By the late 1960s/early 1970s, the Warbird Movement had started. However, that did not stop really rare aircraft from being destroyed. The French Aeronavale was one of the last operators of the famed Avro Lancaster. The historic significance of the type was not fully appreciated and only a few examples survived totally intact. That did not stop the French from burning one at Le Bourget Airport (where Lindbergh landed) for fire department practice and its remains were photographed on 5 June 1971. Identity of the aircraft has not been confirmed but it is thought to be Aeronavale WU-22, which served with the Royal Air Force as NX616. Using the wing, engines, and other Lancaster components, the Avro York was a jack-of-all-trades for the Royal Air Force and was used to transport everything from VIPs to coal. When the war was over, surplus examples were snapped up by the English equivalents of America's "non-sked" airlines. York C Mk. I MW232 was completed on 7 January 1945 and went to work with the Royal Air Force's No. 242 Squadron but by 1954 it had been put up for surplus sale and was obtained by the British airline Dan-Air and given the civil registration G-ANTK. While with Dan-Air, the York was worked hard and this included a period when it was leased to British European Airways (BEA) to operate a nightly freight service from Renfew-Manchaster-Heathrow. With engines and parts becoming harder to find, the York was retired to Lasham Airfield and donated to the British Air Scouts, becoming a bunkhouse. It was eventually taken back by Dan-Air, refinished in period markings, and became part of a Dan-Air Museum at Lasham. When Dan-Air folded, the plane went to the Imperial War Museum, was restored, and is now displayed in Dan-Air colors at Duxford. This shot shows the plane as an Air Scout bunkhouse in 1973.
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