Railway Air Services Ltd

Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by four railway companies and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up with Imperial's services. The railways were the "big four": London Midland & Scottish, London & North Eastern, Great Western Railway and Southern Railway.The airline's main operating and maintenance base was at London's Croydon Airport pre- and post-war, and at Liverpool Airport during World War Two.The most important RAS route flown was between London and Scotland (London-Birmingham-Manchester/Liverpool-Belfast-Glasgow). The trunk service commenced on the 20th of 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 and the flights switched to the larger Liverpool (Speke) from the late October, resuming through Barton on the 15th of April 1935. Routes operated from Cardiff Municipal Airport included Cardiff to Plymouth and Cardiff to Liverpool and commenced in 1934. 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 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 RAS Avro Anson at Manchester (Ringway) in 1946 operating the schedule to Belfast Railway Air Services resumed peacetime flights in early 1946, now also using their newly acquired Avro Ansons and ex-RAF Douglas C47 Dakotas. A number of ex Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 52 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 the 29th of July 1946, using the Avro Ansons, which linked linking Croydon with Manchester Ringway and Belfast (Nutts Corner) Airport. 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 the 1st of August 1946 RAS operated all its services on behalf of BEA until it ceased operations on the 31st of January 1947 with BAE acquiring the RAS aircraft, staff and routes.

Aircraft types operated 'Spartan Cruiser'. Avro Anson (1945-1947) de Havilland Dragon (1934-1939) de Havilland Express (1934-1947) de Havilland Dragon Rapide (1935-1947) Douglas C47 (1946-1947) Junkers Ju 52/3m (1946-1947)

(above) 'Spartan Cruiser III'

(below) 26th of August 1929. First airmail service from Croydon to Galway in the Irish Republic.

(above) four Railway Air Services 'DH Dragon Rapide's'. (below) disembarking from a RAS 'Rapide'.

(above) 'DH84 Dragon 2'.

(above) Mail list for flight Liverrpool to Croydon on 22nd of Nov 1934

(above) First UK airmail by 'RAS'. 1934

(below) 1934 RAS Timetable and information brochure.

(above) RAS airmail stamp

(above) an advertisement of 1934. (below) 'DH Dragon Rapide' 1936.

(above and below) 'DH 86 Rapide Express', (above) 1936. (below) 1937.

(above and below) 'DH86 Express.'Mercury' 1938

(above) 1938 timetable. (below) in the workshop for overhaul of 'DH Dragon Expess' in 1938

(above) RAS at Croydon 1939

(above and below) RAS 'Douglas C47's'. AGZA the crash of a 'Douglas C47' of the British airline Railway Air Services at half a mile North-East off Northolt Airport, London, United Kingdom on 19th of December 1946. It was an unusual accident, considering that there were no fatalities under the circumstances