Post-War Years | 1945

(TOP)
Airline - Royal Imperial Air Company
Aircraft - Douglas C-47 Skytrain | G-ADLO
Delivered to the USAF, 1941
Sold to the Royal Imperial Air Company, 1945
Sold to Gaelic Airways, 1952
Sold to NDAS, 1953
Sold to Private Owner, 1955
Livery - Standard 1945
Country - Great Britain

(BOTTOM)
Airline - Royal Imperial Air Company
Aircraft - Avro Type 685 York | G-ADKG
Delivered to the Royal Imperial Air Company, 1945
Sold to Anglo-Argentine Airways, 1961
Crashed in Bahia Plata, Argentina, 1966
Livery - Standard 1945
Country - Great Britain

After the allied victory in WWII, the Royal Imperial Air Company received a large number of both surplus military transport aircraft - the Douglas C-47 Skytrain and C-54 Skymaster - and airliners developed from bombers - the Avro Type 685 York (based on the Avro Lancaster) and the Avro Lancastrian (literally just Lancaster bombers with seats in the bomb bay). Shown here are the C-46 and the Avro York. The York's high cruise speed and massive range (double that of the AW.27 Ensign) made it an instant success. Able to fly across the Atlantic with a single stop in Gander, the type led to the introduction of daily service to New York, Washington DC, and Toronto, and the Short Empire was retired soon after due to the fact that flying boats were now redundant. The C-47, meanwhile, became a staple of RIAC's short-range network, replacing the AW.15 Atalanta. The Lancastrian (not shown) was terrible for passengers because of its narrow fuselage, so was mostly used to carry mail.