other Yorks were provided for the use of Lord Mountbatten when Viceroy of India, the Duke of Gloucester when Governor-General of Australia, and South African leader Jan Smuts. In RAF Transport Command service the York was used on the England-India route.
50 civilian Yorks were delivered, and 208 to the RAF - many of which subsequently passed into civilian hands. During the Berlin Airlift, Yorks flew over 58,000 sorties - close to half of the British contribution, alongside the DC-3 and Handley Page Hastings.
In the post-war years, BOAC used Yorks on their Cairo to Durban service, which had previously been worked by Shorts flying-boats. They were also used by British South American Airways and many private operators.
