Airline: the DC-3 in Post-war History

I recently discovered the British TV Series from 1982, “Airline”, currently free to watch on YouTube, thanks to “Forgotten British Television”. The star of the show is really the DC-3 (and an Austin Tilly). I can give you at least 4 reasons why it is wonderful viewing, and 1 reason why you’ll hate it!

The good:

For TV made as late as 1982, it brilliantly captures the immediate post-war period in Britain. From rationing and the black market, to social upheaval of returned services and the changing role of women in society, to the expectation of a new social contract reflected by the Beveridge Report and the Labour victory in 1945 - all are handled with convincing realism.
It features the forgotten history of the end of the British Mandate and the Palestine Emergency, with the Airline being dupped into smuggling guns for Zionist militias who were fighting the British at the time. The show deftly presents the moral dilemma that continues to dominate western politics to this day: sympathy and a need to atone for the treatment of the Jewish people in Europe up to and including the holocaust; yet discomfort with Zionist methods and all that means for others in the middle east, in particular the people of Palestine and Lebanon. For more on the period, I can highly recommend The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi.
Later episodes depict the Berlin airlift from a perspective I’d never considered before: the rapid assemblage of motley crews and operators to provide an airlift capability that had been unceremoniously moth-balled at the conclusion of WWII. For more on the history, I really enjoyed reading The Berlin Airlift by Robert Jackson.
Finally, if you appreciate the DC-3/Dakota - it is really the star of the show. There is lots of footage of it in the air and on the ground, in pieces and various liveries. And as a bonus, the show regularly co-stars a period Austin Tilly.

In short, so many aspects of the story and production will have one thinking: “crikey, forgot about that!” Or even, “crikey, never knew that!”

So what’s not to like? Well in short: “Jack Ruskin”. This is a lead character you will learn to loathe, as does his fiancée who ends up leaving him by the end of season 1. For all his drive and passion to establish a new airline, he manages to be obnoxious to all concerned, far beyond just being a “blunt no-nonsense Yorkshireman”. Perhaps the main reason there is no season 2, is that there’s no amount of success he could have with the airline to redeem him as a character!

Airline: The Synopsis

After the end of the Second World War, Jack Ruskin, a demobbed pilot, attempts to make a living from his one-plane airline business.

Newly-discharged from the RAF after World War II, Jack Ruskin, a blunt no-nonsense Yorkshireman, decides to set up his own airline, Ruskin Air Services. Something of an idealist, Jack is prepared to bend every rule in the book to achieve his goal of flying a Dakota once again. He soon does a deal with Ernie Cade, a notorious spiv who can lay his hands on any item of war surplus - for the right price - and then enlists Peter Witney as co-pilot and Jock McEvoy as maintenance engineer. But his long absences start to put a strain on his relationship with Jennie, his girlfriend.

Episode summary:

S1.E1 “Look After Number One”: In 1946 Flight Sgt. Russell tries to stay in the RAF as a pilot. A former mentor falls under suspicion of massive illegalities and needs a favor, leading to a brush with smuggling.
S1.E2 “Brave New World”: Demobilized from the Air Force, Jack Ruskin hustles to start his own private air service with a few other men.
S1.E3 “Conscience”: Ruskin Air Service’s first cargo run is a failure when the cargo of eggs is confiscated. Debts and interest on the aircraft loan pile up. A load of tractor parts headed to Palestine goes awry when a fuel stop leads to a change in cargo.
S1.E4 “Touch and Go”: February. Ruskin Air Services is grounded: locked in the icy grip of winter, Enter Ernie Cade, with a proposition the men find hard to refuse, Had they known what they were letting themselves in for, they would have remained earthbound.
S1.E5” Fool’s Errands”: March 1947, Ruskin is broke. His plane is badly damaged and Cade is putting the screws on. Hardly the time to expand, one would think, But Ruskin’s determination to succeed knows no bounds.
S1.E6 “Captain Clarke Plus One”: Spring 1947, With the forces of bureaucracy massing against him in England, Ruskin finds himself in Malta, with no fuel, no cooperation and no way out. All seems lost until the winds of fortune change - for the worse.
S1.E7 “Not Much of a Life”: Stripped of his pilot’s licence and no airline to run, Ruskin, undaunted, embarks on a new ‘money earner’ - and that’s where he comes unstuck: military training hasn’t exactly prepared his crew for carrying passengers.
S1.E8 “Officers and Gentlemen”: Spring 1948. Dark clouds are gathering over Jennie and Jack’s wedding plans, The airline is in deep -and deadly - trouble. Ruskin must make a decision which will affect the lives of everyone around him, But will he make the right choice?
S1.E9 “Too Many Promises”: Autumn 1948. With high financial rewards to be made from the Berlin airlift, independent operator Ruskin has nothing to operate. He has lost his licence, one of his planes and most of his crew. Can he save himself from disaster.

Airline: Playlist by Forgotten British Television

Available on YouTube

For Modellers: The DC3

The Douglas DC-3, also known in its military role as the Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF designation), is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It had a lasting effect on the airline industry from the 1930s, with examples still in use today.

In 1:72 scale, Airfix is the queen of the sky. It’s new tool from 2013 has shown up in a number of releases - most recently in 2022 as the Airfix Douglas C-47 Skytrain No. A08014.

Other recent toolings of the DC-3 in 1:72 include:

A&A Models Basler BT-67 No. 7242 from 2024
HobbyBoss C-47A Skytrain No. 87264 from 2017
Amodel Li-2P/T No. 72244 from 2011

In 1:144 Ukrainian manufacturer Roden has a 2013 tool, most recently released in 2015 as the Douglas AC-47D Spooky No. 310.

Hasegawa seems to dominate “airline scale” 1:200 offerings, with a 1994 tooling, most recently released in 2012 as the L2D Type Zero Transport & C-47 Skytrain “Pacific Carriers” 2 kits in the box No. 10687.

For Modellers: The Austin Tilly

A Tilly is a utility vehicle produced during the Second World War based on existing car designs for use by the British armed forces. They were all officially classed as Car, Light Utility 4 x 2.

The Austin variant is used in the show:

tilly