Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by the Big Four railway companies (the GWR, LMS,

LNER LNER may refer to: *London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 *London North Eastern Railway London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a British train operating company. It is owned by the Df ...

and SR) and

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to Union of South Africa, South Africa, British India, India, Australia and the Far East, inclu ...

. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up with Imperial's services.

Prewar routes

The airline's main operating and maintenance base was at London's

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main airpo ...

pre- and post-war, and at

Liverpool Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated f ...

during World War II. The most important RAS route flown was between

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

and Scotland (London-Birmingham-Manchester/Liverpool-Belfast-Glasgow). The trunk service commenced on 20 August 1934, using the airline's newly delivered DH.86 Express biplane airliners, which operated once daily in each direction. The service was mainly aimed at passengers wishing to connect at Croydon Airport with IALs flights to the Continent. RAS were unhappy with winter operations at Manchester's small airfield at

Barton Aerodrome City Airport is an airport in Barton-upon-Irwell, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester. Formerly known as Barton Aerodrome and City Airport Manchester, It is known by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as Manchester/Barton. The U ...

and the flights switched to the larger Liverpool (Speke) from the late October, resuming through Barton on 15 April 1935. Routes operated from

Cardiff Municipal Airport Royal Air Force Pengam Moors (or more simply RAF Pengam Moors, or also known as RAF Cardiff) is a former Royal Air Force station and maintenance unit (MU), located on the Pengam Moors area of Tremorfa, 2 miles south east of Cardiff city centre i ...

included Cardiff to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

and Cardiff to Liverpool and commenced in 1934.

World War II

In 1939, the operation of civil aircraft was restricted and part of the RAS fleet was placed under government control. The aircraft were involved in communications flights for the military within the British Isles. By 1940, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) a ...

had taken over all the military communications tasks and the airline returned to flying routes 'of national importance'. In practice, wartime operations were restricted to the Liverpool-Belfast-Glasgow route carrying government and other 'priority' passengers and mail.

Postwar operations

Railway Air Services Avro Anson at Manchester

Railway Air Services resumed peacetime flights in early 1946, now also using their newly acquired

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

s and ex-RAF

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...

Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...

. A number of ex

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegera ...

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aeron ...

trimotor aircraft were used during 1946/47 before retirement and scrapping. The airline operated its Dakotas, with their higher passenger carrying capacity, on their non-stop flights from Croydon to Glasgow (Renfrew) Airport. A new twice-daily RAS scheduled service commenced on 29 July 1946, using the Avro Ansons, which linked linking Croydon with Manchester Ringway and Belfast (Nutts Corner) Airport.

Nationalisation

In August 1946, the UK government formed the British European Airways Corporation (BEA) a state-owned airline. The airline was given a monopoly of scheduled air services within the United Kingdom and to continental Europe. From 1 August 1946 RAS operated all its services on behalf of BEA until it ceased operations on 31 January 1947 with BEA acquiring the RAS aircraft, staff and routes. A memory does live on however. DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-ALXT is preserved by the Science Museum in RAS colour scheme and named 'Star of Scotia'. It is currently in storage at Wroughton.

Accidents and incidents

* On 1 July 1935,

de Havilland Dragon The de Havilland DH.84 Dragon is a successful small commercial aircraft that was designed and built by the de Havilland company. Design and construction Following the commercial success of its single-engined de Havilland Fox Moth that had fir ...

G-ADED crashed on take-off from

Ronaldsway Airport Ronaldsway () is a place in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown. Features It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, t ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

injuring all seven people on board. The aircraft, which was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Ronaldsway to

Ringway Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

via Squires Gate Airport,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

and

Speke Airport Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated f ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

was destroyed in the subsequent fire. * On 26 October 1935, DH.84 Dragon 2 G-ADEE, crashed on hillside in fog and burnt out, Fairsnape Fell, near Garstang, Lancs. Fg Off Cedric Rex Crow (25) killed (RAFO) Ronald Swales (24) killed. * On 6 June 1936, DH. 89 Dragon Rapide "Star of Lancashire", following a forced landing, on Deane golf course, Bolton, Lancashire, the aircraft ran through a fence, destroying the port wings, engine nacelle and landing gear. The pilot and the three passengers were unhurt. * On 3 July 1938, DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-AEBX "Star of Scotia", spun and crashed in circuit, Belfast Harbour Airport, Sydenham, Capt Alfred Churchill Larmuth (31) killed (Fg Off, RAFO), Reginald H Vaughan (23) killed (engineer) * On 1 April 1946, DH.89 Dragon Rapide G-AERZ, Belfast-City, Antrim, 6 killed. * On 16 August 1946, Avro 19 G-AGUE, Speke, Liverpool, no fatalities. * On 27 September 1946, De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide G-AFFF, Milngavie, Dunbartonshire, 7 killed. * On 19 December 1946, Converted Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC3) G-AGZA, taking off from

Northolt Northolt is a town in West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing. It had a population of 30,304 at ...

crashed into a house in Angus Drive,

Ruislip Ruislip ( ) is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in West London, and in the historic county of Middlesex. Ruislip lies west-north-west of Charing Cross, London. The manor of Ruislip appears in the Domesday Book, and some of the ear ...

, with no serious injuries to anyone, either in the aircraft or on the ground.

Fleet

* Avro XIX (1945-1947) *

(1934-1939) *

de Havilland Express The de Havilland Express, also known as the de Havilland D.H.86, was a four-engined passenger aircraft manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company between 1934 and 1937. Development During 1933, talks between the governments of United ...

(1934-1947) *

de Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rela ...

(1935-1947) *

Douglas Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

(1946-1947) *

Junkers Ju 52/3m Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Ge ...

(1946-1947)Merton Jones pp. 364–365

References

; Notes ;Bibliography * * * * *

External links

*, contemporary description of the Railway Air Services {{Airlines of the United Kingdom Airlines established in 1934 Airlines disestablished in 1947 Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Great Western Railway Imperial Airways London and North Eastern Railway London, Midland and Scottish Railway Southern Railway (UK) 1934 establishments in the United Kingdom 1947 disestablishments in the United Kingdom