Avro York

The York was Avro’s transport development of the Lancaster, mating the bomber’s wings, engines and tail to a deep, slab-sided fuselage that could carry passengers or freight. Sharing so much with the Lancaster eased production, and the type served Transport Command on the long routes to the Middle East, India and beyond; one York, named Ascalon, was fitted out as Winston Churchill’s personal transport and carried him to wartime conferences. After the war the York became one of the workhorses of the Berlin Airlift, flying thousands of supply sorties into the blockaded city.