AVRO 685 York in the Peace

(Monochrome Photograph showing - York MW329 undergoing loading at RAF Fublsbuttel (Hamburg) during the Berlin Air Liftwhich lasted from April 1948 to May 1949.)

After the end of the war the aircraft remained in service as the main heavy lifter with R.A.F. Transport Command. Yorks also began to see service with civilian airlines and the aircraft's usefulness was put to the test by both of these operators at the time of the Berlin Air Lift which was established to provide the people of West Berlin with essential supplies of food and fuel during the Soviet blockade of that divided city.

Yorks were also used by the French Navy to support their bases in Africa and the Pacific. A number of the type were overhauled by Avro and delivered to operators in Canada where they were used to deliver freight to military sites along the Arctic Circle during the 1950s.

The well-known British airline Dan-Air operated Yorks on their regular freight services until well into the 1960s and when one of these aircraft was dismantled after a long career a large amount of coal dust, a reminder of its days on the Berlin Air Lift, was found under the flooring! The York had proved itself to be excellent workhorse and a tribute to Roy Chadwick's foresight to provide operators with an outstanding transport aircraft.

(Colour Photograph - After service with the RAF this York, G-ANXN, was purchased by Dan-Air in 1956 and was a regular visitor on freight flights to Manchester (Ringway) until the aircraft was retired from service in February 1963.)