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Peter C. Smith

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Malcolm L. Hill

Malcolm L. Hill

Martin W. Bowman

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Steve Pace

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Scott Thompson

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Peter C. Smith

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Lance Cole

Martin W. Bowman

VICKERS

VISCOUNTAND -----------

VANGUARD

Malcolm L. Hill

I:)~clThe Crowood Press

First published in 2004 by

The Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

© Malcolm L. Hill 2004

All rights re erved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,

recording, or any information torage and retrieval system, without permission in

writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 1 861266693

Acknowledgements

Grateful thanks are extended to all the following individuals and organizations

whose invaluable funds of information; material, co-operation and time have

made thi book possible:

Aer Lingus, Afavia, Air Canada, Air France, Air ew Zealand, Rafael Arteaga,

Aviation Hobby hop, Will Blunt, David Castle, Thorn Cliffe, Cypru Airways,

Stephen Ford, Global Air Image, Patrice Gou enbouger, Jenny Gradidge, Barbara

Hanson, Cameron Hill, Luxair, Bill Mellberg, Military Aircraft Photographs,

Joseph P. Noto, Jon Proctor, teve Richards, Bill Sheridan, THY Turkish

Airlines, Bob Turner, United Airlines Archive, Tony Ward, teve Williams.

Whilst every effort has been made to identify the source of illustrations used in

this publication, this has not been possible in all cases, due to the passage of time

and dispersal of the material. All persons claiming accreditation hould contact

the author via the publisher and any omission or error will be corrected in subse

quent editions.

Typefaces used: Goudy (text), Cheltenham (headings).

Type et and designed by

0& Publishing

Lowesden Bu iness Park, Hungerford, Berkshire.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group, Bath.

ContentsAcknowledgements 4

1 THE FIRST ONE 6

2 UP A GEAR 21

3 MORE WORLDWIDE SUCCESS 35

4 VISCOUNT TO VANGUARD 49

5 THE NEW COMPETITION 67

6 SOLDIERING ON 83

7 NEW ADVENTURES 97

8 FRESH TASKS 111

9 NEW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES 123

10 A BUSY MIDDLE AGE 139

11 HECTIC TWILIGHT YEARS 155

12 FINAL FURLONGS 171

Appendix Viscount and Vanguard Variants 185Index 190

THE FIRST ONE

HAPTERONEPure Jet or Prop Power?The gas turbine (jet) engine had firstappeared, at least in an experimental form,before world war had broken out. The military pressures to develop this new andfaster form of propulsion to a practical stagefor combat use led to the first jet-poweredfighters entering service on both sides ofthe conflict in the last months of the ho tilities. With the advent of peace, thoughtscould be turned to civil applications for thenew engines. As well as the pure jet engine,another option, in which the jet thrust wasused to drive a propeller, also attracted serious consideration for civil use in additionto military applications.

The first experiments in this directionwere made using a Gloster Meteor jet fighter in 1945. Its Rolls-Royce Derwent jetengines were modified with added reduction gearing and extended compressorshafts which allowed propellers to be drivenby the jet engines, proving the feaSibility ofthe theory. The turboprop promised to offerspeeds close or even equivalent to those ofthe pure jet, but with much lower fuel consumption and, consequently, much lowercosts. The turboprop was expected to offerhigh reliability, much quieter running withlow vibration and a higher power-to-weightratio than the piston engine of the day. Italso offered much more flexibility over avariety of stage lengths than the early purejet designs.

Rolls-Royce's aero-engine division was apioneer in both pure-jet and propjet technology, and worked closely with the aircraftmanufacturers. It produced early propjetdesigns such as the Trent and the Clyde, aswell as the Derwent, Nene and Avon jetengines. Other British aero-engine companies such as Armstrong Siddeley, Bristoland Napier were developing rival designs,often with a view to powering the emergingproducts from their own as ociated aircraftmanufacturing companies.

Vickers' Proposals

One important Brabazon category was foran economic airliner for European routes,and it was this that attracted most of theattention of th Vickers design team.Ready to exploit its reputation for highquality workmanship and practical design,Vickers studied many of the Brabazon proposals. By 1945 one of these had beenfirmed up and designated Brabazon IIB, as

requirements. Their aim was to inspire andencourage Britain's beleaguered aircraftindustry to begin looking ahead, beyondpurely military production. The committee's prompting soon led to the manufacturers' studying a number of po ible projects. Although the manufacturers were allheavily pre-occupied with producing military aircraft, a co-ordinated post-war planwas seen to be needed to give the Britishindustry a chance of competing in the newera. It was already clear that the US aircraft industry, its factories already wellgeared-up for mass production and havingoperated beyond the range of hostilebombing, would be in a very favourableposition to dominate both the civil andmilitary aircraft markets once peacereturned.

The major achievement of the BrabazonCommittee's studies was the outlining ofvarious categories of airliner designs that itsurmised would be needed post-war. The ecategories varied from large trans-oceanicaircraft for mass travel to smaller feederliners. Among the eventual resulting production aircraft would be the Bristol Britanniaturboprop transport and the de HavillandComet jet airliner.

The world's post-war airlines were still relying heavily on the Douglas DC-3, b!lsically8 pre-war design, for their short- and medium-haul operations. Sabena via author

fuselages and taking their passengers tosmoother level , way above the rougher airencountered at lower altitudes. The warhad at least yielded a spurt of technicaldevelopment that produced many improvements in engine and airframe design. However, all the extra power required meantthat the engines were also getting muchmore complex, noisier, and creatingincreasingly uncomfortable vibration forthe passengers and crews.

Proposed by Committee

The first of the many projects that weredestined to form the core of Britain's postwar civil airliner production owed theirexistence to the formation of the BrabazonCommittee. As early as 1942, when thewar could barely be seen to be starting togo the Allies' way, thought were turningto future civil aviation production. LordBrabazon of Tara, the first Briton to hold apilot's licence in the early years of poweredflight, chaired the committee, which soonbecame labelled with his name.

The Brabazon Committee wa chargedwith examining post-war civil air transport

Viscount into the air, were to earn theVickers turboprop airliner designs a veryspecial place in aviation history.

At the time of that first brief flight,though, there was little sign of the successstory that would eventually follow. Whetheror not any more aircraft would be built afterthe prototype was still in serious doubt, andthe Viscount could easily have been one ofthe many post-Second World War 'experimental' types that failed to attain production. The airline for which it had mainlybeen designed in the first place seemed tobe losing interest. Doubts were even beingexpressed in high places as to the verypracticality of its ground breaking newform of propulsion, the propeller-turbine.It was taking a great affirmation of faith inthe future prospects of their design for theVickers management team to pre s onwith the project.

The commercial airways of the time weresolely the domain of the piston engine, asthey had been since airlines had carriedtheir fir t fare-paying passengers thirty yearsbefore. Even the brand-new airliner types,finally beginning to replace the few pre-warsurvivors and hundreds of convertedwartime transports which then made up themajority of the world's air fleets, were pistonpowered. The piston engines were certainly getting more powerful, enabling aircraftto carry heavier loads over greater distances. They were also flying higher, mostnewly designed aircraft having pressurized

profitable periods in British airliner production. Even after production ceased, thedescendants of that single aircraft were setto enjoy decade of reliable, profitable service for their numerous operators. TheViscounts by the hundred, and the muchfewer, bigger-brother Vanguards by thedozens, which followed the sale Type 630

The First One

BELOW: Starting up the Viscount prototype's Rolls-Royce Dart engines before its firstflight was the high-pitched prelude to over fifty years of air transport history.

Author's collection

ABOVE: Whirling propellers, viewed through panoramic windows during a smoothride, become the hallmarks of travel by Vickers turboprop airliner from the 1950s

right through to the next century. Joseph P. Noto

When the Vickers-Armstrongs Type 630Viscount prototype took to the air for thefirsttime, on 16 July 1948, it only did so fora mere twenty minutes. Nonetheless,those twenty minutes marked the beginning of one of the most prestigious and

The Reason Why

6 7

TIlE FIR TOE TIlE FIRST 0 E

Vickers and Aircraft--------------------

runs or were one-off projects which were spin-offs from military contracts. For the mostpart, military designs took up most of the company's time, amore notable exception beingthe development of the civil Rl00 rigid airship.

The Second World War saw Vickers-Armstrongs producing large numbers of Wellington and Warwick bombers, small numbers of which were also produced in modified versions as wartime transports. By its acquisition of the Supermarine Company, inSouthampton, Vickers 'inherited' the famous Spitfire fighter, which the company continued to develop throughout the war years. As the war progressed and the Allied victorybecame more likely, Vickers took more of an interest in the proposed civil products. Studies of more radical conversions of its wartime bomber types eventually led to the proposing of a 'Wellington Continental' airliner. This was to be refined to become the VickersVCl Viking, based on the Wellington but incorporating a new fuselage with a spaciouspassenger cabin, and powered by two Bristol Hercules radial engines.

The 21 -passenger Viking entered service with the then fledgling British EuropeanAirways (BEA) on 1September 1946, and also won anumber of important export salesto customers in such far-flung regions as the Middle East. India and South America.Although only ever intended as an 'interim' front-line airliner, the rugged Viking and itsmilitary versions, the Valetta and Varsity, gave many years of service to their users.

1946, outlining a definitive Brabazon lIBaircraft. The final specification confirmedthe Mini try's requirement for:

• A hort-to-medium-range tran port aircraft powered by four turbine engine.

• A 24- eater with pOSSible conversion to28 seat.

• Freight capacity to be 274sq ft (25.5sq m).• pecified noi e level not to be more

than 60 decibels in the cabin and 70decibel in the flight d ck.

• The working differentials pressure to be6~lb/sq in (3 1.7kg/ q m), with lib(0.45kg) of fresh air per minute at allheight. There was to be individualcold-air supply to passenger, andhumidity was to be controllable between 40 per cent and 60 per cent.

• Emergency oxygen for the crew warequired.

• The aircraft wa to be capable of carrying a 7,5001b (3,400kg) payload for 700nautical miles (800 mil /l ,290km) at240kt (275mph/440km/h) at 20,000ft(6,000m). Total fuel capacity was to befor a 1,200-mile (l,930km) range, and

-$-

Changes at the Top andon the Drawing Board

w uld abl to carry a 7,5001b (3,400kg)pa I d over a 1,040-mile (l,670km)rang, rui ing at 297mph (478km/h) at20, ft (6,000m). The aircraft' estimatedgr wight wa 24,500Ib (1l,100kg), andi dubie-bubble fuselage would have aabin 4ft (l.2m) wide, with the floor line at

the ammon chord to the two circular ecti n . Th fuselage would be 63.7ft (l9.4m)long, th wingspan 88ft (26.8m) and thewing area 60sq ft (80sq m).

Pierson wa promoted to chief engineer forall fVickers-Annstrongs Ltd in September1945. Hi place as chief designer was takenby George Edwards, who had previouslybeen the Experimental Works Manager.Edwards took over the general control of theVC2 design until Pierson died uddenly in1948. From then on, Edward a umed totaltechnical control of the project.

Ministry of Supply (MoS) Specification8/46 was i sued to Vicker on 17 April

The double-bubble, pressurized-fuselage project showed its Viking origins in thebasic design of the tail unit. The distinctive Viscount flight-deck profile was alsobeginning to emerge. Vickers via author

Vickers' Initial Offering

a requirement for a 24- eat airliner 'pow_ered by four gas turbine engines driving,Iltscrews'. Another propo ai, BrabazonIIA, was for a imilar- ized aircraft powered by piston engines, This was eventually to be produced by the Air peed Company as the AS57 Ambassador.

The Brabazon IIA and lIB specificationswere devised with a view to providing anearly, yet more sophisticated, replacementfor the rather basic Viking. Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer, Rex Pierson, hadappeared before the second meeting of theBrabazon Committee in December 1944,where progre s on the Viking and its possible successor were examined. At anothermeeting, in March 1945, between the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP), theMinistry of Civil Aviation and the mainairline operators, the British Oversea Airways Corporation (BOAC) and RailwayAir Service (RA ), it was concluded thata contract to develop the Brabazon lIBwould probably be awarded to Vickers.

oon after this meeting Vickers designerssubmitted several proposals of their ownoptions for the Brabazon lIB to the MAP.On 19 April 1945 the company was formally in tructed to proceed with itBrabazon Type lIB de ign studies,

The Vickers design office at Brooklandscame up with everal contenders for theBrabazon lIB design. Two were for 24passenger aircraft, either pres urized orunpressurized, and a third was for a 27-passenger aircraft, all having a 1,000-mile(l,600km) range. Early option had basedthe aircraft on an unpre surized Viking airframe powered by four turboprops. Thequestion of the use of pressurization wasdecided by a tudy ubmitted by Rex Pierson in May 1945, which showed the turboprop to be much more efficient at higher altitudes. The options were eventuallynarrowed down to a pressurized designwith a new 'double-bubble' fu elage.

Vickers' first choice of turboprop enginewas the Rolls-Royce Dart, the ArmstrongSiddeley Mamba or apier Naiad alsobeing con idered in case the Dart, then tillunder developm nt, failed to live up toexpectations. The Mamba was of similarpower to the Dart, while the Naiadpromised to offer rather more. As presentedby Pierson in June 1945, the 24-passengeraircraft, by now designated Vickers VC2,

ABOVE: Based on the Virginia bomber andsimilar to the Victoria military transport,the 23-passenger Vickers Vanguard servedbriefly with Imperial Airvvays on routesto Brussels and Paris from Croydon.Development of the promising designwas halted following the loss of G-EBCPon atest flight in 1928, but its name wasdestined to be revived many years later.via author

The rather robust Viking proved to be apopular design, attracting orders frommany commercial and military customersaround the world. via author

As long-standing suppliers of munitions, ships and other hardware to the British armedforces, the Vickers-Armstrongs group of engineering companies had taken an Interestin the design and production of aircraft since their military potential had been recognized in the early years of the twentieth century. The company had become involved inearly airship designs, mostly for military applications, as far back as 1908. This workled to an interest in also developing aeroplanes.

Initially, aeroplane projects were studied at the Vickers plant at Erith in Kent. withdesign offices in Vickers House in Broadway, Westminster, London. Eventually a newaviation department was established at Brooklands, near Weybridge in Surrey, in 1915,where a great deal of the early experimental work was undertaken. Brooklands alsobecame home for a Vickers-run civil flying school that was to become well known as acentre for innovation and pioneering efforts.

After peace returned, Vickers continued to concentrate mainly on military projects. Thecompany's work on large military transport aircraft as well as trainers and fighters sawsome interwar civilian spin-offs, such as the Vimy Commercial, Vulcan, Viastra, Vellox andVanguard airliners. However, actual production of all these types was very limited. Theall-metal Viastra won a handful of export sales to Australia and was selected to equipthe fledgling Royal Flight of the RAF. The others enjoyed either small production

8 9

TilE FIRST ONE THE FIRST ONE

The DC-3 comprised the backbone of the BEA fleet when the airline was formed from

BDAC's European Division in 1946. Global Air Image

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the Amba sador's 282mph (454km/h),Airspeed calculated that thi would onlyresult in an 18min saving in overall journeytime over an 800-mile (1 ,290km) routeing.In addition, the Ambassador could carry 15per cent more payload over 800 miles(1,290km), 21 per cent over 1,000 mile(1,600km) and 30 per cent over 1,150miles (1,850km). Air peed also claimedthat the Amba sador would require lessfuel. The Viscount was estimated by Airspeed to need 10,9951b (4,990kg) offuel fora 1,000-mile (1,600km) flight, comparedwith the Ambassador' 6,3801b (2,900kg).This difference was mainly accounted forby the higher fuel reserves required by theturboprop.

The Viscount versus Ambassador competition steadily increased, both manufactllrerstrying to meet BEA's requirements as closely as they could. Proposals and counterproposals were batted back and forthbetween George Edwards at Vickers, the

VIKING

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The Viking offered basic but comfortable accommodation for BEA's early passengerson its main routes. Nonetheless, the airline was very keen to introduce a modernreplacement to help attract traffic from its rivals. AuthOr's collection

smaller designs, some experience withlarger airframes was gained by Airspeedduring wartime production of the Horsatroop-carrying glider.

After the war the company continued toconcentrate on its established market, producing the Consul light-twin transport,developed from its established Oxforddesign. All the while, though, Airspeedwas working on its own Brabazon llA proposal. Despite having only limited experience in building larger ailframes, Airspeedproduced an impressive and very attractivede ign in the AS57 Ambassador. Originally envisaged as a thirty-seater, powered bytwo Bristol Hercules, the initial design proposal soon grew, mainly as a result of consultations with the Brabazon Committeeand potential operators. The increase insize called for larger engines, which led tothe eventual selection of the more powerful eighteen-cylinder Bristol Centaurus.Airspeeds' engineers and designers claimedseveral important performance advantagesfor the Ambassador over the Viscount. Forexample, though the Viscount's 310mph(500km/h) cruising speed was faster than

oubts at BEA

he at ortholt, an RAF aerodrome we t ofLondon. On 1 August the European Divi'Ion was reconstituted and renamed theBritish European Airways Corporation(BEA), becoming a new governmentowned airline in its own right. On th sep,Irate emergence of BEA, no fewer thantwenty-one D -3s were in use and, amonth later, the first of seventy-five newVickers Vikings ordered for the carrierl'ntered service.

Even during the changeover from BOACto BEA, officials at the new corporationwere still expressing doubts as to the operational viability of a revolutionary, Dartpowered aircraft. In response to their concerns, Vickers produced studies involvingseveral different engine combinations,some of them even more innovative,mcluding four Naiads, two Naiads, or twoDarts inboard and two Nene turbojets outboard (and vice versa).

BEA's choices for a DC-3 and Vikingreplacement were not confined to the progressively varied versions of the BrabazonlIB designs being offered by the manufacturer in increasingly desperate attempts tokeep the airline's attention. The AirspeedAS57 Ambassador, developed from theBrabazon llA requirement, also had muchsupport at BEA. Not least, it found favouramong more conservative elements inBEA's management because of its use oftwo much more conventional Bristol Centaurus piston engines.

Airspeed versus Vickers

Although no way matching the giantVickers-Armstrongs concern in size orfinancial strength, Airspeed Ltd ofChristchurch, Hampshire, gave the largercompany a lot to worry about in the racefor BEA's Brabazon Type II orders. Airspeed had made its name in the pre-waryears as a producer of smaller light transport and military training aircraft, such asthe Courier, Envoy and Oxford twinengine types. During the war, in 1940, thede Havilland Aircraft Company hadacquired a majority shareholding in Airspeed, though the latter maintained agreat deal of independence as a sub idiarycompany of the larger concern. Despitethe company's pre-war preoccupation with

British airlines, Imperial Airways andBritish Airways Ltd. Throughout the waryears BOA had kept the country in physical contact, under great difficulties, withthe rest of the Allied world, as well a withsome important neutral ports of call.

At the war's end BOAC was able toreopen service to a newly liberated Europe,and a specialist division began operationson 1 February 1946. The new EuropeanDivision of BOAC took over route previously operated by No. 110 Wing, RAFTransport Command. A handful of DouglasDC-3 Dakotas, many till in wartime RAFcamouflage and with their recentlydemobbed crews mostly still wearing RAFuniform, were to form the core of the operation. The new division' main base was to

BOAC to BEA

The RAF station at Northolt, west of london, was adapted to serve as BEA's mainbase. Not only BEA but several European operators flew into Northolt until the early1950s, when more facilities were made available at Heathrow. BEA via author

Changes were also taking place regardingthe primary customer at which the newaircraft was aimed. Originally constitutedin 1940, BOA had been formed as a government-owned airline by the merger ofthe operations of the two main pre-war

Viceroy t D rt power, and with confirmation f the ev ntllal engine preference theaircraft was r designat d the V630, and itsname was al 0 changed, to Viscount. Thiswas seen as politically expedient, as Indiahad ju t been granted independence fromBritain and the imperial post of Viceroy ofIndia no longer exi ted.

However, before the final contract couldb signed, significant changes were agreedupon. As a re ult of consultations withpotential airline customers, a need wasnow seen for a larger 32-seater. The fuselage would be lengthened from 65ft 6in(19.9601) to 74ft 6in (22.701), with anappropriate increase in wingspan to 89ft(27.101). This increased the possible payload to the required thirty-two passengers.As, at the time, the Armstrong SiddeleyMamba still appeared to making betterprogress than the Rolls-Royce Dart, theengine nacelles were designed to take eitherengine. The higher gross weight of the newversion was to be 38,1701b (17,325kg), laterincreased to 39,5001b (17,930kg).

Thi much-modified VC2 design wasgiven the Vickers type number 609 andnamed the Viceroy. The MoS finallyordered two V609 prototypes in December1946, to be built at Vickers' experimentalworks at Foxwarren. A new study of alternative powerplants for the aircraft, inMarch 1947, saw the MoS confirm its current preference for the Mamba. Nonetheless, less than five months later the Ministry underwent a change of heart, andinstructions were issued to Vickers toinstall Darts, first on just one of the aircraft,and later on the other as well. This changewas prompted by significant progres atRolls-Royce, the company having effectively redesigned and upgraded its originalDart engine. The new version of the Dartmade its first flight attached, as an additional engine, to the nose of an Avro Lancaster bomber. Two Darts were also laterfitted to a Wellington, as its sole source ofpower, to great effect. The success of thenew Dart prompted the MoS to switch the

the aircraft had to be capable of cruisingat 30,000ft (9,10001).

• Specified stalling speed was to be 70kt(80mph/130km/h with flaps and undercarriage down, and the take-off distancewas to be l,200yd (1,10001) with allengines operating, but the aircraft alsohad to be able to take off with oneengine cut. The landing run was to be1,200yd (1,10001).

• Seats had to be readily removable forfreight conversion.

• Specified floor loadings: Passengers1001b/sq ft (488kg/sq 01), freight1501b/sq ft (730km/sq 01).

• Operating costs were to be estimated at2Yzd per capacity ton-mile, assuming a3,000hr annual utilization.

70 77

THE FIRST ONETHE FIRST 0 E

Junkers Ju 52s, thirteen Avro 19s and nofewer than forty-five D.H.89 Rapidebiplanes, as well a small collection of mostly highly unsuitable types. The unpopular Ju52s, which had been passed to RAS as warreparations, and the small, uneconomicAvro 19s were disposed of as soon as possible. These had mo tly been based at RAS'smain base at Croydon, the original LondonAirport, in Surrey. BEA eventually tran ferred all the Croydon services to Northolt.

The absorption of the smaller, domesticcarriers had been a complicated affair forBEA, and resulted in the fledgling airlinebeing presented with a meandering,uneconomic network, much of it unconnected with th main route system. Such anetwork stood little chance of making anymoney for BEA, especially in financiallystrapped post-war Britain.

Following nationalization, BEA hadtried to rationalize the much-expandedoperation, cutting many routes in anattempt to create a viable airline out of themultiple 'shot-gun marriages' forced uponit. Services to Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff,Carlisle, the Isle of Man and Prestwickwere either severely reduced or droppedaltogether. In addition, an unexpectedslump in air travel in 1947--48, following

Author's collection

governments of th autonomous ChannelIslands had al 0 tried to retain their ownairline's independence, but eventually hadbeen forced to bow to political pressurefrom the mainland.

The engineering and operations departments of BEA encountered many problemsin trying to integrate this 'inherited' fleetwith the BEA's DC~3s and Vikings. The airline now found itself the 'proud' owner oftwo more DC-3s, eight German-built

live up to its promise. The failure of theTudor had left BSAA with an uncompetitlve and hopelessly uneconomic fleet of'Illterim' Avro Lancastrians, convertedfrom the Lancaster wartime bomber, andunpressurized York. BSAA was unable tolOmpete with foreign operators equippedwith more modern aircraft, and this leddirectly to the forced merger with BOAC.

EA's Inheritance

The ten airlines absorbed by BEA undernationalization were Allied Airways (Gandar Dower), Channel Island Airways, GreatWestern & Southern Airlines, HighlandAirways, Isle of Man Air Services, NorthEastern Airways, RAS, Scottish Airway,West Coast Air Services and Western IslesAirways. Of these, Highland Airways,North Eastern Airways, West Coast Air Services and Western Isles Airways were actually dormant by the time of the takeover.

The absorption of the remaining companies still had to be delayed until January1947 whil the complicated details of theIlltegration were worked out. In the meantime the operating airlines continued tofly their services on behalf of BEA. The

The Convair CV240 attracted a great deal of interest, winning many orders from airline operatorsworldwide, as well as in its native USA. Author's collection

BEA's apparent reluctance to commit itselfto either the Viscount or the Amba sadorwas partly influenced by its own uncertainfuture. As well as being formed out of theold European Division of BOA ,undernationalization, the infant BEA hadalso been obliged to take over the operations of ten smaller, previously independent scheduled British airlines. The newlyelected post-war socialist government hadembarked on mas nationalization of manysectors of the country's commercial activities, and the scheduled airline companieswere prime targets. This was to affect theairline industry, in ofar a all Britishscheduled services were only to be operated by one of the three government airlinecorporations: BOAC, which was to operate long-haul, worldwide services; BEA,which would operate all domestic andEuropean routes; and the British SouthAmerican Airways Corporation (BSAA).

The last-named, BSAA, had originallybeen formed as an independent operatorbut was nationalized under the new regulations before it had began commercialoperations. It flew routes from London tothe Caribbean and South America, but,after a very turbulent and short existence,marred by numerous accidents and equipment problems, BSAA was eventuallytaken over by BOAC. One of BSAA'smajor problems had been the failure of anew British airliner, the Avro Tudor, to

SEA's Challenge

trationG-AHRF. On the morningof16JulyVickers chief test pilot, J. 'Mutt' umm rs,with J.R. 'Jock' Btyce as c pil t, tookG-AHRF into the air for the first tim. TheV630 Viscount was the forty-third prototype aircraft Summers had taken on its firstflight. He commented after th flight that:'It was the smoothest and be t I have everflown'. The only reported fault aft r thebrief first flight was a faulty fuel-flow gauge.

With only fifteen test-flying hours(albeit very promising hours) in its logbook, G-AHRF was shown off to greateffect at the 1948 Society of Briti h Aircraft Constructors' (SBAC) show at Farnborough in September. The aircraft's spirited Farnborough appearance attracted agreat deal of press coverage, as well as adegree of initial interest from other potential airline customers. On 20 SeptemberG-AHRF made its international debutwith a flight to Villacoublay in France.

by two entaurus engines. This hybriddesign would be capable of being reengined with ~ ur Darts at a later date.

The fu lag of the first V630 was eventually compl ted at Foxwarren. Tran ferredto Vickers' Wisley facility for final assembly,the first complet Vi count was rolled out inJune 1948, having been allocated the regis-

Specification - V.630

32 (all first class - high densityj

4 x R.Da.1 Mk502 DartEmpty basic equipment weight 27,OOOIb (12,200kg); maximum zero fuel weight 36,OOOIb(16,300kg); maximum take-off weight 45,OOOIb (20,400kg); maximum landing weight40,OOOIb (lB,100kgl; typical maximum payload 9,OOOIb (4.100kg).Length 74ft 6in (22.71 m); span B9ft (27 .13m); fin height 26ft 3in (Bml; wing area BB5sq ft

(B222sq m).Economic cruising speed 273mph (439km/h); maximum cruising speed 300mph (4BOkm/h);range with maximum payload 700 statute miles (l,130km).

Average passengeraccommodation:

Performance:

Dimensions:

Powerplant:Weights:

'Mutt' Summers and Jock Bryce took G-AHRF aloft on its first flight and saw the

Viscount project finally airborne. Author's collection

The unusual, modern lines of the completed Viscount 630 prototype attracted interest

as soon as it made its first appearances. Author's collection

various government ministries concernedand BEA executives. Following a meetingof the Interdepartmental Civil AircraftRequirements Committee on 16 August1947, Vickers even seriously consideredBEA's proposal at the meeting for buildingan interim aircraft based on the V630 airframe, but with a larger wing and powered

12 13

TilE FIRST ONETHE FIRST 0 E

(C ofA) on 15 September 1949, after 290hrflying and more than 160 flights. Furthertrials, covering pressurization, the de-icingsystems and operation under tropical conditions, followed over the next few months.The pressurization system was tested up to

The unique V.663 spent most of its existence out of the public eye, making important

contributions to aeronautical research and the development of new equipment.

Jenny Gradidge

Bolton Paul Aircraft and used to test its new flying control systems, flying from Defford.Further valuable research and test flying was undertaken for Louis Newmark Ltd andthe Decca Navigator Company, operating once again, from 1957, from Seighford.

In 1958, while undertaking a research flighi for Decca, VX217 suffered aserious in·flight fire in awheel bay, following hydraulic failure. Asafe landing was made, but thefire had burnt through the main spar and the aircraft was declared a write-off. Withonly 110hr 15min in its flight log, VX217 was broken up at Seighford during 1960.

The Jilt Viscount

A large order for twenty of the attractive, yet still piston-powered, AirspeedAmbassadors was placed by BEA in preference to the Vickers V.630 Viscount. MAP

engine, the R.Da.3, allowed the increasein th aircraft's size, and Vickers was finally nfident that it could to offer a designmat hing BEA's requirements.

The prototype V630, G-AHRF, receivedits initial Certificate of Airworthiness

The Ambassador order led to an initial slow-down on work on the second Viscount prototype, still being built at Foxwarren. Intended initially to be powered by four Dart turboprops, like G~AHRF, the incomplete aircraft was fitted instead with a pair of wingmounted expenmental Rolls-Royce Tay jets. The resulting aircraft was to serve as aflying test bed,for the new engine, instead of assisting in developing the airliner aspectsof the alrcrafts onglnal deSign. In place of its originally allotted civil registration, GARHG, the aircraft, now designated V.663, wore the military serial VX217. After finalassembly at Wisley it made its first flight, piloted by 'Jock' Bryce, on 15 March 1950.

Only one public appearance was made by VX217, at the SBAC Display at Farnborough In September 1950. Thereafter the aircraft was operated from Seighford inStaffordshire on research flights by the MoS. This unique aircraft was then leased to

10 July 1947. Vickers seriously had to consider the option of ceasing work on the Vi count altogether. However, with test flyingof the first V630 prototype well under way,work was continued on the project. GeorgeEdwards, strongly supported by VickersAircraft Division managing dir ctor SirHew Kilner, managed to keep the Viscountalive, though the aircraft's future was insome doubt for several months after theloss of the BEA order. Nonetheless, the airline still encouraged Vickers to develop thedesign to meet its requirements, even without placing a definite order.

Despite BEA's apparent preference forpiston engines, continuing improvementsin the prototype turboprop's performancecontinued to keep the airline interested.Vickers eventually offered BEA the V 700,a forty-seater, stretched Viscount with bigger wings and powered by a new, morepowerful version of the Dart than theR.Da.l fitted to the initial V630, whichwas now available. This higher-rated

Two days after the G-AHRF's triumphantVillacoublay flight, on 22 September 1948,Vicker' increasingly high hopes for the aircraft were dealt a sudden, severe blowwhen BEA's management finally signed a£3 million contract for twenty AirspeedAmbassadors. The Ambassador prototypehad made its first flight over a year earlier, on

Y.630 Certificationand the Y. 700

Cunliffe-Owen Concordia were all contenders for the contract. A large order wasactually placed for twenty-five Marathons,though this was later reduced and eventually cancelled altogether. In the end, of allthese available options only a handful ofHerons were delivered as 'Rapide replacements'. The somewhat primitive Rapidebiplanes, once earmarked for early disposal, managed to remain in BEA service,albeit in steadily declining number, untilthe mid-1960s.

Amid all the upheaval of taking on andreorganizing the nationalized routes, aswell as trying to develop the mainline airline operation, BEA's management faced adaily struggle to survive and prove the airline was a viable concern. Unless BEA wasseen to have made the right equipmentchoices, it would face severe scrutiny andmight well suffer the ignominy of a remerger back into BOAC. Just one expensive mistake could well have proved fatalfor the airline's existence.

Armstrong iddeley Mamba engines thatpowered it, finally ruled the Apollo out asa commercial proposition.

Even when the newly refined versionsof the Dart started to show significantimprovement, BEA continued to delaymaking any firm commitment to the aircraft, much to the continued frustration ofVickers and George Edwards. The airlinewas also examining its options for smalleraircraft to operate on the local services ithad retained. The de Havilland Doveand Heron, the Miles Marathon and the

Although its modern lines and turboprop power drew some attention, the ArmstrongWhitworth Apollo was far too small to be seriously considered for commercial

operation by BEA. Jenny Gradidge

BEA inherited a sizeable fleet of de Havilland D.H.89 Rapides from the UK operators itwas obliged to absorb. Several of these pre-war-designed biplanes were retained inthe fleet for another twenty years on some local routes. MAP

Despite the MoS's improved confidence inthe design and its placing of orders for theDart-powered V630 prototypes, the airline continued to hedge its bets even a yearafter its formation. The MoS was alsoactively supporting and promoting development of Viscount rivals. As well as Airspeed's Ambassador, Armstrong Whitworth in Coventry was developing its ownturboprop airliner, the AW.55 Apollo. A24-30-seat aircraft, the Apollo was eventually cancelled as a commercial projectafter two prototypes had flown. Its smallercapacity, and disappointment with the

the post-war boom, had led to a number ofredundancies in BEA and a reduction ofthe Viking order.

The economic drain on BEA's limitedresources caused the airline to examine itsfuture fleet options very closely. Even so, are-equipment decision was urgently needed.After some initial de-icing problems, whichhad led to a short period of grounding, theViking had finally proved itself a sturdy andreliable transport. However, BEA's rivals onEurope's major routes were taking deliveryof much more modem rypes, and the Vikingwas having increasing difficulry competing.The new Convair CV240, imported fromthe USA, was proving popular with thenewly re-emerging European airlines such asKLM, Sabena and wissair.

SEA's Shopping Lists

1415

THE FIRST ONE TilE FIRST 0 E

Structural Solutions

BEA titles and logos were applied to G-AHRF for a number of demonstration and display flights. MAP

BELOW: For its debut on the london-Paris route inJuly 1950, G-AHRF was repainted in full BEA livery.Here, it shares the Northolt ramp with a SwissairCV240 before the first flight. ATPH via author

BonoM: Among the VIPs on the first commercialViscount service were Vickers designer GeorgeEdwards (third from leftl, jet engine pioneer FrankWhittle (third from right, forward row) and BEA'sPeter Masefield (furthest up the steps).ATPH via author

Specification V,IOO

4 x R.Da.3 Mk505 Dart

Empty basic equipment weight 36,B591b (16.730kg) (40 seats); maximum zero fuel weight49,OOOIb (22,240kgl; maximum take-off wight 63,OOOIb 12B,600kgl; maximum landingweight 5B,500lb (26,325kg); typical maximum payload 12,1411b (5,510kg).Length B1 ft 2in (24.74m); span 93ft B~in (2B.56m); fin height 26ft 9in IB.15m); wing area963sq ft lB9.46sq m); wheelbase 24ft lOin (7.57mlEconomic cruising speed 302mph (4B6kmlhl, maximum cruising speed 31Bmph (512km/h);service .ceiling 2B,500ft (B,700m); range With maximum payload 970 statute miles (l,560kml.

4D-651all first class - high densityl

Powerplant:Weights:

Dimensions:

Performance:


Brief Scheduled Debut

A special C of A was issued to G-AHRF on27 July, hortly after its return from tropicaltrial. ow in full BEA livery, it operatedthe world's fir t scheduled commercial, turbine-powered airline service on 29 July.Operating a normal scheduled BEA flightfrom ortholt to Paris-Le Bourget, GAHRF carried twelve guests and BEA chiefexecutive Peter Masefield in addition tofourteen fare-paying passengers. Th spcial VIP guests included George Edwardsand Sir Frank Whittle, British inv ntor ofthe jet engine. Captains R. Rymer and W.]. Wakelin were the pilots. In gaining hisViscount rating, apt Rymer became theholder of the world's first commerciallicence to op rat a civil turbine-poweredair transport aircraft,

After this historic inaugural flight GAHRF operated a further thirty-fiv scheduled services to Le Bourget, the airline'sbusie t route, over the next two weeks. On3 August 1950 BEA finally placed a firmorder for twenty V, 701 Viscount, slightlymodified versions of the V, 700 with a grossweight of 53,000lb (24,000kg) and capableof accommodating forty-seven pass ngersin a five-abreast configuration. Still onloan to BEA, G-AHRF wa switch d tothe ortholt-Edinburgh domestic trunkroute between 15 and 23 Augu t, to carryincrea ed traffic on the ervice during thatyear's Edinburgh Fe tival.

By the time the Vi count was returned toVickers it had flown 1,815 scheduled pa senger. The airline, whose crew had operated the aircraft, had been very impressedby the new type's timeke ping in scheduledservice, as well a its reliable erviceability.The favourable publicity generated forboth BEA and the aircraft was invaluableto both airline and manufacturer. The passengers lucky enough to find them elve onG-AHRF's flights showed great enthusiasmfor the new aircraft with its revolutionary

altitudes of 30,000ft (9,OOOm), The thermal de-icing ystem was one of the fir t ofits type to be fitted to a civil airliner, and itstrials on G-AHRF were actually delayeduntil January 1950, awaiting ufficientlysevere conditions, These were eventuallyfound off the Atlantic coa t of Eire, th aircraft being ba ed at Shannon to undertakethe research. Although the thermal systemworked satisfactorily, the liquid-ba ed ystems for the propeller and the wind cr nhad to be modified owing to problemencountered during th trial. On later production aircraft the propeller were fittedwith electrical overshoes and the pump onthe windscreen sy tem wa improved. TheDart engines were also fitted with electrically heated intakes as a result of data gathered during the de-icing trial.

Then, in contra t, G-AHRF wa sentsouth to Nairobi and Khartoum for tropical trial in Jun and July 1950. Beforeleaving for Africa the aircraft made a number of publicity flights in association withBEA in March and April. Although BEAstill had yet to place any firm order, GAHRF carried BEA colours for the tours,which visited eight European capitals andcovered 4,400 miles (7,080km).

While th econd prototype Viscounthad been almo t complete when it was modified to jet power, the third aircraft, provisionally registered G-AJZW, existed only asa number of components, and the e hadbeen placed in torage when the programmewas lowed down. However, these storedparts came in useful when the MoS, in consultation with BEA, ordered a ingl V,700prototype, to be powered by four Darts.Becau e many of the required componentsalready existed and needed only minor modification to form part of the new aircraft, ittook only eighteen month to con truct theViscount 700 prototype. Owing to limitedspac at the xperimental plant, the workwas trans~ rred from Foxwarren to two eparate Vickers-Superrnarine factorie ,on at

outh Marston, which built the fu elage,and the other at Itchen, where the wingswere built. The disparate parts were broughttogether at Brooklands for final a embly inApril 1950, and the first of the larger Vi counts, the V, 700, now registered GAMAV, made its maiden flight on 28August. Taking off from Brooklands, it landed at Wisley, where the te t-flying programme was to be ba ed. The fll elage of thenew design was 7ft 4in (2.2m) longer thanthat of the V,630, and its wing pan was Sft(l.5m) greater.

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BEA titles and logos were applied toG-AHRF for anumber of demonstrationand display flights. The forward cabinarea, behind the flight deck, could beconfigured with awell-designed,compact galley, as well as offeringextra baggage space and providingaccess to some of the aircraft systems.Vickers via author

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Although unpressurized. the Viking's semi-monocoque, stressed-skin fuselage design had been used to form thebasis of the Viscount's pressurized fuselage. The Viscount's single-spar wing and the use of unbroken hoop framesin the main structure were also design features originally tried on the Viking.

The fact that the Viscount was to be pressurized from the flight deck to the rear of the cabin posed its own problems. The flight deck roof presented particular difficulties at the design stage. The sheer-down angle of the mainfuselage structure at a point that far forward dictated that a 'hood' was required to allow any decent view outsidefor the pilots. As a result, adome was inserted above where the pilots' heads would be, and faired over. This gavethe Viscount its distinctive 'perky' cockpit profile.

The much-commented-on choice of large cabin windows, rather than the then perceived wisdom of much smaller windows in apressurized fuselage, was controversial. However, Vickers engineer Bill Stephenson had concluded,mathematically, that the large elliptical shape, on the 'neutral hole' principle, was the most efficient at bearing thestress loads. The same formula led to the adoption of elliptical entrance doors and rear freight-hold door.

The design also kept weight penalties to a minimum, as only light reinforcement was needed around the boundary structure on the cabin windows. On early production aircraft all the cabin windows were also fully functioningemergency exits. This was slightly modified on later aircraft, only a few of them being used as such. The fact thatthere was not a single reported occurrence of acabin window failure during the following six decades of Viscountoperation certainly seems to vindicate Stephenson's calculations.

In stretching the V630 to produce the V.700 the passenger cabin underwent a fundamental change. In the V630 ithad been structurally divided into two. On the larger V700 the cabin was unobstructed, the galley being relocated bythe forward door, with the washrooms moved to the rear. This offered much greater operational flexibility, enabled theViscount to attract awider variety of customers, and allowed Vickers to adapt the aircraft more closely to their needs.The flight deck was laid out for two pilots, and arear-facing radio officer's position was squeezed in behind them. Thiswas still required in the days before radio equipment was sufficiently developed to allow the pilots to communicatedirectly with ground stations themselves.

76 77

Till' fiRST 0 ETilE FIRST ONE

AIRClAFT SECTION' VICKERS HOUSE· BROAOWAY LONDON ENGLAND

The Loss of G-AHRF

The flight-te t programme suffered amajor setback in August when G-AHRFwa 10 t during furth r trial in East Africa.In the course of a simulated forced landingin the Sudan on 27 August 1952, the aircraft's undercarriage collapsed. Althoughnone of tho e on board uffered any seriousinjury, the aircraft was very seriously damaged and it was eventually decided that itwas unrecoverable and should be scrapped

Test equipment was often installed in the

cabins of both Viscount prototypes. G-AHRF andG-AMAV. during trials. alongside the representativepassenger interiors fitted for demonstration work.Author's collection

BELOW: The V.630. G-AHRF. was despatched on varioustrials once BEA had returned it to Vickers. On thetrials services a mixture of Vickers and airlinepersonnel would usually accompany the aircraft.giving customers' staffs a chance to familiarizethemselves with the aircraft. Author's collection

A New Impetus

The final confirmation of the hard- oughtBEA order gave a huge boost to th wholeViscount programme, not to mention thecollective m rale of Vicker -Arm trongsstaff. The increasingly encouraging reportfrom the flight-test programmes of the twobusy prototype, G-AHRF and G-AMAV,enabled Vicker to build up an impre iveportfolio of data to show to mor p tentialcustomers. The appetite of BEA had beenwhetted by G-AHRF's encouraging performance on the Paris and Edinburghroute, and the airline wa eager t put theproduction mod Is into regular ervice asoon as possible. With both the Ambassador and Viscount on order, BEA waslooking forward to finally being able operate a modern, commercially viable fle t.

The Viscount 700, G-AMAV, wa oonundergoing a development and flight-testprogramme similar to that already beingundertaken by V630 G-AHRE nce it hadgained enough flight-t t h ur ,th V 700had impressed visitors to th 1950 BACshow at Farnborough when it pem rmed alow-level fly-past with only engine operating. By October 1951 G-AMAV had flownfor 250hr, and it wa d patch d t Africafor tropical trials. The opportunity was al 0

taken to demonstrate the air raft ro interested parties, including airline offi ial andthe local press, in alisbury, Johanne burgand elsewhere en route. During th trials avery satisfactory low oil con umption ofll1gal per 1OOhr was achieved, and fu Iconsumption also returned exceptionally economic figures.

March 1952 saw G-AMAV und rtakingicing trials, and the aircraft wa awarded anormal C of A, excluding scheduled passenger operations, in June. Later thatmonth a demonstration and sales tour wasundertaken, routeing via Malta, B irut,Bahrein, Karachi, Delhi, Madra, Hyderabad and Bombay to Calcutta, beforerouteing back to Karachi. The journeyhome to Weybridge from Paki tan aw theaircraft calling at Baghdad, Bahrein,Beirut, icosia, Ankara and Malta. Thisfive-week tour introduced the Vis ount tomany important and influential airlineand government official. uring the restof the summ r numerou flight were madeto yprus, Gibraltar and Germany. As wellas providing valuable data and ontinuingdevelopment and trial ervi e , the e tripsincreasingly involved BEA r w membersfamiliarizing themselv with the aircraft.

Head-o" ...i• ..., showlnr Lh. twi" wh..11 ;a"d (he hI,h,sClt nil

pb.". which la..... ch. crim lettl", u";aff-.::t.d by cha"cel of

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i" quiet comfort " ....r befon 'ltp'';.nud in air cno.... I.

shown th d y-to-day practicality of the Vis-count d i, ially in term of enginereliability nd of operation comparedwith th t bli heJ pi ton-powered airliners. A w II i qui ter, much more comfortable cabin, th Vi unt' large oval pa senger wind ws, off, ring panoramic viewseven for tho e ated over the wing, gaverise to much fav urable comment.

VISCOVNT!J@@

As so oflen before, British aircran designers show oncc again

that aircraft call be buill to give still greater safety. comfort and

economy. From Vickers-Armstrongs comes lhe world's first

propeller turbine airliner-the Vickers Viscount 700. For sa/ely,

the Viscount 700 has four Rolls·Royce 'Dart' engines using kero

sene fuel; crash-prooflanks; twin wheels loeach undercarriage unit;

thermal do .icing; and large double-slotted flaps making possible the

use ofsmall undeveloped nirficlds. For comfort, there is a fully pressu

rize~ air-conditioned cabin; the noise level has been reduced to a

figure never attained before and vibration almost eliminated. For

ecoftomy. the cruising speed IS 325 m.p.h -with a full load or 53 passen

gcrs-giving a fuel consumption of 1.45 air miles per gaUon.

VICKERS-ARMSTRONGS LIMITED

powerplant. The comparative smoothnessof the flight and quierne of the cabincame as a revelation to regular passengers.It became a common trick on the V630flight to balance various items on tablesand trays in the pa enger cabin to show offthe vibration-free ride.

The European demonstration tour andthe u e of G-AHRF on BEA schedules had

Early advertisements for the Viscount 700 used modified artists' impressions ofthe V.630 and photographs of G-AHRF's interior as fitted for its BEA operation.Author's collection

1819

The Viscount 700 prototype. G-AMAV. prepared the way for the production models of the Viscount. whichwere finally poised to enter service after several years of design development. Vickers via author

Operation of the two Oart Dakotaconversions as freighters gaveSEA and Rolls-Royce valuableday-to-day in-service experience

of the new engine. via author

at 7,000ft (2,100m) for the same payload.The experiment was hardly an economicsuccess. The number of operational hoursflown by the pair was well below expectations, mostly due to a shortage of qualifiedcrews and engineers. There were also technical difficulties with the new engineswhich cau ed delays and cancellations ofservices. However, these were preciselythe kind of problems that the exercise hadbeen designed to expose, enabling them tobe solved before the Dart entered scheduled passenger service on the Viscount. Bythe end of the project G-ALXN had flown538hr and G-AMDB 668hr in Dart-powered configuration.

As a result of these services and thelater 550hr of route-proving flights by GAMAV and the first two production aircraft, detailed performance charts couldbe produced for Viscount operations wellin advance of the scheduled service entryof the type into daily operations. TheDart Dakotas were reconverted to pistonengine configuration following the end ofthe trials. Both aircraft continued in BEAservice until early 1962, and went on toenjoy new careers with independentoperators.

Up a Gear

CHAPTER TWO

Henry Royce and G-AMDB Claude Johnson at their factory at Tollerton Airfield inNorringhamshire. The Dart installationwas modelled as closely as possible on thatin th Vi count, except for the cowlings.

As the DC-3 was unpre urized, it wasnot a practical proposition to operate theconverted aircraft on passenger services.The high altitudes required for efficientoperation of the turboprops would haverequired the passengers to be given personal oxygen supplies. However, with onlythe flight deck crew needing to be provided with oxygen, the aircraft could be usedon all-fr ight ervices. The operation ofthe aircraft was entrusted to a speciallyestablished Dart Development Unit controlled by Capt A:S. Johnson, as is ted byMr R.B. Ferris. The first scheduled freightservice with the converted aircraft wasoperated by G-ALXN on 15 August 1951.Subsequently the aircraft op rated allcargo schedules to openhagen, Hanoverand Milan for just over a year, until eptember 1952. They were capable of flyingat 202mph (325km/h) at 25,000ft (7,600m)at a normal all-up weight of 28,0001b(12, 700kg). This compared to a 'normal'DC-3 performance of 167mph (270km/h)

The Dart Dakotas

In addition to the considerable flightdevelopment work and the engine hoursamassed during the test flights of the prototype Viscount airframes, the Dart engineitself was the subject of its own extensivetest and familiarization programme. Justusing the Viscount prototypes to accumulate the required number of flying hours toenable th engine to be certificated forscheduled passenger ervices would havebeen a prohibitively long proce s. Being apost-war, totally civil-focused project,with no previous military use from whichto draw data, the Dart needed to be extensively flown to build up the required operating information. Vital data to give anindication of flight patterns and controltechniques for turboprop-powered aircraftin daily airline u e was among the important information that wa lacking.

To provide this data, and also to giveBEA's operational and engineering personnel experience with the revolutionaryengine, two of the airline's Douglas DC-3Dakotas had their original piston enginesreplaced by two Mk 505 Darts. Field Aircraft Services converted G-ALXN Sir

momentum, and the first production aircraftwere tarting to emerge from the Weybridgeproduction line in increasing numbers.There was finally a prospect of the pioneering yet much-troubled and continuallyredesigned Viscount actually having a practical future. Only time would tell whether itwould be the hoped-for bright future, oranother dead end for British commercial aircraft design.

TilE FIRST ONE

Finally Under Way

The success of the trial passenger flightswith G-AHRF, plus the BEA order, gave theViscount project some much-needed new

outboard. Otherwise the Y.700 and Y.701swere virtually identical, both structurallyand dimensionally.

The first production V.7015 for SEA supplemented G-AMAN on flight trials after the

loss of G-AHRF. Jenny Gradidge

on site. The original, unique ViscountY.630 had been described by many of thosefortunate enough to pilot it a a delight tofly and one of the quietest aircraft builtamong propeller-driven types. The prototype Viscount had managed to accumulate931hr 50min invaluable flying time for theflight-test programme.

The sad loss ofG-AHRF was only a temporary hindrance, as the first two production Y.701 Viscounts, BEA's G-ALWE andG-ALWF, had joined G-AMAV on the testprogramme by early 1953, G-ALWE having first flown in August 1952 and GALWF in December the same year. Allthree aircraft were also being increasinglyused for more training and route-familiarization flights for the airline.

Later-version Mk 505 Darts, instead ofthe Mk 504s fitted to G-AMAV, poweredthe two production aircraft. These differedfrom the earlier version of the engine inincorporating a number of improvementsadded as a result of the test and development programme. Other changes in thenew Y.701s over the Y.700 prototypeincluded ignificant noise reduction inthe forward passenger cabin, achieved bymoving the engines 18in (0.45m) further

20 27

UP A GEARUP A GEAR

Airspeed's Woes

The good looks of the first prototype Airspeed Ambassador belied the aircraft's frustrating technical design problems and other developmental delays.

de Havilland/Airspeed via author

Ambassador, one of the prototype Ambassadors having been. demonstrated to the airline in 1950.

Longer-ranging ambitions to operatetran atlantic services in association with asister company, Aerlint , had b en fru trated in the late 1940s by political interference. The brand new Lockheed Constellations purchased to operate the newroutes to the USA spent most of their timein storage at Shannon, or uneconomicallydeployed on Aer Lingus services to London and Rome from Dublin, before beingold off when the long-range plans were

indefinitely postponed. A number of otherunsuccessful routes had also been cut fromthe network in a rationalization programme. Finding itself resigned to remaining a short/medium-range operator for theforeseeable future, Aer Lingus took a bravestep in ordering the Viscount.

neutral country during the war years, theservices of its fledgling national carrier hadbeen severely curtailed and limited to afew politically vital routes to the beleaguered UK. At the end of hostilities theairline had only a handful of operationalaircraft, the large t being a single DC-3.

Although it had financial backing fromBEA, rhe UK corporation having inheriteda shareholding in the Irish national carrierwhen it absorbed West Coast Air Services,Aer Lingus endured financial growing painsas it attempted to establish it elf in the postwar airline world. Some initial expansionhad included the brief introduction of afleet of Vickers Vikings, but eventually theairline had replaced them with more Douglas DC-3s, which were eventually reliedupon to expand the small network fromEire to the UK and Europe. Aer Lingushad also seriously considered the Airspeed

After initially beating Vickers to the BEA order, Airspeed's fortunes with its rival Ambas- starboard undercarriage failure the aircraft's lower fuselage was damaged on landing,sador project took adistinct turn for the worst. The development programme and pro- as were the starboard engine nacelle and propeller. Later that year, on 13 November,duction schedules were beset by technical problems and production delays. Even on during ovelWeight landing and centre-of-gravity trials at Airspeed's Christchurch facto-the prototype's maiden flight, on 10 July 1947, problems started. The aircraft, G-AGUA, ry airfield, G-ALFR landed too heavily, causing the failure of the upper longeron attach-lost the spring-tab from the centre of its three rudders immediately it took to the air. ments to both engines, which then promptly became detached from the wings and flewAfter a further 50hr of test flying, the bolts holding G-AGUA's port main undercarriage off, continuing on their trajectory ahead of the airliner. The aircraft, transformed into ain place failed and the leg dropped down while the aircraft was cruising at high speed, rather large and ungainly glider, bounced over the fallen engines and actually climbedpulling away hydraulic lines in the process. The aircraft was forced to land on its belly, 40ft (12m) before the highly skilled Airspeed crew managed to land it safely.with the port leg still extended and with the starboard leg and flaps inoperable owing As the aircraft continued its troubled development programme, Airspeed's owners,to the lost hydraulic fluid. Repairs to the considerable damage to the prototype badly de Havilland, decided that the Christchurch site could be put to more profitable use.delayed the flight development programme. Despite advanced sales negotiations being held at the time with Australian National

Even after the emergence of the second, slightly larger and pressurized prototype AilWays and Central African AilWays, de Havilland announced in 1951 that any futureAmbassador, G-AKRD, the project continued to encounter disruption and bad luck. On plans for developing the aircraft with turboprops were to be scrapped, and that the pro-13 March 1950 G-AKRD sank back on to the runway at Bournemouth Airport during a duction line would be closed down after the last BEA aircraft were delivered. The Air-take-off meant to demonstrate performance during an engine failure. The resulting speed Division of de Havilland was later to become The de Havilland Aircraft Compa-lower fuselage damage kept the aircraft firmly grounded while repairs were complet- ny, Christchurch. The former Airspeed factories and offices at Christchurch anded. The definitive production prototype Ambassador, G-ALFR, joined the first two pro- Portsmouth survived, later becoming involved in de Havilland military projects such astotypes in May 1950, and in July suffered its own first mishap. As a result of a the Venom and Sea Vixen.

operations. Lockheed Constellations andDouglas DC-4s, soon to be joined by new,larger, Super Constellations, served the longhaul network. For its post-war European andmedium-range network Air France hadrelied on large fleets ofconverted war-sul-plusDC-3s and the DC-4s, alongside smallerfleets of France's own 'interim' post-wartypes, such as the Sud Ouest Languedoc. Aspart of the modernization programme, inaddition to the Viscounts, Air France hadalso ordered a trio of pioneering de Havilland Comet 1A pure-jet airliners, also fromBritain. These were set to enter serviceshortly before the first turboprops of theVickers order were due to be delivered.

The Aer Lingus order was also part of aconcerted modernization programme. AerLingus had been operating for only threeyears when the war had interrupted its initial healthy growth. Although Eire was a

changes were designated a new basic typenumber, a block of secondary numbersbeing used to identify individual customers.BEA's aircraft, the first production model,became the type 701. Subsequent modelnumbers were based on the sequence inwhich the aircraft were designed to the customer' specifications. This was not alwaysin the sequence in which they wereordered, sales negotiations not always beingfinalized, if at all, in the same order that thecustomers had approached Vicker.

Air France's Viscount order was onlypart of a major modernization programmeupon which the airline had embark d as itrebuilr irs sizeable European and worldwide

cautiously at the prospect of operating thenew propjet or pure-jet airliners, regardingthem with a certain d gree of suspicion.Both new forms of powet-plant had still toprove themselves to many of their prospective customers. However, the next twoorders for the Viscount 700 arrived withinseven months of each other. In March 1951Air France placed an order for twelve V 708s,and Eire's national can'ier, Aer Lingus,ordered four V707s in ovember that year.

With the Viscount, Vickers had introduced a modified type numbering system todistinguish models for different customers.From the Viscount onwards, new designs ormodifications involving major structural

Despite BEA's new-found enthusiasm for theaircraft, new sales of the Viscount to anyother airlines were still slow to materialize. Itwas to be over a year after signature of theBEA contract before Vickers was able torecord any other sales. This frustrating newdelay was fairly understandable, however.The world's airlines were still looking very

New Viscount Sales

Before the new Ambassadors and Viscountswere due for delivery, BEA had decided todevelop a new home for them. Northolt wasalways regarded by the airline as a temporary main London base, albeit fairly longterm. Facilities at the ex-RAF base werequite limited and could not have copedwith the imminent expansion. Northoltwas already surrounded by suburban sprawl,and there was little hope that the runwayscould be extended. BEA had already had toscatter much of its engineering operation toother airfields around the country.

The rapidly growing airline desperatelyneeded more room, and in 1949 the COl-P0

ration's board decided to move the Northoltoperations to the much larger HeathrowAirport, to the south. At the time, althoughthe early Heathrow terminal facilities werestill rather primitive, there was at least spacefor a brand-new, purpose-built engineeringbase for BEA and enough runway capacityto allow for all the airline's current operations and the future expansion plans basedon the Ambassador and Viscount fleets. Anew purpose-built central terminal complex was being designed and about to beerected which would provide BEA with aspacious, efficient gateway to the capitalfor its passengers.

Initially only two Viking services a daywere scheduled from Heathrow, toParis/Le Bourget, beginning on 16 April1951. However, this was only meant as thestart. The Ambassadors, and later the Viscounts, were scheduled to be based atHeathrow from delivery, and all remainingViking and DC-3 services were to be transferred over the next few years.

New Home for the New Fleets

Instead of using Northolt, BEA chose to operateits new Ambassadors and Viscounts from theoriginal Northside Terminal at Heathrow, beginningthe eventual change of its main London base.Author's collection

22 23

P A GEAR UP A GEAR

Trans Australia Airlines was an early export customer for the Convair CV240, which it

acquired for its wide-ranging Australian domestic services. MAP

• A total redesign of the flight decklayout, to accommodate only th twopilots and dispensing with the radiooperator's position, which was standardin the earlier models.

TCA Changes

rearranging and reducing the size of thepa sengers' washroom. The basic Viscountprice per aircraft was £235,000, about£15,000 less expensive than a Convair.

Following the formal placement of theTCA order, G-AMAV later spent severalweeks in anada in early 1953 on coldweather trials. In positioning for th etests, the prototype Viscount 700 becamthe fir t propeller-turbine aircraft to rossthe Atlantic. During this evaluation programme the aircraft was operated in verydemanding sub-Arctic conditions, itengines successfully starting on occa ionsafter standing idle in temperatures of-40°Ffor over 12hr. Although extreme, the eweather conditions were not uncommonduring the long winters on T A:. northernscheduled routes. Some 250 technicalmodifications were suggested by the airlinefollowing the evaluation, and the re ulting aircraft; their basic design adapted toTCA requirements and incorporating thechanges, were allocated the type numberV 724. The T A Viscounts were initiallyequipped to take forty-eight pa enger in afour-abrea t configuration.

Among the more major changes andmodification incorporated into the basiViscount design for TCA were:

COM&l)S nON CHAM8ER

with its own tudy, which took into accountthe recently increased all-up weight.Adju ting the costs to allow for the advantages of the turboprop, it howed the Viscount to be a better propo ition with regardto revenue payload, increa d speed andoperating costs.

That the Viscount fuselage was lOin(25cm) wider than that of the Convairmade a five-abrea t configuration muchmore practical. Ev n with a 2-3 eatinglayout the Viscount aisle was half an inch(l.25cm) wider at 17Yzin (44.5cm), asopposed to the CV340's 17in (43cm).High-den ity eating arrangem nts couldbe accommodat d on the onvairs, butonly by removing some of the galley and

The Canadian cold-weather trials undertaken by G-AMAV were useful in developingmany of the new. improved, technical features that would be incorporated in theTrans-Canada V.724s and other later models. MAP

PROPELLER GEARING

The much-developed and improved Rolls-Royce Dart allowed Vickers to maintaina technical edge over the piston-engined Convairs. Rolls·Royce via author

versions of its KC-97 tanker/transport aircraft and was beginning to develop pure-jetairliner designs by the early 1950s. TheDouglas Aircraft Company tended to specialize in larger and more-powerful versionsof it pi ton-powered airliner, intended forthe medium- and long-haul markets. It fewshort-haul commercial projects failed to getoff the drawing board. Lockheed was firmlybasing its future on developing its mediumrange onstellation design into a largercapaci tv, longer-range aircraft.

This left the shorter-rang North Am rican market to two smaller US manufacturers, onvair and Martin, of Baltimore.Convair was the clear victor in this particular battle, Martin being dogged by problemswith its similar M202 and M404 aircraft.Basically in the same operational, pressurized, forty-passenger, two-pistonengine, hort-range class as onvair'sCV240, the Martin aircraft eventually soldonly in comparatively mall number. TheConvairs, however, achieved re p ctabledomestic and worldwide sale figure.

Re ponding to the V240's succe s,Convair designed a slightly larger, morepowerful and generally improved ver ion,the CV340. Entering service with UnitedAirline in 1952, the CV340 was the Viscount 700's closest piston-powered rival.In 1952, in an attempt to influence any ofits customers that might be con id ringthe new turboprop design, onvair produced a study, showing the V340 to bemuch more economical to operate thanthe Viscount. However, Vickers countered

Vickers' main competition for the T Aorder had come from U manufa turerConvair, based in San Oieg, alifornia.Po t-war, the larger U air raft builderhad tended to concentrate n Inger-haulairliner designed for the m r pre tigi usroute. For the mo t part th y were stillrelying on well-establi hed pi n nginesto power their civil aircraft.

Boeing, in eattle, wa th n ill primarily a military contractor, lth ugh it hadsold a small number of tr t rui r airline

Viscount versus Convair

by larger anadair North tar, anadianbuilt, pre urized, ver ions of the American Douglas 0 -4 power d by Briti hRolls-Royce Merlin engine.

VH'TAO

North AmericanBreakthroughOf particular significance was the winningof a contract from Montr ai-based TransCanada Air Line (TCA) for no fewerthan fifteen Viscount 700s in November1952. George Edwards, who had personally presented the aircraft's case to TCA'sexecutives in Montreal, had fought hardfor this order, the fir t sale of a majorBriti h airliner to an operator in thepotentially lucrative orth Americanmarket. TCA had actually delayed placingorders for available pi ton-engine type inthe class, uch a tho e on offer fromConvair and Martin, while it examinedEdwards's Viscount proposal. In the meantime, TCA had continued to operate itsconsiderable fl et of 0 -3s, supplemented

The Viscount 700 prototype. G-AMAV, wore BWIA's livery following the announcement of the Caribbean airline's order. The BWIA fleet also carried BOAC titles andlogo. as many of its services were flown on behalf of, or in partnership with. the

parent airline. Vickers via author

Commonwealth OrdersThe fir t sale to a Commonwealth countrywa confirmed with an order for six Viscounts, later increased to seven, for TranAustralia Airlines (TAA). The airline wastill a comparatively new carrier, having

been established by the Australian government in the immediate post-war yearto compete against established privateoperators such as Australian ational Airways. Growing from a single 0 -3 in1946, the airline oon expanded its 0 -3fleet and introduced larger 0 -4s onlonger-ranging services. Later, TAAplaced new, US-built Convair 240s onbusier routes. The Viscount contract wassigned in June 1952, the type numberV 720 being allocated to the TAA aircraft.The airline was the first to specify the u eof external ' lipper' tanks that increa edfuel capacity by 290gal (l ,3151tr). These,along with extra internal wing tanks,would allow the TAA aircraft to operatethe important 1,380-mile (2,220km) Adelaide-Perth ector with an economic payload again t the trong headwinds oftenencountered on the route.

One feature that attracted TAA was theViscount's promised flexibility. The Australian carrier was keen to be able to op rate th new aircraft economically on theshorter services between regional centres,as well a on transcontinental coa t-tocoast routes across the country. This wouldnable TAA to assign one aircraft to oper

ate a ervice that would previously havebeen split between a OC-3 or onvair onthe intercity flights and a 0 -4 on thelonger ector.

By this time negotiations were also welladvanced for a Viscount order from BritishWest Indian Airways (BWIA). The purcha e of the aircraft would be made viaBOA ,which had inherited a shareholding in BWIA when it absorbed the a etsof the failed BSAA, which had previouslyoperated from the UK to the region. Headquartered at Port of pain, Trinidad,BWIA operated a wide-ranging route network throughout the Caribbean regionwith a fleet of Vikings, OC-3s and Lockheed Lod stars. As well as offering a valuable local service, BWIA provided usefulconnection to and from its catchm ntarea to BOAC's services to the r gion fromthe UK and the U A. An ord r for threeV702 was eventually placed in June1953, a fourth being ordered in 1954 for1955 delivery.

24 25

UP A GEARUP A GEAR

tarboard side, allowed baggage and freighthandling to continue while pas enger wereboarded using one or other of the maindoors on the port side. The other main doorcould be u ed for galley servicing at thesame time, depending on the layout chosen.Also on the tarboard side were externalservicing connections for draining the lavatory and replenishing the water tank. Allthe normal aircraft servicing panels werelocated where they could be reach d without the use of ladders or platforms.

The Dart engines' low-slung installation wa especially useful for any maintenance required during the turn-round,helping to keep any last-minute technicaldelays to a minimum. The engines, theirmountings and propellers made up interchangeable powerplant units. The wholeassembly could be easily removed, itherfor regular maintenance or for an in- ervice engine change, though the propell rswere u ually removed first for convenienceand ea e of handling.

For less drastic maintenance, the cowlingdoors were connected and hinged behindthe firewall. By releasing toggle fasteners,the top and bottom panels of the nacellesswung up or down respectively and clippedto catches on the wing, exposing the entireengine for servicing or removal. mall

/

tility with Simplicity

..............j

Thr ba ic passenger-seating layouts wereoriginally devi ed for the Viscount 700.Th original standard four-abrea t, forty-eater, a 48- at layout, ti II four-abreast

but with r duced seat pitch, and another48-seat arrangement with the original bigger eat pitch but five-abreast seating and anarrower ai leo Other seating variationwere soon being proposed. The earliestproduction models were fitted with galleysat the front and lavatories at the rear. Thiswas later adapted for some cu tomers, beinginstalled the opposite way round, and theforward, main deck, baggage compartmentcould also be adapted to provide carry-onluggage space. Alternatively it could bedeleted altogether to provide space foranother row of seats, with the bulkheadmoved forward. Combined cargo/passengerloads could also be catered for, by allocating the forward cabin to freight loads, moving the forward bulkheads back and fittingstrengthened floor panels forward of them.

As much as possible, the Viscount wasdesigned for swift turn-rounds and ease ofservicing. The three cargo-hold doors, oneon the upper starboard fu elage erving therearmost hold, and two others on the lowerfuselage, either side of the wing, also on the

--~.----

L--'~.===dj;~~~~~====-===-='

per minute could be delivered at ZS,OOOft(7,600m). Any altitude between sea I veland S,200ft (l,600m) could be selected forthe comfort of the occupants. De-icing ofthe wing and tail unit was by air heatedthrough heat exchangers.

The twin-wheel undercarriage wadesigned by Vickers and offered with achoice ofGoodyear or Dunlop wheel, antiskid units and brake plates. Hydraulicoperated the raising and lowering of themain and nose undercarriage, the brakesand the nosewheel steering. These systemswere duplicated. The nosewhecl steeringwas operated by two small handwheels onthe flight deck, one for each pilot.

The electrical system was run from agenerator on each engine, stabilized by acarbon-pile regulator which deliver d Z8Vto four Z4V batteries. An electrical actuator extended landing lights on the wing,and de-icing lights were al 0 provided toilluminate the wing. In the event of a cra han inertia switch cut out the g nerator system and isolated a battery, which continued to provide emergency cabin lighting.

The forty-passenger first-class configuration wasjust one of several cabin layouts available toViscount customers. Vickers via author

"'OATVALV[SPR(SSUAE

REu<FVfJL'I£

with detachable wing-tip. The flap andaileron w re metal-covered, each halfspan consi ting of three section . Whenretracted, the double-slotted flaps howedno projection at all, giving exceptionalaerodynamic efficiency. On the tailplaneand elevators the moveable surfacesaccounted for almost half the urface area.

Two groups of eight fuel tank fed thefour Darts. Made to a flexible bag design,the tanks were ecured to the inner wingstructure to prevent their collapse whenempty. A cross-feed pipe, with a hut-offcock, connected both sides. A long-rangetank was also fitted, feeding its content tothe other tank and not directly to theengines. The fuselage was built up withclosely-spaced frames, carrying stringers towhich the kin was attached. Flush rivetingwas used on all external surfaces, except atjoints in the pressure kin, where mushroom-headed rivets were used. Cabin pressurization was run from the blow rs, connected to the engines; 66lb (30kg) of air

LOW P'flESSUAE _----.-JFllTt.A

Although, at 1 a t xternally, the Vi count701s of BEA, th 707 of Aer Lingu , the708s of Air France and all the other Viscount 700 u tomer variant to followwere identical, ach could be adapted, init own way to uit it purchaser's needs.The multitude of po sible modificationsand adaptation w r , nonetheless, basedon a core design.

The aerodynamic formula for the aircraft was till very much based on theViking, the wing having a similar taper andthe tail sutface being a refined, developed,version of tho e of the earlier aircraft, having a di tinctive Vickers style and shape.However, pressurization had dictated a circular rather than oval fuselage cross-section. The stressed- kin tructure of thewing also betrayed its Viking origins. Thewing compri ed three section, a centresection, two inner plan ,which carriedthe engine nacelles, and two outer planes

The Basi

HIGH pQ(S$lIlE(HG1N£ COCK

A number of the design improvementsspecifically incorporated for TCA soonbecame options or, in many cas s, standarddesign features on later production aircraft. The improved Viscounts offere Igreater efficiency, flexibility and economyof operation over the arlier version, andaroused the interest of many more potential cu tomers for Vickers.

The Viscount's fuel and water methanol systems

were grouped in the aircraft's wings.

Vickers via author

fLOAT S'tnTCH

• The incorporation of much more American-designed and -produced equipment.

• The air-conditioning coop on theunder ide of the fuselage wa fitted flush,replacing the original projecting scoop.

• An integral heating system was installed,and the soundproofing further improved.

• The weight of the aircraft was increasedto 60,0001b (27,OOOkg).

• Even more powerful MkS06 Dart engineswere installed.

2627

UP A GEAR UP A GEAR

The Elizabethan classoffered unprecedentedpassenger comfort forits day. Despite earlytechnical problems,mostly concerned withits advanced electricalsystems, the aircraftsoon gained apopularfollowing on manyprestige services.Author's collection

"'~~>l :;;.:::: ~;..~ _.........

.., .....ao ....... JTT"'............_,_..--.... ___"_'_1"""_.....,-.,....._...

address system. Cabin crews had to beinstructed in its correct u e, allowing amuch more civilized method of communication with the passengers. At last theywould no longer have to hout their safetybriefings to make themselve heard abovethe infernal din of piston engines revvingup. As well as operational staff, the airline'sales and marketing force had to beinstructed on the aircraft's features and startto sell the Viscount to the travelling public.

Once the Heathrow engineering basewa open, the engineering staff soon ettledinto its fficient new surroundings. Thenew building was ready by March 1952, andBEA began the mammoth task of movingthe Northolt maintenance operation thefew mile south to Heathrow. The new basehad an area of no Ie s than 458,405sq ft

As with the original Imperial flight the all-first-class refined cabin service featuredgourmet meals. The Elizabethan's passenger capacity was restricted to forty, instead ofthe more usual forty-seven or forty-nine. The Silver Wing flight was actually slowed to

90min to allow a leisurely champagne luncheon to be served to the elite clientele bythree experienced cabin crew. Air France introduced its own rival prestige

flight on the Paris-London route, though this was operated by itsunpressurized, piston-powered Douglas DC-4s. Named The Epicure-

an', this was also arevival of apre-war luxury service.Even on this second attempt the Elizabethan fleet was ini

tially plagued by more technical difficulties. However, solutionswere soon found as more experience with the type was accumulated, and the aircraft finally started to leave its teethingproblems behind. Eventually the Elizabethans built up a popular following with crews and passengers. When the last of the

order were delivered, in 1953, they were also to be seen onroutes from Heathrow to Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne. Dussel

dorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Malta, Manchester and Nice. ManchesterBirmingham-Paris and Manchester-Dusseldorf passengers also

enjoyed the elegant comforts of the new fleet.

,.....,III.ISfOlU...,.......""'.11NGINU1O...._,_._,..Nl ..._.-_...._ .......~..._., ... " ~ .....,.

Author's collection

40001000...-..0..,.,,... __....-_..._......,.._ ..

Ambassador's Rocky Start

by fl xible period of route flying and furth r typ tr ining before receiving the Vis

mt nd r ement on their licence . Firstoffi r r ceived 5Yzhr of type trainingb f, r b ginning their own route flying to

mIt th ir conversion to the Vis-unt, The aim was to have between ten

and fourteen complete crews fully trainedand ready to inaugurate services by theb ginning of April 1953.

Radio officers, cabin crews, engineers andall the other BEA staff who would soon beinvolved in the aircraft's operation, allreceived their own training on the Viscount.The engineers and electrician al 0 attendedtechnical courses at the Vickers Aircraft Servicing School. The Viscount innovations towhich BEA's personnel had to becomeaccustomed included the on-board public

, 0....... _--.-'"--'~""'-

The mostly trouble-free nature of the Viscount 701 's initial training and route-provingperiod made a welcome change for BEA when compared with that of the AirspeedAmbassador a year before. The first production aircraft began to be delivered to BEAfrom Airspeed for training and route-proving flights in September 1951. A period ofadhoc schedules followed on the Heathrow-Paris route, the aircraft replac-ing the Vikings normally assigned to the service.

Unfortunately the initial Ambassadors suffered from numeroustechnical problems, often centred on their electrical and radio systems. This resulted in them being returned to Airspeed in attemptto cure the faults. At the end of March 1952 six Ambassadorswere finally ready to enter full-time scheduled service with BEA,over ayear late. By the end of the year the Ambassador, or 'Elizabethan class', as BEA rechristened the aircraft, was operatingfrom Heathrow to Athens, Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, Rome,Stockholm, Vienna and Zurich. The Elizabethan chalked up oneparticular success with the reintroduction of the prestige SilverWing service. This daily flight operated between Heathrow and Parisfrom June 1952, with a 1pm departure from either end of the route.BEA's predecessor, Imperial Airways, had originally introduced the SilverWing service in the pre-war era.

Initially, twenty-two experienced BEAcaptains and twenty-two of the airlin 'first officers were selected for Viscounttraining. A remarkable 99 per cent ofthose eligible to apply for conversion haddone so, giving the new Viscount FIe tCaptain, AS. Johnson, previously withthe Dart Development Unit, a choice ofthe best pilots in the corporation. Eightweek ground courses for the pilots included a week studying the Viscount's electronic system at Northolt. That wasfollowed by three weeks at the VickersAircraft Servicing School, followed by twoweeks with Rolls-Royce, studying enginehandling data. A week' revision saw thecourse ending with a furth r we k on theDecca simulator. Captains then w ntthrough 9Yzhr of type conversion, followed

particularly impressive when compared withBEA's previous Viking journey time fromNortholt of 3hr 15min.

The Ambassador and Vi count wereamong the first commercial aircrafr forwhich functional flight-deck imulatorswere extensively used for pil t training.BEA in talled new Decca Navigator simulators for both types, much of th initial crewconversion work being carried out on them.In addition to both aircraft being new andmuch more modern, in many instance itwas the first time that even the most xperienced of BEA's pilots had flown a highaltitude, pressurized aircraft. The extensiveu e of electrical control and much moremodern instrumentati n intr du ed thecrews, accustomed to the d idedly morebasic comforts of the D -3 and Viking, to awhole new era of piloting.

1. Captain's Seat2. First Officer's Seat

MAIN INSTRUMENTS17. Engine Gauges

'It 18. Instrument Flying Panel19. CL2 Compass Master Indicator20. Magnetic Compass21. VHF Radio Control Knobs22. Automatic Direction Finding Equipment

Brakes for 23. Decca Navigator Equipment

ANCILLARY CONTROLS24. Panel for Propeller Feathering Buttons,

Fire \Varning Lights and Switches, FuelFlowmclcrs, etc.

25. Panel for Undercarriage Indicators,Flap Indicator, etc.

ENGINE CONTROLS 26. Panel for Fuel Conlents Gauges and Rate10. Throttles of Fuel Flow Indicators11. High Prossure Fuel Cocks 27. ockpit Lighting Controls12. Low Pressure Fuel Cocks 28. Automatic Pilot13. Fuel Controls 29. Sporry Zero Reader Controls14. Fuel Trimmers '30. Radio Selector Switches

UNDERCARRIAGE CONTROLS ACCESSORIESIS. Undercarriage Lever *3L Sun Visor

*16. Nosewheel Steering Wheel *32. Wind!icreen Wiper'These items are duplicated on porr (left) and starboard (right) sides

FLYING CONTROLS'3. Control Column (including Aileron and

Elevator Controls and Handbrake forUndercarriage Main Wheels)

'4. Rudder Pedals (with ToeUndercarriage Main Wheels)

'It S. Elevator Trim Wheel6. Aileron Trim Switchc!i7. Rudder Trim Unit8. Flap Control9. Control Locking Lever

first production Viscount 701, G-ALWE,spent most of its time, from January 1953,on intensive training and familiarizationsorties. It often operated for lOhr a day,with up to thirty landings, many of thetraining flights being made with only threeor two engines operating, in various combinations, as crews learnt to handle theaircraft in as many different conditionsand circumstances as possible.

On 22 January G-ALWE set an officialspeed record from London to Colognein West Germany, averaging 283mph(455km/h) in unfavourable weather conditions. On another occasion, newly-delivered Viscount 701 G-AMNY operated aLondon-Geneva proving flight in less thantwo hours. This compared with Swissair'sscheduled time of 2hr 10min using onvairCV-240s. The Viscount's performance was

BEA Preparations for Service

Throughout early 1953, a the prototypeand fir t production Viscounts built up theflying hours to the figure requir d for fullcertification, an increa ing amount of flying time could be allocated to BEA's crewtraining and type-conversion plans. The

access panels on the engine nacelle allowedthe inspection and checking of items such athe gearbox oil level without having to openthe main cowlings. Pressure-fuelling couplings were located on the outboard side ofeach of the two outboard nacelles, allowingrefuelling to be completed in seven minutes.It transpired that oil consumption on theturboprops was negligible, topping-upbetween flights rarely being necessary.

ROLl,S'ROYCESLINGING

B!\!\M.

ElNGlNE SiANO

RIGHT: The Viscount's flight-deck layout was only one aspect of thenew aircraft with which potential crews had to become familiarduring type-conversion training. Author's collection

ABOVE: Easy access to the Dart engines for line maintenance, regularservicing or even a complete engine change, was a popular featureof the Viscount design. Vickers via author

28 29

UP A GEAR UP A GEAR

~

BEAINTER ATIONAL

SERVICES

• 6 October, London-Geneva-Milan(G-AMOB)

• 1 November, London-Frankfurt(G-AMOD)

• I ovember, London-Belfast(G-AMOD)

_ "OUTU O"lNITlO If aLA

37

• ] June, London-Geneva (G-AM Y)• 1 July, London-Copenhagen-Stock

holm (G-ALWE)• 17 July, London-Glasgow (G-AMOB)

- initially only on an ad hoc basis• 6 October, London-Milan (G-AMNY)

In the 1950s BEA's expanding route system encompassed most of Western Europeand reached as far as North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean, in addition to theairline's extensive domestic network. Author's collection

ABOVE: Viscount G-AMOG carried BEA's first revenueloads by V.701 in April 1953, on scheduled freightservices. SEA via author

• 19 April, London-Rome-Athens-Istanbul ( -ALWE)

• 25 April, London-Zurich (G-ALWE)

J. Whittaker. Attending to the pa engerswere steward L. Melton and the airline'schiefstewardess, Pamela Rome. This flightwas actually only a BEA ervice as far aAthens. On arriving at the Greek capitalthat afternoon the flight became a CyprusAirway service onwards to Nicosia, undera charter agreement with BEA. Thisarrangement had also applied to the previous El izabethan service on the route.Cyprus Airways operated a mall fleet ofsix D -3s of its own on local flights fromNicosia to neighbouring Mediterran anand Middle Eastern destinations. Thu ,Cyprus Airways was, technically, the second commercial operator of the Vi count.

After G-AMNY opened the Viscountpassenger service to Cyprus, the otherdeliver d V. 701s soon began earning theirkeep for BEA on scheduled ervices. Withnew aircraft coming down the Weybridgeproduction line, even more BEA pa engers could look forward to experiencing anew clas of travel on short- and mediumhaul routes. The BEA Viscount passengerservice inaugurals over the rest of 1953were a follows:

The Viscount 701s wereconfigured with a fiveabreast tourist-class cabinfor entry into BEA service.However, the seat pitchremained the same as thefour-abreast layout, stillallowing a great deal of legroom, and the overall effect

was still one of spaciousnesscompared with the Vikingsand DC-3s. Author's collection

Into Scheduled Service

Although it did not attract the publicity ofthe later scheduled passenger services, thefirst actual Viscount 700 revenue-earningflight took place on 2 April 1953. On thatday the newly delivered V.701 G-AMOGRobert Falcon Scou, flew as a ub titute forone of the Dart Dakotas on the cheduledLondon-Rome-Athens-Nicosia route, carrying cargo. More scheduled freight services were operated by G-AMOG over thefollowing weeks, on revenue cargo-carrying flights to Istanbul following a similarroute via Rome and Athens, as well asmore icosia services.

The flight that was to grab mo t of themedia attention, however, left HeathrowatO .32amon 1 April 1953, the day afterthe type was granted a full C of A. Thatmorning G-AMNY operated the firstscheduled Viscount 701 passeng r rvice,on the icosia route, again via Rom andAthens. The flight was crewed by two captains, A. . Johnson, the Viscount fleetcaptain, and A. Wilson, with radio officer

The Elizabethans were one of the fewinstances when the BEA class name actually stuck. The type became known a theElizabethan, or even 'The Lizzie', almo t amuch as by its original name, ven afterBEA ceased using it. In most other cases,especially with the Viscount, the last BEAtype to be renamed in this way, the newname was almost universally ignored outside the airline itself. With the Vi count,the aircraft' own fame and reputationfrom day one almost ensured the quietdropping of the Discovery classification,even, eventually, within BEA.

30

new layout before entering full commercialservice. Although seating extra passengers,the new configuration was achieved withno loss of legroom, imply by replacing theoriginal four-abrea t eat with a 2-3, fiveabreast layout. Sch duled service entry wasplanned for April 1953, and six Vi count701s were expected to be on hand to begincommercial operation.

In the same way that the Ambassador hadbeen renamed the Elizabethan cla ,BEAhad plans to rename the Viscount the Di covery class. The Elizabethan all carriedthe names of notable figure from the sixteenth-century reign ofQu en Elizabeth theFirst, and the Discovery class Viscounts weregiven names of important Briti h discoverers and explorers. This trend had startedearly in BEA's exi tence with most aircrafttypes being 'r christen d' by BEA for itsown marketing purposes. Subsequently theRapides became known as Islander class, theshort-lived, unpopular] u 52 were ]upiters,the OC-3s eventually became Pionairs (oreven Pionair Leopard for the freighter DC3s!) and the Vikings had latterly beenrenamed Admirals when operated in a newall-tourist-class configuration.

The first of the production Viscount701s to be delivered, G-ALWE, had beenbriefly flown back to th Vicker plant atWisley on 11 February 1953, where thewife of BEA's chairman, Lady Douglas,officially christened it RMA Discovery asthe flagship of the fl et, RMA tanding for'Royal Mail Aircraft'. The next two production aircraft, G-ALWF and G-AMNY,were named RMA Sir John Franklin andRMA Sir Ernest hackle ton respectivelywith BEA, and the ucceeding aircraftwere all chri tened in a imilar fashion asthey were del ivered.

~.~-...._............_.~......_-

~o; ~:-.::...~.:.66~t\ ..,..----

Viscount or Discovery?

(42,586sq m), divided into ten aircraft bays.Five of these were ready in 1952, theremaining bays coming into use during1953. The innovative equipment installedinclud d an engine iervicing cradle thatcould be moved arouJld, with an engine init, by just one engineer. This, and other,purpo e-built new engineering items wasdesigned by Mr ]. ]. Gibbons, BEA's manager in charge of de ign and procurement ofequipment, and built Jy Bramber Engineering Ltd. All of the Northolt-based engineering work, except some electrical andinstrum nt work hop', which remained at

orth It for the time being, had beentransferred by April 17. Many of the morescattered resources around the south ofEngland were al 0 relocated to Heathrow,greatly improving efficiency.

Happily, despite the intensity of thetraining and route-proving services, theengineers and technical staff wereimpre ed by the lack of technical problems. The very unfamiliarity of the newengine sh uld have cen many more problems arising daily, but even minor troubleswith the fairly unproven Darts, and the aircraft in general, were few and far between.

The fir t three production Viscount 701swere d livered to BEA with a first-class,forty-seat configuration. However, BEAannounced that it in:ended to operate theViscount only on new 'tourist-class' services, at fare up to 20 per cent cheaperthan the 1952 levels. Subsequently, all theremaining aircraft were delivered in fiveabreast, 47 -passenger arrangement, andthe early aircraft were converted to the

The service from Heathrow to Belfast wa afirst-class luxury flight along the lines of theLondon-Paris 'Silver Wing' service. Departing London in the evening, the 'UlsterFlyer' would night-stop in Belfast and operate the morning flight to Heathrow. imilarly cheduled, first-class Viscount serviceswere later introduced on flights to Glasgowas 'The Clansman' and to Edinburgh as 'TheChieftain'.

Typical of the time savings that were tobecome tandard on routes on which theViscount replaced earlier, lower aircraftwa the Heathrow-Frankfurt route. TheVi counts cut over 50min off the Viking'schedule from Northolt. The reduced fly

ing times were of great imp rtance wherethe comparatively primitive Viking, andeven the much more modern Elizabethans,had been losing the commercial battle forpassenger again t orne of the Europeannational carriers operating modem U aircraft such as the onvairs and DC-6s. The

UP A GEAR

f the Viscount brought arapid in r in BEA ' percentage shareof th mark t n ervic to Switzerlandand candin via in particular.

Elizabethan R shuffle

As the new Vi ount took over many ofthe BEA Elizab than ' initial services, theElizabethan, in tum, t ok on new routesfrom Heathrow that had previou ly beenoperated by the Viking from ortholt. TheElizabethans opened a Heathrow-Manchester service to provide the northern citywith access to worldwide connections fromHeathrow, and were also seen more onimportant routes to Belgium, Germany,Italy and the Neth rland .

Elizabethans also replaced Vikings onbusier routes on BEA' West Berlin-basedGerman Internal ervice. At that time,only aircraft of British, American or

French airlines could operate dome ticflight fr m W t Berlin, and BEA maintained a bu y out-station at Tempelhof,the downtown airport. The Elizabethansincrea ed their presence on ervice toMalta, taking over Viking route from theMediterranean islahd to Cairo via Tripoliand Benghazi. As the process continuedthe Vikings were g.radually withdrawn,and by the beginning of 1954 only eighteen remained in u e at Northolt. BEAalready had plans in hand to dispose of thelast survivors and move all remainingLondon services to Heathrow by theautumn.

Bigger Yet

As the Viscount accumulated operatinghours, new data and research allowed theDart engine to be even further developedand modified to increa e it power and

efficiency. Early in 1952 Rolls-Royce hadpropo ed the R. Da.5, an uprated versi n ofthe Dart capable of producing 1,690 hpfor take-off. Inevitably, Vickers looked atoptions for employing the new engine infuture developments of the Vi count, andeventually cam up with a much-enlargeddesign, the Viscount 00.

In the VSOO the extra power availablfrom the more powerful engines was to be

P A GEAR

u J to arry an increased revenue loadv r horter tages. With th fuselagetr t h d by no less than 13ft 3in (4m)

and the gross weight inc rea ed to65,0001b (29,500kg), the aircraft wouldbe capable of carrying sixty- ix pass ngrin a tandard configuration. Higherd n ity layouts were also designed for upto ighty-six seats. BEA decided thiswould be ideal for its high-capacity,

shorter-range servi es to European citiessuch as Amsterdam, Bru sels, Dusseldorf,Nice, Paris and Zurich, and the bu ierdome tic routes to Belfast, Edinburgh andGlasgow. An initial order was placed fortwelve of the larger aircraft, designatedthe VSO I for BEA. The new contract wassigned at the official christening of GALWE Discovery at Wisley on 11 February 1953.

Vickers' initial proposal for a stretched Viscount for BEA was an impressive design. Authors collection

32

A 68-passenger configuration was one option for the Viscount 800 offered to BEA. Authors collection

Following its construction at Wevbridge. the first Air France V.708 made its maiden flight in March 1953.Air France

33

UP A GEAR

Thg V%rld:sMost odem irFle0t

race, though the terminals and otherbuildings were still under construction.This inconvenience did little to deter theseveral thousand spectators gather d towatch the start of the race. Adding colourto the otherwise sparse location were several 'hospitality' caravans, including thoseofsponsors such as Dunlop and Shell-Mex.There were five English Electric Canberramilitary jets competing in the speed section, three from the RAF and two from theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Alsocompeting, in the handicap section,which included G-AMAV, were a HandleyPage Ha ting tran port aircraft, TradeWings, of the Royal New Zealand AirForce (R ZAF), and Douglas DC-6A Dr11'. M. H. Damme of KLM, Royal DutchAirlines. The KLM aircraft would be carrying a party of ixty-four young emigrantto a new li~ in New Zealand during it participation in the race .

The Viscount was repainted in full BEAcolours for the race and named RMAEndeavour, after Capt James ook'famou hip. The aircraft had worn anexperim ntal v rsion of BEA' then-newlivery ever since its first flight andthroughout the subsequent flight-test,training and route-proving trials. It walater painted in Vicker' own colour, andeven wore BWIA livery for a while,including its appearance at Farnb rough.For the race, Endeavour wore the currentBEA livery and was given the official racing number 23, which it carried on it tail,and special 'London- ew Zealand AirRace' ticker on it no e and rear fu elage.In addition, it had large 'Vicker Vi count'titles on its lower fuselage.

The BEA crew consisted of the airline'chief executive, Peter MasefieId, as teammanager, pilot-in-command Capt W. 'Bill'Baillie, pilot Capt A.S. John on and aptStanley E. Jones, chief radio officer l.A.Dagleish, radio officer E.H.S. Barstow andnavigation officer R.H. Chadwick. Alsoon board were two representatives fromVickers, E.W. Walker and R. Shaw, and,from Rolls-Royce, another Stanley Jones.

Under Starter's Orders

p ctacle of the Coronation of Britain'snew monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. BEAhad taken the opportunity to use its shinynew fleet of modern Elizabethans and Viscounts to carry many of the VIPs and dignitaries into London. The rise in trafficmade the temporary withdrawal of GAMNZ unacceptable.

All wa not lost, though. With Vickers'co-operation, a successful request wasmade to the MoS, which was still the official owner of G-AMAV, for the Viscount700 prototype to be loaned to BEA toreplace G-AMNZ in the event. This cameas a great relief to the organizers for, inaddition to the possibility of losing BEA'sentry, there had already been a number ofother withdrawals, and the race mighthave had to be cancelled owing to themuch-reduced field.

The remaining conte tant in the racewere gathered in the n w central terminalarea at Heathrow on 8 0 tober 1953. Thetunnel connecting the new complex hadrecently been completed, and the centralramp area was ready enough to host the

HAPTER THREE

More Worldwide Success

For its participation in the London-New Zealand Air Race G-AMAV once again tookup BEA livery. this time wearing the lull version. Jenny Gradidge

23

G-AMAV's Grand Adventure

As if it was not enough to be the first d finitive model of a potentially great line of airliners and the first turbine powered aidin-r to cro s the Atlantic Ocean, the V 700

prototype was destined to carve yet another niche for itself in aeronautical hi tory.

As part of the celebration marking195 a the centenary of the founding ofthe city of Christchurch, New Zealand,the ambitious re idents and the RoyalAero lub organized an air race from London to hristchurch. Recognizing theimmen e publicity potential of the race,BEA placed an entry, proposing to operateon of its new Vi counts on the 12,500mile (20, 100km) cour e.

Initially the airline planned to u e itappropriately registered Viscount 701 GAM Z. The aircraft had been namedJames Cook, after the famous British nautical explor r who had discovered ewZealand. However, as the race approached,BEA found that it could not spare the aircraft from commercial service withoutcausing major disruption to its schedules.As w II as the unprecedented success ofthe Viscount's introduction, a surge in traffic to the UK had been in pired by th

.Summcr Schedule

:9Xef/JJliJidit luxury aervice from New York. Bailonlind Montreal 10 Pari. - gateway 10 lhe world.

fJ1iefJluiJib"'Ccfxr:int· ... famoul non·llop overnisht Rightfrom New York tn P.ri,. Extra forc.

·tJ;,,,iJt Ck'fice" by ConllcllDtionl, Ihe molt powerrulin tourill service 10 Europe.

AIR FRANCE--rrt~~~Mbte.

The year had been wonderful for thecompany and its new prize product. Yet onemore triumph wa et to finish off the year.It remained to be seen whether Vickerswould continue to build on its successes.

Air France, the world's first and largest international ainvays

system, now· offers you the world's most advanced aircraft. 'ew compound·thrust

engine tlSupcr.Constellations'· to Europe! 1 ew turbo-prop Vickers uViscounts"

.......;;;;::~... on intra·European routes! 'ew all·jet De Havilland "Comels"

from Europe to Africa, 'ear East, ~Iiddle East! For speed and

)u.~ury unsurpassed, lIy AlR FRANCE.

EI~ YOUlt TltAVEL AGE iT On. 1..- ...AIR PRANCE: lew York, BOlon, Chicago, Cleveland,

Detroit, Philadelphia, Dallas, Los Angeles, an Francisco,Washington, D.C., Bogotn, Caracas. Havana,

Montreal, Toronto, Mexico.

trouble-free entry into ervice had alreadyattracted the attention of other airlines,and Vickers' sales team wa busy workingon new orders to fill the Weybridge andHum production lines.

To the Future?

With the remaining Air France and AerLingu Vi count 700s making their waydown the production line, as well as theremaining BEA V701s, the order bookwas looking healthy. A number of potential cu tomeI's were close to signing theirown orders and, in anticipation of this,Vi kers decided to open a new Viscountproduction line at Hurn Airport, just outside Bournemouth in Dorset. The company already leased a factory at Hum fromthe government, which was being u ed toproduce the Varsity, a modernized, military version of the Viking with a tricycleundercarriage. In December 1953 workbegan on establi hing a Viscount production line along ide the Varsity one, the latter eventually to be ousted by more Viscount production.

The end of the 1953 ummer season sawthe Viscount 700 established in dailyscheduled ervic, with more customerdue to take delivery. Iraqi Airways hadigned up for three V 735s in July, and the

Indian Air Force for two VIP-configuredVn3s in November. The remarkably

Exactly a month later, on 11 March, thefirst V708 for Air France took to the airfor the first time. The first three AirFrance Viscounts were delivered in May,and entered service on the Paris-Orly toIstanbul route, via Milan, Rome andAthens, in August, and to London fromOrly in September. The Vi ountsreplaced Lockheed Constellations on theI tanbul service and, as the fleet grew innumbers, the Viscounts were also introduced on more European services. Viscount flights were operated from Orly toGeneva, and to Vienna via Zurich, mostly replacing DC-4s. On the London route,demand wa soon such that frequenciefrom Orly were doubled to ten a day, anda direct ice-London Viscount route wasopened.

With its new Viscount turboprops and Comet jetsoperating alongside state-ol-the-art LockheedSuper Constellations, Air France was able toboast one 01 the most modern airline fleets inscheduled service. Author's collection

34 35

MOR WORLDWIDE SUCCESS MORE WORLDWIDE S CESS

A Handley Page Hastings of the Royal New Zealand Air Force completed the trio ofaircraft comprising the air transport section of the race. Jenny Gradidge

and it crew were off again, this time on amore I i urely full demonstration tour inthe area before heading homewards. TheVi count routed via Wellington andAuckland, back to Melbourne. Once inAustralia, calls were made at Launceston,Adelaide, anberra, Sydney, Bri bane andDarwin before departing to ingapore.Colombo, Delhi, Bahrein, ico ia andRome were also vi ited by G-AMAV beforeit finally returned to the UK. Throughoutthe journey Endeavoul' was demonstratedto potential customer, attracting a greatdeal of interest from airlines and op ratorsall along the route. From the time it leftLondon to its r turn to Weybridge, themost serious technical problem encountered with G-AMAV was a singl bursttyre.

Ptrth

./

COCOS I./20mfns)

23BfA

hri t hur h Airport with a flourish, exeu in a low-level flypast before finally

I nding, with Baillie at the controls. Thei ount was the fourth aircraft to cross the

fini hing line, the four remaining Canberras, n t urprisingly, having landed hourbefor . The DC-6A followed 9hr afterEndeavour, but was still awarded the firstpriz ,on handicap, in the transport section.

Vi count G-AMAV had flown the12,365 miles (l9,895km) of the race inan elapsed time of 40hr 43min, of which39hr 38min had been spent in the air.The Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops hadcompleted 125,000,000 revolutions without having given a moment' cause forconcern on the entir trip.

This was far from th end of Endeavour'sodyssey. After a short break the aircraft

Viscount G-AMAV wore race number 23 in the competition. as well as several otherstickers displayed over its basic BEA livery. via author

The marathon excursion of G-AMAV to New Zealand and back brought the Viscount tothe attention of many potential customers throughout the journey. via author

End in Sight

with its eventy-four occupants all to bdealt with by the authorities. At 03.06 inthe morning G-AMAV left Bahrein for inext stop, olombo in Ceylon. The sectorwa flown in 8hr 3min, averaging 310mph(500kmfh) at 25,000ft (7,600m).

The Viscount's four Darts continued togive little cau e for concern throughouttheir ordeal, despite being abu ed on longsectors through tropical conditions, follow d by speedy turn-rounds at the refuelling tops. Endeavoul' sp nt barely 19minon the ground at Colombo and wa soonon its way to Cocos Island in the middle ofthe Indian Ocean. Meanwhile, TradeWings had encountered technical problems when it reached Colombo, and theHastings was forced to drop out of the race.This I ft just the KLM DC-6A and theViscount in the handicap section. One ofthe RAAF Canberras also retired duringthe race, at Cocos Island, but the remaining military jets in the speed section continued to leave the more sedate tran portaircraft in their wake.

Ju t succe fully navigating to Cocos wasa major achi vement for the navigator,Chadwick. The tiny island had beenunfavourably described as a lagoon urrounded by a runway. It hould al 0 be bornein mind that this was accomplished in an erawhen astro-fixe and the navigator's personal skill with a extant and a pencil and rulerwere vital. Ther was no satellite navigationavailable at the flick of a switch. One of thecomparatively shorter legs, the flight fromColombo to Cocos Island took just 6hr24m in, averaging 310mph (500kmfh) at22,OOOft (6,700m). The ocos Island turnround took 22min before the aircraft tookoff again, thi time with the continent ofAustralia as a lightly larg r target.

The west coa t of Australia was sighted justas the econd dawn of Endeavoul"s adventurebroke in front of the aircraft. Fav urablewinds allowed a non- top run into Melbourne, the flying time from Coco Islandbeing lOhr I5min at an average air peed of350mph (560kmfh). Thi translated to aground peed 405mph (650kmfh), and theaircraft had crui ed at 35,OOOft (10,600m)on this sector.

The last leg, from Melbourne tohristchurch, a comparatively short 'hop'

of 1,580 miles (2,540km), was flown in 4hr42min. Endeavour crossed the line at

ABOVE: Both Britain's RAF and the Royal AustralianAir Force entered English Electric Canberras in thespeed section of the race. Jenny Gradidge

command for the first section of the epicflight. The crewmembers were to operate arota sy tern of two hours' duty each on theflight, turn and turn about, except forChadwick and Profumo, who had to grabtheir chances of rest when they could. TheHa ting and the five military jets then followed Endeavour into the air. On departure from London the Vi count wa carrying 2,850gal (l2,9401tr) of fuel, and itsall-up weight was 62,0001b (2 ,140kg).

In th transport section, the DC-6A wasscheduled to stop at Rome, Baghdad,Karachi, Rangoon, Djakarta, Darwin andBrisbane, and the Viscount at Bahrein,Colombo, ocos Island and Melbourne.Th 0 -6A, carrying a commercial loadand not provided with any extra fuelcapacity like the Vi count, wa forced tomake more en route refuelling stops. Thecrew of the RZ AF Hastings intended torout via Athens, Shaibah and Masirah toColombo, then onward to Au tralia andhom to w Zealand.

Endeavour reached Bahrein after amarathon 10hr lOmin overnight non-stopflight from Heathrow. With the aircrafteventually crui ing at 30,000ft (9,000m),the 3,200-mile (5,I50km) ector wasflown at an average spe d of 310mph(500kmfh). The Viscount' very swift14min turn-round and refuelling atBahrein t the pace for th r t of the contest. Even the DC-6A had managed acreditable 20min turn-round at Rome,

behind the scene, from both the airline andthe manufacturer. The worldwide publicitythat tood to be gained for th airlme, theaircraft and its revolutionary engine was ofinestimable value.

The Off!

Before they departed, the Duke ofGlouce ter in peeted the participating aircraft and th ir cr w, accompanied byLord Brabazon f Tara. Endeavour wa thefir t aircraft to be tour d by the VIPs,escorted by Peter Ma efield and Capt Baillie. Once these formalities were dealt with,the flight per onn I and ground cr w bu i d th mselve with g tting the aircraftunder way. The Viscount' turn to take-offfinally came at 16.30, ten minute after theKLM DC-6A. aptain Jones was in

-22~

-II

These last three were to act a flight ngineers. The Deputy Minister of ivilAviation, John Profumo MP, was to act asteward throughout the flight as acrewmember, a wa BBC reporter Raymond Baxter. Unrequir d eat had beenremoved from the Viscount and four largefuel tank fitted in the cabin, increa ingthe fuel capacity to 2,900gal (l3,160Itr)and giving the aircraft a potential non-top range of over 3,500 mile (5,600km).

Even with the extra fu I capacity allowing longer legs between time-con umingrefuelling tops, the strict handicap formulaapplied by the Royal Aero Club meant thatEndeavour had no chance of winning in itselas . netheless, every effort was to b putinto putting-up a 'good show' and compl ting the race in as fast a time as possible. Theteam had put months ofhard work and planning into the event, backed by many others

36 37

MORE W RLDWIDE SUCCESS MORE WORLDWIDE SUCCESS

ABOVE: Aer Lingus was quickto promote its new modern

fleet members, emphasizing

the Viscount's speed andcomfort. Author's collection

Following the early loss of

its first Viscount in a training

accident, TAA had to awaitthe arrival of VH-TVB to

resume its preparations forturboprop operations.

via Bob Turner

IRISH AIR LINES

WOTld'• .6.rst tUTbo-plop .irlinen on these rOutes

AMSTERDAM -MANCHESTER - DUBLIN

PARIS - DU;IlLIN· LONDON - DUBLIN'

NOW YOU CAN

'The V1ch.n "(ltWI1tl if; 6w .•• .mooth •.• Q'lfnrl\ta.hle •• 'nUprulurind 10 It, h1ah .bole l~ ftlthcr. fNidt the IlIlc.c'londrflj,<1nI

bln.fO'I.illncwhkwlcd••rmc.... I (Ull. 11lotre'.I""•• n.\Innur0( .~. 1)0 ,11tfsti<ln I' .ll r~ che ~ ft"U fl.o (C 1'1pf'OPtlkr u,lrblMSt 1k:nnlll bt ..Indo.... ItIt ",IJ ,firot

~.:~':c:,. m~ch. d:~:~,: ..nll -::=..:r onI'I':~1'Jo.-n 'n lNbllo. You 1I~ I'd' n--Ic:d. "h••-.J.

',"her lhan whc:1l }'OU Mined.

LEIT. The Aer Lingus Viscounts brought a significantupgrade in comfort for the Irish carrier's passengers.Jenny Gradidge

specialized Lourdes configuration could beachieved in 90min. In their fi rst year of AerLingus service the Viscounts carried over50,000 passengers. They managed to average a very healthy 75 per cent load factor,even with their much-increased capacityover the smaller DC-3s and BristolFreighters.

TAA's Success

Trans Australia Airlines' introduction ofthe Viscount was initially marked bytragedy. The fir t aircraft delivered, VHTVA john Batman, named after thefounder of Melbourne, was lost in a training accident during a three-engined takeoff at Mangalore Aerodrome, Victoria, on31 October 1954. Of the eight occupants,three were killed in the accident. The second aircraft, VH-TVB Gregory Blacl<land,was deliv red in late November and

Prior to Aer Lingus taking deli very of itViscounts, BEA had provided a great dealof assistanc in training the Irish airline'spersonnel, in addition to the alreadyextensive training and conversion programmes offered by Vickers. Once licensedon the aircraft, senior Aer Lingus pilotsserved as crewmembers on BEA Vi countflight to build up experience on the type.A number of Aer Lingus engineers alsopent time at BEA' new Heathrow Engi

neering Ba e.As well a the scheduled service, the

Aer Lingus Vi counts were used on a number of services to the Roman Catholichrine at Lourdes, in southwest France. For

these flight the cabin could be convertedto carry fourteen stretcher cases, a largenumber of the pilgrims being phy icallydisabled. In addition to the stretchers, thirty-five other passengers could b accommodated in tandard seats. The conversionfrom the n rmal passenger layout to the

The much-developed R.Da.6 Mk510

Dart offered even more power forthe new, larger Viscount models.

Rolls-Royce via author

Eire Introduction

rear fu elage, on the tarboard side, to facilitate galley or toilet servicing away from theloading of pas engers, and could also be u edto embark passenger if required.

The more powerful Dart R. Da.6 Mk51O,rated at 1,740ehp, was developed from theearlier engine variants for the larger aircraft. It would be able to offer crui ingspeeds of 325mph (520km/h), even withan all-up weight of 64,500lb (29,275kg).Thi was much more respectable than thenow-cancelled VS01's estimated speed ofless than 300mph (4S0km/h).

Aer Lingus took delivery of their ~ ur Viscount 707s in March and April 1954.They were oon put into service, initiallyon route to London, Paris and also toAmsterdam via Manchester, and Frankfurtvia Manchester and Bru sel . As experience accumulated, the new aircraft wereoon al 0 een on other important routes.

The ultra-modern Viscounts were anundoubted improvement over the comparatively primitive Douglas DC-3 and Bristol Freighters that had comprised Aer Lingu 's fleet until their arrival. The Bristolaircraft were fully convertible from allcargo to pa enger configuration, and whencarrying passengers were known a Wayfarers. However, although they were extremely u eful in being able to operate a varietyof ervice, including combined pa enger/cargo flights where traffic called for it,they wer highly unpopular, being ev nnoisier than the DC-3s and much slower.

TUIlI "'C ASSU1llT

COl1'USTION CHA.'1ll1l

ACCU50AY GEAII&oX 0111"'£

ating included provisionla eats and thirty- even

tourist-cla pa nger in the rear section.An extra pa enger window was added atthe rear on a hide t rve the extra seatrow, and mor pa ng r eating was available in the ~ rward, tretched area of thecabin. The galley and forward bulkheadwere to be mounted on rails, permitting anadju table- ized fr ight compartment andoffering a great d al of flexibility, dependent on commercial traffic requirements.The tailplane incidence would also berevi ed to allow for the aerodynamic effectsof the longer fu elage.

The most noticeable difference, apartfrom the longer fuselage, was the rede ignedcabin doors. The initial SOO/S01 proposaloriginally used the oval design, but this hadbeen proving a problem to open, and keepopen, against a high wind. Instead, theVS02s were given a new, sideways-openingrectangular door that lay flat against thefuselage when fully opened. The forwarddoor was enlarged to 5ft by 4ft (l.5m by1.2m) to allow bulky item to be loadedthrough it during cargo operation. Thecabin floor was strengthened to be capableof bearing 150lb/sq ft (732kg/sq m), insteadof the more normal 100lb/sq ft (4SSkg/ qm), to allow more freight t be carried in themain cabin. In the BEA aircraft the hortBrothers and Harland-designed eats couldbe quickly and easily folded flat again t thecabin wall, permitting v ry swift changesfrom all-passenger to all-cargo, or evenmixed, configuration. The rear entry doorwas ofa more conventional size, but was alsorectangular. An extra door wa added to the

OIL TANk

OIL COOUII

Changes to the 800While G-AMAV wa making its dramaticdash to ew Zealand and the more lei urely return tour, serious mi giving werebeing voiced about the new, much largerVSOl. As the enlarged design wa refinedand probable performance data examined,it was becoming clear that it would actually be slower than BEA's V 701 . The current version of the Dart would need morepower to be able to maintain the higherspeeds with the larger aircraft. The corporation wa also having second thoughtregarding the capacity, recent projectionshaving indicated that it might b too largfor the exp cted traffic on many of theroute ~ r which it was being designed.

Cons quently the aircraft wa remodelled and refined to match BEA' now-perceived need much more clo ely. In February 1954 the original order for the VS01wa canc lied, but immediately replacedby on for twelve VS02s, the modified version. Option were al 0 taken out on a further ten. The V 02 wa officially namedVi count Major to emphasize it increasedcapacity, but the name did not stick andthe 'Major' uffix was soon forgotten.

Although the fuselage wa not to be astretched as that of the original VS01, only3ft lOin (Urn) being added forward of thewing compared with the Viscount 700s,th rear pr sure bulkhead was moved over5ft (1.5m) to the rear. Thi greatlyincreased the useable cabin area, allowingup to seventy-one passenger seat in highd n ity layout, though BEA envisagedusing a Ie -cramped configuration. The

38 39

M RE WORLDWIDE SUCCESS MORE WORLDWIDE SUCCESS

Capital's Story

At the time of its historic Viscount orders,Capital Airlines was one of the USA'larger regional carrier. Its network spreadover the eastern USA, south to Alabamaand west to the Great Lakes and Minnesota. Florida was served by an 'interchange'arrangement with Miami-based NationalAirlines.

The airline could trace it lineage back to1928, when a pioneering carrier, CliffordBall Inc, owned by a Pittsburgh-based businessman Clifford Ball, started flying for theUS mail between Pittsburgh and Clevelandvia Youngstown. Initially using a fleet ofWaco 9 biplanes, the company soon purchased Fairchild F -2 monoplanes, withaccommodation for four passengers. In 1929Pittsburgh to Washington services werebegun, using slightly larger Fairchild 71sthat could accommodate six passengers.

Following a change of owner the airlinewas renamed Pennsylvania Airlin s, and

met by the changes already made to theTCA aircraft for Canadian certification,but further measures required that a fuel jettisoning system be added. A pipe projectingfrom the trailing edge of the inner wing wasfitted to facilitate this

The 'Americanization' of the new Viscount variant included yet more US technical and radio equipment being fitted asstandard, over and above the many changesand modifications already made for TCA.The TCA and Capital Viscount cabinswere also fitted out with a much brighter,more modern style of interior furnishing,designed to appeal to the more sophisticated North American taste.

Capital also required that its V745scould be fitted with weather radar, and theredesign of the nose to accommodate itadded a further 8in (20Cln) to the aircraft'slength. A freon-based air-conditioning system and a com.bustion-style cabin heaterfor use on the ground, as in the TCA aircraft, was to be fitted, as were hydraulically operated integral airstairs giving quickerturnarounds and less dependence onground equipment. In December 1954another order for a further twenty V745swas placed by Capital, bringing its totalnumber of Vi counts on order, includingthe initial three 7445, to sixty. The apitalorder, worth in the region of$67 million intotal, was the greatest single post-war dollar earner for Britain at the time.

More 'Americanization'

The T A order attracted a great deal ofattention from the media, but the nexttransatlantic Viscount order caused a mildsensation. Vickers had found a customer inthe heartland of commercial aviation production, where no British, or even Europeanairliner had been old before - the USA.

The initial order that caused all the fuss,albeit for just three Viscounts, came fromWashington D.C.-based carrier CapitalAirlines, the contract for the three V 744sbeing signed in June 1954. These aircraftwere to be powered by the Dart 506. Theicing on the cake came two months later,when Capital signed another contract,this time for no fewer than thirty-sevenV745s powered by the more-powerfulDart R.Da.6 Mk510 being developed forthe forthcoming V802s for BEA. The newengine would give the Viscount 700s towhich it was fitted greater speed and range,and allow higher operating weights.

The Viscount 700s with R.Da.6 Mk 510swere redesignated Viscount 700Ds, and theimprovements helped to attract interestfrom even more prospective customers.New paddle-blade propellers were fitted tothe higher-rated engines, as they had arevi ed reduction-gear ratio that reducedpropeller tip speed. The wing spars werestrengthened, to cope with the short stagesand frequent landings on Capital's busy network. A great many modifications had to bemade to the design to achieve US certification. Nineteen of these had already been

bin was punctured, no further damag ortru tural failure resulted, though an emer-

g n y dent was immediately initiated.h it t kilfully managed to control their r ft with the two remaining engines,nd uccessful landing was made at

Wind or, Ontario.

Specification - V.700D

40-65 (all first class - high density)

4 x R.Da.6 Mk510 DartEmpty basic equipment weight 37,91SIb (17,211 kg) (40 seats); maximum zero fuel weight50,1681b (22)71 kg); maximum take-off weight 64,500lb (29,275kg); maximum landingweight 58,5001b (26,325kgl; typical maximum payload 12,250lb (5,560kgl.Length 81 ft 1Din (24.94ml; span 93ft 8Xin (2856m); fin height 26ft 9in (S.15m); wing area963sq ft (89.46sq m); wheelbase 24ft 1Din (7.57m).Economic cruising speed 325mph (520km/h); maximum cruising speed 335mph (540km/h);service ceiling 27,500ft (8,380m); range with maximum payload 1,330 statute miles(2,140km).

PowerplantWeights

Dimensions


Performance

Viscounts replaced the TCA fleet of locally-built, but notoriously noisy, CanadairC4M North Stars on busier routes, or eventhe smaller, long-serving Douglas DC-3 .

In addition to the TCA domestic routenetwork, the Viscount enjoyed a significantsuccess on the cross-border flights to theUSA. On the Montreal and Toronto ervices to New York business was so brisk thatthe frequencies were doubled from threeeach, as previously flown by the NorthStars, to six. Between April and December1955 passenger boat'dings from Toronto toNew York flights increased by 31 per centsouthbound and 34 per cent northbound.The Montreal to New York route was evenmore successful for the Viscount, boardingsincreasing by an incredible 64 per centsouthbound and 69 per cent northbound!

The TCA aircraft were competingdirectly with major US airlines operatingConvairs and Douglas DC-6s. Other USpoints soon included on TCA's Viscountnetwork included Boston in the east,Chicago in the Midwest, and eattle wasserved from Vancouver. It took only 134days for TCA to carry its 100,000th Viscount passenger, by which time only fourteen aircraft of the order had been delivered. In the fir t year of operations, TCAViscounts carried 470,000 passengers,with a load factor of over 80 per cent.

One TCA Viscount unwittingly demonstrated the design's ruggedness only fifteenmonths after the Canadian airline had putits new turboprops into service. On 9 July1956 one of the Viscounts was en routefrom Chicago to Toronto, cruising at18,000ft (5,500m), when it suddenly lostits starboard outer propeller, debris fromwhich also damaged the inner engine andcaused a fire. Although the engine fire wassoon extinguished, more debris hadsmashed its way into the cabin, killing onepassenger and injuring five others. Despitethe sudden depressurization when th

Canadian TriumphThe end of 1954 aw the first of the TCAViscount 724s, CF-TGl, being ferried acrossthe Atlantic to its new owner at Montreal.Upon arriving in December the aircraftembarked on the n w-familiar round oftraining and route-proving flights. Encouraged by the resounding success of the earlier Viscount operators, TCA had placed afollow-up order for no fewer than thirty-sixmore of the type. These aircraft, their ownextra improvements earning them the newdesignation Viscount 754, had been orderedin August 1954, two months before CF-TGIhad even made its first flight.

The delivery flight left the UK on 8December and routed from Weybridge toPrestwick, then onwards to Keflavik,Bluey West, Goose Bay and on to Montreal, arriving on the 12th. On this epic delivery flight, Vickers' Jock Bryce and Capt G.Lothian of TCA piloted the aircraft.George Edwards, who had worked so hardfor the TCA order, was al 0 on board.

The first North American scheduledturbine-powered-airliner service was flownon 1 April 1955, from Montreal to Winnipeg, by a TCA Viscount. Other domestic routes were soon included in the Viscount network as more aircraft joinedCF-TGI after making the trek from theproduction line at Weybridge to their newhome in Canada. For the most part the

enabled th di rupted training programmeto be resumed.

Once the third aircraft, VH-TVC JohnOxley, arriv d, TAA was ready to openscheduled Vi ount services with the twoaircraft on 18 December. It was the firstairline outside Europe to fly the Viscountcommercially, initially operating them in acomfortable forty-seat, four-abreast configuration. By January 1955 190 commercial flights had accounted for 390 flyinghours for the pair, and the average loadfactor was a staggering 94 per cent. Twomore aircraft were in service by March,when an average utilization of Ilhr perday was becoming common.

Although they were an undoubted success on the busy short/medium-haul runsbetween Australia's bigger east-coast cities,the Viscounts speed advantage was especially significant on longer route, such asMelbourne-Adelaide-Perth. The extrafuel capacity provided by the optional slipper tanks, plus additional tankage for anextra 230gal (l,044Itr) built into the innerwing of the V 720s, came into its own. Thecarrier's main rival was Au trallan National Airways, which operated much larger,long-range DC-6s against the Viscounts onthe longer transcontinental runs. However,the turboprops were consistently shown to betaking passengers away from the piston-powered competition wherever they appeared onTAA's network.

More people ny TAil. than any olher airline in Austr.II;o. TAil. halluch ;II hilh standard of I., ... lee and efficiency that most peopleprefer to 0, with thll dependable airline. 'n 9 rur"operation TAA hu urried ov.r S million pallosenile,." In II month" 180,000 people have nownIn TAA's Viscounts alone - the nne5l, (",steu,smoothest aircraft oper;otlnll in AUHralla. Forthe .... ry ben In air tr.vel ..

"~TAA-i~f~~~~' \ I

Reseryations: TAil. BookinS Offices all States or any iluthorised Travel Alent

The first of what was to become a healthy stream ofexport Viscounts that made their wayover the Atlantic to North American customerswas TCA's CF-TGI. Vickers via author

Onlya few months after full scheduled operationswere introduced, TAA's Viscount services werereturning impressive traffic figures. Author's collection

40 41

MORE WORLDWIDE SUCCESS MORE WORLDWIDE SUCCESS

Hunting-Clan was forced to find new homes for its expensive, under-used Viscounts when the initialtrooping contracts were not renewed. MAP

Wanted, a Good Home

The trio of HCAT Vi counts oon found ahome with Middle East Airlines (MEA),based at Beirut. The Lebanese carrier wasan associate company of BOAC, which hada shareholding in MEA. Although BOACAssociated Companie had already placedan order for Viscounts on MEA's behalf,these aircraft, improved 7000 versions,were not due for delivery until 1957. Thesudden availability of the HCAT aircraftallowed MEA to bring turboprop comfortto its routes much earlier than planned.Operated on a long-term lease from HCAT,the Viscount 732s joined a fleet of DC-3son the busier regional routes from Beirut.Almost overnight, the Viscount turnedMEA from a small regional operator to amajor international carrier. They were alsoeventually introduced on new, longer-ranging services reaching European cities, andin due course were used to extend the MEAnetwork east to India and Pakistan.

an attempt to encourage higher loads onroutes that had returned disappointing figures when flown by DC-3s. Unfortunatelythe trooping contracts were due to end inSeptember, and were not renewed. Thescheduled route from Newcastle were notbusy enough to support the costs of operating the larger aircraft, and HCAT wasforced to look elsewhere for gainfulemployment for its Viscount fleet.

fad h and contract charter services wasfl wn thr ughout Europe and to the Middle

t nd Africa. Trooping contracts soon~ rm d a large part of Hunting's portfolio, asw ran twork of scheduled services basedat N w a tle, for which the company operat d a an 'as ociate' of BEA.

A very successful low-fare ' olonialoach' service was also opened from Bov

ingdon to East Africa in 1952, in partner-hip with another independent, Airwork

Ltd, using both companies' fleets ofVikings. The Clan Line shipping grouppurchased a major shareholding in Hunting in October 1953, the company namebeing changed to Hunting-Clan.

In May 1953 HCAT made a brave mov ,becoming the first UK independent airlineto order the Viscount when it signed a contract for three V 732s. It had hoped tointroduce the Viscounts on the Africanservices, but BOAC objected to the independent being allowed to fly such modernequipment in competition against it. Consequently, the trusty Vikings continued tooperate the longer routes. Instead, whenthe three Viscounts, G-ANRR, 'RS and'RT, were delivered to HCAT in May andJuly 1955, they were placed in service onthe trooping runs to the Mediterranean.

The V732s were laid out in a 53-passenger configuration, their seats all beingrearward facing as required for militarycontract work. They also appeared brieflyon the scheduled service network fromNewcastle to Scandinavia and London, inAuthor's collection

the British Commonwealth, where UKforces were still charged with keeping til.peace. Among the bu iest routes wer theones serving the Mediterranean islands ofMalta and Gibraltar, both still heavily garrisoned with bases for all three armed services. One holder of a government contract to carry force personnel and theirdependants to the islands was HuntingClan Air Transport (HCAT).

Based at Bovingdon, near London,HCAT had originally been formed as Hunting Air Transport shortly after the war'send. Initially flying various light aircraft,the company soon graduated to larger types,such as the DC-3, and ordered a fleet of newVikings from Vickers. A varied programme

First Independent Order

comfort for Capital's customers, offeringpressurization and speed, and boasted aforward 'Cloud Club' lounge area for inflight relaxation, complete with clubchairs. By 1954 Capital was operatingtwelve Constellations, twenty-five DC-4sand twenty-five DC-3s, and was rankedfifth among US domestic carriers.

The decision to buy the fleet of Viscounts was based on the recommendations of a task force sent over by

Carmichael to evaluate the new turbo-prop. Capital had already looked closely atthe available US options for re-equipment,but was unable to find anything meeting itsrequirements. The task force looked closelyat data supplied by Vickers and BEA, eventually deciding that the Viscount offeredthe flexibility needed to operate profitablyon the airline's varied network. With itsmixture of short regional flights and longerservices between major cities, a commercially viable competitor to the larger airlines' equipment was vital.

At the signing of the first contract, atWeybridge, Carmichael praised the happypersonal relationships that he and hi taskforce had built up with Vickers during theevaluation and sales negotiations. He alsopraised BEA for freely supplying operationaldata on the Viscount, based on its own experience as an operator of the aircraft. TheBritish airline had actually been persuadedto give up three delivery positions on theproduction line 'in the national interest', toallow the V744s to be supplied earlier thanwould otherwise have been possibl .

[n the early 1950s the remaining Britishindependent airlines were kept firmly intheir place by the nationalization of scheduled UK services, only being permitted tooperate ad hoc and contract charter ervices.Although there was work available andmoney to be made, the competition wasintense, and it could be a very lean existence, The ban on independent operatingschedules was eventually relaxed with theintroduction of 'Associate Agreements',whereby the private airlines were permittedto operate scheduled services that the corporations had no interest in serving.

One major source of revenue for thecharter companies at the time was trooping contracts, issued by the militaryauthoritie for the carriage of servicemenand their families to the far-flung parts of

Carmichael, Capitaland the Viscount

D.C. With this expansion outside the original Pennsylvania catchment area, the airline's name was regarded as too parochial,and soon it was being promoted as 'PCA The Capital Airline'. Post-war, more DC3s arrived and were joined by a new fleetof DC-4s. By 1948 a new interim PCACapital Airlines name had been phasedthrough Capital Airlines-PCA to becomejust Capital Airlines.

Routes were extended to New Orleansvia Mobile and to Atlanta via Asheville in1948, the Midwest services having beenextended to Minneapolis-St Paul the yearbefore. Also in 1947, Capital had introduced a new style of 'Air Coach' services,whereby low-fare, no-frills services wereoffered over the company's routes at night,when the aircraft used would otherwisehave been idle. Capital was the first UScarrier to introduce this new class of airtravel, which proved an immediate success.

This profitable 'Air Coach' was the brainchild of Capital's newly appointed president, J.H. (Slim) Carmichael. Previouslythe airline's chief pilot, Carmichael hadal 0 served as operations manager, vicepresident operations and executive vicepresident. Taking up the post in late 1947,he faced spiralling costs and declining passenger loads.

Under Carmichael's careful management, Capital's financial situationimproved enough to allow the introduction of a fleet of modern Constellations in1950. These brought a new standard of

PCA Becomes Capital

Following the merger of Pennsylvania Airlinesand Central Airlines, the newly formed PCA relieda great deal on the ten-passenger Boeing 247 formany of its routes. Author's collection

all-metal Ford Trimotors were introduced in 1933. A year later Pennsylvania bought out Kohler Aviation orporation, and added its route fromMilwaukee to Detroit, via Muskegon,Grand Rapids and Lansing. This onemove almost doubled the route miles of thecompany at a stroke. Cleveland and Detroitwere linked by a new route extension,merging the two original networks.

However, in 1934, a new competitorbegan operations from Pittsburgh, whenCentral Airlines opened a rival Washington-Pittsburgh-Akron-Cleveland-Detroitroute. A fares war ensued, and the two airlines also fought to match each other withduplicated frequencies. Central eventuallyleased ex-American Airlines Ford Trimotors to upgrade its equipment from its original Stinsons. Pennsylvania responded byreplacing its Fords with then-ultra-modern Boeing 247s. Central then promptlyreplaced its Fords wi til. a fleet of more modern versions of their original Stinsons, Amodel tri-motors that could match theBoeing's speed. Finally, however, bothmanagements recognized that the competition was potentially ruinous for both airlines. An agreement was reached in late1936 and the two carriers were merged toproduce Pennsylvania Central Airlines(PCA), with effect from 1 November thatyear.

Following the merger of the two arch rivals,PCA entered an unprecedented period ofgrowth. The original main route wasextended to the southeast from Washingtonto Norfolk, Virginia. Important new serviceswere added to Baltimore and Buffalo fromPittsburgh, and both Chicago and Sault SteMarie were reached via new routes fromDetroit. By 1939 new 2l-passenger DouglasDC-3s were being introduced, with six inuse, alongside the thirteen 247s, by 1940.The system was expanded southwards inlate 1940, with new routes to Birmingham,Alabama. In December 1941 the COt'PO

rate head office was moved to the newNational Airport serving Washington,

42 43

MORL WORLDWIDE SUCCESS MORI· WORLDWIDE SUCCESS

Capital Airlines promised its customers unheard-of comfort and numerousinnovations with its new fleet of Viscounts. Author's collection

none of the manufacturers could matchat that time.

Overall, the aircraft was introduced as a, ew oncept in Flight'. A whole campaignwas built around the Viscount, with advertising, mobile exhibitions and intensive staffawarenc training all playing their part.

a great deal of attention already, not all of itfavourable. To a certain extent Capitalfound itself having to justify the choice ofthe British aircraft to its very vocal US critics, notwithstanding th clearly advancednature of the new form ofpropulsion, whichoffered speed and comfort levels which

The early ucce e of TCA' Viscounts onroutes into the USA from Canada w remerely a prologue to the impact the aircraftmade on Capital's US dome tic rvices.As usual, and in keeping with the importance of th order, Vickers offered the airlin a great deal of assistance in preparingits crews, engineers and all other taff whowould come in contact with the Vi countduring dai ly operations. Capital itself,under armichael's enthusiastic guidance,was determined that the introduction ofthe first non-US-built airliners into commercial service, scheduled for July 1955,would go a moothly a po ibl . RollsRoyce engine te t cells were installed inthe airline' maintenance facilities, and aViscount flight-deck simulator wa a welcome addition to the training programme,enabling even more of Capital' cr w to beready for the new aircraft.

Pre-introduction advertising for the newViscounts saw cities served by Capital bombarded by the airline's publicity machine.The very act of importing an airliner intothe USA, the undisputed world industryleader in airliner production, had attracted

Capital's Unveiling

BEA Incidents

BEA's leasing of the Fred Olsen aircraftwa partly the re ult of the temporary 10of one of its Y.701s at the beginning of theyear. Vi count G-AMOK Sir HumphreyGilbert was scheduled to operate the London-Rome-Athens-Istanbul service onthe morning of 16 January 1955, but hadbeen delayed by fog. When it was finallycleared to taxi in the bad visibility, the aircraft inadvertently turned on to the wrongrunway, No 3, which had been clo d toallow for the building of Heathrow's newcentral terminal area. As 'OK sped downthe disused runway it ran into storedequipment, builders' huts, a teel barrierand even a pile of cast iron.

Luckily it was a Sunday, and few on-truction staff were in the area. Although

the Viscount shed its undercarriage andboth port engines, and ruptured it fueltanks, there was no po t-era h fir. Onlythe captain and one pa enger wereinjured. everely damaged, 'OK was tran ported to ambridge, where the aero- ngineering company, Marshalls rebuilt it forBEA. Returned to the airline in 1958, 'OKwas rede ignated a Y.701X.

Iraqi Airways, also based in the MiddleEa t, put the fir t of it three Y. 735s intoervice in late 1955, and they replaced

Vikings on the more important routes.The turboprop were initially used onroute from Baghdad to Egypt, Iran (thenknown a Per ia), Jordan and yria. Aswith MEA, the Iraqi Viscount were al 0

to be found later on new services linkingthe Middle East to Europe. The first threeY. 739 , for Mi rair, Egypt's national airline, were al 0 introduced around the sametime, uppl menting and eventually ousting an ageing fleet of Vikings and Fr nchbuilt Languedocs.

Cubana's Lucky Break

Hunting-Clan's partner on the Africanservices, Airwork, had also placed anorder for Viscount 700s, in the hope ofoperating them on the 'Colonial Coach'flight. A contract for a similar ized fleetof three Y.755Ds was signed, with delivery expected in December 1955. WhenBOAC blocked the u e of the Viscounts,Airwork had no other options for operating th now-redundant aircraft. The Vi counts were still under construction, andAirwork was lucky enough to find another airline, Havana-based CompaniaCubana de Aviacion, commonly shortened to Cubana, already interested in theViscount and willing to take over thecontract in order to obtain early delivery.Cubana wanted the Viscounts to replaceageing D -4s, and even its more modernCon tellations, on regional routes to themainland USA, where they failed toattract traffic from competing US carrierssuch as Pan American and National Airlines.

Another operator that passed on it Vi counts to another carrier was Fred OlsenAir Transport, the aviation wing of thefamous orwegian shipping company. Theairline operated a variety of aircraft onbehalf of the parent company, ferrying itships' crews and cargoes around the world,

a well as performing general ad hoc andcontract charters. Originally ordering twoViscount 736s, Fred Olsen did not takedelivery it elf, leasing them out instead toBEA a G-AODG Fridtjof Nansen and GAODH Roald Amundson. The aircraft weredelivered directly to BEA in December1955. In keeping with BEA Discovery classpolicy the aircraft were named after explorers, but this time Norwegian ones.

Leasing-in the HCA Viscounts allowed Middle East Airlines to modernize its fleetseveral years earlier than it had originally planned. Global Air Image

Iraqi Airways' Viscounts were a feature of the Baghdad-based fleet for many years,operating on both international and domestic services. Jenny Gradidge

Originally built as G-AOCC for Airwork, CU-T605 was sold to Cubana before delivery.Jenny Gradidge

44 45

MORI, WORLDWIDE SUCCESS MORL WORLDWIDE S CCESS

Capital based its Viscount introduction on an advertising campaign heralding'A New Concept in Flight'. Author's collection

president Richard Nixon add res ed the2,500 per ons pre ent. The vice-pre ident'swife, Patri ia ixon, christened 7402,accompanied by 'Slim' Carmicha I. As wellas s rving on the vital crew-training andoperational-familiarization programme, theaircraft operated a number of pre s and travel-industry demonstration flights aroundthe airline's routes. The last of the threeV744 , 7404, arrived on 23 July, and fullscheduled services were able to b gin threedays later.

The very fir t scheduled US-based turbine-powered airline service opened on 26July 1955, with two daily First Class flightbetw en Washington and Chicago. A elsewhere in the world, the high passeng r loadsattracted by the Viscounts soon saw the fr quency incr a ed to three a day, and then upto six, with some of the extra ervices making a traffic stop at Pittsburgh. The largeorder for V. 745s started to arrive from Humin ovember 1955 and Vi counts were S onalso serving citie such as orfolk, Detroitand Cleveland. The first nine V745s werestill powered by Mk 3 Darts, like the V. 744s,but the full 7450 versions with Mk 6s soonfollowed. Other points on the network wereadded as quickly as the aircraft could bedelivered and put into service. In 1956 nonstop Philadelphia-Chicago, Philadelphia-Detroit, Detroit-New York and

hicago- ew York Viscount serviceswere introduced, and the airline extendedits Viscount network south to includeAtlanta, Mobile and New Orleans.

As Joseph oto observes, the Viscount'sreliability soon became legendary:

47

Viscoum appeared in our hangar at Washington

ational Airport, the main ba;e whcre most of

the maintenance was done. The aircraft was

7402, and generated great excitement and

envy among other airline people.

In a christening ceremony at the airline'sHangar 3, at Washington National Airport,the aircraft was formally introduced to thepress and Capital's employees, and US vice-

I had chosen to go to work for Capital rather

than other airlines because Capitalwa known

to bc gctting the Viscount soon, and would be

the first in the SA with the turboprop. With

in a fcw days of my hiring, a brand-new shiny

Viscount operations began at

Capital with the introductionof a trio of Viscount 744s, fol

lowed by the bulk of the

order in the shape of a laterversion, the V.745.

United Archive

BELOW: Patricia Nixonchristened the first Capital

Viscount at the airline's

Washington base, assistedby 'Slim' Carmichael.

United Archive

15 June, followed by the second aircraft,7403, on 9 July. Present at the arrival of

the fir t aircraft was newly-hired apital aircraft and engine mechanic Joseph P. oto:The Capital Debut

The first of the V. 744s, registered 7402,made its maiden flight, from Hum, on 14May 1955. Following the tran atlanticdelivery route already established for theTCA aircraft, it arrived in Washington on

seatback tabl and hostess call-button,all serving every seat. With the buffet andgalley located at the rear, a convenientcarry-on luggage storage area was in tailedby the forward entry door. As well as thelight snack more usual on Capital' shortrange network, the galley was capable ofproducing hot meals for the longer sectors.

o tone wa left untumed in promotingpublic acceptance of the Viscount in apital service and in creating a strong desireamong potential apital passengers to flyin the aircraft. Reservations agents wereeven encouraged to answer calls by saying:'May I make a r ervation on the Viscountfor you?'. Reservations and ticket agentswere also briefed on the history of Vickers,the aircraft and its revolutionary engine, allcomparatively unheard of in the U A, toenable them to answer their customers'queri about the new fleet member. Tosupplement and add impact to Capital'sown campaign, a number of other linkedcompanies also became involved in advertising the forthcoming Viscount services.

ot surpri ingly, Vickers and Rolls-Royceran a number of complimentary Viscountadvertisements in US newspapers andmagazines. Tie-in advertising was alsoarranged with Viscount supplier such a

hell Oil, Dunlop Tires and Bendix Radio.A 23min film ntitled A New Concept in

Flight was made available for both staff andpublic viewing. In addition, an employees'handbook was also published, covering allaspects of the Viscount and explainingwhy apital had chosen to operate it.Numerous booklets, such as Talk About theViscount and Tinkering with the Turbine,were produced and widely distributed tohelp educate and inform the public andthe industry. The employee handbookencouraged everyone of Capital's 4,500employees to become 'a Viscount alesman by performing his job in the mo t efficient manner. Once a passenger ride inthe Viscount, he will be sold on it wiftsmooth, silent and ure performance. You,as a apital employee, must sell the passenger on Capital's EW CO CEPT IFLIGHT, the Viscount ervice.'

46

said to offer 'a quiet elegance, a passengersplus that no other aircraft can claim'. Thefloor was carpeted in dark green, the sidesof the cabin were trimmed in beige vinyl,and the ceiling wa pale green. The seatunits were upholstered in beige cloth, contrasting with plaid curtains. Modernamenities for the passengers, 'at their fingertips', included individual ashtrays, lightswitches and fresh-air louvres, folding

The distinctive whine of the Dart enginewas promoted as 'The New ound in theAir', and advertisements pOinted out theswift and smooth nature of Viscount travel.A 45ft (13.7m) trailer containing a fullscale Dart engine and a cutaway section ofthe new Viscount interior toured cities onCapital's network.

The interior, remodelled by designers inthe U Butler Zimmerman Company, was

M RE WORLDWIDE SUCCESS

TO THE MAN WHO'S NEVER FLOWN ...

tralian Viscount customer, Sydney-basedButler Air Transport (BAT). Founded bypioneer Australian airline owner ArthurButler, BAT had established a successful

Viscounts, with extra aircraft acquired tohelp rebuild the airline,

In September 1955 a pair of Viscount747s was delivered to Vickers's second Aus-

The two-crew 'Americanized' Viscounts. such as those supplied to Capital Airlines.had a much more modern flight-deck layout. United Archive

Global Expansion

Viscount to Vanguard

CHAPTER FOUR

The forthcoming arrival of the stretchednew Viscount models far from heralded theimmediate end of the original, shorter-bodied Series 700s. Indeed, with the improvements made to the aircraft after the 'Americanization' of the design for anadian andUS customers, the aircraft was attractingeven greater numbers of potential new customer . Between 1955 and 1958, Viscount700s were een around the world in thecolours of an increasing variety of operators, large and small.

[n 1955 carriers as diverse as BWIA inthe Caribbean, Iraqi Airways, MEA andMisrair in North Africa and the MiddleEast and Butler Air Transport of Australiawere taking delivery of their first aircraftand starting to enjoy the ucces of earlieroperators. The fir t of BWIA's four aircraftwas introduced on thrice-weekly first-classservices between New York and Bermuda,in co-operation with BOAC and in directcompetition with US airlines such as Eastern Air Lines and Pan American. The Viscount's flying time of 3 hours was half anhour less than that of the Lockheed Constellations used by BWIA's rivals, and traffic was soon being taken from the othercarriers. Further south, the Viscounts alsooperated from the Bahamas to Miami andNew York from Nassau. The success of theV. 702s BWIA had leased from BOAC wassuch that BWIA decided to order it ownaircraft, and placed orders for four V. 772s,later, improved models of the Viscount 700to replace three of the early-model V. 702s.

Misrair's three-strong Viscount 739fleet, which contributed to the replacement of Vickers Vikings and Frenchbuilt Languedocs, saw the Egyptian airlineexpand its services throughout NorthAfrica and to Europe and the Middle East,The Suez Crisis of 1956 cut this expansionshort, though. One of the Viscounts, SUAIC, was actually destroyed by the RAF ina raid on Almaza on 1 October. However,post-Suez, Misrair soon re-established itsnetwork, initially using the two surviving

Up and Running

for metal fragments that could fotetell an engine

failure. As the number of engine failures on the

struggling DC-7 built up, the FAA [Federal Avi

ation Administration] ordered changes in the

departure schedules to prevent the tace.

The Viscount was becoming a commonsight at many airports throughout theworld as the 1950s passed their meridian.The bustling assembly lines at Weybridgand Hurn were busy fulfilling the contractsbeing brought back from around the world.Nonetheless, new Viscounts were soon to

be seen, with the larger 800 well on its way.The Viscount's success had turned thethoughts of the design office staffs to awhole new, even bigger turboprop airlinerfor the 1960s.

As the 1950s progressed. the sight of airline passengers boarding ordisembarking from Viscounts became increasingly common worldwide.

United Archive

But no matter how cold or how long since the

last run, starting the Dart was no trick. Press the

start button, open the fuel lever and your engine

was running, and the throttle could be

advanced immediately. Most big pistons were

limited to only operating a few minutes at rake

off power, and then power had to be reduced. In

contrast, the Dart throttle could be pushed to

the stops and left there throughout the climb.

A rival airline had a hangar near ours where its

DC-7 was checked nightly after a round trip

Washington--Chicago-Washington run. The

DC-7 left Washington at the same time each

morning as our Chicago-bound Viscount, so a

race became customary. Although the DC-7 was

probably a bit faster in a long cruise, the Viscount

could pull ahead in a long climb without risking

engine problems at maximum power. All night,

mechanics for the rival carrier could be seen hard

at work on their DC-7 engines, changing spark

plugs or even cylinders and checking oil screens

Let the VISCOUNT be your inuoduction [0 air (navd ... for here is the "(timltein twifr, smooth, quiet flight. You'll be flying the world's m()jt modern airliner.powered by (our Rolls-Royce tllrbo·lm,p· tf1gincs and provtd by more iliana I• bUlion.I"""8" m"". Tho qn'" .1'8.n~ 01 ,Ii. VI COUNT " p"I..,,,, ~~by experlen«d u"lIvelcn everywhere. • I"·",.t a~'1I'a

FI"h, e..,i,,.) VlJtOw,/I!rolll_

Cht"'IO, 0"'0", C1nntlI/J. Pt/flbNr~h NlJrjilllt. II'/'fJh",X""'. Nt.", \'0'" AIRLINES

The engines were superb, the latest state of the

art. They required so much less routine mainte

nance than piston engines and seemed trouble

free and completely dependable. My life as a line

mechanic became much easier. For instance, pis

ton engines used oil by the bucket, much ofwhich

wound up dripping from the cowling. Oil was

added to the engine by climbing out on the slip

pery wing, often wet, slippery or icy, with a 5-gal

Ion can of thick oil, which was much thicker in

winter. By contrast, after flying all day, a one

quart can per engine was all the Dart needed.

Also, in cold conditions, piston engines were

run-up several times during the night to keep

their oil warm enough to enable starting for

morning departures. Then, after coaxing them

to life, a careful run-up was needed before flight,

often involving some ignition problems such as

'mag drops', fouled plugs etc. It took some skill

to get the piston engines started in cold or wet

weather.

The reputation for reliability and comfort that the Viscount soon gainedwith Capital was used to great effect in advertising campaigns to attractnew passengers to the airline's services. Author's collection

48 49

ABOVE: The success of the V.702s leasedby BWIA from BOAC led to orders forlater versions for the Caribbean network.Jenny Gradidge

VISCOliNT TO VANGUARD

lEFT: Butler Air Transport introducedturboprop airliner service to severalsmaller Australian towns and cities,as well as on routes linking the moreimportant population centres.Jenny Gradidge

BelOW: The first Central African AirwaysViscounts began making their way downthe Vickers production lines in 1955-56.Jenny Gradidge

50

regional network throughout th tat fNew outh Wales with a fleet of 0 -3and smaller aircraft. Serving both the larger cite and more 'outback' area, the airlin had made a point of getting involv dwith the local communities it served.

Originally BAT had ordered the firstpair of Viscounts and then taken optionon four more. However, only the initialpair wa delivered, the first entering ervice in eptember 1955. They were soonachieving high utilization figures, theaverage of 9hr 8min a day being a recordfor the Viscount world-wide. The 1956-57financial year was the first to see both Viscounts in service, and BAT was able toreport a £28,997 profit, compared with aloss the previous year.

n 1 May 1956 Central African Airway(CAA) took delivery of the first of an orderfor five V748Ds, fitted with weather radarand slipper tanks to give extra range. Theaircraft also had de Havilland propellers fitted to provide better take-off performanceunder difficult African conditions. TheBritish olonial governments of the nationsof orthern and Southern Rhodesia and

yasaland jointly owned CAA. As well aslinking the three African nations, CAA

The V.759D TF-ISU Hrimfaxi never actually enteredcommercial service with its original owner,Hunting-Clan Air Transport, eventually beingdelivered to Icelandair in March 1957. via Bob Turner

1 f1 'W to neighbouring countries. Its fleetf ikll1g al a operated a long-range, low

r ut from alisbury to London, alonglin f the HCATjAirwork afari ser

i .Th Vi count soon ousted the Vikingsfr m th Zambezi service to London, flyingvia dola, Entebbe, Khartoum, Wadi Haifa,

nghazi and Rome. Th y also operatedflights to Mozambique and Mauritius, aswell as proving a great success on the busierlocal and regional routes to uch places aBulawayo, Durban and Johanne burg.

Hunting-Clan Again

Hunting-Clan Air Tran port made another bid to operate Vi counts on its ownincreasingly popular afari services toAfrica, but, although it took delivery ofthe two V759s G-AOGG and G-AOGHin ovember and December 1956, penni sion was still withheld and the airline wasagain forced to dispo e of the aircraft, as ithad with the three V732s it had earlierleased to MEA. This time the two aircraftwere sold on, rather than lea ed out, bothbeing delivered to lcelandair in March andApril 1957. They were oon placed intoregular service, operating from Reykjavikto Copenhagen, Glasgow, Hamburg, London and Oslo. The lce1andair Viscounts'first four months saw an incredible 40 percent increase in traffic and an averag 75.5per cent load factor, compared with 58.4

51

per cent carried the same time the previous year. Although one was lost in an accident on approach to Oslo in 1963, the urvivor served lcelandair for its entire life,finally bing scrapped in 1970.

The three V 7550 originally ordered byHCATs partner on the Safari flights, Airwork, were delivered to Cubana in 1956.Introduced on services to Miami and Veredo Bach from Cuba, they were soonrebuilding Cubana's market share on the eroutes, where its older equipment had beensuffering in competition with American carriers. Cubana al 0 put the Vi count into service on busier domestic routes from Havanato bigger cities on the island. Within threemonths the traffic increase was nearly 120per cent over the Constellation's p rformance and the load factor percentages wereswiftly climbing towards the high 80s.

Unfortunately, two years later, the firstof Cubana's Viscounts became one of theearliest victims of terrorist hijacking. On 1

ovember 1958 CU-T603, en route fr mMiami to Varadero, was taken over by agroup of five hijackers, one of whomreplaced the captain at the control.Rerouted towards Oriente Province, nearthe base of revolutionary leader Fidel Ca tro, the pilot wa unable to land becausethe air trip was unlit. Rapidly running outof fuel, the Viscount was eventuallyditched in the sea off the Cuban coast,bringing about the deaths of all but threeof its twenty ccupant.

VI 0 NT TO VANGUARD VISCOUNT TO VANGUARD

The first stretched Viscount S02 'Viscount Major' for BEA was assembled at Weybridgein 1956. Its fuselage had been built at the new Viscount production plant at Hurn, whichwas now responsible for all V700 series production as well as manufacturing the fuselages for all Viscount variants. Initially Hurn had been designated to produce the larger production runs, such as the Capital and TCA orders. After extra manufacturing spacewas built at Weybridge, this arrangement was altered so that Hurn took over all Viscount 700 production and Weybridge was responsible for Viscount SOD series assembly. All Viscount fuselages, though, were built at Hurn, and the wings were built bySaunders-Roe, a Vickers subsidiary on the Isle of Wight. The first VS02 fuselage wasmoved to the Weybridge production line for final assembly in April. Orders for all Viscount variants had now exceeded 300 aircraft, for numerous customers, civil and military, all over the world.

No separate prototype VS02 was built. Instead, the first of the stretched Viscounts tofly was the first production model, G-AOJA, named Sir Samuel White Baker by BEA. Itfirst took to the air on 27 July 1956, taking off from Weybridge. After being put throughits paces for 55min, G-AOJA landed at Vickers's flight-test base at Wisley, where itwould be based for the Vsots development and certification programme. The aircraftmade its public debut two months later in September, being exhibited at Farnborough.

The second VS02 was rolled off the production line later that month, followed bytwo more in November. The first Viscount S02 to be officially delivered to BEA was G-

Rolls-Royce met Vickers's new requirement by giving the Mk 520 a recalibratedfuel control unit, increa ed flame temperature and modified controls with an additional pitch stop for the propeller. Withnew Dowty propellers giving greater efficiency and increasing relative thrust, theMk 525 offered a greatly improved take-offfield performance. This allowed the u e ofshorter runways, or higher payloads and/orfuel loads for greater range. The brakingsystem could also be enhanced to permitlandings at more-restricted airports.

The stretched production Viscount SOOairframe formed the basis of the new version, a number of the load-bearing components in the aircraft being strengthened toallow for higher stresses involved in themore demanding kind of daily flying envisioned by customer airlines. The wing construction, especially the pars and ribs, wasstrengthened, as was the fin and rear fuselage to help cope with the increased load.The rudder power was increased, largerdeflections being obtained by adjustingthe forward balance of the controls. Inaddition, the nacelles and mountings alsohad to be modified to take the larger, morepowerful engine.

Launch Orders

The new sub-type, designated the ViscountS10, soon attracted a great deal of interestfrom around the world. Vickers was especially pleased when the first airline to placean order turned out to be yet another USbased carrier, Continental Airlines, thenheadquartered at Denver, Colorado. ontinental signed up for fifteen ViscountS12s, straight off the drawing board, inDecember 1955. Continental's route network was varied, with larger DC-6s andDC-7s erving major transcontinentalroutes from th Great Lakes and Midwestto the West Coast. On more regionally oriented, local service in the western half ofthe USA the airline wa operating a mixture of Convair CV340s and V440s, thelatest version of onvair's twin. In addition, a small fl et of faithful, if ageing, DC3s was still operated. Denver airport was5,OOOft (I,500m) above sea level, locatedin an area haVing both hot summers andfreezing winters, and close to the RockyMountains; the very conditions that hadinspired the design of the VSI0.

More orders for the VSI0 soon followed.Interestingly, these mostly came from new

than longer range. Theyw ult! initi lly operate alongside the earIi r V707s, which would then be redepi y d to bring Viscount service to moreof th Iri h carrier's routes.

Mar Power

Rolls-R yce' never-ending developmentof he versatile Dart soon led to yet another version, the Mk 525, being offered. Thenew engine could actually have produceda v ry cred itable 2,lOOehp for take-off, butthis would have been far too powerful forthe Viscount airframe. Nonetheless, a derated version offering a 'mere' 1,990ehpcould be used on the Viscount; its sparepower making it ideal for use at 'hot andhigh' airfields, for instance, in warmand/or mountainous regions. In eith r ofthese conditions an aircraft's effectivetake-off power could b greatly reduced bythinner air, especially in a more humidatmosphere, and more available take-offpower was very welcome. Earlier remediesto this problem with other airliners hadentailed the fitting of small rocket or jetengines to the lower fu elage, to providean extra bur t of thrust during the take-offrun. Although this was an effective, if notto say spectacular, answer, it was hardly anideal solution.

Several potential Viscount customersoperating aircraft in this environm nt hadbeen forced to reconsider once they examined the performance figures for the earlier Viscount/Dart combinations. AlthoughVickers was keen for their business, theViscount then on offer were geared moretowards short, high-density inter-cityroutes and were not suitable for similarload-carrying over longer distances and athigher speed. There appeared to be a definite niche for a Viscount SOO-sized aircraftcapable of economic operation underthese complex conditions.


Specification - V.BOO

4 x R.Da.6 Mk570Empty basic equipment weight 41 ,2001b (lS,700kg) (71 seats); maximum zero fuel weight55,0001b (24,960kg); maximum take-off weight 64,5001b (29,275kg); maximum landingweight 5S,5001b (26,325kg); typical maximum payload 13,7001b (6,220kg).Length S5ft Din (25.91 m); span 93ft S~in (2S.56ml; fin height 26ft 9in (S.15ml; wing area963sq ft (S9.46sq ml; wheelbase 2Sft S~in (S.75m)Economic cruising speed 310mph (500kmjh); maximum cruising speed 335mph (540kmjhl;service ceiling 27,500ft (S,3S0ml; range with maximum payload 690 statute miles (1, 110kml.

Powerplant:Weights:

Dimensions:

Performance:


delivery of CV-240s and eventually repla ing them with the slightly enlarged V340s to operate their short/medium-haulnetwork from Amsterdam. However, thextra capacity offered by the Viscount, awell as the technical superiority of thmore modern turboprop, tempted the airline away from the US supplier. The carrier had seen its market share on ervices tothe UK drop when it had been up again tBEA's Viscounts, and it was anxious toredre s the balance.

The more powerful Dart Mk 520 alsofound favour on more VSOOs that were soldto UK independent airlines Transair Ltdand Eagle Aviation. In 1955 the two carriers ordered three VS04s and two VS05srespectively. Both independents wereheavily involved in a variety of chartercontracts for civil and military customers,and the extra power of the new version ofthe Dart was expected to be of use in operating from some of their more obscure, farflung destinations. As well as its extensivecivil and military charter contracts, Eaglealso planned to use its aircraft on theirexpanding network of scheduled services,under the name of its wholly-owned scheduled service subsidiary, Eagle Airways.Eagle's small scheduled network was operated from its home base of Blackbushe tothe southwest of London, and also fromManche ter. The company had great ambitions to xpand from both bases.

New Zealand's national domestic operator, New Zealand National Airways Corporation (NZNAC), igned up for threeVS07s in November 1955. The airline'sthen-current flagship on its major routeswas the DC-3, and the Viscount represented an impressive leap in progress. Thefirst Viscount 700 operator, after BEA, toorder the VSOO was faithful customer AerLingus, which ordered six VSOSs in May1956. The Aer Lingus Viscount SOSs wereintended for the busier runs to the UKand Europe, where capacity was of more

Final assembly of the V.802s

was completed at Weybridge,

though many components were

constructed at other plants

throughout the company.

via Bob Turner

planned to introduce a two-class configuration on these aircraft, which were otherwise identical to the VS02s.

The Vickers sales team clinched the firstexport ale of the Viscount SOO a monthafter BEA's second VS02 order, when KLMRoyal Dutch Airlines placed a £2millionorder in June 1955 for nine Viscount SOOs,designated VS03s, for use on their busierEuropean services. Hitherto, KLM hadbeen a faithful onvair customer, taking

AOJD Sebastian Cabot, on 11 January 1957, two more, G-AOJC Robert O'Hara Burkeand G-AOJE Sir Alexander Mackenzie, arriving later that month The airline introducedthe VS02 into commercial service on 13 February, when G-AOJD carried forty-sevenpassengers from Heathrow to Glasgow Two days later, 'JD was used for the first international service of the type, aHeathrow-Amsterdam schedule. The Paris route saw itsfirst Viscount S02 on lS February. As the production aircraft were steadily delivered toBEA, the larger aircraft were also placed in service on flights to Belfast, Copenhagen,Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Nice and Zurich by the end of the summer. For the most part, the VS02s replaced V701 swhich, in turn, began to oust Elizabethans. The Airspeed aircraft were already earmarked for replacement as more Viscounts arrived, the small size of the fleet and the piston-powered aircrafts'less-economic operating costs having sealed their fate. The first five of the Elizabethans left BEA in 1957, though the remaining aircraft continued in service until 1955.

Among the improvements enjoyed by the VS02's passengers was a more modernlooking decor, with new-style overhead luggage racks, fluorescent strip lighting and aredesigned galley and bar unit ensuring them an even higher quality of cabin service.The washrooms were redesigned as well, most of the changes for the better resultingfrom the experience of BEA and other operators with the earlier models. The VS02 alsoheralded the use of a two-pilot flight deck for BEA's Viscounts, the superfluous radioofficer finally being replaced by more modern communications equipment.

The Viscount 'Major' Emerges

BEA ord r d an extra V701 to replace anElizab than writt n off in a forced landingn ar Du ld rf th previous month.

On-g ing development of the Dartengine saw R ll-Royce offering the evenmore powerful Mk 520, which had threeturbin tag and ffered increased shafthorsepow r, with a potential take-offthrust of 1, 90ehp. In early 1956 BEAordered nineteen Mk 520-power d Viscount SOO ,d ignated VS06. The airline

More PowerThe faith of BEA in the as-yet-unbuiltenlarged VS02 was emphaSized by its placing of an extra order for ten more in May1955, before the first of the new versionhad flown. Encouraged by the success andpopularity of its initial 701s, BEA was anxious to acquire more examples and buildup its turboprop operation. At the sametime as it placed the second VS02 order,

52 53

VIS OUNT TO VANGUARD VISCOUNT TO VANGUARD

well as all twenty on board the aircraft. Aninvestigation revealed that a YJ2in bolt on theNo 2 starboard flap unit had failed owing tometal fatigue. This caused the aileron on thestarboard wing to lock, and the aircraftentered a shallow right descending tum witha steep bank angle. In this uncontrollableconfiguration, the aircraft's starboard wing-tipstruck the ground and the Viscount careeredinto the house before bursting into flames.

At the time more than ISO Viscountswere in service and had accumulated500,000 flying hours between them. Of this,150,000hr had been flown by BEA and, inthe process, BEA alone had carried over twomillion passengers in its Discovery fleet.Before the fatal flight, 'WE itself had logged6,900hr and made 3,450 landings. Many ofthe older Viscount 700s were temporarilygrounded for inspection of all suspect bolts,and examined for evidence of fatigue. Thirty-three bolts were found to show signs ofminor fatigue in the inspection of over 100aircraft.

Later the same year, on 23 October, BEAlost another aircraft. The first productionViscount S02, G-AOJA, crashed during anattempted overshoot at Belfast in bad weather. The accident was not the fault of the aircraft this time, being accredited to a fatalcombination of bad weather and pilot error.Nonetheless, it still claimed the lives of thefive crew and two staff passengers on board.Much luckier were the two crew on VS02 GAOHp, which suffered a triple engine failureas it approached Copenhagen during a cargoflight on 17 November. Crashing short of therunway, the Viscount was written off, but thecrew escaped serious injury. Extra VS06swere ordered to replace th se aircraft.

More Losses at Home

even-heavier-than-intended landing causedthe starboard undercarriage to collapse,severely damaging the starboard wing andengines. Although, fortunately, none of theoccupants was badly injured, the aircraft wasconsidered far too seriously damaged for onsite repair. Its battered remains were ignominiously shipped home by sea to Weybridge, where Vickers would decide its fate.

It was not only on experimental test flyingthat Viscounts came to grief in 1957. On 14March the first production V701, G-ALWE,was lost when it crashed on approach to Manchester at the end of a BEA flight fromAmsterdam. The aircraft struck a house closeto the airport, killing two of its occupants, as

The first production Viscount, G-ALWE, met a tragic end at Manchester in 1957.Jenny Gradidge

problems. However, there was a need for amore representative aircraft on which totryout the new components fully. Consequently the airframe that was originally tohave been the first production ViscountS06, G-AOYF, was built to the newViscount SI 0 structural standards as the soleVS06A. Wearing dual Viscount S06/S10titles, G-AOYF first flew on 9 August 1957.Therefore the second VS06, G-AOYGCharles Darwin, was the first actual production VS06 to fly, on 4 October.

In September G-AOYF was despatchedto South Africa for tropical trials, with aspecial clearance to operate at weights upto 69,0001b (31,300kg). Initially the trialsproceeded to plan, but on 20 OctoberG-AOYF was badly damaged at Johannesburg during a simulated emergency landing.The 'simulation' went very wrong when an

The mixed-class-configured

V.80Gs entered SEA service in

early 1958. Vickers via Bob Turner

A Hybrid VS06/S10

A great deal of the test flying for the VSl 0structural modifications and the Dart Mk525 was carried out by the long-sufferingV700 prototype, G-AMAV With itsengines uprated 'AV was successfully flownat speed of up to 400mph (645km/h) onseveral occasions, with no significant

Viscount customers, rather than V 700operators. South African Airways (SAA)signed up for seven VS13s in March 1956,and this was followed by an order for threeVS15s from Pakistan International Airways(PIA) in May, and one for nine VS14s fromWest Germany's Lufthansa in June. BothPIA and SAA operated ervices into moreremote, 'hot and high' airports on their networks. In addition they operated busy intercity routes in more populated areas. Theseroutes were also earmarked for modem Viscount service in place of the Convairs andDC-3s operated by PIA and the Constellations, DC-4s and DC-3s flown by SAA ontheir regional routes. Lufthansa, which hadonly just restarted operations with Convair340s after being forbidden to operate sincethe defeat of Germany in 1945, planned touse the aircraft to expand its busy domesticand European routes. Plans were also inhand to operate the Viscounts to points inthe Middle East and the Mediterraneanfrom West Germany.

70 SEAT VERSION(ProPoled)

S(AT PITCH 304- (APPROX.)

A TYPICAL65 SEAT VERSION

TYPICAL ACCOMMODATION LAYOUTS

SEAT PITCH 3'" (APPROX)

Corry on BogqaljC

SEAT PITCH 38-

STANDARD

52 SEAT VERSION

Buffet

STANDARD

56 SEAT VERSION(I"c.lude. rcor loun(jc as lor

Continental Airlinn Inc.)

ABOVE: Cabin seating options for the Viscount 810 included all-first-class

arrangements with a rear lounge and an all-economy seventy-passenger version.

Vickers via author

BELOW: The more-powerful, hybrid V.80G/810 G-AQYF took to the air for the first time in

August 1957. Vickers via Bob Turner

54 55

Worldwide 800s

ABOVE: The Viscount 803s of KlM Royal Dutch Airlines were introduced on theairline's hectic European route network. via Bob Turner

The economy cabin of KlM's Viscount 803s provided a bright and welcoming environment.First-class passengers were accommodated in the rear section. via Bob Turner

The 'Real' 810

passengers and operating at 75 per c ntload factors. Other important N wZealand cities, such as Palmerston orthand Wellington, soon saw Vi counreplacing DC-3s on busier flight, withsimilar dramatic increases in traffic.

Transair's two Dart Mk 520-poweredY.804 entered ervice on military trooping flights from the UK to Gibraltar, Libyaand Malta in October 1957. Transair waba ed at the old Croydon Airport, south ofLondon, from where it operated a largefleet of 0 -3 on scheduled services to the

hannel1s1ands and Northern France, awell a large programme of ad hoc, contractand inclusive-tour holiday flights.

The hart grass runway at roydon wastotally un uitable for the Vi counts, andTransair was already planning to move its

ntire operation further south, to GatwickAirport in Sussex. At that time Gatwickhad been elected for development asLondon's second airport, and wa beingcompletely rebuilt, with a new runway,terminal and hangar complex. UntilGatwick wa ready, Tran air based its Viscounts at Heathrow. Its Y.804 had fiftyeight rear-facing eats, as required fortrooping flights. The layout also includeda 'mother' room' and a four-cot nursery,which had been included specifically tocater for th large numbers of ervice families carried on the military charter. TheTransair aircraft were al 0 chartered byAir France during 1958 to operate scheduled flights from Heathrow to Paris andNice.

Two months after G-AOYF had come togrief, on 23 December 1957, the first proper Y.810 model made its maiden flight atWeybridge. Painted in Continental' livery, the Viscount 10 prototype, GAOYV, completed the type's flight-testand development programme without anymore hitches. Until Continental's own

RIGHr. Transair's V.804s were initially based atHeathrow while refurbishment of their new homeat Gatwick was completed. MAP

ABOVE RIGHr. The introduction of the Viscount wasa giant step forward for New Zealand's domesticairline. NZNAC. both technically and in greatlyincreasing the available capacity over that ofthe DC-3s previously operated. Jenny Gradidge

Spaciou, ure' Viscount service, a the airline marketed it, on many of its Europeanservices from June 1957. The Dutch aircraftwere u ually operated in a mixed-class, 53passeng r lay ut, with thirty-eight touristcla s seat forward and fifteen fir t-claseats in the rear. When required, the cabincould also be converted to a 63-seat alltouri t configuration.

The d liv ry flight of Z AC' fir tViscount 807, in December 1957, wa thelongest to date. cheduled services began on3 February 1958, over the ChristchurchAuckland route. Despite offering twicethe available eat of the 0 -3s previou Iyused on the trunk services, the three Vi counts were soon carrying 40 per cent more

lionth Vi ount p -enger. As more Y.806sarrived at H athrow, the last operationalmember of th Elizabethan fleet werefinally withdrawn, the type flying its la tBEA operation, Hanover-Cologne/Bonn-Heathrow rvice, on 30 June 195 .

Aer Lingus began upplementing its Y.707swith the fir t of it Y. 08s on its high-den-ity, shorter-rang routes. When first intro

duced, the long t r gular Viscount 808 service was Shannon-London, at 378 miles(608km). The Y.803s of KLM were muchfurther ranging, ffering 'Swift, Smooth,

Despite the loss of G-AOYF, the re t ofthe Vi count 806's certification programmwas a trouble-free as those of the earlierversions, and BEA took delivery of its firstaircraft, G-AOYH William Harvey, on 23December. Thi aircraft was used for thefir t commercial flight of the new type, on27 January 1958, a Heathrow-Amsterdamservice. The mixed-class Y.806s replacedthe Elizabethans on the Silver Wing erviceto Pari, and were also scheduled to operateon flight to Copenhagen, Geneva, ice,Oslo, Stockholm and Zurich. The lastbranded ilver Wing service on the Pariroute was operated by Y.802 G-AOHU SirGeorge Strong on 30 April 1958, and on thenext day, 1 May, BEA carried its three-mil-

TOP: The larger Viscount 808s wore Aer Lingus's distinctive new green-toppedlivery on delivery for use on the airline's shorter but busier routes. via Bob Turner

56 57

VI OUNT TO VANGUARD VISCOUNT TO VA GUARD

official business, and many leading Britishpoliticians of the day were frequently eenpatronising BEA, both on charters and onnormal scheduled services.

Once the Viscount had made its markas a VIP transport as well as a commercialairliner, the comparatively new corporateflying market tarted to take an intere t.Use of private large tran port aircraft bycompanies and individuals was still acomparatively novel concept in the mid1950s. Pre-war, only a handful of airlin rsize aircraft were operated privately. Alarge number of war-surplus aircraft, especially the versatile DC-3, were convertedafter the ho tiliti s ended. Once flying onthe scheduled airlines for bu inesbecame m re common, a number of thelarg r industrial and commercial conc rns found that having their own tran port aircraft tarted to make financialsense. Where regular trips by a number ofpersonn I were required, operating a private service started to look economicalwhen ompared with repeatedly buyingairline ticket. A dedicated aircraft couldbe scheduled to meet the company' specific need, as opposed to tho e of the airlines, and staff time was used more efficiently.

The Steel Corporation was an enthu-siastic executive aircraft operator, with alarge fleet of DC-3s ferrying executives andpersonnel throughout the USA and urrounding countries. It ordered three Viscount 764D in June 1955, to be equippedwith VIP interiors, extra belly and slipperfuel tanks and integral airstairs. At about thesame time the Standard Oil Corporation

VIP and Corporate Viscounts

With the early government and militaryorders for VIP Vi counts from India and

outh Africa, later followed by Brazil andPaki tan, the aircraft wa oon to be seencarrying important politi al and militarypersonages in different parts of the world.This helped promote the aircraft to theairlines in the region. Indeed, the IndianAirlines Corporation (lAC) did not orderits initial fleet of five Vi count 768Ds untilafter the country' air force had takendelivery of its aircraft. Later, lAC acquireda further nine Vi counts for use on domestic and regional routes throughout the subcontinent.

Britain's Royal Family were early usersof the Viscount, beginning with HRHPrincess Margaret, who flew to Oslo inBEA' G-AMOB in May 1953. From thenon BEA was regularly chartered for officialroyal visits, and the Royal Family repeatedly used BEA's cheduled services forpersonal travel. The royal patronage wasoften matched by government charters on

oon seen on services to other larger citieson ortheast's regional network, such aPhiladelphia, Portland and Washington, aswell as the important longer-range routes toFlorida, serving Jack onville, Miami andTampa. ortheast also operated an international service to Montreal, Canada, from

ew England, and the introduction of Viscounts brought greatly increased frequencie and load factors in re ponse to increasing passenger boardings.

The Boston-based Northeast Airlines' Viscounts were mostly kept busy on the northernhalf of the company's network. ranging from Canada and New England as far south asWashington and Virginia. but were also used on longer services to Florida before jetsreplaced them. Global Air Image

Boston-based Viscounts

Another US airline also found itself able tointroduce Viscount in 1958. NortheastAirline of Boston, Massachusetts, uccessfully negotiated with Vicker for an orderfor ten V. 798Ds in the previou y ar. Theseaircraft were originally part of an option forfifteen that Capital had been unable totake up, a it had begun to suffer serioufinancial problems. orthea t's own financial position wa not that healthy either, asit operated a predominately short-haul,fairly uneconomic network.

onetheless, ortheast had beenawarded a number of important trunkroutes in the region, as well as receivingauthority to extend its network south toFlorida in an ffort to strengthen its operating ba e. The airline was keen to obtainmore modern equipment than the DC-3s,

onvairs and DC-6Bs it was operating atthe time. This, it was hoped, would givethe comparatively small airline a competitive edge over the larger carriers operatingrival services in the area.

Northeast had rec ntly cancelled anorder for five UK-built Bristol Britanniaturboprop, following difficulties not onlyin getting finance for the order but al 0 dueto obstacles encountered when attemptswere made to get the Britannia certificatedfor US regi try. A complicated finance dealfor the Vi counts, and their engine, wasfinally agreed with the assistance of the Irving Trust Company of ew York, between

ortheast, Vickers-Armstrongs and RollsRoyce in July 1957. With the aircraftalready in an advanced state of con truction, the first delivery was quite swift, taking place the following March, and all tenaircraft were in service by February 1959.

Originally introduced on the BostonNew York trunk route, the Viscounts awthe airlin 's load factors rise by as much as60 per cent in some cases. The typ was

Within eight months the Viscount Ilwere accounting for 43 per cent of th totalfir t-c1ass travel of all the comp ting airlines between Chicago and Denver, and 46per cent between Denver and Lo Ang I .In 195 ontinental increased its pa ng rboardings by over 90 per cent at hicagoand 67 per cent at Los Angele , comparedwith the previous year. In the Vi count'first full year of operation it was e timatedthat u e of the aircraft added a further $4million to the airline's revenue.

---

BELOW: Continental Airline's first Viscount 812scompleted all US certification and crew trainingin time for a May 1958 entry into scheduled service.via author

BonoM: The Viscount enjoyed a comparativelytrouble-free introduction into service withContinental. and soon settled down into reliabledaily service throughout the wide-ranging routenetwork. from the Midwest and the Rockies to thePacific Coast. Jenny Gradidge

the western half of the country. As well acoping with the difficult condition at Denver, the fleet wa required to operate indemanding temperatures and other arduousweather conditions at airports the airlineserved in the southwestern states. Eventhough the aircraft was operated in areduced-capacity, first-class configuration,Cantin ntal found that the Viscount wasable to break even on most of its routes at a38 per cent load factor.

occupied the area more usually used as arear main-deck baggage compartment orwa hrooms. Forward-folding airstair werealso fitted to the new aircraft.

Marketing the aircraft a the Viscount Il,to distinguish it from apital's earlierVi count 700s, the airline initially placedits new turboprops in ervice on its

hicago-Kansas City-D nv r-Lo Angelesroute. This wa the Vi count's first appearance on US domestic scheduled services in

56-80 (all first class - high densityl

Specification - V.8l0

4 x R.Da.711 Mk525 DartEmpty basic equipment weight 43,200lb (19,600kgl (71 seats); maximum zero fuel weight57.5001b (26.100kg); maximum take-off weight 72,500Ib 132.900kg): ~ximum landingweight 62.0001b (2B.140kgl: typical maximum payload 15.000Ib (6.800kgl.Length B5ft 8in (26.11 m); span 93ft 11 in (28.62ml: fin height 26ft 9in (8.15ml; wing area963sq ft 189.46sq ml: wheelbase 28ft 8~in (8.75m).Economic cruising speed 350mph (565km/h); maximum crUising speed 365mph (590km/hl:se.rvice ceiling 27.000ft (B.230ml: range with maximum payload 1,275 statute miles(2.050kml

Performance:


Dimensions:

Powerplant:Weights:

aircraft were delivered, Vickers leased anex- apital V. 744 to the airline for a monthfor crew training. The vital US FederalAviation Administration (FAA) type certification was awarded to the aircraft on 22April 1958, allowing deliveries of the firstaircraft to ontinental Airlines in May.On 28 May the airline became the econdUS carrier to operate the Viscount.

ontinental initially operated the Viscount in an all-first-class, 52-passengerconfiguration, in a very comfortable 2-2layout. The interior trim and decor wereskilfully redesigned on the Viscount 812 sothat an effective 4in (IOcm) greater cabinwidth wa obtained. A forward eight- eatcabin was located between the two-crewflight deck and the forward washrooms.Behind the main cabin was the galley, andbehind that there was a small four-seatlounge lit by two mall window. Thi newfeature was similar to the popular loungeareas already found on the airline' largerDC-6s and DC- 7s used on the longer trunkroutes. On the ontinental Viscounts it

58 59

VIS OU T TO VANGUARD VISCOUNT TO VANGUARD

The Vanguard as shown in a Vickers

sales brochure. Author's collection

..... ..!

I !I

..'

~OOtOi ~OOio.::-:(::-)--....:.:.::.:;'-"-+J---===r-""""--...:;.;.;.,~--~

...........<..--.__._--- ----

ABOVE: Increased capacity was the original reasoning

behind the need for the new aircraft. Author's collection

• It must have better economics than anything else then available or even inprospect.

A Merging of Ideas

Initial studie till centred on a muchmore developed Viscount variant, with anew model, the VS50, eventually beingproposed in an effort to meet BEA'requirements. The VS50 would have beenfurther stretched to a length of 95ft (30m)and powered by 2,500hp Dart R.Oa.S .However, as the airline refined its ownideas for the aircraft, a very differentdesign proposal began to emerge.

The role of the proposed new type camein for much discussion within BEA. Oneside of the argument had the aircraft beingdesigned with the airline's longer routes tothe eastern Mediterranean more in mind.A requirement to fly the 1,500-mile(2,400km) London-Athens route nonstop was proposed for this concept. Vickerssaw the commercial possibilities of thismedium-range version of the aircraft as aturboprop replacement for the large numbers of medium-range 0C-6/Constellationclass piston-powered airliners then in service around the world.

Other factions in BEA, however, wantedmore emphasis placed on the new designeconomically serving the airline's coreshort-haul network from the UK. Theyenvisioned a 100-passenger aircraft witha 500-mile (SOOkm) commercial rangeand improved economics over 200-mile(300km) sectors. A much-improved freightcapacity over the Viscounts was also seen asvery desirable in the shorter-range option.The improved cargo-carrying capacitywould help on ome of BEA's highly seasonal European and domestic passenger routesby providing extra revenue-earning potential in the winter months, when passengernumbers were traditionally much lower.

Eventually BEA determined that theshort-range option be t served its futureneeds. The airline's chief executive, PeterMasefield, wrote to George Edward atVickers, giving BEA's requirements, on 15April 1953. A 370kt (425mph/6S0km/h)cruising speed, 100-pas enger capacity,1,000-mile (l,600km) range with a 350mile (560km) diversion reserve and a largefreight hold was requested. These initialthoughts were refined and generalized intofive basic requirement for the aircraft:

Closet

ENTRANCE

AftCompartment

PILOT'S COCKPIT

STORAGE

GALLEy----l!"-1

ForwardLavBtor~

The Vanguard

Aft Lavatory

Although BEA had subsequently declinedthe original version of the stretched VSOOin favour of the more modest VS02option, the airline had remained in activediscussion with Vickers with a view toproducing an even larger Viscount version. The airline tated that it wanted theaircraft to be in ervice by 1959, and thatit was to be bigger, faster, and to exhibit a10 per cent improvement in economicsover even the latest, improved Viscountmodel .

plied with its customer's wishes, and theaircraft was untouched for a further tenmonths. By 1959 Vickers was gettingincreasingly concerned about the state ofthe aircraft, and insisted on being allowedto inspect it. The Vickers engineers discovered that over £55,000 work wouldhave to be done on the Viscount to bring itback to standard, and Vickers initiatedsteps to regain legal posses ion. EventuallyHughe was persuaded to return ownershipof the aircraft in July, and it was old on toCentral American airline TACA International Airways of Honduras.

ABOVE: Britain's Royal Family used Viscount services for many official and

private journeys. via Bob Turner

BELOW ANO RIGHT: The Victor Comptometer Corporation of Chicago operated a

well-equipped Viscount as a VIP transport, travelling conference room and

valuable sales tool. Author's collection

ordered a similar Viscount 7650, which wasdelivered in February 1957.

A single Viscount 7630 had beenordered by the Hughes Tool Corporationfor use by its eccentric millionaire owner,Howard Hughes, and Vickers duly completed the aircraft ready for delivery in1956. However, after the aircraft had beensitting at Weybridge for a while, instructions arrived from the American companythat the Viscount was to be stored awayfrom any other aircraft and not to beapproached by anyone. Although far fromhappy with the arrangement, Vickers com-

60 61

VISCOUNT TO VANGUARD

Eventually satisfied with the final proposal. BEA felt confident enough to place aproduction order for the Vanguard. Author's collection

The Vanguard eventually emerged as a potentially impressive aircraft. via author

The Viscount Glory Years

One of the busiest years for the Viscountproduction lines was 1957, with bothV 700s and VSOOs rolling off the Weybridgand Hurn production lines in th colours ofnumerous operators. As usual, the spreadwas wide. New operators that year includedHong Kong Airways, Indian Airline orpOl'ation, KLM, Linee Aeree Italiene, LloydAereo Colombiano, New Zealand National Airways, Philippine Airlines, TACAInternational Airlines, Transair and Unionof Burma Airways.

Both BWIA and MEA took delivery oftheir more modern version Viscount 700s,passing their original older models back totheir owners when the leases ended. FredOlsen Air Transport also took delivery ofnew aircraft, in the shape of four V 779Ds.The Norwegian shipping company operated them on a variety of charter services, aswell as continuing to lease them out frequently to other carriers short of capacity.The two Fred Olsen V736s that had been

Vickers countered this objection by comingup with a design having an increased grossweight of 142,0001b (64,450kg), all but1,0001b (4,500kg) of this being increa edpayload. After further negotiations TCAfinally signed a $67.1 million order for 20Vanguards on31 January 1957. Its improvedmodel was designated V952. Options werealso taken out on four more aircraft, threeof which were eventually converted to firmorders.

Very interested in the improvementsmade for TCA, BEA contacted Vickerswith a view to having its own aircraft builtto the same standard. By then, however, thefirst six BEA Vanguards were already beingbuilt and could not be economically modified on the production line. Nonetheless, inJuly 1955 the airline p rsuaded Vickers toallow it to modify its order to cover the sixV951s already under construction, whilethe remaining fourteen would be built to thenew specifications and redesignated V953s.The V952/V.953s' increased weights wouldallow a passenger capacity of up to 139.

for its day, a very generous 1,300cu ft (36cu01). The alterations were sufficient to warrant another change of type number, toV900, the BEA version being designatedV901. By the time the gross weight hadbeen finalized at 135,000Ib (61,275kg), thetype number was V950, with the BEA aircraft designated V951. Vickers and BEAsigned a contract for twenty aircraft, nownamed Vanguard by the airline, on 20 July1956. Service entry was planned for 1960.

Although TCA had been instrumentalin encouraging Vickers to produce the Vanguard, the Canadian carrier had taken littlepart in the design developments up to thetime that BEA signed the order. The newproduction specifications were examinedby TCA and, although they represented agreat improvement on the earlier options,they were actually found to be wanting.With full load and tanks, the freight andmail capacity would be insufficient to meetTCA's needs. Vickers was informed that agreater payload would have to be availableif TCA was to consider placing an order.

The Orders

peed of 425mph (6S0km/h) at 25,000ft(7,60001) and, originally, with a 1,000-mile(1,600km) range, though it was acceptedthat 500 miles (SOOkm) would be sufficientfor most of BEA's needs. Once BEA hadagreed to the ba ic design, Vickers beganimproving the specifications to attractother airlines.

Changes during project development sawthe range increased to 2,500 miles(4,000km) with the addition of wing tanks.The payload wa increased to 21,0001b(9,500kg) and the passenger capacity grewto ninety-three. The cargo capacity was,

It wa B A' stated requirement for increased cargo- arrying that finally clinchedthe choice. 0 provide this, a high-wingaircraft w uld have needed an impossiblyextra-long fus lage, as well as a long, cumbersome and very heavy undercarriage.Instead, the d signers proposed a deeper,double-bubble fuselage, with a passengercabin in the top half and large, low-slungbaggage and cargo holds forward and aft ofthe midsection to which the wing wouldbe attached. The low wing also offeredmuch easier maintenance and refuelling.

At a meeting with BEA on 13 April1955 the five remaining proposals werefinally narrowed down to one, the Scheme16A version of the VS70. This was foran SS-passenger aircraft with a cruising

By pure coincidence TCA had been having similar thoughts, and a letter from theCanadian carrier arrived on GeorgeEdwards' desk at Vickers on the same day.It outlined TCA's own requirements for anaircraft with transcontinental capability,as well as the ability to supplement theirViscounts economically on shorter routes,carrying sixty passengers at a gross weightof n,OOOlb (32,6S0kg).

Vickers designers saw the possibility ofmeeting the needs of both airlines withone new aircraft, and began work on a newVS70 project, which soon overtook andreplaced the VS50. While the VS50 hadstill been a Dart-powered venture, themuch larger VS90 called for even morepower. Rolls-Royce had a likely new turboprop engine, the RB.l09, under development, and the design proceeded withthis powerplant in mind. The pure turbojet was also considered, but was eventually dismissed as there was still no jet engineavailable that was deemed suitable for economic short-haul operations.

The Options

• It must be big enough to handle theamount of air traffic to be expected sixyears hence.

• It must be fast enough to compete successfully with any possible challengerson its own routes.

• It must have better 'customer appeal'than any likely US-built rival.

• It must be available for service by1955/1960.

More than sixty design proposals were produced. These varied from propjet to purejet, straight-wing to swept-back, and mostcombinations in between. This numberwas soon whittled down to five, all turboprop powered. One area where BEA andTCA had shown greatly differing preferences was in the possible position of thewing. Following the very favourable passenger reaction to the high-wing Elizabethan, BEA was very keen that the VS70would also have this feature. Combinedwith the already popular large Viscountwindows, the unobstructed view of thepassing scene from the passenger cabinwould have been unprecedented. On theother hand, TCA was concerned that ahigh wing would have been difficult to deice properly and clear of snow in the harshCanadian winter conditions.

62 63

VI COU T TO VANGUARD VISCOUNT TO VA GUARD

to serve bu y routes to the Philippines,Japan and Taiwan from Hong Kong. A pairof Y.760Ds were delivered in January andFebruary 1957 and soon put to work. TheViscount's reputation for reliability couldhave been hard-pre ed in uch a mallfleet, but a remarkable 99 per cent regularity wa achieved. In eighteen months, of

--

The Indian Airlines' Viscounts were operated throughout the subcontinent on domesticand regional services. Jenny Gradidge

in Hong Kong Airways (HKA). The airline had originally linked Hong Kong withmany point in mainland China, as well asregional points in the area, with a fleet ofDC-3s. But HKA's network had then beendecimated by the ri e of Communi tChina, which had cut off all links to theBriti h Colony. However, HKA continued

aircraft actually started their delivery flightfrom Heathrow, where they had been ba dbriefly for crew training. They entered ervices on the main trunk route, such asDelhi-Calcutta, Delhi-Bombay and D lhiHyderabad-Madra . A usual, the Vi c unstarted to make their mark with increasedtraffic, generating more revenue. Passengerloads increa ed by 41 per cent, with an average 72 per cent load factor in Ie than twowe k after the Viscounts entered service.On the Delhi-Bombay route load factorswere often over 90 per cent, and the successof the Viscounts led directly to lobbying bypass ngers for the introduction of increasedfrequen ies on the Delhi-Calcutta service.

Union of Burma Airways (UBA) usedits three Viscount 761s to replace its D 3s, previou Iy u ed on international r ute .

ervices were operated from Rangoon onestablished routes to Bangkok, Hong Kongand ingapore. The previously fortnightlyRangoon-Bangkok ingapore service wareplaced by a weekly Vi count flight, and anew Viscount route to Djakarta was alsoopened by UBA with great success.

As well as BWIA and MEA, BOACAssociated Companie also had an intere t

The pair of Viscounts operated by Hong Kong Airways gained a remarkable reputation for reliability,especially considering their high utilization. via Bob Turner

~~:r,~• .w_.....

Asian Arrivals

-

The Indian Airlines Corporation (lAC),created by the nationalization and mergerof several independent domestic operators, had been in exi tence for only twoyears when it placed it first Viscount orderin 1953. It network covered a va tamount of territory throughout India andalso reached into neighbouring countries.Operations were centred on three mainbases, at Delhi, alcutta and Bombay, andbefore the arrival of the Viscounts the fl etconsisted mostly of DC-3 and D -4s,with a large fleet of Vikings also takingmuch of the workload.

Deliveries of the five Y.768Ds initiallyordered began in August 1957. Most of the

scheduled services, which were now beingoperated from Heathrow. The Safari servicehad been popular when operated by the oldViking, but passenger loads soared with thintroduction of the Viscounts.

The main East and Central routes were toSalisbury, via Rome, Benina, Luxor or WadiHaifa, Khartoum, Entebbe, 'dola andLu aka. The airobi service operated over aimilar routeing, and a West African afari

route also operated to Accra via Lisbon, LasPalmas, Bathurst and Freetown. The chancto exploit the greater range, higher p edand much more comfortable ride of the Vi counts over the Viking aw the en route'night-stops' ending for the passengers,except for a brief stay at Las Palma on theAccra flights. Instead, the Vi counts continued through after refuelling and changing crews, if required, at the intermediatestops. Hunting-Clan also flew a scheduledLondon-Gibraltar flight with its Vi counts.

Hunting-Clan had reclaimed its Y.732sat the end of their lease to MEA, and thetwo partners were finally permitted tointroduce Viscounts on their scheduledUK-Africa colonial coach-cla afari services in January 1958. Both airlines hadalso ordered Y.800s, planning to replacethe Y. 700s with the new aircraft on the

II

BOTTOM: Finally able to introducefaster Viscounts in place of ageingVikings on their Safari Service,Airwork and Hunting-Clan saw animmediate rise in traffic once thenew aircraft were in operation.Jenny Gradidge

BELOW: Middle East Airline's latermodel V.754Ds, such as OD-ACU,began to replace the leasedHunting-Clan V.732s in 1957.Jenny Gradidge

lea ed to BEA, G-AODG and G-AODH,had been returned to their Norwegianowner in March and April 1957 and thenimmediately leased on to MEA and BWIAa OD-ACR and VP-TBY respectively.They returned to the UK later that yearand were finally sold, via BOAC Associat-d ompanies, to Airwork Ltd.

RIGHT: The Viscount 772 joined BWIA'sV.702s on the Caribbean and WesternAtlantic network. via author

64 65

VI OUNT TO VANGUARD

LEFT: Once improvements had been made tolocal airports, the PAL Viscount network wasexpanded to include several importantdomestic points. Jenny Gradidge

CHAPTER FIVE

were intended for more local services thanthe larger Viscount and Vanguard category of aircraft, with a short-field performance that put them firmly in the 'DC-3replacement' class. The reliable pre-warDouglas de ign's rugged nature and economy of operation still ensured it a place inmany airline fleets, large and small, but the1936 design was twenty years old, and anumber of manufacturers around theworld sought to develop a viable modernsubstitute for the several hundred DC-3sstill in service at that time.

The first main turboprop contenders forthe 'DC-3 replacement' market eventuallyappeared in Europe, Britain's Avro and

resembling jet comfort, the only choice wasthe Viscount.

When another British turboprop airlinerdesign did finally make a belated appearance, it was never intended to be a seriousViscount rival. Another Brabazon Committee-sponsored design, the Bristol 175 Britannia, powered by four Bristol Proteusengines, was designed with BOAC's worldwide service in mind. Plans had been madeto put th aircraft into service in 1955/1956,but protracted icing problems with theengines delayed full airline services with theBritannia until 1957.

While the Britannia was designed forlong range, the next turboprops to appear

ABOVE: The V.745Ds ordered bV Capital continued tobe produced in a steady flow from 1955. Deliveredin 1957. N7462 was lost in 1960 when it sufferedmultiple engine failures after encountering severeicing conditions shortlv after taking off fromRichmond. Virginia. All forty-six passengers andfour crew perished. via Bob Turner

More Turboprops

The New CODlpetition

For several years after its entry into service,in 1953, the Viscount had enjoyed a uniqupo ition as the only turboprop airliner available to commercial operators. The aircraft'scontemporary turboprop rivals, such as theArmstrong Whitworth Apollo and the Airspeed/de Havilland Ambassador turbopropproposals, had failed to attain productionstatu. The 1954 withdrawal of the de Havilland Comet pure-jet airliner, followingunforeseen structural failures, had left theViscount as the only turbine-powered commercial airliner in service. From 1954 to1957, if an airline wanted to offer anything

RIGHT: Aer Lingus took delivery of the first productionFokker E27s in 1958. US-built versions producedunder licence bV Fairchild had entered serviceshortlv before. MAP

BElOW: Vickers was now able to offer a fullfamilv ofturboprop airliners, ranging from40- to 139-seaters. depending on customerrequirements. Author's collection

VICKERS-ARM,STRONGS (AIRCRAFT) LTD.• WEYBRIDGE t ENGLAND

J[ember Cornpally o/the Great Vicker8 Group_

Nowl 3 different Vickers turbo-props forhigher profits on routes up to 2,500 miles!

A New Future Beckons

1,260 flights scheduled, only nine weredelayed or cancelled, mostly due toadverse weather in the typhoon season.

Another regular Viscount visitor to HongKong from 1957 was Philippine Air Lines(PAL). The first of its two V784s was delivered in May 1957 and placed in service onthe Manila-Hong Kong route. The secondaircraft was leased out to TACA in CentralAmerica while improvements were made toairports at the more important Philippineregional cities that the carrier intended toserve on domestic services. In the meantime,the solitary first aircraft was soon achieving ahighly creditable 8){llr daily utilization.

While on lease to TACA, the secondPAL Viscount was operated on an intensive six-day schedule that included flightsto Guatemala, Managua, Mexico City,New Orleans and San Jose from San Salvador. The introduction of the Viscountinto scheduled service had been spearheaded by a large publicity campaign, promoting 'New Wings Over Middle America'. Proving extremely popular withTACA's passengers, the aircraft managedto average 2,400 miles (3,860km) a day,and during the year-long lease only threeflights were cancelled. The V784 wasreturned to PAL when TACA's own aircraft was delivered, the first of many to beacquired and operated by the carrier overthe next eighteen years.

With the Viscount established as a technical and commercial success, and the Vanguard taking shape, Vickers was looking forward to a prosperous end to the 1950s. Yet,even as new customers continued to sign up,rivals abroad were finally finding their feet.The Vickers turboprops would soon facesome serious competition.

66 67

THE EW COMPETITION TIlE EW COM PETITIO

54-59 seat version

60-65 seat version

Proposed cabin arrangements labovel in the local service Viscount (top) included an unusualmixture of 2-2 and 2-3 seating. as well as the option of a rear lounge area. Vickers via author

Page and Fokker, Vickers attempted tooffer its own solution to the regional aircraft market's requirements. The companyproposed a much-modified Viscount 700in January 1958, to be designated V790.The needs of the local service operators,flying shorter-range services, were to beaccommodated by incorporating extrastrengthening already developed for thViscount 810. This permitted higher landing weights and much faster cruisingspeeds at lower altitudes.

The aircraft would be much more uitable for operations over shorter, lOO-mile(l60km) stage lengths, wher there wascall for more capacity than the 21-36-seatDC-3 could provide. Seating could beincreased by redesigning the interior, onlyone toilet being provided and only basicgalley facilities being needed on the shorter flights. Four-abreast seating for fortyeight passengers, or five-abreast for up tofifty-nine to sixty-five, was offered, galleyfacilities being completely dispensed within the den er configurations. A curiousmixture of four- and five-abreast seating wasalso offered in some configurations.

Cabin pressurization was to be reduced,to 4.5Ib/sq in (0.33kg/sq cm), instead of themore usual 6lb/sq in (0,42kg/sq cm), inview of the lower altitudes at which the aircraft would mostly be flown. To facilitatequick turn-rounds on multi-sector flights,forward airstairs were to be fitted as standard, and it was expected that the No 4engine would be kept running to providestart-up power for the other three. Brakeswould be applied to the stationary propellers on the other engines, to preventdangerous windmilling during the turnround servicing and loading. The earlierversion Dart R.DaJ Mk506 was to be used,being much lighter than the later modelsand already well proven in service.

The proposed new 'local service Viscount' was presented to a number of airlines around the world, but especially to

regional carriers in the USA. Vickers evenorganized a 'Local Service Carrier Jamboree' in 1958, in which top executivesfrom nine US local airlines were flown tothe UK and introduced to the Viscount790 project. The presentation also included a VIP demonstration flight in one ofBEA's new V802s, which was al 0 considered suitabl for US local operations.Delivery was offered for mid-1959. However, no sales materialized for the V 790 orV802 as a result of the 'Jamboree' or any ofthe Vicker sales team's other efforts.

The Vickers Regional Option

Reacting to much the same perceived'DC-3 replacement' markets as Handley

Handley Page companies, and Fokker ofthe Netherlands, coming up with very similar designs during the mid-1950s, all ofwhich were eventually to be powered bytwo Darts. Handley Page's aircraft, theHerald, was originally de igned to be powered by four Alvis Leonides pi ton engines,the prototype originally flying in this formin August 1955. However, that Novemberthe Similarly sized, 44-passenger FokkerF.27 Friendship flew for the fir t time, powered by two Darts. Handley Page realizedthat it faced the prospect of an originallyhealthy order book disappearing overnightin the light of the Dutch aircraft's obvioustechnical superiority, and decided toredesign the Herald to be powered by apair of Darts.

This cost Handley Page valuable time,and the project never regained its momentum. Most of the original orders were stilllost, and Dart Herald sales failed to live upto the aircraft's promise. Fokker's F.27 faredmuch better, with steady sales over manyyears. The Dutch design was also builtunder licence in the USA by Fairchild,this vel' ion actually being the first to enterservice, with West Coast Airlines of Seattle, in eptember 1958. European-builtFriendships entered service with Aer Lingus that November. The original versionwas increased in size and updated, andFairchild even built a tretched ver ion,the FH-227. The much-delayed Dart Herald did not enter service until 1961. Aswell as Aer Lingus, a number of other Viscount operators ordered F.27s in order tobring turboprop service to smaller citiesand less-dense routes wh re the DC-3 hadpreviously reigned supreme.

Th last of the trio to appear was theBritish-designed 48-passenger Avro 748,another twin-Dart-powered aircraft, whichfirst flew as late as June 1960. Unlike thepreviou two aircraft, the 748 sported a lowwing instead of a high wing, and it waaimed even more at regional and evenrough-field operations than were the F.27and Herald. Avro wa later merged intoHawker Siddeley, and thereafter the aircraftwa marketed as the H .748. Although itenjoyed more success and longevity thanthe Dart Herald, it till found itself well outsold by the Friend hip.

G-AOOF

•

POWEREO BY FOUR ROLLS-ROYCE DART JET·PROP ENGINES

l~l

VICKERS

L~~ y~rg{gJ~ 11The 'Local Service Viscount' was proposed with high-density, ultra-short-hauloperations. especially in the USA, firmly in mind. Vickers via author

Avro's robust, twin-Dart-powered 748 was to remain in production with HawkerSiddeley and British Aerospace for over twenty-five years. via author

The Handley Page Herald later had its four piston engines replaced by twoRolls-Royce Dart turboprops. via author

68 69

Til" EW COMPETITION TilE NEW COMPETITION

Vickers had hoped to sell the Vanguard to Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways.but the airline ordered the rival Lockheed L-188 Electra. CPA via author

The Soviet Union's Ilyushin 11-18 turboprop was produced in large numbers. Similar insize and performance to the Vanguard and Electra, it was successfully operated byAeroflot and several other carriers around the world. via author

Jet Glamour orTurboprop Economy?

onethele s, doubts still lingered in manyairline boardrooms as to the economic viability of pure jets on short-haul services,especially on routes of less that 500 miles(800km), uch a most of those betweenthe European capitals and in the highdensity US east coast region. Even thedeveloped jet engines still had comparatively high fuel consumption, especiallyon short sector with little cruise time ataltitude. High fuel consumption duringholding periods at low altitude whileawaiting their turn to land at bu ier airports wa al 0 widely regarded as a potential financial drawback for hort-haul jets.

The prospect of jet aircraft operating onrival airline services on its longer-rangeroutes was one of the factors that led BEA tohave its later Vanguards built to the revi edT A standard, geared toward more ver atility on shorter, high-capacity intercityroute. For its further-reaching services tothe eastern MeditetTanean and Middle East,originally earmarked for the fir t Vanguarddesign options, BEA was finally forced to

potential to change the face of airline travel. on equently the next generation ofpure-jet airlin rs, both long- and short-haul,were designed from day one with at least agenerou percentage of their capacity devoted to the lower-fare-paying passenger.

on mi ally on hort- and medium-rangervi e . In Europe, France's ud Aviation

w building the E-210 Caravelle shorthaul j t and de Havilland wa considering ah rt-haul ver ion of the Comet for BEA.

Even before producing its own turbopropd ign, the oviet Union had enjoyed apectacular propaganda coup, putting its

own Tupol v Tu-104 jet airliner into regularservice a early as 1956. Even Convair wade igning its own medium-range jet, theCV600, later redesignated CV880.

Although the original Comet modelshad been in service for barely two years,the airlines that had operated them hadbeen very satisfied. Load factors on routeson which the handful of early Comet Ishad been operated had oon been in thehigh-80-per-cent range, in spite of theirhaving offered only an all-first-class service. Although structurally flawed, thefir t Comets had shown the enormouspotential for commercially successful jetpowered airliner ervice .

Just as the Comet and Viscount weremaking their joint revolutionary presencefelt in terms of high peed and comfort,cheaper economy- and touri t-class faresbecame available in the early 1950s, givingair travel a tremendous boost when the postwar travel boom was starting to slow down.The increa ed availability of the cheaperfares and the early introduction of the turboprop Viscount on many of the new economy-class services showed that a combination of jet speed and lower fares had the

BEA relied heavily on its Viscount fleet right through the mid-late 1950s. Global Air Image

New Jet Threat

American Airlines earlier specificati nfor a turboprop airliner. Lockheed waencouraged by American to develop itoriginal, smaller, proposal into the L-1Electra, which in due time was to beordered not only by American but by everal other larger carriers in the U A andworldwid . Of imilar size and performance to the Vanguard, the Electra waspowered by four Allison 501 turboprops,and entered service in January 1959 withAmerican Airlines and Eastern Air Lines,which had placed firm orders in 1955.Although its use as an airliner was limit dby the advent of the short-haul jets, theElectra ha managed to survive far longerthan the Vanguard by virtue of the verysuccessful production of a mi Iitary version.The Lockheed Orion early-warning andmaritime patrol aircraft, developed directly from the Electra, remained in production long after the last Electra airliner leftthe Lockheed factories.

Russia's answer to the Vanguard and Electra, the llyu hin 11-18, also entered scheduled service in 1959. Similarly designed forhigh-capacity, economic operation, the Il18 four-engine turboprop could carry75-110 passengers. Several hundred wereproduc d for Russia's state airline, Aeroflot,which operated them on both intercity andtranscontinental services throughout theSoviet Union for many years. However,although it was a very successful aircraft,sales outside the communist bloc were verylimited, apart from a number of exports toallied countries.

As early as the mid-1950s, de Havillandwas well on its way to bringing back the

omet in a much-enlarged and strengthened form. Even Vickers wa working onlong-haul, pure-jet designs for BOAC. Inthe A, Boeing had been flying the prototype of its Model 707 jet airliner since1954, and Douglas was not far behind withits own first commercial jet, the DC-8.These were all intended for long-rangeflights, though the initial versions werereally only medium-range aircraft andwould u ually have to make refuellingstops when operated on long-range fl ight .

Yet, by the time the first Vanguard wastaking shape on the Weybridge factory floor,the jet-versus-turboprop picture was changing. There were also new pure-jet designson the way, solely intended to operate

three of the largest airliner producers, Boeing, Convair and Douglas, were alreadyputting all their efforts into constructingthe U A's fir t pure-jet commercial airliners. All three had re olved that they wouldbypa the turboprop option altogether.

otwithstanding this, their long-standingco-rival, the Lockheed Aircraft Company,went in a totally different direction anddecided to put all it eggs firmly in the turboprop basket.

Still regarding the pure jet transport aun uitable for operations over short intercity stage lengths, Lockheed had also proposed it own design in response to the

Given the uccess of the Viscount, it isperhap surprising that US airliner manufacturers showed little intere t in producing a direct rival, particularly after thelarge Capital and ontinental orders.However, by the time the Vis ount wasmaking a name for itself with apital,

Vanguard Rivals

instead, replaced it Martin aircraft withLockheed Con tellation that had beendisplaced from international route bylarger Super Constellation .

The Convair Turboprops

The main US rival to the Viscount had remained thepiston-powered Convair series. Gradual improvements had led to the development of the CV340 andCV440 models, which, although still piston-engined,had achieved very respectable sales figures, not onlyin the Americas but worldwide.

While the Convairs' performance was still not ableto match that of the Viscount in terms of speed, theprogress made had produced avery capable aircraft.In service, the actual block-to-block flight times werecertainly close to those of the Viscount, and improvements in cabin amenities and soundproofing had produced almost as comfortable a ride for the passengers. In response to the imminent arrival of theViscount with Capital Airlines, Convair proposed aturboprop-powered, stretched version of the CV340as early as 1955. Ironically, the new design wouldhave been fitted with four Rolls-Royce R.Da.7 Darts.Designed to specifications drawn up by AmericanAirlines, the 'Model 15', as it was known, was notpursued after little interest was shown by the airline.

New turboprop Convairs were eventually produced, but not by the parent company. Canadair, inMontreal. produced a version of the CV340/440under licence, which was powered by two Britishbuilt Napier Eland turboprops. The CV540, as the newEland version was designated, was ordered by anumber of airlines, most of which cancelled theirorders when Rolls-Royce acquired control of Napierand decided to discontinue the Eland programme. Inthe end, only Allegheny Airlines in the USA and Quebecair in Canada operated the CV540 commercially.A large number of the military version, the CL-66B,were produced for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Even so, anumber of CV240, CV340 and CV440 airframes were successfully converted from pistonengine to turboprop power, especially during the1960s. These had either Rolls-Royce Darts or USbuilt Allison engines, which were produced by Convair's associate, General Motors Corporation. TheDart and Allison-powered turboprop Convair conversions remained popular with regional airlines, especially in the USA, and large numbers of these aircraftserved in both commercial and military roles aroundthe world for many years.

Many of the potential U customersimply regarded the four-engined Vi countas too ophisticated for their small r operation . They preferred to consider eitherthe new mailer twin turboprops, or eventhe large numbers of post-war pi tonengined de igns such as the Martins andConvair then starting to come on to thesecondhand market, as replacements fortheir D -3. At one point the major USoperator Trans World Airlines (TWA)considered ordering a fleet of V. 790s toreplace its Martin 202s and 404 , and thedesignation V. 795 was reserved. Unfortunately TWA decided not to pro eed and,

70 77

Till. NI',W COMPETITION 1111. NEW COMPETITION

RAOAR S1EOU OUT TUR8UUHCTO GUA.I'tANTU SMOOTH FLiGH

ABOVE: The 'De luxe'

Ansell-ANA V.832s

were operated onseveral high-profile

routes to major cities.

Jenny Gradidge

LEFT AND BELOW:

Ansell-ANA promotedthe high standard of

passenger comfort

and facilities offeredon its V,832s as the

'Golden Jet Service'.Author'S collection

ROLU ROYCE DART R.Da. 7/1PRop-Jn £NGINU.

II... it's all-new!

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and old adver ary, Reg Ansett. Sadly,Butler' generosity in initiating a pioneeringemployee shareholding scheme backfiredwhen Ansett managed to per uade enoughof the BAT staff to sell their hare at a premium rate, and Arthur Butler was finallyforced out of the company in 195 .

With the takeover, Ansett-A A inherited the BAT Viscounts, which it was initially reluctant to keep. The two aircraftw r put up for sale, being among the fir tVi count to be offered on the secondhandmarket. However, commercial pressure onthe Amett-ANA fleet of Douglas and Convair piston types from TAA's Viscounts notonly led to retention of the ex-BAT Viscounts, but also caused the airline toacquire more turboprop aircraft. Four new

Ansett Inherits the Viscount

blocked the ord r. The V816s had arrivedclo ely after the delivery of TAA's secondVi count 700 order for seven V756s. Twoof the V756s had been fitted with lowpressure tyre to allow operation fromrougher runways than the earlier Viscountsand allowing the extension ofTAA turboprop ervice to even more Australiancities.

Australian National Airway (A A), theoriginal private-enterprise rival to government-owned TAA, had been strugglingfinancially and was taken over in 1957 byAnsett Airway, a much smaller operator.Ansett' found r, Australian airline pioneer Reg Ansett, had seen the opportunityto create a merged airline that could takeon TAA much more successfully, The Australian government, also keen to see a morestable national airline industry, encouragedthe merger. Through the ANA takeoverAnsett acquired a small shareholding inButler Air Transport (BAT), and set aboutattempting to absorb the smaller carrierinto the larger enterprise.

Butler had continued to expand itregional operations throughout ew outhWale, operating a pair of Viscounts alongside it original DC-3 . A mall fleet ofAmbassador wa al 0 operated for a while.These had been bought secondhand fromBEA and, although they offered muchneeded extra capacity, they were not reallysuited to BAT' outback style of operation,and were eventually returned to the UK.Still holding a izeable number of the sharein the airline he had founded, Arthur Butlerre isted the takeover by his contemporary

The reliable Viscounts of KLM were a common sight throughout the airline's European

network until the mid-1960s. via author

these potential customers were soon seento be waiting for jets or going to Lockheed.One major factor in Lockh ed' favour wathe ability to promise earlier delivery ofthe Electra. With the commercial life ofthe larger turboprops possibly being limited by the forthcoming arrival of the nextgeneration of jets, the airlines wanted toget as much productive life out of the aircraft as possible.

Two original Vi count operators whowere to select the Electra over the Vanguard were KLM and TAA. AlthoughTAA had taken delivery of two largerV816s in 1959, to operate on the busierroutes alongside their already successfulViscount 700s, their own 68-pa engerElectras soon followed. The Electrasentered service in July, to complete TAA'sJetline fleet, as it was now marketed, Theairline had actually favoured ordering Caravelles, but the Australian governmentpronounced that it felt that many of thecountry's airports would be unable to copewith the more sophisticated aircraft, and

begin to look seriously at pure-jet designoptions, By the late 1950s numerou Britishcompanies, such as Avro, Bristol, d Havilland and Hunting, were already pre entingjet airliner de ign propo als to BEA.

However, the airline's management stillfirmly held the view that the fleet of turboprop Viscounts and Vanguard wouldoffer economic operations on most ofBEA's shorter routes for many years tocome, It was presumed that, because thejets would offer only minor point-to-pointtime savings on the shorter intercityflights, the travelling public would choosethe cheaper fare available on turbopropsrather than jet peed, As it transpired,this was a rather na'ive assumption, and thetheory was soon overtaken by event, Thesheer glamorous, popular marketingappeal of pure-jet travel soon far outweighed purely economic considerations.

Viscount Customersand the Electra

For the time being, though, Vicker, BEAand TCA continued to regard the Vanguard as the more practical, economiclarge-capacity option for intercity andmedium-range route, at least for the foreseeable future. However, the Vanguardsoon found itself struggling to make muchof an impact on the new airliner market. Awell as many of the prospective customerskeeping a weather eye on the promised newshort-haul jet projects, the Vickers aircraftwas up against the impressive might of theUS aircraft industry in the shape of the verysimilar L ckheed L-188 Electra.

Vickers might have reasonably expecteda few more of the previou Vi count operators to favour the Vanguard, but mo t of

The pair of 'Super Viscounts' joined TAA's smaller Viscount 700s on busier inter-city

routes in eastern Australia. Jenny Gradidge

72 73

TilE EW COM PETITIO TilE EW COM PETITIO

engines, and the ground-running trials wereresumed. These proceeded without furtherserious incident and, on 20 January 1959,Vickers senior test pilots Jock Bryce andBrian Trubshaw made their preparations forthe Vanguard's first flight.

The Weybridge runway was only 3,600ft(1,1 OOm) long, which was rather short foran aircraft as large as the Vanguard. Bryce

checking the correct supplementary throttle settings. Before the crew had achance todo anything about the error. the engine promptly seized completely and ejected mostof itself. in the form of white-hot molten metal. on to the ramp. Anumber of other lessserious, but still annoying. technical problems arose which were, after all, preciselywhat the test programme was designed to reveal. Nonetheless. the resulting delays inthe engine certification threatened to disrupt Vanguard production.

At least the BEA crews were getting plenty of experience of single-engine flying asmore problems presented themselves for correction. usually at the least-convenientmoments. The crews also found themselves rewriting the manual regarding relighting theengines at altitude. which was proving to be an unpredictable process in itself. Weatherdelays in the UK in the early part of 1958 caused the whole programme to be decampedto benefit from the more reliable Mediterranean sun of Malta during April and May. inthe hope of making up some of the lost flying time. One by one. the Rolls-Royce engineersand designers tackled the Tyne's quirks and problems. The aircraft and crews returned tothe UK in June. and eventually, thanks to a fine summer. the prototype Tynes finallyreached their 1,600hr target and the engine was certificated for normal use.

The second Airspeed Ambassador prototype. G-AKRD. was equipped with Tynes forthe engine's intensive development programme for Rolls Royce. Jenny Gradidge

were returned to Rolls-Royce for detailedinvestigations, leaving G-AOYW strandedand engineless at Wisley. Much more importantly, the maiden flight was delayed forvital weeks.

Roll -Royce eventually pronounced thata blocked oil line had caused the doublebearing failure in the rogue Tyne engine.

oon G-AOYW was again fitted with four

The first landing of the Vanguard prototype. G-AOYW. was made at Wisley after itswell-satisfied pilots had extended the initial maiden flight. Author's collection

The new Rolls-Royce RB.l09 engine. designed for the Van-guard. was eventually to be redesignated RTyl Tyne. From theoriginal 2.750shp of the RB.109. the RTyl was further developed to provide 4.000shp for the prototype and first production V951s for BEA. and an impressive 4.500shp for the V.952sfor TeA and V953s for BEA. As with the Dart. the untried Tyneengine was to be extensively flown on specially convertedtest-bed aircraft. this time using a pair of Airspeed Ambassadors. Atotal of 16.000hr of flying was needed. with at least400hr normal running without any failure required before theTyne could be certificated for use on a commercial aircraft.

The ex-second prototype Ambassador. G-AKRD, was converted in 1957, and an ex-BEA aircraft, G-ALZR, in 1958. Theformer was no stranger to test flying. having been almostcontinuously used for such work since its Ambassador prototype flight-test days. It hadbeen used for the de Havilland Propeller Division's projects, and later to test the Proteusengine for the Bristol Britannia programme. Based at Hucknall, Rolls-Royce's own testairfield, the Ambassadors were to be flown by a team comprising both Rolls-Royce andsenior BEA pilots as part of the development and evaluation programme. As well as providing much-needed extra pilot hours, this arrangement would enable the BEA pilots togain invaluable experience of the Tyne before operating it in daily service when the Vanguards came into service.

The test programme was designed mostly to be flown in 3~hr sectors. to simulatethe kind of services on which the engine would be used once it was powering Vanguards. After take-off an Ambassador was required to climb on full power to 5.000ft(1,500m), then climb at more conventional power settings to a height of 25,00Q....30.000ft l7.60Q....9,000ml. where it would cruise for approximately an hour. This wouldbe followed by 30min of low-level flying. usually 1.000ft (300ml above sea level. theaircraft then being taken back up to the cruising level for the remainder of the sortie.However. the test programme for the much more complex. two-stage Tyne would notproceed in as trouble-free amanner as the Dart certification had.

On one occasion aRolls-Royce engineer. attempting to rectify a rough-running problem reported by the BEA pilot on start-up, managed to restart the engine without

Testing the Tyne

Getting the Vanguardinto the Air

One notable improvement over the Vi count wa the addition of a very powerful28V D electrical system. Thi had ufficient capacity to allow the air raft to betotally self-reliant for start-up power at airfield lacking their own external starterequipment. The Vanguard al 0 boasted amuch more paciou flight deck than therather claustrophobic one on Vis ount,and could be arranged to be operated bytwo- or three-pilot crews. The flying control wer manually operated, with aerodynamic balancing.

The prototype V950 Vanguard, G-AOYW,was rolled out at Wisley on 4 December1958 and began a eries of engin run.Unfortunately, in the course of one of th eruns two bearings seized on one of the fourTynes, causing a rather dramatic catastrophic failure. As a precaution, all four engines

TPS 81se

118ft. projected122ft. 10· 4ms.30ft. 282 ins.(S29 sq. ft.

VICKERS WAjfjJJ(fJjlj)jfJj!JljtJJTYPE 950

FIG. I GENERAL ARRANGEMENT

SpanLengthWheel TrackWIng Area

correct a light rudd r instability. TheVi count 810 prototype, G-AOYV, stillflying in full Continental Airlineslivery, wa fitted with a scaled-down version of the redesigned Vanguard tail andu ed for aerodynamic and de-icing trial.For the de-icing trials the aircraft waalso fitted with a large rig to spray water onth tailplane to simulate icing conditions.

, ,: I I

I !:;_-_-:.:, ,, ,

~t- ... - _

':f; LL._

,, ,• , I

:0;0:, ,, :

By the time the final production designemerged, the tail was modified tocorrect slight instability.Vickers via author

total wing area wa 1,527sq ft (l42sq m).The tailplane had a marked dihedral angle,inherited from the Vi count, to keep it clearof the jet residue efflux and aid directionaland longitudinal tability.

The Vanguard' large fin was originallyfaired into the fuselage with only a smallaerodynamic fillet. This was later replacedby a larger dorsal fin that wa added to

Vanguards Take Shape

V832s were ordered by Ansen-ANA for1959 delivery, these being placed into ervice alongside four Lockheed L-l 8 Electras, finally putting Ansen-A A on amuch more equal footing with TAA a fara equipment was concerned.

In December 1959 KLM' Electras followed the carrier' smaller Viscounts on tointra-European and Middle Ea t services.A well as serving on the longer runs to theMiddle East, once the whole fleet of twelvewas delivered the Dutch airline's Electraseven operated a far as ingapore fromAmsterdam for a while, albeit with a number of stops en route. The turboprop Vi count and larger Electras complement done another quite well on the KLM network, allowing much of the airline's pistonpowered fleet to be retired from it European rvices by the early 1960 .

As the prototype and first production Vanguards made their way down the line atWeybridg it was becoming clear that theaircraft wa no mere 'scaled-up' Vi count.Although it certainly drew much from theearlier design from which it had beendeveloped, it was a very different aircraft.

Aerodynamically and structurally, theVanguard incorporated well-establi hed,orthodox fail-safe and multi-load-pathdesign principles. The new doubl -bubblefuselage tructure followed Vicker practiced veloped from the Viking days, being builtup from longitudinal stringers anached tohoop frames by shear cleat brackets, theskin being flush-riveted to the stringers.One of th few structures to survive fromthe original Viscount, the passenger cabinwindows, were of the same large ellipticalpanern that had proved so popular,embodying identical stress-free, neutralhole capabilities.

The wing tructure, however, wa a newconcept. It was made up of skin panelsmachined from solid billet of light alloy,with spanwi e stiffener. This new methodof construction was not only faster andmore cost-efficient, it also avoided concentrated tress by maintaining the wing profilewith closely spaced ribs which acted as linkmembers between the machined skin panels and spanwi e shear webs. In effect, thecompleted wing structure became a homogeneous torsion box. The entire box structure outboard of the centre section wassealed to serve as an integral fuel tank. The

74 75

TilE EW COMPETITION TilE EW COM PETITIO

Following the historic first flight, G-AOYW embarked on a programme of testand development flights. Author's collection

technical and ales personnel on board, 'EBwas initially flown to Khartoum, with atechnical stop at Rome. The Vanguardremained in the Sudan, completing a seriesof trials, for ten days, then carried the teamsouth to Johannesburg for a 3 -day tay.

The trial were mainly focused on mea-uring take-off and landing distances and

climb rate, and developing handlingtechnique under the harsher condition.A number of demonstration flight wereal 0 made to prospective customers wherever the aircraft stopped en route. Giventhe hi tory of tropical trial mishap withthe Vi counts, with the losse of bothG-AHRF and G-AOYF during th ir owntrials in Africa, no doubt there was some

typ . Later tran atlantic crossings aw Gg tting as far south a the Caribbean,

with d m nstration flight to BWIA inBermuda and Trinidad, although these werelightly marred by engine problems caused

by ontaminated fuel.

From October to December G-APEB was inAftica, completing a serie of tropical trialsto xamine the Vanguard's characteristics at'hot and high' airfields. Under the command of Brian Trubshaw and fellow testpilot Richard Rymer, with Vickers flight testmanager Joe Leach and a staff of Vicker

Tropical Trials

After gaining Vickers Vanguard titles, G-APEAwas used for a number of demonstration flightsto potential customers. Author's collection

BELOW: The visit of G-APEA to Canada aroused agreat deal of interest from TCA staff and crewsanxious to examine the company's latest purchasefor its fleet. Author's collection

1950s, its lower fuselage was painted gr yinstead of bing the usual natural metal. Incontra t, 'EB was rolled out resplendent inthe airline's brand-new 'Red Square' image,which wa being introduced at the tim.The Vanguards were assigned individualname, continuing the usual tradition ofBEA. The flagship, 'EA, wa named Vanguard and the other aircraft were givennames offamous British naval ship, uch asBetlerophon, Ajax, Leander, Valiant andSwiftsure. adly, the glossy new livery didnot make allowance for painting the nameson the out ide of the aircraft. In tead, theywere featured inside, in the passenger cabin.

On 6 March G-APEA flew to Hamburgfor BEA, then on 3 June it went to Brus elfor demonstration to Sabena, the Belgiannational carri r. The next day the aircraftwas similarly shown to Alitalia in Rome,and was also flown to Pari. On all thesedemonstration service the aircraft set upnew speed/di tance records. In July, wearingVickers Vanguard titles applied in place ofBEA's, 'EA was despatched to anada,where TCA was finally able to see it new

The original plan, imply to position theaircraft directly to Wisley, was quietly forgotten as Bryce oon gained a feel for the Vanguard in the air. A tendency for the throttlesto 'cr ep back' was noticed, but Trubshawwas easily able to monitor thi . Bryce decided to extend the 'ferry flight', with 'YWremaining airborne for about 20min. Whenthe aircraft finally began irs descent intoWi ley ome buffeting wa noticed when theflaps were deployed. Moreover, when rever epitch was applied on landing, the aileronthrashed about fairly violently and Bryce hadgreat difficulty in keeping them under control. These were regarded as minor problemsthat could easily be fixed during the flighttest programme and, to add a touch of firstflight bravado, Bryce and Trubshaw taxiedthe aircraft in reverse down the runway for ashort distance after landing, to get back to ataxiway tum-off.

Building up the Hours

The prototype soon started the daily roundof development and test flights required forthe Vanguard to be certificated for airlineuse. By 28 January a grand total of lOhr45min had been accumulated on eight orties. Problems with the Vanguard' stallingcharacteristics took up a lot of the development team's time. A variety of combinations of spoiler strips, wing fences and vortex generators were tried to overcome whatcould be rather violent rolling, and eveninversion, at the stall. Over 2,000 stallwere induced on 'YW, mostly in the experthands of Brian Trubshaw, before the rightcombination of modifications was found.Engine noise and vibration level in thpassenger cabin proved to be a major problem, the powerful Tynes making their presence much more felt than the Darts on theVi count. Although teps were taken torectify this, the Vanguard never attainedthe standards of the earlier Viscount in thirespect. On the plus side, high-speed handling proved to be excellent and, apartfrom the initial stalling problem, the Vanguard proved to be a stable and ea yaircraftto handle for its size.

The first of the production V95 Is, GAPEA, joined the sole V950 in the testprogramme following it own maiden flighton 22 April 1959. The second productionVanguard, G-APEB, first flew on 23 Julyand also joined the trials at Wisley.Although 'EA was finished in the traditional red and white BEA livery of the

speed taxi w also undertaken, proceedingdirectly on to the runway once clearancewa given, so that take-off speed would bereached as n a po sible. At about16.00hr, befor a large crowd of Vickersworker, G-AOYW became airborne for thefirst time.


Specification - V.950

4 x R.Ty.l/506 TyneEmpty basic equipment weight 86.8001b (39AOOkg); maximum zero fuel weight 122.5001b(55,600kg); maximum take-off weight 146,500lb (66,500kg); maximum landing weight130,500lb (59.235kg); typical maximum payload 37.000lb (16,790kg).Length 122ft 10Min (37.45m); span 118ft Oin (35.90ml; fin height 34ft llin (10.64ml; wingarea 1.529sq ft (142.04sq m); wheelbase 40ft 6Xin (12.35m).Economic cruising speed 420mph (675km/hl; maximum cruising speed 425mph (685km/h);service ceiling 30,OOOft (9.150m); range with maximum payload 1.350 statute miles(2,170km)

Dimensions:

Performance:


Powerplant:Weights:

and Trubshaw had to plan to take on theminimum fuel load for the brief fl ight to theVickers test airfield at Wisley, just under3min flying time away. With no other crewmember, engineering or flight-te t staffcarried, a comparatively light all-up weight of95,0001b (43,100kg) was achieved. A high-

The first production model Vanguard, G-APEA, made its first flights wearing theclassic BEA colours, and also originally had the early tail configuration. via author

76 77

TilE EW COMPETITION TIlE EW COM PETITIO

The Vanguard's Return

V952 for TCA, made the short hop fromW ybridge to Wisley on its maiden flight.On the same day, TCA announced it wasincreasing its order by three, to a total oftwenty-thre Vanguard.

Then, just when everything seemed to begoing so well, the Vanguard programmesuddenly encountered significant problems.Within weeks of the planned inaugurationof scheduled flights, during a proving flightto Athens, one Tyne suffered a dramaticfailure. ome of its turbine blades wereblown out through the engine cowling. Ahandful of similar enforced shutdowns ofTynes on the other flying Vanguards hadalready been experienced. Only a few daysearlier one had been shut down in flight ona Beirut-Athens sector, as an aircraft wasreturning from a demonstration to IraqiAirways in Baghdad. All route-proving andtraining flights were immediately halted byBEA and Vickers until the cause of the failures could be determined.

During the ensuing bench tests anotherTyne uffered a near-identical failure, andit was not too long before Rolls-Royceidentified the source of the problem as anincorrectly applied heat treatment on theforgings in the compressor discs during production. However, this was discovered toolate to save BEA's planned July entry intoservice, and the slowly growing number ofcompleted aircraft remained groundeduntil modified Tynes were made availableto enable the delayed certification programme to continue.

By October 1960 modified Tynes werefinally available to be installed in V950G-AOYW and V951 G-APED, and theflight-test programme resumed in earne tat Wisley. New engines were also fitted toG-APEE within the month and, more than200 flying hours later, on 2 December, theVanguard was finally awarded its full C ofA. Immediately, 'EE was positioned toStansted Airport, where BEA's Vanguardcrews were given a refresher course. BothBEA and TCA also made considerable useof newly delivered simulators to speed conversion and refresher training. Soon, GAPEF joined 'EE at Stan ted to completethe refresher training and, once enoughBEA Vanguard crews had been licensed,G-APEF inaugurated the long-awaitedVanguard service with a Heathrow-Parisflight on 17 December.

began to reach further afield, with trial services to Athens, Benghazi, Dusseldorf,Gibraltar, Malta, Nicosia, Stockholm andZurich, the destinations being chosen toprovide a wide variety of operating andweather conditions. For the e flights theaircraft was furnished in a lOa-passengerconfiguration with a mixture of 2-3 and 33 seating. On 21 May CF-TKA, the first

tt:,,,

The first TCA V.952. CF-TKA. took to the air for the first time in May 1960. via author

simulated schedule to test the aircraft'sperformance under normal airline conditions. These mostly took place over theParis and Brussels routes from London, andthe early results were so promising thatBEA confidently began to plan for full ervice introduction in time for the beginning of that summer's peak traffic period,on 1 July. The route-proving flights also

Unexpected and potentially serious problems with the Tyne engines caused a temporary

halt in the certification and customer crew training programmes. Author's collection

ABOVE: The early Vanguards carriedBEA's new black-and-red colours farfrom the airline's European territory

while on the manufacturer"s develop

ment. demonstration and certification

flights. via Jon Proctor

LEFT: While the production aircraft

ranged worldwide. G-AOYW tendedto remain closer to home for its own

development flights. Vickers via author

Proving Flight ProblemsTwo more early production V.951s, GAPEC and 'ED, joined the Wisley flighttest programme after they completed theirown initial po t-production flights inOctober and December 1959, respectively.A transatlantic trip was made by G-APEDto give further demonstrations to BWIA,including a number of short inter-islandservice to show the Vanguard's suitabilityfor the Caribbean airline's network. Atthis time BEA senior training captainswere given instruction on the aircraft byVickers at Weybridge and Wisley, and atRoll-Royce' factory in Derby. From February 1960 BEA began using some of theavailable flying hours for crew training anda handful of route-proving flights.

The route-proving programme increasedsignificantly in March, when G-APEDwas used by BEA for a more intensive

more demonstration flights before continuing on to Beirut the same evening to enda busy day.

On 12 December the second of threeplanned demonstration flights from Beirutbrought more drama when the port undercarriage refused to lower. For nearly anhour Trubshaw and Rymer tried severalunconventional methods to free the leg,including pulling the aircraft up sharply totry and dislodge it. In the end Trubshawhad to go into the cabin and lift floorboards, in view of the commercially important clientele, and try to lower it by pullingon various cables and rods! He was eventually successful, and 'EB landed safely. Thecause was traced to a bolt that had workedloose and jammed the undercarriage door.Applying a smooth lining material to thedoors solved the problem, and the Vanguard's return trip to Wisley, via Nice andGatwick, was uneventful.

trepidation among the Vickers teams onthe tour. Happily 'EB broke the jinx, theonly serious incident occurring at Johannesburg, when all the tyres burst during aheavy landing. This caused a certainamount of damage to the hydraulic pipesin the undercarriage and the undercarriage doors. The aircraft was consequently grounded for several days while thenecessary spares were flown out to SouthAfrica.

At the end of the South Africa-based triai, G-APEB left Johannesburg on 6December and headed north for Salisbury,Rhodesia. During the next day, two testflights and a demonstration flight for Central African Airways were carried out. On8 December the aircraft was flown toNairobi to complete one more demonstration and three test flights over the next twodays. The Vanguard flew to Cairo via Khartoum on 11 December, and made three

78 79

TilE NEW COMPETITION TilE NEW COMPETITION

Viscount Prototypes Move On

The much-travelled Viscount 700 prototype, G-AMAV,made its final flights for Vickers in October 1960, andwas placed in storage at Wisley. The aircraft still hada comparatively low number of flying hours, 2,160,but had been structurally modified so much that itwas no longer economically feasible to convert it forresale. However, a productive use was later found forG-AMAV's fuselage, when it was employed onengine installation trials for the BAC One-Elevenshort-haul jet airliner. The battered remains werefinally donated to the Stansted Fire School in 1963.

The Va1 0prototype, G-AOYV, was luckier. Following de-icing tests fitted with ascaled-down Vanguardtailplane, it was converted to a VB27 and sold to theBrazilian airline, Viacao Aerea Sao Paulo (VASP) asPP-SRH VASP had already taken delivery of fiveVa27s in 1959 for use on its extensive domestic network. No fewer than sixty flights aweek were scheduled by the airline over its busiest route, betweenSao Paulo and Rio. One of the Viscounts was lostlater that year in a tragic mid-air collision with aBrazilian Air Force North American AT-6. It wasreplaced by PP-SRH, delivered in October 1960.

Canadair North tars, the last of which waswithdrawn from T A service on 30 April1961.

The BEA V951s and V953s were givendifferent configurations, only the originalsix V951s, G-APEA to G-APEF inclusive, having first-class seating, The V951swere equipped with thirty 2-2-abreastfirst-class seats in the rear cabin andeighty-nine 3-3-abreast economy-classseats in the forward areas. The laterV953s, benefiting from their increasedpermitted all-up weights, were configured

By 1 February four Vanguards, CF-TKC,'TD, 'TF and 'TG, had been already beendelivered to TCA, and a fifth, 'TE, wasabout to make its transatlantic deliveryflight from Wisley to MontreaL The twoinaugural TCA scheduled Vanguard V952flights were operated on the transcontinental multi-stop services, from Montrealto Vancouver via Toronto, Winnipeg,Regina and Calgary, and from Toronto toVancouver via Winnipeg, Saskatoon andEdmonton, and were flown by CF-TKDand CF-TKC respectively.

The Canadian carrier had actually beaten BEA into placing the aircraft intoschedu led service, as opposed to ad hoc andsubstitute services, by a full three weeks.As more Vanguards made their way toCanada the aircraft were placed in serviceon more services throughout the country,and also on the busier cross-border flightsto the USA. In April the Vanguards madetheir first cheduled appearances on TCA'spopular tourist routes from eastern Canada to Bermuda, the Bahamas and otherisland resorts in the Caribbean,

The economy of the high-capacity Vanguards allowed TCA to introduce 35 percent fare reductions on these routes, whichgreatly boosted traffic. The arrival of theVanguards also saw the final demise of theincreasingly unpopular piston-powered

TCA passengers were able to enjoy scheduledVanguard service a full three weeks before SEA's.Air Canada via Bill Mellberg

Canada Bound

On 19 December 'EE entered scheduledservice with a Heathrow-Zurich flight, followed by a Heathrow-Geneva service thatafternoon. The aircraft then remained atGeneva until 22 December before positioning empty to DusseldOlf and operatinga scheduled passenger service from there toHeathrow. The first UK domestic Vanguard service was operated by 'EF over theHeathrow-Glasgow route on 20 December. On these initial flights the two Vanguards were substituted for Viscounts overthe busy Christmas period. This ad hoc useof the Vanguards continued over the festive season, the aircraft being put into service in their own right on 22 February1961, again on the London-Paris route,

The Vanguard delivery schedule to TCAhad been less critically disrupted by theaircraft's temporary groundings due to theTyne's problems. The Canadian airline'sown time-scale had called for a 1 February1961 entry into service, and the first delivery from Vickers, V952 CF-TKD, was ableto b completed on 7 December 1960,once new engines were available. Amongthe crew operating the delivery flight wasCapt George Lothian, TCA's superintendent of flying, the first TCA pilot to havebeen licensed to fly the Viscount, andRichard Rymer of Vickers, the world's firstcommercial pilot to be certificated on theV630 Viscount.

Until 'KD had been delivered to Montreal, TCA had been sending crews to Wisleyfor Vanguard conversion training. Thistraining could now be continued in Canada,and a concentrated programme of refreshercourses for TCA's Vanguard crews providedenough personnel for a series of proving anddemonstration flights. The TCA Vanguardswere approved for two-pilot operation inCanada. onversion training comprised amonth at ground school, 25hr on the simulator and a further 15hr flight training. Theinitial crew training was completed successfully, leading to full scheduled service entryfor the Vanguard on 1 February as planned.The demonstration flights also allowedTCA ground crews to familiarize themselveswith the aircraft a it would be operated indaily ervice. On one occasion during thedemonstration tours, at Toronto, a full loadof ninety-six passengers was disembarkedand another full load of ninety-six boardedin a highly creditable seven minutes!

registered G-APZP and G-ARBW, differed sufficiently from the rest of BEA's Viscount fleetregarding equipment and flight-deck layout to make it awkward to schedule the regularViscount crews without expensive re-training and conversion. Asolution was found inconfining the leased aircraft to the London-Paris route and simply converting the nowidle Vanguard-trained crews to operate the two aircraft during their spell with BEA.

Fred Olsen's V.779, G-APZP, was one of several aircraft drafted in to fill the gaps inthe schedules left by the undelivered Vanguards. Jenny Gradidge

, VANGUARD

'- 902

The loss of the Vanguard's capacity was a major blow toBEA's plans for the summer season of 1960. Abig salesdrive had been in full swing since the beginning of theyear, successfully selling a large number of the promisedVanguard seats. Much of the busy sales effort had beendirected at the new, heavily promoted, off-peak, low-fareservices to which the Vanguard would have been ideallysuited, with its ability to ~arry large passenger volumeseconomically. Plans had been made for no fewer thanseven daily Vanguard flights over the popular LondonParis route alone, but providing an equivalent number ofViscount seats called for up to twelve rotations with thesmaller aircraft. In an attempt to cover the shortfall, BEAindulged in some serious juggling of its available aircraft,especially the Viscounts.

Anumber of Viscounts that had been operating scheduled freight services werequickly returned to passenger configuration to take up some of the capacity shortage.To replace these aircraft on some of the cargo flights, BEA chartered ageing Avro Yorkfreighters from Dan-Air Services Ltd of Gatwick. Dan-Air was also contracted to operate its fleet of Ambassadors (ironically all ex-BEA Elizabethan fleet aircraft) on many ofBEA's scheduled London-Jersey passenger services.

Two more Viscounts, both V779s, were leased from Fred Olsen Air Transport again,repeating the similar arrangement of 1955-57. The two aircraft, LN-FOH and LN-FOM, re-

Viscounts to the Rescue-------------------

Despite the delays, Vickers was still able to deliver the first production TCA Vanguards in time for theirscheduled inaugural services in February 1961. via Jon Proctor

80 87

TIlE NEW COM PETITIO

CHAPTER SIX

Cubana's Viscount 818, CU-T622, was delivered in August 1959, by which time the Viscount production line

was starting to slow down. via author

agreed to the cancellation of the order on19 July 1957.

What would have been an importantexport order for Dart 525-powered Viscounts was cancelled the following year.Oakland-based California Eastern Airways (CEA) operated a large fleet of DC4s and Lockheed Super Constellations onsupplemental and contract charter services, mostly for the US military. InNovember 1956, in an attempted changeof direction, CEA applied to operate fullscheduled services. Two routes were proposed, from Dallas to Los Angeles or SanFrancisco, authority for both direct andmulti-stop flights being applied for.

The airline had been impressed by theLockheed Electra turboprop, but had beenunable to secure sufficiently early deliverypositions. To satisfy the authorities that itwas fit to operate the new routes, CEA wasrequired to have suitable aircraft availableto operate the service in 1958. After a visit

In addition to its V805 contract, EagleAviation had ordered three more-powerfulDart 525-powered Viscount 821s fortrooping and charter work within Europe,for delivery in the beginning of 1959. Acontract was also negotiated with the FredOlsen Line for the lease of two V. 736s asan interim measure until the larger aircraftwere delivered. The lea e of the FredOlsen aircraft would ensure that Eagle wasequipped to inaugurate a substantialtrooping contract from the Air Ministry,for which the airline was negotiating. Thiswould have provided most of the work forthe new aircraft, but Eagle was unsuccessful and the new trooping contract wasnever signed. The financial package topurchase the aircraft was dependent onthe trooping flights guaranteeing a certainamount of revenue and, as this could nolonger be relied on, Vickers reluctantly

Lost Orders

Soldiering On

Towards the 1960sVickers had already decided to close itsVanguard order book after the last orderfor three extra aircraft from T A. Thesales tours and demonstrations had produced no more firm orders. High hopes ofsales to Viscount customers such as Central African, BWIA, Iraqi Airways andPhilippine Air Lines were frustrated by theairlin s decl ining the bigger Vanguard asunsuitable for their networks, or preferringto await the new jets. The Viscount hadcontinued to roll off the established production lines even as the Vanguard madeits stuttering progress towards full commercial service. As the new decadeapproached, the world's original turbopropairliner still managed to find new followersamong airliner operators around the globe.However, a number of potentially lucrative Viscount orders that appeared verypromising had stumbled at the last hurdle.

in an all-economy 132-seat layout, all 3-3abreast. The TCA V952s were deliveredwith a forty-six-seat 2-2 first-class sectionin the rear cabins and fifty economy seats,still only 2-3 abreast, forward.

The two distinct BEA Vanguard configurations were each allocated to verydifferent routes to suit the vagaries of partiCLdar marketing needs. The fi rst-classaccommodation on the V951s was onlyrequired internationally on the flights toParis; in fact only the first-class passengersreceived a meal or even bar service on thisbrief flight. However, these first production aircraft were otherwise mostlyassigned to domestic flights to Belfast,Edinburgh and Glasgow, on which therewas a high percentage of important business travellers expecting first-class serviceto be available. The all-economy-configured V953s were also assigned to theHeathrow-Manchester domestic flights,as well as operating most of the remainingVanguard routes.

The increasing use of the high-capacity Vanguards

brought a welcome improvement in standards ofcomfort and service to the busier domestic routes.Author's collection

Established Jet Competition

When the BEA and TCA Vanguards didfinally begin scheduled service, the muchhyped arrival of widespread jet airline travel, on short- as well as long-haul services,had already taken place. BEA's new Vanguards were already facing direct competition from Air France's Caravelles on theroute to Paris, these having been introduced into service in 1959. Thus the shinynew Vanguards arrived on an international airline scene where many passengersalready regarded them as old-fashioned.Consequently they would have a struggleto prove them elves in a hostile environment, relying heavily on their muchvaunted economic abilities to make moneywhere jets would struggle to survive.

By mid-1961 both BEA and TCA were operating

complementary fleets of Viscounts and Vanguardsover their networks. Author's collection

Page' eigltt(!t!1l

SEA have recently introduced Vickers Vanguards on their

popular and Important London-Belfast service. The Vanguard's 425 mph

cruising speed and great passenger capacity renect the trend

towards lar()e, economical aircraft on internal as well as international

routes-a far-seeing development of the kind in which SEA

is always well to the fore. AIR BP are contracted to

supply BEA's Vanguards at both airports.

Landfall for Uisterrnen

Fast flying Ell ... tast t ••lUng~~

82 83

SOLDIERING ON SOLDIERI GO

The use of the Viscount on the longerservices from Turkey to points such as London and Frankfurt aw THY joining IraqiAirways, MEA and Misrair in using theturboprops on important longer routeswhere they were competing against muchlarger aircraft. Misrair actively expandedits Viscount fleet, purchasing two secondhand V754Ds from HCAT in July 1959and taking delivery of a new V739B, SUAKW, the airline's eighth, in April 1960.Later that year Misrair was merged withSyrian Arab Airlines and renamed UnitedArab Airlines.

G-APDX became VR-BAY for the Eagle (Bermuda) operation and was a regular visitor

to US and Canadian cities on the popular island routes. via author

THY having operated mostly on domesticand regional flights with a fleet of DC-3suntil the Viscounts·arrived. As well as connecting the larger Turkish cities on domestic flights and linking Istanbul and Ankarato regional points such as Adana, Beirut andNicosia, the Viscounts inaugurated newlonger-ranging services into WesternEurope. The Magic Carpet Route, as it wasmarketed, operated from Ankara via Istanbul, Vienna and Frankfurt to London threetimes a week. The Viscounts also flewanoth r Frankfurt service, from Ankara viaIstanbul, Athens and Rome.

operation. In contrast, the two Viscountsembarked on a major expansion of theBermuda operation, new services openingto Baltimore, Montreal and Nassau. TheNassau service was soon extended toMiami under the name of yet another newEagle company, Eagle Airways (Bahamas)Ltd, on whose behalf the Bermuda-basedaircraft operated over the new route.

Far-Ranging Viscounts

The long-standing partnership arrangement between BEA and Cyprus Airwayswas taken a step further from January 1958,when the British carrier took over all of theCyprus airline's operations, two Viscountsunder charter replacing the increasinglyuncompetitive D -3s. Cyprus Airways hadcon idered ordering its own small fleet ofViscounts from Vicker, but decided infavour of expanding the charter arrangement on economic grounds. till in fullBEA livery, they were rotated regularlywith the BEA UK-ba ed fleet when theyreturned for chedul d maintenance atHeathrow. The Nicosia-based Viscountstook the BEA flag much further east thanbefore, being operated on Cyprus Airwaysservices to Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait and TelAviv from Nicosia, as well as on the established routes in the region and the jointBEA/Cyprus route to London.

January 1958 also saw Turkish Airlines(THY) place the first of its 48-passenger Viscount 700, one V754D and four V794Ds,into service. The new aircraft greatlyexpanded the airline's presence in the area,

THY Turkish Airlines used its Viscounts to expand its operation with far-ranging new routes, encompassing

both Europe and the Middle East. THY Turkish Airlines

Hunting- lan/Airwork African flights butoperating, instead, over the Atlantic toBermuda and the Caribbean, and ultimately to the USA, as well as eastwards to Singapore and Hong Kong. Eagle applied forlicences for a number of such services, andalso campaigned vigorou Iy for the establishment of a 'VLF' (very low fare) class oflow-frequency, long-range services in competition with BOAC. The opposition tothe plans from BOAC was sufficient to seethe concept blocked for the time being, butEagle's busy DC-6As did operate a numberof charter flights to Bermuda and theCaribbean, which helped further strengthen the company's presence and generalinfluence in the region.

Although Eagle's new Bermuda-basedservices to New York were proving a greatsuccess, the passenger figures for the European schedules were much less encouraging. At the beginning of 1959 Viscount GAPDX was re-registered VR-BAY and entout to join 'AX in Bermuda. The Europeanservices were drastically cut back andthe surviving flights reverted to Viking

The K company's second Viscountremained in the UK and was used for a network of touri t- la s scheduled services toBelgium, ermany and Scandinavia beingbuilt up from the northern city of Manchester. Although regulations still heavilyfavoured BEA and BOAC, the situationhad greatly eased for independent airlinesdeveloping their own networks of scheduled services. Bamberg was very keen tosee the Eagle group expand into morescheduled markets, and sought everyopportunity to do so. In Eagle's case thesewere to be flown by the UK-based Viscount from both Blackbushe and Manchester, alongside Eagle's already established fleet of Vikings. The Vikings werealso operated on a handful of scheduledservices from Heathrow. In addition, theViscount operated from the midlands toSpain on a weekly Birmingham-Palmatourist service.

A fleet of DC-6As had been acquired foroperation on worldwide charter services.Bamberg wanted to deploy them on lowfare schedules from the UK similar to the

After only a few months of European operations, G-APDW became VR-BAX inpreparation for the inaugural Bermuda-based schedules. via author

The airline's second Viscount 805, G-APDX, was used alongside Eagle's numerousVikings during 1958. Jenny Gradidge

Even as the airlines of the world were busythrowing the glamorous new jets into service as quick as the manufacturers coulddeliver them, the Viscount was still finding useful niches. The two Eagle AirwaysViscount 805s were instrumental in pioneering whole new markets on both sidesof the Atlantic for their owner.

Despite the disappointing loss of theV821 trooping contract, Eagle's first Dart510-powered V805, G-APDW Enterprise,was still delivered in late 1957, resplendent in a stylish new maroon and grey livery. It was operated both on scheduled andcharter services for the fir t few months of1958, from Eagle's main base at Blackbushe. The arrival of the second Viscount,G-APDX Good Fortune, heralded thed parture of the first aircraft across theAtlantic to Bermuda.

Now reregistered VR-BAX, this Viscount was to work for a newly establishedEagle subsidiary, Eagle Airways (Bermuda). Eagle's founder and chairman, HaroldBamberg, had realized that there was anopening for flights to Bermuda, where thenow jointly operated BOAC/BWIA ervice was evidently not properly exploitingthe potential market. On 2 June 1958 VRBAX opened the new daily Eagle Airways(Bermuda) scheduled service fromBermuda to New York. The Eagle Vi count flight was up against not only thecombined might of BOAC/BWIA butalso Eastern Airlines and Pan American.Nonetheless, the new Eagle fl ight stillproved very popular, attracting nearly10,000 passengers in 1958.

to Weybridge a letter of intent was lodgedwith Vickers by CEA's management on 19November 1956, covering possible ordersfor up to eleven Viscounts. This was toinclude possible orders for an unspecifiednumber of the V840 version. In 1957 theletter of intent was converted to a contractfor confirmed orders for eight V823s for1958 delivery. The licensing hearingsdragged on until early 1958, though it didlook as though CEA would be succes fut.However, on 7 April 1958 the recommendation surprisingly went against CEA andthe routes were awarded to ContinentalAirlines. Legal appeals were unsucces ful,and CEA was forced to write to Vickers on11 August, explaining it had no choice butto cancel the order.

Atlantic Adventures

84 85

SOLDIERING ON SOLDIERING ON

vious refuelling stops now being dropped infavour of a quicker joumey. At the end ofthis contract CAA replaced the HCAT aircraft with aircraft leased from BOAC, initially more Britannias and later Comet 4jets, and the CAA Viscounts were confinedto regional services within Africa.

The successful rationalization of theAirwork group's Viscount operations eventually led to moves being made to mergeTransair and Airwork with H AT, withwhich Airwork had been so successfully cooperating for some years. As well as Transair, Airwork had also acquired control ofindependent operators Air Charter, Morton Air Services and Bristow Helicopters.Air Charter operated worldwid troopingand ad hoc charter flights from tanstedAirport with DC-4s and Britannias, andalso flew scheduled cross-Channel car ferryservices from Southend under the nameof Channel Air Bridge, using BristolFreighters and Aviation Traders Carvairs.Morton flew scheduled and charter services to Europe and the Channel Islandsfrom Croydon, later moving to Gatwick,and Bristow was involved in a worldwideoperation of helicopter contract charters.

Encouraged by the govemment, whichwas becoming keen to see a stronger independent airline indu try and establish aviable 'second force' UK competitor to BEAand BOAC, the three airlines finally cametogether in July 1960 under the new nameof British United Airways (BUA), with anoperational headquarters to be establishedat Gatwick. The aviation-based holdings ofthe major shareholders were eventually

~G-APHD

While older members of the Airwork fleet were being retired and disposed of, thenew Viscounts were kept busy on the Safari services to Africa. Jenny Gradidge

Tbe HCAT Viscount fleet, now reducedto the three newer V831s following thesale of the surviving pair of Viscount 732sto Misrair, was engaged on trooping flightsaround Europe and to tbe Mediterranean,as well as on tbe East and West Africanscbeduled services. The other V732,G-ANRR, had been written-off in a tragicfatal crash during a test flight on 2 December 1959, following scheduled maintenance. All five occupants were killed whenthe aircraft came down near Frimley inSurrey, the cause being traced to incorrectassembly of the elevator spring tab mechanism during the aircraft's recent majorcheck. However, the inclusive-tour charterwas also starting to feature in HCAT's Viscount programme, th V831s operatingflights to many Mediterranean resorts fromboth Heathrow and Manchester.

Hunting-Clan still operated a handful ofremaining Vikings on charter work, and wasflying a pair of DC-6As on both passengerand cargo work, the latter including a scheduled Africargo all-freight service to EastAfrica. On several occasions the OC-6Aswere substituted for Viscounts on the SafariService. Although the big Douglas was quitecapable of operating the route in longerstage-lengths, all the scheduled Viscount enroute stops were made on these flights.

Bristol Britannias were delivered toHCAT in 1959 for trooping and other charter contracts, as well as for possible futureuse on the Safari Service. They were alsooperated briefly for CAA, replacing thatcarrier's Viscounts on the Zambezi routefrom London to Salisbury, many of the pre-

Airwork's busy Viscounts were rapidlybecoming the company's only active airliner fleet members. After their replacem ntby Viscounts on the Safari schedules, theVikings were progressively withdrawn fromcharter work owing to their advancing ageand increasing lack of commercial credibility. Airwork's fleet of equally ageing Handley Page Hermes 4s was disposed of afterthe company lost valuable trooping contracts to the Far East, which had been thefleet's main source of income. A wortbyattempt to develop a scheduled all-cargonetwork, including transatlantic routes,had proved an expensive failure, and theincreasingly beleaguered airline was having trouble finding a new direction.

Airwork had already become a majorshareholder in Transair, and the day-to-dayoperation of the Airwork Viscount fleetwas increasingly transferred to the subsidiary. Transair finally completed its longawaited move to Gatwick Airport whenthe rebuilt airport was opened in 1958.One of Transair's Viscounts, inbound on atrooping flight from Gibraltar, was the firstcommercial aircraft to land after thereopening. The airline had spent £250,000on building a new administration andmaintenance centre at Gatwick. The newcomplex included a hangar capable of taking up to three aircraft and equipped witha special Viscount maintenance dock, withretracting 'pits' that could lower the aircraft to enable it to be worked on withoutthe need for ladders, steps or platforms.

The Tran air/Airwork Viscounts weresoon returning average annual utilizationfigures in tbe region of 2,500hr per aircraft.As well as operating the trooping flightsand the Safari Service, the aircraft werealso increasingly used on inclusive-tourcharters to holiday resorts. In addition toits Viscounts, Transair continued to operate a substantial fleet of DC-3s on scheduled services to tbe Channel Islands, a busynetwork of contract newspaper cbarters,and its own programme of inclusive-tourand ad hoc charters.

Joining Forces andMoving Home

turboprops, and Vickers VC10 jets. Delivered in the autumn of 1961, the Viscountswere operated on important local servicesfrom the capital, Accra, both withinGbana and on routes througbout the WestAfrican coastal region.

BELOW: The use of Viscounts enabledSouth African Airways to bring its domesticand regional operations back into profit.via SAA

illand Herons, flown on local routes. As ithad previously done for WAAC, BOACsupplied leased aircraft, originally BoeingStratocruisers and later Britannias, fromits long-baul fleet for international flightsto Europe and the UK.

A major long-term expansion plan sawan order placed for tbree Viscount 838s inApril 1960. The Viscount order was onlypart of the 'master plan', later orders alsobeing placed for ambitiously large, not tomention uneconomic, fleets of Russianbuilt Antonov An-12 and Ilyushin 11-18

1BLUr:NILE

ABOVE: The Blue Nile scheduled service from Khartoum toEurope was operated on behalf of Sudan Airways by anAirwork V.831 , re-registered in the Sudan especially for thenew venture. Jenny Gradidge

Within seven months of their introductiona loss of£35,600 on the domestic routes hadbeen tumed round to a £138,219 profit.

Ghana Airways began operations in late1958, shortly after the country gainedindependence from the UK in 1957. Theairline was established in partnership withBOAC, replacing the Ghanaian portion ofthe West African Airways Corporation(WAAC), which had previously operatedairline services for Ghana and Nigeria.The new airline's own small fleet comprised a pair of DC-3s and a pair of de Hav-

1S-COT

Under African Skies

A new long multi-stop Vi count servicebetween Africa and Europe was inaugurated in June 1959, when Airwork Ltd beganoperating one of its newly delivered V831son behalf of Sudan Airways on the BlueNile route from Khartoum to London viaCairo, Athens and Rome. Registered inthe Sudan as ST-AAN, the Viscount wasflown by Airwork crews and the servicewas Sudan Airways' first major international route. Airwork itself had been operating its first two V831s on the afari Service to Africa, alongside HCAT, since thebeginning of that year.

The end of 1958 and beginning of 1959also saw the entry into service of SouthAfrican Airways' (SAA) fleet of sevenV813s. Initially operated in a 52-passengerconfiguration, the aircraft were originallyplaced into service on Johannesburg-CapeTown and Johannesburg-Salisbury routes.They replaced DC-4s and Constellations onfirst-class services, the older aircraft beingreconfigured in all-tourist-c1ass layouts andreassigned to low-fare flights. As the turboprop fleet was delivered, the Viscounts weresoon deployed on most of the major domestic services within South Africa, as well assome of the more important regional routesto neighbouring countries and territories.

86 87

SOLDIERING ON SOLDIERING 0

The BEA Viscounts were often equipped with suitable stickers over their basic liverywhen operating on lease on behalf of Malta Airline on its Mediterranean network.Jenny Gradidge

The HCAT Viscount fleet was used on an increasing amount of charter work, both military and civil.in addition to the Safari services. via Bob Turner

as far as airo, and with Italy, for someyear. The Viscounts followed on from earlier Viking and Elizabethan on the joint

service, which were operated by aircrafttotally in BEA livery, though Malta Airlinestickers were frequently applied.

The Gatwick Experiment

British European Airways had also been ashareholder in Alitalia (full name Aerolineeltaliene lnternazionali) ince 1946, whenvaluable technical assistance was providedto help e tablish the new post-war Italiancarrier. Originally two major airlines weree tabli hed in Italy. Linee Aeree Italiane(LAO, in which US carrier TWA held aninterest, operated a number of European services and route to the U A. Alitalia, too,operated within Europe, but also to outhAmerica, and both airlines operated fromItaly to the Middle East.

Two batches of Viscount 7850 wereordered by LAI to supplement its onvairs and 0 -6Bs. The first order, for six aircraft, was placed in May 1956, and wa followed by a second, for four, in January1957. hortly after the first six were d livered to LAI the two airlines were mergedin an attempt to stem mounting losses andrationaliz the Italian airline system.

The combined carrier took on the nameof Alitalia, in whose colours the last four aircraft of the LAI order were delivered, andwa soon operating the Viscounts on many

brought together under a new company, AirHoldings Ltd. The chairman and founder ofAir Charter, Freddie Laker, was appointedmanaging director of the new airline operation, which comprised the air transportinterests of Airwork Ltd, HCAT and British& ommonwealth Shipping, which owned50 per cent of HCAT.

As it transpired, it would take a few yearsfor all the disparate parts of BUA to bebrought together at Gatwick. The Air harter and H AT Britannias, and the DC-4s,continued to operate most of their troopingservices from Stansted for some time, andthe DC-6A cargo service to Africa continued to operate from Heathrow. Morton AirService continued operating its own fleet ofde Havilland Doves and Herons separatelyunder it original name for some years,though ome of its busier Garwick scheduledroute wer to be transferred to BUA. Thespecialized cro -Channel car ferry servicecontinued to be operated separately byChannel Air Bridge from Southend withBristol Freighters and Carvairs. In contra t,however, the new airline's Viscounts weresoon gathered at the new base at the urreyairport, the la t of the ex-HCAT aircraftmoving over from Heathrow by the autumnto join the Transair/Airwork fleets.

Route Switch

pon the new airlin' formation, theresulting BUA Viscount fleet compri edtwo V 736s and three V804s from Transair,two V831 originally delivered to Airworkand the three ex-HCAT V833s, plus thesingle Airwork V831 op rated on behalfof Sudan Airways. The BUA Viscountcontinued to operate the schedules toAfrica and an increasing number of European destination, as well as numeroustrooping and inclu ive-tour charters to theMediterranean area. In addition to BUNown afari services, extra flights were nowoperated in association with BOAC, CAAand East African Airways, jointly marketed as the low-frequency/low-fare kycoachservice. The Viscount, Britannias andDC-6As flew a number of the BUA-operated kycoach ervices from Heathrow, aswell as from Gatwick.

The low-co t chedule to Africa continued to grow in popularity. After twelvemonths under the n w BUA managementthey were returning loads sufficiently highto ju tiCy the use of the larger Britannia,which took over the flights from Gatwickfrom 2 October 1961. Th di placed Viscounts were immediately redeployed on a

88

large trooping contract BUA had beenawarded, to carry 11,000 military personneland their families per month from bothGatwick and Manchester to bases in WestGermany. The most frequently erved ba sincluded Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Guter loh,Hanover and Wildenrath.

More SEA Associates

In addition to the Cyprus Airways charterarrangement, BEA had a similar agreementwith another associate, Gibraltar Airways,more usually known as Gibair. For omeyears BEA had supplied one of it DC-3Pionairs to operate Gibair's scheduled services from Gibraltar to Tangier and Madrid.From 1958 the DC-3 was replaced by a BEAViscount, till in full BEA livery a with theCyprus lease. Viscounts 02s were al 0

operated by BEA on behalf of Portuguenational airline TAP on a joint, thriceweekly Lisbon-Heathrow service, one ofwhich called at Oporto en route. The aircraft were flown by BEA crew and carriedsmall TAP stickers by the passeng r door.A shareholder in the Malta Airline, BEAhad provided aircraft for all of its services,which connected Malta with North Africa,

BEA had also been present when the rebuiltGatwick opened for business. To relieve increasing congestion, BEA decided to transfer theoperation of most of the Heathrow-Jersey andall the Heathrow-Guernsey flights to Gatwick.

Being further south, and thereby closer to theChannel Islands, as well as enjoying the benefitof a high-speed train link direct to central London, the new airport was very suitable for theisland flights. Douglas DC-3 Pionairs flew all theGuernsey services, and amixture of Pionairs andViscounts operated to Jersey.

Several aircraft of the BEA fleet were on handwhen the airport was officially opened by HMQueen Elizabeth II on 9June 1958, and the corporation confidently made plans to transfermore continental and domestic schedules toGatwick in due course. In 1959 two new Viscount services were opened from Gatwick, toDinard in northern France and to Hanover viaCologne. Although the seasonal route to Dinard continued to be operated from Gatwickuntil 1963, the Gatwick-Cologne-Hanover service failed to attract profitable loads andwas dropped at the end of October 1959.

Unfortunately the move proved to be nothing like as popular as BEA had hoped. Anumber of influential voices in the Channel Islands were less than impressed by theapparent 'downgrading' of 'their' service to what was perceived as a less-prestigiousairport. In those early days at Gatwick, connecting services, especially to domesticpoints, were almost nonexistent, and transfer passengers were obliged to make alaborious road journey between the two airports. Despite the BEA operations at Gatwickattracting a number of profitable handling contracts from visiting carriers, and providing avery useful emergency handling service when BEA and BOAC aircraft were diverted due to bad weather at Heathrow, the overall concept of transferring a number offlights to Gatwick was acommercial failure.

89

When load factors failed to come up to expectations, BEA became less enthusiasticabout the use of Gatwick, and the operation was soon drastically reduced to ahandfulof Viscount services. via author

Gatwick was given another chance in the summer of 1961, with adaily service fromParis-Le Bourget, operated by aViscount. The aircraft was actually aBirmingham-basedaircraft, which operated a busy daily Birmingham-Glasgow-Birmingham-Le Bourget-Gatwick-Le Bourget-Birmingham-Glasgow-Birmingham schedule. Unfortunatelythe traffic loads to and from Gatwick were again disappointing and the service was notrenewed after the summer season. Gradually BEA quietly transferred most of the European and Channel Island flights back to Heathrow by the end of 1961, though a singledaily flight from and to Guernsey was to survive for many years as the airline's onlyscheduled flight from Gatwick.

SOLDIERING ON SOLDIERING 0

Kuwait Airways operated anumber of leasedViscounts on its services around the MiddleEast, including ex-BWIA V.702 G-APOW,belonging to BOAC Associates. Jenny Gradidge

before the Vanguards arrived. The airlinehad actually placed a fleet of de HavillandComet 4Bs into scheduled service on itlonger routes to the Mediterranean andEastern Europe in April 1960. Originallyresponding to an enquiry from apitalAirlines, de Havilland had offered the UScarrier the Comet 4A, a stretched vel' ionof the Comet 4, which Capital had orderedwith a view to introducing them on its network alongside the Viscounts already inservice. The Capital order eventually fellthrough, but the redundant Comet 4A wafurther developed into the 4B for BEA.

Although not really suited for shorterflights, the BEA Comets also saw some service on routes from London to Paris, andother nearer European capitals. The airline regarded this as a stopgap measureuntil the next-generation British-built jetdesigned specifically for BEA's short-haulservices arrived. This was the de HavillandTrident, due to be delivered in 1964.Trans-Canada had also entered th purejet age before its first Vanguards arrived

later reregistered in Kuwait as 9K-ACD. Throughout their time on lease to Kuwait Airways the V702s operated with British registrations, which they adopted on returningfrom the Caribbean, as G-APTA, G-APOW and G-APPX

The HKA pair of BOAC Associated Companies aircraft were also on the move in 1959.Although the Viscounts had proved a great success on HKA routes, the tiny airline'sroute network was very restricted and, even with the high loads the Viscounts traditionally attracted, the company had great difficulty in making its restricted networkearn any profits. There was very little prospect of this situation changing, and an agreement was reached whereby rival Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways would takeover the airline. Cathay was in the process of introducing new Lockheed Electra turboprops, and had no use for the Viscounts.

As BOAC also had an interest in Malayan Airways, which operated a large fleet of DC-3s, it transferred the Viscounts to Singapore to operate on the busier routes. Another of

Malayan's shareholders, Qantas, supplied Constellations for operation over the airline's onlylonger route to Hong Kong. Initially one of theV.760Ds was registered in Singapore and theother in Malaya, though both eventually operated under Singapore registry. First introduced onthe Djakarta route, the aircraft were later alsooperated on the important Singapore-KualaLumpur service, as well as busier flights to theBorneo Territories, supported by the DC-3s. Within a very short space of time 95 per cent loadswere regularly being achieved by the Viscounts.

BEA had been forced to address the vexing problem of the up-and-coming competition from Caravelles and other new jetsthat would be flying for their rivals long

SEA and TeA Go Jet

On their return from Austria, two of thequartet, as already mentioned, were leasedto BEA to help cover the capacity shortagecaused by the delayed Vanguard deliveries.The other two were also immediately leasedout again, this time to SAS. Although AShad previously considered a Viscount orderof its own, an unacceptably long wait fordelivery had caused the loss of the potentially important order. Even 0, SAS's owncapacity shortage led it to lease two V. 779 Osin 1960, followed by the other two V7790sin 1961 on their return from the BEA lease.The aircraft were mostly operated on services within Scandinavia, and were alleventually sold by Fred Olsen to Indian Airlines at the end of the SAS contract.

The ever-nomadic Viscount 700s owned by BOAC Associated Companies continued theirtravels throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. Following their replacement by newV772s, three of the four BWIA V702s owned by BOAC Associated Companies were passedon for operation by another airline in which BOAC held shares, Kuwait Airways, during1958/59. The fourth V702 was retained by BWIA and continued to operate alongside thenew V772s. A V7760 was also leased in by Kuwait, in 1958. Originally built for Capital,but not delivered, the aircraft had been leased out to Aer Lingus from May-June 1958 asEI-AJW, then to BEA from July to August as G-APNF. It was then sold to British International Airlines for lease to the Kuwait Oil Company, and operated by Kuwait Airways.

British International was originally jointly owned by BOAC Associated Companies,BEA and HCAT. and was eventually fully merged with BOAC Associated Companies ina rationalization exercise. As well as operating on Kuwait's own service in the region,the aircraft were flown on joint services with Bahrain-based Gulf Air. The V776D was

The Wanderers

Austrian Airlines and, with the assistanceof SAS, Fred Olsen, Rolls-Royce andVickers, the new carrier laid plans for theopening of international air services fromVienna in 1958.

No fewer than four Fred 01 en ViscountV779Ds were supplied to begin services.Fred Olsen Air Transport also suppliedeight pilots, including the chief pilot and anumber of engineers to support the aircraft.At 08.30 on 31 March 1958 the first Austrian Airlines scheduled flight, OS201, leftVienna for London Heathrow. The fourleased V 779Ds quickly established Austrian Airlines as a major new European carrier and soon extended the airline's networkthroughout the region. The Fred Olsen aircraft were eventually replaced by six newV837s, which entered service in early 1960.The V779Ds were returned to Fred Olsenas soon a the larger aircraft were deliveredfrom the UK. Nonetheless, two secondhand V745Ds were acquired from Vickersby Austrian Airlines inJanuary 1961 to jointhe larger V.83 7s..

Viennese Overture

inclusive tour charters in the same way asthe independent airlines, a great deal ofthe passenger capacity on many routes toEurope and the Mediterranean was alreadybeing sold to travel companies at inclusivetour rates for use on holiday packages.

The la t new Viscount to be delivered toBEA, V806 G-APOX Jsambard Brunel,arrived on 11 April 1959. This was, in fact,the substantially rebuilt and reregisteredV806A development airframe that hadbeen badly damaged at Johannesburg duringflight trials. Its delivery made up a grandtotal of seventy production Viscounts to bepurchased by the corporation from Vickers,plus the V630 and V 700 prototypes, whichhad been operated by BEA 'on loan'. Inaddition, seven other Viscount 700s of various marks were leased in by BEA from othersources at different times between 1955 and1961 to cover temporary shortfalls.

In much the same way that West Germanyhad been forbidden to operate its own airline services in the immediate post-waryears, Austria had also been forced to relyon foreign carriers to link it to the world'scommercial air networks. However, in1957 permission was given for the countryto establish its own air transport carriers.As a result, two fledgling airline companies were established as potential nationalairlines, Air Austria and Austrian Airways. Before any operations began, thetwo rivals were merged under the name of

I,

Alitalia not only retained the LAI Viscounts, but also expanded its lIeet with extranew and second-hand aircraft. Alitalia via author

After proving themselves an operational success on the German routes, themodified V701 were introduced on several UK regional and domestic services,including many of the Channel Islandroutes. From 1959 a numb r of the BEAV802s were also operated in high-densityconfigurations, with capacity increasedfrom fifty-eight to ixty-six, or even as highas seventy-one if all but the mo t basiccatering equipment was removed. Theseaircraft were operated on schedul d routeswhere new low-fare excursion and nighttourist rates had been introduced and hadsubstantially increas d demand. AlthoughBEA was not yet operating whole-plane

SEA Modifications

routes from Milan and Rome to Barcelona,Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, London,Madrid, Munich, Vienna and Zurich. Inaddition, night tourist flights were operatedfrom Rimini and Venice to London severaltime a week in the summer, and the Viscounts were flying most of the major domestic services between Milan, Naples, Romeand Venice. The 'adopted' Alitalia Vicounts were so successful that ten more originally intended for Capital Airlines werepurchased from Vickers at the end of 1960,shortly followed by two ex-Northeast Airline V798Ds.

Many of BEA's V701s were modernizedwith some major adaptations from 1958onwards. The changes were originallyimplemented to make the aircraft moresuitable for use on the West Berlin-basedGerman Internal ervices. The aircrafts'flight decks were updated and convertedfor two-pilot operation, dispensing withthe radio officer position, as had alreadybeen done on the later model V802s andV806s. The cabins were reconfigured tocarry 60-63 passengers in lightweightseats, and the toilets, galleys and bar unitswere also rearranged and updated to moremodern standards. Forward airstairs werefitted to speed up turn-rounds and, mo tnoticeably, a new large oval cabin windowwas cut into the rear starboard fuselage toaccommodate the extra passenger rows inthe higher-density layout.

Following its Hong Kong Airways service, Viscount 7600 9M-AlY was also leased byMalayan Airways from BOAC, from 1959 to 1963. Jenny Gradidge

90 91

SOLDIERI G ON SOLDIERING ON

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Vickers Becomes BAC

As Vickers was battling to overcome the delays in getting the Vanguard into service, the company itself was undergoing major changes to its basic organization. The British aircraft industry had continued to fight a losing battle fororders against the giant US manufacturers in the post-war years. Even the largest British companies had barely theproduction capacity of some of the US aircraft-builders' bigger subcontractors and suppliers. The simple fact thatBritish manufacturers were having to put so much energy into competing against each other for the comparativelysmall orders for the tiny home market was a major factor in their comparative lack of success.

As most of even the most innovative British designs eventually failed to live up to their promise (the Viscount beingone of the few exceptions!. it became clear that some sort of rationalization was needed, to create a more viableindustry that was better equipped to compete on the world stage. Extensive consultations between the industry andgovernment bodies eventually resulted in an agreement to create two large companies by the merger of most of thethen-current airframe builders.

By March 1960 Hawker Siddeley had been merged with de Havilland and Blackburn Aircraft under the HawkerSiddeley name, still operating under private ownership. Anew government-owned company, the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was formed to take over the aircraft design and manufacturing divisions of Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraftl, the Bristol Aeroplane Company and English Electric Aviation.

Under the leadership of Sir George Edwards, who was appointed managing director of BAC. the new corporationsoon set about developing a new family of jet airliners, among its many projects. The VCl 0, originally from Vickers,was being built for BOAC's worldwide long-range network. In May BAC also took over Hunting Aircraft Ltd, fromwhom it inherited a promising new design. the Hunting 107, which was being developed as a second-generationshort-haul jet airliner. This was eventually developed further and materialized as the BAC One-Eleven, being openlymarketed by the corporation as a jet replacement for the Viscount.

from the UK, having begun operationswith the introduction into service of U built D -8s in April 1960.

The magical glamour of the jets had evenreplaced the turboprop in Vickers' affections. In the mid-1950s the company hadtarted working on several designs for long

range jets for BOAC. A very promisingdesign, for BOAC, eventually did takeshape as the V 10, and the first of thi n wgeneration were being built at Weybridge athe last of the Vanguards were making theirway down the production line.

Final Vanguard Deliveries

The Rolls-Royce powered DC-8s of TCA operatedon long-haul services while the turbopropViscounts and Vanguards were assigned to theregional services. Author's collection

The last of BEA's V953 Vanguards, GAPEU, was delivered to Heathrow on 30March 1962. The last aircraft of the initialTCA order, CF-TKW, fir t flew on 6 June1962 and was retained by the manufacturer for further research into the aerodynamic issues that had arisen in service, andfor ongoing flight test on the till-trouble ome Tyne . As a result, 'KW was notdelivered to T A until 3 April 1964. Thefirst TCA Vanguard built, CF-TKA, waalso retained by Vickers for a while, takingpart in furth r tropical trial at airobi inMay 1960, eventually being delivered toM nn'eal in November 1961.

The Tyne had continued to give concern, th early Vanguard operation ofboth airlines unfortunately being markedby frequent unscheduled engine changes.While the operating experience was builtup there wa already a short period, initiallya Iowa 400hr, between the mandatory ch duled maintenance overhaulengine changes. Further operational dayto-day familiarization did eventually seethis increa ed to 1,00Ghr during 1962.

Work al 0 continued in an ffort todecreas the amount of annoying noiseand vibration experienced in the passenger cabin, especially in the forward areas.An early attempt at resolving the problemaw a election of 5 degre s of flap, which

seemed to offer some relief. More in-depthresearch by Vickers, Rolls-Royce andde Havilland, which manufactured thepropellers, resulted in further trials and

The leased Viscount700s were eventually replaced by new, larger, V.837s bought new by Austrian Airlinesfrom Vickers. Global Air Image

After being leased to BEA as G-ARBW, Fred Olsen's V.779D IN-FOM was awarded a new leasing contract with SAS.The aircraft carries both registrations here, shortly before delivery from london to Scandinavia. via author

92 93

SOLDIERING 0 SOLDIERING ON

Vanguards were temporarily grounded forinspection of their undercarriages, all wereback in ervice by 4 April. The airline suffered another Vanguard landing mishapnearly a year later when the undercarriageof CF-TKO collapsed on landing atAntigua on 30 March 1962. The aircrafthad truck a mound ju t before touchdownand, in the heavy landing which followed,the undercarriage collapsed. Fortunately,again, there were no serious injuries totho e on board and the damaged aircraftwa r paired and returned to service.

The cargo-carrying capacity of the Vanguard was soon proving just as useful onTCA's routes as it had to BEA in Europe.Previou ly, the airline had employed expa nger-carrying Canadair North Stars,converted for all-cargo work, on transcontinental freight flights between Torontoand Vancouver, via Winnipeg. The airlinehad found that the Vanguard was capable ofcarrying the equivalent of a orth tar'scargo load, 16,0001b (7,260kg), in its hold,in addition to a full complement of pa ngers and their luggage, over the same routes.

Tran - anada had been disappointedwith the Vanguard' early problems, especially when compared with the Viscount'easy introduction. onetheless, the T A

turbine airline, but it would become an all-Rolls-Royce-powered airline with the departure of the Super Constellations. Darts and Tynes powered the Viscounts and Vanguards,respectively, and the US-built DC-B-40s had Rolls-Royce Conway 509 turbofans.

Unfortunately, the Tyne's early reliability problems meant that anumber of the SuperConstellations, now regarded as obsolete by TCA, had to be given expensive overhaulsto keep them in service on routes meant for the troubled Vanguards. By February 1962,however, most of the Super Constellations were finally retired from full scheduled services, their last domestic route being to St Johns and the last international services toBarbados, Bermuda, Port of Spain and Trinidad. Four were still retained for a while,however, as back-ups, mostly for the benefit of the Vanguards. Their number was laterreduced to two and by 1963 the last pair were finally sold off.

t V nice upplemented three other similar flight by Vi count.

Malta was the furthe t point on BEA'Vanguard network, with flights operatingvia aple, Palermo or Rome, as well asn n- top. The Palermo ervice wa actually th fir t direct cheduled air linkbetween the UK and icily. Once again,the handful of daytime Vanguard serviceswa outnumbered by the night tourist operations. Four of the e were 04.00hr departures from Heathrow, three via Rome andone via Palermo. Three of the six weeklyflight via Naples to Malta were 'off peak'21.1 Ohr departures, the other three leavingjust after midday at a much more civilizedhour, though for a mu h higher fare.

Constellation Reprieve

The early TCA Vanguard experience wasslightly marred on 2 April 1961, when CFTKG was forced to make a night bellylanding at Montreal. An undercarriagedoor had become entangled with one of thelegs, preventing it proper deployment.

one of the occupants was hurt in the uccessful emergency landing, and the aircraftwa oon repaired. Although the rest of the

Settling in with TeA

One outcome of the Vanguard's early Tyne engine problems was the delay in TCA retiring the last of its Super Constellations. The airline had initially planned to withdraw allits remaining Lockheeds as they fell due for major maintenance when enough of the Vanguard fleet was in service to enable TCA to replace them. The new Douglas OC-B jetshad already replaced the Super Constellations on the transatlantic and transcontinentalnetworks, and their retirement would make TCA an all-turbine operator. with afleet comprising the Viscount and Vanguard turboprops and DC-B jets. Not only would it be an all-

Several of TCA's lockheed Super Constellations gained areprieve from retirementthanks to the Vanguard's initial technical problems. Aviation Hobby Shop

Until 22 April 1962 the Vanguardshared the Paris-Le Bourget route withComets. The London-Paris flight wasflown in partner hip with Air France,which was operating piston-engined up r

onstellation and Caravelle jet to Pari Orly. However, the Comets were transferred to other service for the summer andthe Vanguards operated all eight dailyBEA flights. These included an 'off-p ak'service at the height of the summer seasonthat left Heathrow at 22.00hr.

The economy of the Vanguard's operation came to the fore in BEA' promotionof the cheaper 'off-peak' fares. Being thebiggest aircraft in BEA's fleet at th time,the Vanguard's ability to carry sizeableloads of passengers at low cost was vital forthe success of the night tourist services. Ofthe ten weekly Vanguard flights fr mHeathrow to Palma, only thr e were daylight services, the remainder being nighttourist-class 'off-peak' flights. imilarly,four of the six Heathrow-Gibraltar Vanguard s rvices and three of the fiveHeathrow-Milan Vanguard flights were'off-peak' night operations. All of the Vanguard summer services to Barcelona were'off-peak' night flights, and three weeklyVanguard night tourist flights from London

The Night Tourists

The Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow frequencies includ d nightly 'off-peak' serviceswith much-reduced fares. Departures fromHeathrow were scheduled for 23.30hr(Belfa t), 23.40hr (Glasgow) and 23.50hr(Edinburgh), with reciprocal flights leavingthe three citie at similar times. Trafficgrowth on the domestic routes was vetyimpressive, passenger traffic to Belfa tincrea ing by 16 p r cent, and to Glasgow by21 per cent. The cargo-carrying capabilitiesthe aircraft were also put to good use, BEAseeing a 20 per cent rise in freight carried onthe cottish s rvices and a taggering 66 percent increase on the Belfast route.

airline's fleet and therefore mo t of therevenue earning capacity. Of the 796pilots employed by BEA in April 1962,213 ( 0 captain and 133 first/secondofficers) were a igned to the Vanguardsand 358 (In captains and 166 first/second officer) were assigned to the Viscounts.

The Vanguard were very conspicuouson the busier trunk domestic service fromLondon Heathrow. They operated all fivedaily flight to Belfast, increa ing to sevenafter 1 ]une, the eight flight daily to Gla gow and all five services to Edinburgh.The busy Manchester route wa sharedbetween the Vanguards and Viscounts, theVanguards flying five services a day in theweek and two at weekend. On Saturdayin the summer a Vanguard was also used toreplace a Viscount on the midday servicefrom Heathrow to the Isle of Man.

Once the early technical problems were solved, the Vanguard settled down intoreliable day-to-day operations. For several years it was actually the largest aircraftin the BEA fleet, its passenger capacity being higher than that of most of the early jetsoperated by the corporation. Steve Williams' collection

early 1961. Even when the Vanguardsb gan to be deliv red, on-going technicaldifficulties saw the BOA D -7Cs beingseen again on BEA services between] uneand August, this time operating four flighta day between Heathrow and Paris.

By the summer of 1962, though, BEA atlast had its full complement of Vanguardin service. The Tynes had started ettlingdown, the longer periods between maintenance allowing the aircraft to pend moretime in the air, earning money, and less inthe engineering bays. Non theless, theVanguard's initial probl ms meant that theaircraft made a £2 mill ion los in the1961/1962 financial y ar.

Despite the arrival of the high-profileomet 4B jets, the turboprop Vanguards

and Viscounts still formed the bulk of the

SEA Vanguard Deployment

The first of the BEA Y.953s, G-APEG,entered service on 18 May 1961 on theHeathrow-Paris ervice. By the tim the1961 summer season was in full swing, bothversions of the new BEA Vanguards wereoperating internationally from Londondirect to Gibraltar, Madrid, Milan, Parisand Malta, with other Malta service operating via Naples, Palermo or Rome. On theUK domestic rvices the Vanguards wereoperating no fewer than four flights a dayfrom Heathrow to both Belfast and Gla gow, as well as twice a day to Edinburgh,alongside the e tablished Viscount. TheVanguards were first scheduled on theLondon-Manchester domestic route on 1

ovember, and this service was to becomethe backbone of BEA' Vanguard operationfor many years to come.

As well as the Vanguard problem, BEA'sComet 4B had also experienced somedelivery delays, and BOAC Britannia 312sand D -7 s were chartered in to help tocover the shortfall by operating from London to Copenhagen and Nice (Britannia)and to Frankfurt and Zurich (DC-7 ) in

flight-testing. Eventually, the addition ofextra weight to the tailplane structure andrefinement to propeller synchronizationand ynchrophasing were introduced in aneffort to secure a longer-term olution.Although thes measures all helped toome degree, the Vanguard never com

pletely 10 t its reputation as a noisy aircraftin which to fly.

The flexible, economic Vanguard made a significant commercial contribution on avariety of short- and medium-haul passenger routes with BEA. via author

94 95

OLDIERING ON

BOTTOM: Viscount 802 G-AOHH served both BEA andBA from 1956, until it was scrapped at Leeds in1976. Bill Sheridan Collection

BELOW: Originally delivered to Central AfricanAirways as VP-YNA, Viscount 7480 7Q-YOKremained in Africa with Air Malawi and AirZimbabwe. It is now on display at the ZimbabweAir Force Base at Thornhill. via author

RIGHT: Viscount 702 G-APPX was used to muchsunnier climes before its return to the UK in 1969. Ithad previously served with BWIA, MEA and KuwaitAirways during its years with BOAC AssociatedCompanies. Its final years were spent leased-out toBMA and Air International before it was withdrawnfrom use in the mid-1970s. Steve Williams collection

VANGUARD

New HorizonsBy the time the Vanguard fleets of BEA andTCA were finally establishing themselves,the last of the Viscounts to roll off the production lines were also settling in with theirowners. Nonetheless, many of the originalViscount operators were beginning to realize that their once-ultra-modern aircraftfinally needed to be replaced by more modern types. The patience of the airlines whichhad shunned the Vanguard, and even thelater Viscounts, in favour of the next purejet generation was about to be rewarded.Within a couple of years many new operators would be taking advantage of the availability of secondhand Viscounts, and finding new markets and opportunities wherethey could be put to good use.

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and Bermuda, supplementing the DC-8s.In practice it soon became apparent thatthe seat-mile costs of the Vanguard werelower than those of both other types, evenover such a wide variety of services.By 1963 the seating capacity on TCA'sVanguards had been increased to 109 byreducing the available first-class accommodation and increasing the ratio of economy-class seats, thereby making better useof the aircraft's load-carrying and economic abilities.

From the home of thc Viscount comes-VANGUARD _ "TeA introduced this aircraft on its transcontinental routes on February 1,

1981, andis looking forward to its progressive use on all its more importantservices"-TCA President, Mr, Gordon McGregor.

VANGUARD -Now flying acrOSS Canada for TCA .. sef'Jing the United States from NewYork and Chicago.

SERVICE FROM NEW YORK AND CHICAGO TO TORONTO BEGAN JUNE 15th.

TRANS-CANADA AIR LINES-FIRST IN THE UNITED

LEFr. As well as serving on much ofTCA's domesticnetwork and on extremely busy routes to the USA,the airline's Vanguards were also used for somelonger trips south to the Caribbean. via author

Vanguards had found themselves a usefulniche between the established, smallerViscounts and the new DC-8s, sharing theoperation of different routes with bothtypes. As well as the transcontinentalmulti-stop services, frequent services overthe intercity network in the east, andflights out to the Maritime Provinces, theVanguards also proved useful on the crossborder services to the northern USA,alongside the Viscounts, and on the longervacation routes to Florida, the Caribbean

96

LEFr. Union of Burma Airways' trio ofViscount 761 Os formed the nationalcarrier's front-line equipment fromlate 1957. Operated by UBA andBurma Airways until 1972, XY-AOG

was eventually broken up in Zairein 1991. Bill Sheridan Collection

BELOW: Fred Olsen Air Transport'scolourful Viscounts spent much oftheir time leased out to other carriers.Viscount 7790 LN-FOM was eventuallysold to Indian Airlines Corporation in1962. It enjoyed a nine-year careerbased on the subcontinent before itwas scrapped in 1971. Aviation Hobby Shop

BOTTOM: The red-topped Viscountsof Cambrian Airways could be reliedupon to brighten up an airport terminalon the dullest day. Here, two of theWelsh carrier's Viscount 806s sharethe Liverpool ramp in 1973.Steve Williams collection

TOP: Viscount 806 'Freightmaster' G-BLOA started its variedlife as G-AOYJ with BEA in 1957. It was later leased to

Cyprus Airways, transferred to Cambrian and was thenabsorbed into the BA Regional fleet. After sale to BAF itspent time leased to Manx and Guernsey Airlines beforeits conversion to all-cargo configuration. Aviation Hobby Shop

ABOVE: Iranian Viscount 7840 EP-AHB was operatedfrom Tehran on both airline and private Royal andgovernment transport missions between 1958 and1966. It was later operated by Air Rhodesia, andwas shot down by revolutionary terrorists in 1979.via author

BELOW: Channel Airways acquired theremaining Continental Airlines Viscount812 fleet in 1966, operating them on itsextensive scheduled and inclusive-tourcharter network. Bill Sheridan Collection

Air France V.708 F-BGNL, built in 1953, was only the second of hundreds of Viscounts to be exported duringthe type's production run. The aircraft was later lost in a forced landing in Devon while with UK charteroperator, Alidair, in 1980.

The 'Americanized' Viscounts were equipped with larger, more powerful versions of the Rolls-Royce Dartengine, as well as incorporating several other improvements over the original design. United acquired1956-built N7417 in the Capital Airlines merger, keeping it in service until 1968.

Continental introduced their 'Viscount Irs into scheduled service on their western US network in 1958. Theirfirst V.812, N240V, was sold after only two years with the airline, becoming an executive transport for Tenneco.

G-APEA, the first production Vanguard, spent its entire commercial career with British European Airways.Delivered in 1961, 'EA was finally withdrawn from service and broken up at Heathrow in early 1973.

The stretched Viscount 800s were developed to offer higher capacity for shorter sectors than originalmodels. ZK-BRE was operated by NZNAC from 1959 to 1974 and was eventually scrapped in the UK in 1982.

Europe Aero Service repainted their last three passenger-carrying Vanguards in the airline's updated liveryin 1979. F-BTOV, which had been the last Vanguard built, in 1962, went on to operate the world's lastVanguard passenger services, while based in Indonesia with Merpati Nusantara, in 1987.

TOP: Viscounts served the popularChannel Island routes from themainland UK and Europe forover forty years. Here, a BritishAirways-Northeast V.806 and a BMAV.813 share the Jersey ramp on asummer's day in 1974. Malcolm L. Hill

ABOVE: After spending just threeyears in airline service with GhanaAirways from late 1961 to early 1965,Viscount 838 XT661 spent the nexttwenty-eight years on experimentalwork with UK-based researchagencies. Steve Williams collection

LEFT: Brazilian carrier VASP operatedboth new and secondhand Viscountson its busy network. The airline's firstViscount 827, PP-SRC, was deliveredin 1958 and was not disposed of,to Paraguay's PLUNA, until 1975.Aviation Hobby Shop

ABOVE: British United retained severalof its Viscount 800s long enough torepaint them in the stylish sandstoneand blue livery in the late 1960s.Viscount 833 G-APTC was lost in atraining accident just ten days afterdelivery to its next owner, Arkia ofIsrael, in 1969. Bill Sheridan Collection

RIGHT: Built in 1960, Austrian AirlinesViscount 837 OE-LAK Johann Strausswas eventually withdrawn and storedby its last operator, TAC of Columbia,in 1980. Bill Sheridan Collection

BELOW: British Airways Vanguard951 G-APEI found a new homewith Indonesia's Merpati NusantaraAirlines as PK-MVD.Aviation Hobby Shop

Merchantman G-APET was operated as a freighter for twenty years of its thirty-year commercial life. Bill Sheridan Collection

Merger PlansIn an effort to strengthen the network,between 1958 and 1960 Capital managed togain more non-stop authority on its routesfrom the East Coast to the Great Lakes citiesand expanded services from the Great Lakesarea to Florida. In addition, the airline wasfinally given permission to drop severalunprofitable cities from the network. ElevenDC-6Bs were leased-in from Pan Americanto provide more capacity in place of the

97

Although its large fleet of Viscounts was distributed between several bases throughout

Capital Airlines' network. Washington D.C. was the company's headquarters and amajor centre of operations. United Archive

administrative costs. The airline made a$3,210,355 loss in 1957, a small $213,262profit in 1958 and a loss of $1,757,425, in1959. By May 1960 Vickers was owed $34million in outstanding repayments, andfelt obliged to file a foreclosure suit in theUS courts to regain the money. Eventually, Vickers was persuaded to take back nofewer than fifteen of the remaining Viscounts as an interim settlement whileCapital attempted to come up with a survival plan.

New Adventures

Capital's Uncertain Future

CHAPTER SEVEN

Although the Viscount was undoubtedly acommercial success in Capital Airline'sservice, reflecting well for both carrier andmanufacturer, Capital's eventual fatethreatened to tarnish the aircraft's reputation. While the airline's network linkedmany important cities and populationcentres, it was mostly composed of uneconomic short stages, averaging 300 miles(480km). The airline was serving almost asmany small cities as large ones, and it wasvirtually impossible to make money onsuch a restrictive system, however popularthe Viscounts were. Capital was evendenied the option of dropping the lossmaking services, as it was required to servethe less-populated cities in order to qualify for valuable mail subsidies. Less-economic aircraft, such as the Constellations,DC-3s and DC-4s, were also still in service, their high operating costs chippingaway at whatever profits the Viscountswere making.

Attempts had been made to modernizethe fleet even more, by placing orders for fifteen extra Viscounts, five Electas and tende Havilland Comet 4A jets, in 1956.These plans were foiled by a lack of financial backing for the contracts, which led tothe orders being cancelled. Had they beendelivered, Capital's Comet 4As would havebeen among the first jets on US domesticservice, and would have given Capitalanother publicity coup. The extra Viscounts were in advanced states of manufacture when the contract was cancelled. Fortunately, Vickers soon found new customersfor the aircraft, selling them on to the likesof Northeast Airlines and Alitalia.

A five-week mechanics' strike groundedCapital in 1958, causing further financialpressure. To add to the airline's woes,between 1958 and 1960 it was unfortunateenough to lose five aircraft, four Viscountsand a Constellation, in high-profile fatalaccidents. Financial losses continued tobuild up, despite operating profits, owingto heavy interest payments and other

BELOW: The careers of the Vanguards operated by Invicta International were marked by mixed

fortunes. Here. G-AXOY starts up on the Basle ramp, not far from the mountains where its

sister ship. G-AXOP came to grief. J.B. Urech via Bill Sheridan Collection

ABOVE: Air Traders' freighter Vanguards and single Merchantman

operated from Northern Europe to Africa and the Middle and Far

East on their wide-ranging cargo charters. Bill Sheridan Collection

EW ADVENTURES NEW ADVENTURES

delivered back across the Atlantic to TCAon 30 May 1957 and flew successfully forits new Canadian owner for many years.

The remaining two aircraft of the trio,N7402 and N7403, were v ntuallyreturned to Vickers in February 1958.They took up new UK registrations aAPKJ and 'KK, the latter being leased outto Continental Airline until the end ofMarch, purely for crew training dutiespending the arrival of its own V812s.After returning to Vickers at Weybridge,both were initially earmarked for resale toLAV of Venezuela, to expand its fleet ofthree V 749s. Th is con tract wa neverfinalized, and instead of going to LAV, thepair of V744s were eventually leased toAll Nippon Airways (ANA) of Tokyo anddelivered to Japan inJuly 1960. Formed bythe merger of several local carriers in theearly 1950s, ANA soon grew with Japan'smushrooming post-war economy, andordered no fewer than nine V828s for1961 delivery.

,;:0; ' ..···_b

Financial problems prevented Capital from finalizing its many attempts at completingmodernization plans. and contributed to the retention of ageing. loss-makingConstellations and DC-4s alongside the more profitable Viscounts. United Archive

market requirements more closely. This would have allowed more-advanced aircraft,either the more economic larger Viscounts or even the much-desired Comets and Electras, to be acquired to allow the airline to maintain its competitive edge.

At its peak the Capital Airlines Viscount fleet was returning an average load factor of 80 per cent, compared with a system-wide average, taking other aircraft typesinto account, of only 58 per cent. The break-even load factor on the Viscount was 52per cent. This is hardly the record of an aircraft that many US newspapers and rivalaerospace industry giants had still tried to claim as the reason Capital had failed tosurvive. The fact that UAL not only chose to retain the Viscounts. but also expandedthe fleet and continued to operate them for several years. shows that Capital hadpicked the right aircraft.

delivered in sufficient quantities enjoyedvaried fortunes both before and afterreturning to Vickers.

The third V744 d liver d, N7404, hadbeen involved in a very serious heavylanding accident at Chicago's MidwayAirport on 20 February 1956. During theapproach to Chicago at the end of a flightfrom Detroit, malfunctioning propellercontrol switches caused the aircraft to sinkbeyond the pilot's control and strike theground on a taxiway, 400ft (120m) short ofthe runway. The hapless Viscount finallycame to a halt after skidding along on itsbelly for over 1,600ft (490m)_ Fortunately,none of the five crew or thirty- even pasengel'S on board was seriously hurt.

At the time of the accident N7404 hadaccumulated 1,541 flying hours in the ninemonths since its first flight, in June 1955.The remains of the Viscount were salvagedby Vickers and returned to the UK. Thefuselage was used to build a 'new' V757 forTCA, registered F-THJ, which was

How much of a factor the Viscount was inthe failure of Capital to survive independently has been atopic of debate down thedecades since the United/Capital mergerwas completed. There was a great deal ofspeculation in the US media 'blaming' theuse of Viscounts for Capital's losses. Acloser examination of Capital's financialhistory. however. totally refutes this theory.The simple fact was that the Viscountswere the only fleet members that wereactually making any sort of profit for Capital. The Viscount's high profile had enabledCapital to grow. despite its problems, to bethe fifth-largest US scheduled airline interms of passengers carried and the sixthlargest in terms of passenger miles flown.

By the end of the 1950s Capital's Viscounts faced strong competition from otherUS airlines in the form of the later turboprops. and even early jets on many of the important longer sectors. Unable to introduce new aircraft of its own because of its restricted financial commitments, Capital attempted to fight back by reducing passenger capacity on the Viscounts to forty-four to make the aircraft more comfortable and attractive topassengers. This also allowed the now lighter aircraft to operate at higher speeds overthe longer sectors, such as the non-stop routes to Florida and Georgia. However. thisreduced potential profitability by simply removing the opportunity to earn the revenuefrom the lost seats. and Capital's passengers were still being lured away to the largerElectras and DC-8 and 707 jets of its rivals. The higher speeds also resulted in much higher maintenance costs as the aircraft were pushed closer to their performance limits.

The Capital management's early decision to place such a large order for the V.745Dwas almost certainly amajor source of later problems. The large monetary outlay badlyoverstretched the airline's ability to keep on top of ever-mounting interest charges.A smaller initial fleet of Viscounts would have given Capital much more flexibility inplanning its later orders. and it would have enabled the airline to match the emerging

New Lives for the V. 744s

The Vi count and Capital's Downfall

in 1960. Pre-merger, United was alreadyoperating a huge fleet of over 200 airliners,including recently introduced Frenchbuilt Caravelles. Of the Capital fleet, onlythe Viscounts had a long-term future withthe enlarged carrier, the DC-3s, DC-4sand DC-6Bs oon being disposed of orreturned to their owners. The Viscount745Ds went on to be operated very successfully on UAL's short-haul services,mostly over the old Capital network. Infact the Viscounts were so successful thatUnited promptly started negotiating forthe recall of six of the returned Capital aircraft from Vickers. The new, combinedoperation effectively made UAL thelargest commercial airline in the westernworld at that time.

The three Viscount 744s supplied as stopgaps to Capital until its V745Ds were

one of the few airlines that was strongenough to con ider taking on Capital'sconsiderable debts. The merger would giveUAL access to Florida and the southernUSA, as well as giving it increasedpresence in the East Coa t and GreatLakes regions. An official announcement,proposing the merger, was made in July1960, and both boards of directorsapproved the proposal in August. Furtherapproval was obtained from the airline'sstockholders in October, and final government approval came from the US CivilAeronautics Board in April 1961.

In the meantime, UAL and Capital hadalready become clo er operationally, United leasing two of its Boeing nos to Capitalfrom 23 January 1961. The nos, recentlyintroduced, medium-range versions of the707, were operated on apital routes toFlorida from Pittsburgh and Cleveland,and to Atlanta and New Orleans from NewYork. On 1June UAL assumed responsibility for the assets and remaining liabilities ofCapital Airlines, and the fir t of the Viscounts to be repainted in UAL colours wasrolled out at Capital's Washington maintenance base the same month. For the nextfew weeks the two airlines continued to flytheir networks as separate organizations,but on 1 July the two operations weremerged into one and the sale of Capital toUAL was finally completed.

At the time of the merger Capital wasstill flying the two Boeing nos (leasedfrom United), three DC-3s, ten DC-4s,eleven DC-6Bs (leased from Pan American) and forty-seven Viscount 745Ds. Thelast of the Constellations had been retired

increasingly lear that these measures werea ca f t little, too late.

As a result of the Vickers threat of foreclosure, whi h would certainly have resulted in th cl ing down of Capital, theairlin b gan urgent merger talks withUnited Air Lines (UAL) in May 1960.These followed approaches that had beenmade by UAL' management. United was

Only a handful of the Viscounts carried the restyled Capital livery. United Archive

BELOW: The ex-Capital Viscounts remained valued members of United's operationalfleet for a number of years after the merger. United Archive

cancelled Viscounts, and two Viscount 812swere al 0 leased in from Continental Airlines. The V812s flew with Capital titlesover their Continental livery from December 1958 to March 1959, based at Washington. A new image was also revealed with thearrival of the DC-6Bs, the traditional eaglelogo being replaced by a smarter, more modern design. Unfortunately it was becoming

98 99

EW ADVENTURES

Air France's fleet of twelve Viscount 70Sshad suffered only one serious incident sinceentering ervice in 1953. On 12 December1956 the first Y.70S, F-BGNK, cra h dafter entering a steep dive during a trainingsortie from Paris-Orly to Reims, killing allon board. The surviving eleven aircraftcontinued to operate throughout AirFran e's European and North African n twork. Reconfigured from th original 4Sseat layout to a 63-passenger onfiguration,the aircraft maintained an excellent reputation for reliability and serviceability thatoutshone the other aircraft in the fl t.

The arrival of the Caravell h rt-haul j tin 1959 saw the beginning of Air France'swithdrawal of the Viscounts, the first threebeing disposed of in 1960. These aircraft, FBG L,' M and ' ,were old to a n w

K airline, Maitland Drewety Aviation, inJune 1960, becoming G-ARBY, G-ARERand G-ARGR respectively. Maitland Drewery had originally been a small air-taxi company, and had expanded into inclusive-tourand ad hoc charter operation in early 1960,with a pair of Vikings ba ed at Gatwick.Early success with the Viking had encouraged the company to examine more modernalternative. At a time when the vast

French Moves

ABOVE: Maritime Central Airways' sole Viscount was sold shortly before

Eastern Provincial absorbed the company. Jenny Gradidge

LEFT: The Bermuda and Nassau-based services of Eagle Airways' subsidiaries were

promoted heavily in the USA. Note the early 1960 use of 'British Eagle' titles, thoughthese would not be used by Bamberg's airline operations for another four years.

Author's collection

registrations G-ARKH and 'K!. CunardEagle was now headquartered at Heathrow,following closure of the airline's originalbase at Blackbushe. Cunard Eagle operatedthe now Heathrow-based Viscount 707within a mixed fleet of DC-6s, Britanniasand a few surviving Vikings, on scheduledand charter services.

The arrival of the Viscount 700s inBermuda saw Eagle dispose of its two original Y.S05s. Eagle' first Viscount, VR-BAX,was sold to anadian airline Maritime Central Airways (M A), and wa introducedon its longer services to Gander, Goose Bayand St Johns from Moncton, ewBrunswick, from June 1959. A moveablebulkhead enabled the cabin to be convertedto a variety of pa eng r/cargo configurations, depending on local traffic demand.However, MCA only flew the aircraft forjust over two year before selling it on to AerLingus in early 1962. hortly afterwardMCA was ab rbed by Ea tern ProvincialAirways, another Canadian independentairline. The other Eagle Airways Vi countS05, VR-BAY, had already gone to Aer Lingus in early 1960 a part of the deal toacquire the Y. 707 . On their arrival in Eire,Aer Lingus had both aircraft converted toy'SOS standard by replacing their originalDart Mk 510s with more-powerful Mk 525s.

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the ai rline operations were conductedunder the name of Cunard Eagle Airways.It was hoped that the Cunard name andinfluence would help to further HaroldBamb rg' ambitions for a tran atlanticsch duled ervice, and licences were soughtfor new routes from the UK dir ct tothe U A by Cunard Eagle, as well as toBermuda and the Caribbean. The first ofwhat was to become a large fleet of Britannia arrived in 1960, and thi wa u edto open a Heathrow-Bermuda-Nas auMiami scheduled service, linking the maindivisions of the Cunard Eagle operation.During 1961 the Bermuda-ba ed Vi countsoperated a twice-daily ervice to ew Yorkand four flights a day to Miami via as au.

In April 1961 the ex-Aer Lingus aircraftwere replaced at Bermuda by two more secondhand Viscount 7oos, VR-BBL and VRBBM, both ex-Cubana V.755D that hadb en displaced at Havana by later-modelViscount SISs. The Y.707s retumedtoEurope, where they took up the UK

The two remaining Y.707s, EI-AFW andEI-AFY, became VR-BBJ and VR-BBHre pectively and were assigned by EagleAirways to it Bermuda-based subsidiary'soperation in early 1960. On 21 March,shipping company Cunard announced ithad bought a 60 per cent hareholding inthe Eagle companie , and thenceforth all of

Eagle Evolves

till a comparatively new operator,Tradair had been operating a fleet ofViking from outhend on both inclu ivetour and ad hoc charters since 195 , andhad also moved into limited scheduledservices when a route from Southendto Maastricht in the etherlands wasapproved. Rapid expansion had een sevenVikings in service for the summer of 1959,most of the popular resorts around Europeand the we t rn Mediterranean being visited by the fleet. The entry into ervice ofthe two ex-Aer Lingus Viscount 707s, EIAFV and EI-AGI, r registered G-APZBand G-APZC, was planned to be in timefor the bu y 1960 summer season. Withtheir arrival Tradair hoped to able to offerholiday charters to point that were muchtoo distant for the un pressurized Vikings toserve easily, such as the Canary Islands orthe eastern Mediterranean.

The Empire Test Pilots School operated a pair of Viscounts on its unique training and

research services for ten years. Jenny Gradidge

the fir t production Fokker F.27 Friendshipson less-dense services 0 n left the fouroriginal Viscount 707s redundant, thoughthe larger y'SOS remained in ervice onmore important routes. Aer Lingus had proposed converting the Y. 707 to a purefreighter configuration with the fitting oflarge cargo doors, but this was never proceeded with. In tead, the four were sold on,two going to Tradair Ltd, a outhend-basedUK charter operator, and the other twobeing sold to Eagle Airway (Bermuda) Ltd.

While UAL had decided to hang on to itnewly acquired ex-Capital Y.745Ds for theforeseeable future, other longer-establi hedusers of the type were already making plansto di po e of their early-model Viscounts.

Aer Lingus was among the first of theoriginal Viscount customers to decide topart with their aircraft. The introduction of

Fleet Shifts

After crew training, the Y.744 nteredlimited cheduled service on A Pisdome tic Japanese network. All went wellfor nearly a year, until G-APKJ was writt noff in a heavy landing at ltama on 12 June1961. Its remains were sold to AnsettANA and scrapped for spare. After thefirst thr e Viscount S2Ss had been delivered to A A, G-APKK was return d toVicker in October 1961 and deliv red tothe Empire Test Pilots' School (ETP ) atFarnborough in early 1962. Given the military rial XRSOl, it wa u ed for advancedtraining, being joined by another Vi count,Y. 7450 XRS02, later that year. This second aircraft had also initially flown withCapital, and had been lea ed to Northea tAirlines in 1961. Apart from a navigationstation installed in the forward cabin, theETPS Vi counts retained their originalCapital pa senger interiors. An extra seatwas al 0 installed on the flight deck, inview of the almost con tant instructionalflying for which the Viscounts would beused. After more than ten year of busyflight-training operations, both aircraftwere finally sold for scrap in 1972.

Following its return to Vickers, the first V.744 spent time leased to All Nippon Airways

as G-APKJ. All Nippon Airways

100 101

NEW ADVE TURES NEW ADVENTURES

Drewery charter flights from Gatwick overthe weekend of 3--4 June, before flying itsfir t BKS schedule from Heathrow to Newcastle on 6 June. On 11 June G-ARBYjoined BKS, still in Maitland colours, butwas returned to its owners on th arrival ofG-ARGR on the 20th. The latt r aircrafthad finally been re tored to flying conditionfor the BKS lease following an extendedperiod of storage since it arrival from AirFrance.

The two aircraft soon settled down to amuch busier working pattern, operatingBKS's scheduled services alongside theAmbassadors during the Monday-Fridayoperations, from Newcastle to Bergen,Dublin and Jersey, as well as on the commercially important route to London. Atweekends the Viscounts flew inclusive-tourcharters from Newcastle and Southend forBKS, and a weekly Gatwick-Perpignancharter on behalf of Maitland Drewery. Atthe end of June 'ER was operated brieflyby BKS on scheduled services for JerseyAirlines, from Jersey to Gatwick andBournemouth. At that time Jersey Airlineswas suffering a capacity shortage, as thedelivery of its new Handley Page Dart

Calvi in Corsica was linked to Marseilles and Nice. Daily utilization was very high, andthe aircraft were soon claiming the highest number of airframe hours for their type,

One of the Viscounts, F-BGNV, was lost in acrash on approach to Lyons from Lille on12 August 1963, killing all twenty occupants. To replace this aircraft, and also to allowexpansion, not only were the two Air Vietnam aircraft transferred to Air Inter on theirreturn from lease, but four V.724s were purchased from TCA in 1964.

Newcastle Bound

The first Viscount to be delivered to BKAir transport was G-ARER, on 29 May,when it positioned to Southend to beresprayed in BKS colours. After repainting,the aircraft entered service on Maitland

The first Air Inter Viscounts, which came from Air France, were soon joined by several ex-Canadian examples. Jenny Gradidge

Enter Air Inter

Lignes Aeriennes Interieures was originallyformed as a'paper' company in 1954, intend-ing to operate domestic services within theborders of metropolitan France and to theMediterranean island of Corsica However,no commercial operations were undertakenuntil March 1958, when several seasonalroutes were opened under the name of AirInter. The fledgling operation used a varietyof aircraft, all leased in from Air France (Constellations!. Airnautic (Vikings) or TAl (DC-3sand DC-6Bsl Sadly, financial results in thefirst year were quite disappointing and 1959saw a much more limited network beingoperated, Air France Constellations beingused for weekly Paris-La Baule and twiceweekly Paris-Dinard flights.

Similar limited seasonal operationswere undertaken in 1961. In the spring of1962, however, Air Inter took delivery of AirFrance's last five Viscount 708s, havingreceived a government loan to enable it toestablish full airline services as adomesticscheduled operator in its own right. Theuse of leased aircraft was impractical if the service was to be a sustained one, thoughAir France Constellations were also used alongside the Viscounts for some months.With its own fleet, Air Inter began a new, year-round, scheduled operation, the Viscounts operating services from Paris-Orly to Biarritz, Clermont Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille,Lyon, Nantes, Perpignan, St Etienne, Strasbourg and Tarbes. Routes were also openedfrom France's second largest city, Lyons, to Lille, Nice, Toulon and Toulouse. In addition,

Maitland Drewery's high hopes for its Viscounts were increasingly frustrated becausesuitable and profitable work for the turboprops was slow to come forward. Jenny Gradidge

domestic service from Newcastle to London Heathrow, mostly operated by the airline's fleet of ex-BEA Ambassadors. TheViscount lease was a six-month contract,under which Maitland Drewery operatedthe aircraft in BKS livery using its ownflight-deck crews.

Maitland DreweryDisappointment

a 33 per cent shareholding in the local carrier. Domestically, Air Vietnam was op rating several DC-3s and a single DCA. On themore important regional routes to Bangkokand Hong Kong, the Viscounts replaced AirFrance Constellations.

The lofty ambitions that Maitland Drewery and Tradair had for their Viscountswere to prove difficult to realize. Afterconversion and maintenance work byMar hall's of Cambridge, Maitland Drewery's first Viscount, G-ARBY, was positioned to Gatwick on 27 August 1960.Unfortunately, although the Vikingsenjoyed a busy summer of charter services,work for the new Viscount seemed harderto find. Much of the revenue flying thatdid take place was often sub-charter work,undertaken on behalf of other airlines.The second Viscount, G-ARER, arrived atGatwick on 1 October and wa thendespatched to operate holiday chartersfrom West German cities for the next twoweeks. While 'BY spent the Christmasperiod, from 16 December to 2 January1961, in West Germany, 'ER operated onlya small programme of charter flights fromGatwick and Birmingham to Lyons andPalma during this period,

The Vikings were disposed of in March1961, and Mai tland Drewery concentratedon trying to find charter contracts for itsmostly idle pair of Viscounts, while thethird aircraft, G-ARGR, remained atCambridge awaiting conversion. Althoughbusines picked up a little during April andMay, with the two operational Vi countsflying charters from both Gatwick andBerlin, the long-term pro peets were notbright. A more reliable source of work wafinally found in late May, when MaitlandDrewery signed an agreement to lease outtwo of its three Viscounts to anotherBritish independent airline, BKS AirTransport Ltd.

Named using the initials of its threefounding directors, Messrs Barnaby, Keegan and Stevens, BKS had originally beenbased at Southend as a prosperous charteroperator in the early 1950s. However, itlater began developing a scheduled network based at Newcastle and Leed in thenorth of England, in addition to its established charter work. By 1960 one ofBKS'smore successful routes was the trunk

Liverpool, including busy trunk services toHeathrow and Glasgow, as well as flying anumber of inclusive-tour services from Liverpool and Manchester. The Viscount wasfirst used on the inclusive-tour network tothe Mediterranean from May 1961, andmade its first appearance on the importantscheduled route to London inJuly.

In 1962 Air France leased out two moreViscounts, this time to its associate company, Air Vietnam. Until Air Vietnam wasformed in 1951, Air France had operated allof the airline services in what had been oneof France's colonies in South-East Asia,Even in the 1960s Air France still retained

f

FRANCE

The livery worn by G-ARIR with Starways was heavily influenced by that of itsoriginal operator, Air France. via author

majority of inclusive-tour airlines in the UKwere still flying old, unpressurized, pistonpowered aircraft such as the Viking and DC4, Maitland Drewery hoped to put it elf inthe forefront of the industry by pioneeringthe use of more up-to-date equipment.

Another UK operator took delivery ofan ex-Air France Viscount in early 1961.Originally reserved for sale to a newDanish airline, Danish Air Charter,which failed to begin operations, F-BGNSwas sold instead to Starways Ltd, basedat Liverpool, becoming G-ARIR. Thenoperating DC-3s and DC-4s, Starways hadbuilt up a large scheduled network from

The Paris-based Viscount 708s of Air France enjoyed an impressive, relativelytrouble-free record before an expanding fleet of Caravelle jets replaced them.via author

102 103

EW ADVENTURES

BKS Air Transport took delivery of its first leased Viscount 708, from Maitland Drewery, in May 1961.Aviation Hobby Shop

Tradair's Viscount 707s found an early source of revenue in operating schedules onbehalf of BEA from Heathrow. Jenny Gradidge

outhend 'ZB was sold, and on 21 Novemb r the V707 was delivered to Liverpooland it new owner, Starways, joining its original V708, G-ARIR.

Tradair's financial state remained precariou, and by the end of 1962 negotiationshad b gun for the sale of the company toanother outhend-based airline, ChannelAirways. hannel operated a fleet ofVikings, with DC-3s and Doves, on hartera well a a number of scheduled routes tothe hannel Islands, Belgium, France andthe Netherlands. From 31 December 1962Tradair Ltd became a sub idiaryof hannelAirways, and its fleet of seven Vikings andthe remaining Viscount, 'ZC, were tran ferred to the newly combined operation.The Viscount was Channel's first turbopropaircraft and, when painted in its newowner's livery, was proudly promoted as the'Golden Viscount 707'.

Leaving SEA

'Golden Viscount 701' G-APZC was the precursor of what would eventually grow intoChannel Airways' substantial fleet of turboprops. Aviation Hobby Shop

Herald had been delayed. When 'ERreturned to BK it was replaced by Viscount754 OD-ACU, which was leased in by Jersey Airlines from MEA.

Vi count G-ARBY undertook very littlec mmercial flying for Maitland Drew ryfor th re t of 1961, mainly serving as aback-up when the Newcastle-based aircraftneeded maintenance. For some of the time'BY was based in Copenhagen for the training of AS Viscount crews, which waundertaken by Maitland Drewery pilot.

Although the six-month Viscount operation was a success, BKS found itself insevere financial difficulties by the end ofth 1961 summer season. Many UK independent operators shared these econ micproblems at the time, and a number of highprofi Ie bankruptcies in the air-charterindustry during the year had done little toboost confidence among th airline' creditor. As a re ult, BKS Air Tran port waplaced under receivership on 30 ovember,though the airline did manage to continueoperating. The extra expen e of renewingthe Viscount leases was out of the qu tion,however, and botl. aircraft were returned toMaitland Drewery during ovember 1961.

New Leases

Maitland Drewery did not undertake anymore commercial operations in it ownname with its Viscounts. Instead, a new

lea e wa arranged for the aircraft with Silver City Airway Ltd. Owned by BritishAviation ervice, ilver City intended tooperate the V 708s from Man ton Airport,Kent, on its cross-Channel ilver Arrowscheduled service to Le Touquet, whichwa directly linked to French Railway services into the heart of Paris. The Viscountsreplaced Handley Page Hermes, which, aswell as operating the brief cross-Channelhop to Le Touquet, were also used onlonger charters to Europe. Plans were alsobeing made to extend the Le Touquet service to more UK citie , such as Birmingham, Blackpool, Glasgow, Leeds and Newcastle, using the new Viscounts alongsideDC-3s already in use by the airline's Northern Division, which operated scheduledservices throughout the north of England.

Viscount crew training for Silver Citybegan in early 1962. However, before theaircraft could enter service British Aviation Service sold ilver City Airways toAir Holding, the owner of BUA. As are ult, the Maitland Drewery Viscountswere delivered to BUA, joining thealready established Gatwick-based Viscount fleet. Con equently, the UK terminal for the Le Touquet Silver Arrow service was tran ~ rred from Man ton toGatwick. The Hermes were also moved toGatwick, from where they continued tooperate their European charter work in

ilver City colours, being withdrawn atthe end of the summer of 1962.

Silver Ciry also operated car ferry services across the English Channel, similar toBUA's Channel Air Bridge. In fact ilverCity had pioneered this sort of operation inthe late 1940 . The two car ferry y temwere merged as a new division, Briti hUnited Air Ferries. At about the same timeAir Holdings also acquired Jersey Airlines,and the Jersey-based operation was mergedwith the Silver City Airways northern ervices to form British United (ChannelIsland) Airways. Configured in a highcapacity layout, the V 708s were used onBUA's expanding European scheduled network. A w II as the thrice-daily Le Touquet ilver Arrow service, other routefrom Gatwick, such as schedules to bothGenoa and Rotterdam, were served by thenew leased Viscounts, which were laterbought by BUA.

Tradair Troubles

Financial problems had al 0 plaguedTradair's attempt to operate it new pair ofViscounts. Commercial operation withthe aircraft began on 12 February 1960,when G-APZB flew a outhend to Copenhagen charter. G-APZC's first revenueflight wa on 19 February, operating acharter from tansted to Nice. For thenext few month the aircraft operated everal ad hoc charters around Europe, andwere often also chartered as substitute

aircraft by scheduled airlines, making everal appearances on the Heathrow-Manche tel' route flying on behalf of BEA.The airline hoped to fly the two V 707son new holiday charters from Southendto Casablanca and evil Ie, as wella introducing them on the cheduled

outhend-Maastricht route.Unfortunately the anticipated new busi

ness for which the Viscount were originally bought was not forthcoming, and Tradairwas unable to find enough work to keepboth aircraft occupied. Consequently 'zwa leased out to Kuwait Airways, lavingSouthend n route to the Middle East inJune. Although 'ZB was succe fullyoperated on several inclusive-tour and subcharter contracts, most of th airline'soperations for the summer of 1960 werestill undertaken by the fleet of Vikings.

The return of G-APZC saw both Viscounts in use with Tradair, alongside theVikings, for the 1961 summ reason.However, the airline was affect d by theame turndown in holiday and charter

traffic that had affected BK ' profitability. In addition, Tradair' ambition to operate more scheduled service w re provingdifficult to realize. In ovember an officialreceiver wa appointed in an attempt tostave off bankruptcy. Although the airlinewas permitted to continue limited operations, one early deci ion of the receiverswas to withdraw the Vi counts and putthem up for sale.

The company managed to survive thewinter and was able to operate inclusivetour flights with the Vikings for the 1962season. The Vikings also opened new scheduled all-cargo services to Malmo in weden,and plans were made to build on this byopening more scheduled freight flights toFrance, Germany and Switzerland. Onemore contract was found for the Viscounts,though, G-APZC being brought out of torage in June to operate on BEA's GermanInternal Service, from West B r1in. From 1July the aircraft operated several times a dayon flights to Frankfurt, Hamburg andHanover. Three months later 'ZB replaced'ZC in Berlin for a brief p riod at the end ofthe contract. However, on its return to

Notwith tanding the increased use of thelarger V 02 and V806 Viscounts, and theimminent arrival of BEA's Comet andVanguard, the pioneering V701s weretill well used by the corporation a it

entered the 1960s. The new decade got offto a Ie -than-encouraging start for theoriginal Di covery Class fleet when GAMNY wa damaged beyond repair atMalta on 5 January 1960. At the end of aflight from London the aircraft suffered atotal loss of hydraulic pressure. In anunfortunate chain of events the effect of afractur d hydraulic pipeline wa c mbinedwith an incorrectly fitted n n-returnvalve, which should have prevented th10 of pressure but only compounded th

104 105

NEW ADVENTURES

Brazil's VASP was an enthusiastic customer for BEA's redundant Viscount 701s.

Originally G-AOFX Sir Joseph Banks, PP-SRS made its UK-Brazil delivery flight in

August 1962. Jenny Gradidge

unard Eagle Airway' services fromBermuda had continued succes fully, 15 perc nt of the market from ew York going tothe Viscount operation. The much larger

Cunard Bows Out

had bought to expand its turboprop servi . The even were the la t of BEA'sV 701 fleetto be sold. As well a joining GAPZ on the e tabli hed scheduled ervic during the ummer of 1964, the Viscount also flew a greatly expandedinclu ive-tour charter programme from

outhend and Manche ter that took theVis ount to France, Italy, pain and

witz rland.One distingui hing feature of Channel's

Vi count operation was the high-capacityconfiguration, up to seventy-one passengerseats being crammed into the Vi count700 . 111is was ju t about acceptable on theshort hops over the English Chann I fromSouthend, some sectors taking Ie s than halfan hour, but some rather stiff-legged passengers mu t have emerged from the Viscountat the end of longer-ranging inclu ive-tourcharter flight. In addition, Channel Airways also started to lease out it pare Viscount capacity to other airline, providing anew source of revenue for the company.

flying in 1963 was concentrated on theSouthend-Jersey scheduled service, alongside the airline' smaller Vikings and DC3s. In addition, the Viscount occasionallyappeared on other scheduled routes fromSouthend to Guernsey, 0 tend and Rotterdam, as well as some charters.

In January 1964 hannel Airway tookdelivery of ex-BEA V701 G-AMOA, thefirst of seven Viscount 70 Is that Channel

Ex-BEA Viscount 701s joined Channel's original 'Golden Viscount' to expand the Southend-based fleet.

Jenny Gradidge

Channel ExpansionEx-Aer Lingus V707 G-APZC was hannel Airways' sole Golden Viscount for onlyone ummer season. The only other fourengined aircraft in Channel's fleet at thetime was an 8-passenger DCA. In thesummer of 1963 'ZC carried only 17,035 ofChann l's grand total of 258,739 passenger , logging 711 flying hours. Most of'ZC's

BEA's overpainted livery formed the basis of Cambrian's first Viscount colours.

via author

in early 1959, BEA leasing three of it Pionair DC-3s to ambrian.

Steady expansion followed the freshstart, and in 1963 BEA agreed the tran ferof all its Liverpool-based Irish ea erviceto Cambrian. The routes had provedincreasingly unprofitable for BEA, but itwa hoped that Cambrian's lower costswould turn them around and make themmore viable. The routes concern d werefrom Liverpool to Belfast, both direct andvia the Isle of Man, from Heathrow to theI Ie of Man, both direct and via Liverpool,and from Manche ter to the I Ie f Man.Five BEA Viscount 701s were acquired tooperate the new network. In addition to itse tabli hed ardiff headquarters, Cambrian open d new Viscount bases atHeathrow, Liverpool and Manchester, initially flying one aircraft from each oncethe enlarged network was fully operating.

Although the handover of the Irish Searoute from BEA did not take place until 1April 1963, the first of the Vi count, GAMOP, was delivered as early as 6 Januaryfor crew training. The first commercialflight by a Cambrian Viscount, a chartercarrying Wei h rugby upporters fromCardiff to Edinburgh, was operated on 3February. The Viscount' first scheduledservice for Cambrian was operated on 20February over the Cardiff-Bristol-Dublinrout . Th airline's maintenance facilitiewere expanded to accommodate the newaircraft, a £70,000 extension being built atthe Cardiff ba e and the number of engineering taff being doubled from seventyfive to mor than 150 by 1964.

The remaining four aircraft had all b endelivered by June, and were introduced onCambrian' busier established services tothe hann I Island and Paris, as well athe new Irish Sea network. In early 1964the Viscounts also introduced a n wHeathrow- ork schedule, and frequencie were increa ed between Heathrowand Liverpool. A well a the scheduledservices, the arrival of the Vi countallowed am brian to enter the inclu ivetour charter market. By 1963 the travelindu try had tarted to recover from thetrauma of 1960/61 and was experiencinggrowth. The main contractor for Cambrian's inclusive-tour programme was a locally based operator, Hourmont Travel,which charter d the Viscounts for flightsto M diterranean resorts from ardiff,Bristol and Exeter. These were mo tlyflown at weekends or at night, when littleschedu led flying was undertaken.

Disposal

701 h d flown over six million of BEA'spas n . Th y were finally replaced bythe Vi unt 02 and 06, which, in theirturn, had n di placed on more impor-tant r ut y Vanguards and Comet.

In Augu t, aft r a brief period of storage, tenof BEA's V701 w r old to VA P. TheBrazilian airlin had nj y d gr at ucceswith its new V827 , and was very interested in expanding its turboprop operationsand replacing i r maining pi ton-enginedfleet. Originally VA P had ord red a newstretched version of the Dart Herald, butproblems and delays in the Herald programme had led the airline to cancel itsorder and acquire th ex-BEA Vi countsinstead. Once refurbi hing and other maintenance work was completed, the aircraftwere delivered to Brazil during 1963.

The remainder of BEA's V701s eventually found new home a little closer to theirroots. In 1958 BEA had bought a thirdshare in a Cardiff-based independent, Cambrian Airways. The Welsh carrier had beenoperating a network of scheduled flightswith DC-3s and Herons, unfortunatelyincurring heavy financial losse in theprocess. Even with the mu h-needed injection of capital from BEA the situation wasdire, and the airline was all but closed downduring the winter of 1958-59 while restructuring took place. Operations began again

----

situation. A are ult, there were no steering or braking control available and thecrew were unable to prevent' Y colliding,at speed, with the Malta control tower.Although the unlucky Viscount was badlydamaged, none of the forty-six passengersand five crew was seriou ly injured.

Among the V 701 's busie t ervice in1960 were the Berlin-based German service and the routes to the Channel Islandsfrom the UK mainland. Viscounts hadserved the larger island of Jersey for ornetime, but the neighbouring island ofGuernsey refused to provide a hard runwayuntil 1960, 0 th mailer airport remainedthe domain ofBEA's D -3s. Eventually thegovernment of Guernsey wa made to realize that they ran a serious ri k of 10 ingvaluable holiday trade if BEA and otherairlines were unable to upgrade their equipment. The first Viscount to use the newhard runway at Guernsey, on 1 August1960, was V701 G-AOFX Sir Joseph Banks.However, the Viscount 70ls were initiallyrestricted to forty-four passengers, as oneend of the runway was till unfinished.

The late arrival of the Vanguard en uredthat the Viscount 70 Is were kept bu y during 1961. By the beginning of 1962,though, once th Vanguard had finally settled down in service, the lower-capacityVi count had become surplu to requirements. The last of the BEA V 701 wertaken out of service on 31 March 1962, andthe whole fleet was put up for sale. By thetime they were withdrawn the Viscount

706 707

NEW ADVENTURES EW ADVENTURES

Last Viscounts off the Line

A A' frequencies were reaching up tothirty a day from Tokyo to Osaka by 1963.

The last ZNAC Viscount S07 wasdelivered in May 1961, the same time asth r maining VSI6, also built at Hum,which had made its maiden flight in January. This VS16 was completed as a VS39VIP aircraft. Registered EP-MRS, it wasoriginally delivered to the Iranian Government, later being operated by Iranair. By acurious coincidence both of these undelivered TAA VS16s were to meet up again intheir later careers. In 1964 both aircraftwere purchased separately for use by theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Usedfor VIP flights in executive configuration,the RAAF Viscounts carried AustralianGovernment ministers and heads of stateuntil they were replaced by new BAC OneElevens at the end of 1969.

The last VS14 for Lufthansa and the lastVS3S for Ghana Airways were completed atHum in late 1961. The German aircraft, DANAF, was delivered in January 1962, followed by five of the remaining six ANA Viscounts, which were delivered to Tokyo thatyear. A surprise last-ever Viscount order forsix VS43s from Machimpex, the government-operated import/export organizationof the People's Republic of China, followedthe last ANA aircraft after it was deliveredin February 1963. The six aircraft ordered byMachimpex were to be operated by the People's RepubliC'S governm nt-owned airline,Civil Aviation Admini tration f hin(CAA ). ince the mmunist Revolution in tl1e late 1940s, hina had operated afleet of mo tly Rus ian-built air raft, uch aIlyushin ll-14s, on a rath r limit d civil airline service. The Viscount ord r wa th fir torder given by Communist hina to a Western aircraft manufacturer.

The USA, which had still not established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic, objected vehemently to thesale of the Viscounts to Communist China,and refused to allow any US-built equipment, such a radio and electrical systems,to be installed on these aircraft. Even nonAmerican subsidiaries of U companieswere forbidden to supply anything for theorder and, a a result, only Briti h equipment was installed on the VS43 . The aircraft were finished in a neutral livery,devoid of distinctive markings oth r than aUK registration, to negate any diplomatic

was completed as a VS36 executive aircraftfor the Union Carbide Corporation of theUSA, becoming N40N.

The first three aircraft of the ANAorder were delivered in 1961. The secondof these, JAS202, was the last Weybridgebuilt Viscount, all the remaining aircraftbeing built at Hurn. The sixty-passengerANA aircraft were certainly among themost innovative as far as passenger facilities were concerned, being fitted with television sets in the hat-racks! The aircraftwere first introduced on services fromTokyo to Osaka and Sapporo, later beingassigned to other important regionalroutes such as Osaka-Kashi and OsakaMiyazaki. Traffic growth was such that

Viscount ProductionSlows Down

All Nippon Airways' fleet of busy Viscount 828s featured several unique innovations.including television for passengers' in-flight entertainment. Jenny Gradidge

The last of the Viscount 700 series. Misrair/United Arab Airlines' SU-AKW was lost in

an unexplained crash into the Mediterranean off the island of Elba. in September

1960. The V.739B had been delivered less than a month previously. Jenny Gradidge

By the early 1960s most of the productioncapacity at Weybridge was dedicated toVanguards and the first of the VCWs, andduring 1962 Hum was gearing up to produce the new BAC One-Eleven short-haulpassenger jet. However, both factories wereinvolved in producing the last few Viscounts. Deliveries of new aircraft for 1960included the last Viscount 700, a V739Bfor Misrair, in April. Also delivered in 1960were the six VS37s for Austrian Airlinesand a single VS16. This was one of a pairoriginally ordered by Trans Australia butlater cancelled. The first aircraft of the two

with Starways Ltd, which effectively meantthat Starways would be taken over byBritish Eagle on 1 January 1964. A newsubsidiary, British Eagle (Liverpool), wasformed to operate the Starways network.

With the takeover, a number of important routes were inherited, including thetrunk route from Liverpool to London,direct and via hester, as well as from liverpool to Cork and Glasgow, both directand via Blackpool. Although the majorityof the Starways employees were transferred to British Eagle (Liverpool), the airline's fleet, which consisted of the two Viscounts, three DC-3s and three DC-4s, wasnot included in the agreement. BritishEagle supplied Britannias and Viscountsfor the Liverpool operation from 1 January1964. Aviation Overhauls, a companyowned by the Starways directors, retainedall the ex-Starways aircraft.

The V70S G-ARIR was withdrawnfrom use by Starways before the takeoverand returned to France, being sold to AirInter in November 1963. tarways' otherViscount, V 707 G-APZB, was operateduntil31 December and then remained outof service until it was leased to BritishEagle in the summer of 1964. At the endof the lease 'ZB was sold to Channel Airways in November and reunited with itsold Aer Lingus/Tradair stable-mate, GAPZC. British Eagle also leased-in four ofChannel's ex-BEA V 701s during 1964, atleast one of them carrying Starways titlesover the British Eagle livery for a while.

managing elire tor, the Cunard management had r pidly become disillusioned withthe idea f running an airline and begannegotiatio with BOAC to sell off thetran atlanti and Bermuda-based services.

In Jun 19 2 a new company, BOACCunard, w formed to take over theAtlantic and aribbean operations ofBOA and unard Eagle, and the secondBoeing 707 was delivered directly toBOAC. Although Cunard Eagle continuedto fly the transatlantic routes until the endof Septemb r, the Bermuda-based Viscountservices had cea ed on 9 September. Thetwo V755Ds were ferri d to Heathrow,where they were re-registered G-AOCB andG-AO C. Now an all-European-based airline again, the surviving portion of CunardEagle started to rebuild under Bamberg'sguidance, flying scheduled and charter services with the Viscounts, Britannias andDC-6As.

On 14 February 1963 Bamberg boughtback Cunard's remaining holdings, and on9 August the airline's name was changed toBritish Eagle International Airlines. Ironically, a month before the name change, thetwo Viscount 707s were sold to BOACAssociated Companies for operation backin the Caribbean by Bahamas Airways, inwhich BOAC held a financial interest.With Bahamas the V 707s joined the threeBOAC Associated Companies V702s thathad been transferred to Nassau after theirKuwait Airways service. In NovemberBamberg signed a co-operation agreement

Author's collection

CV"'ARDEAGLE

AIRWAYS

DC-6As also operated some of the NewYork flights when traffic demand required it.The company had also finally been successful in gaining authority to open a scheduledLondon-New York service, and ordered apair of Boeing 707s to operate the importantnew route. Unfortunately BOAC objectedstrenuously to the award and was successfulin having the licence revoked on appeal.

This was just before the first of the Boeings was due for delivery and, rather thanhave the aircraft idle, it was registered toCunard Eagle (Bermuda) and operated onthe sch dule from London to Bermuda andNassau in place of Britannias, as well asbeing used on some of the Bermuda-NewYork services. However, much to the annoyance of Harold Bamberg, who wa still

With the sale of the Atlantic network. the V.755Ds were moved to london and placed on the UK register.Jenny Gradidge

108 109

NEW ADVENTURES

CHAPTER EIGHT

Fresh Tasks

BELOW: Uruguay's national carrier, PlUNA, became a

long-standing Viscount operator. using them onboth regional international routes and domestic

services. The first pair of V.769Ds. includingCX-AnO, arrived in 1958. Jenny Gradidge

ABOVE: long after the more glamorous jets arrived,the well-maintained Viscount 802s and 806s of BEA

continued to carry thousands of passengers a year.

SEA via Jon Proctor

more short- and medium-range jet airliners appeared on the scene.

At that time, Viscounts were still to beseen on diverse services, linking Unitedand Continental's smaller cities to th irmajor US hub, and ferrying business travellers and holidaymakers in Europe withsmaller independent and major nationalcarriers alike. They also operated as the

Busy Workhorses

The day of the turboprop on major commercial airline routes may well have beenperceived by many to have passed evenbefore the Vanguard had entered service,and certainly by the time Viscount production had slowed to a halt. The Viscount had at lea t enjoyed a halcyon erawhen it was the late t novelty in air travel. By the time the Vanguard appeared theturboprop had lost much of its prestige inthe eye of the travelling publiC, and wasregarded, at best, as a reliable but ratherunglamorous workhorse and, at worst, asdownright old-fashi ned. It was a fatehared by the Vanguard's more numerous

contemporary rival, the Lockheed Electra.In fact, some of the Electras operated byUS trunk carrier such as American andEastern, spent only a few years with theiroriginal owners before finding themselveson the secondhand market once theybecame surplus to requirements as yet

The Viscounts of CAAC enjoyedleisurely utilization on theChinese airline's domestic

services throughout thePeople's Republic. via author

ABOVE: lufthansa's Viscount 814s

were introduced on servicesas diverse as domestic West

German and regional Europeanroutes and further-ranging

services to the Middle East

and North Africa. Lufthansa via

Jon Proctor

Into the World

The end of Viscount and Vanguard production was far from the end of the story foreither type. The swift dispersion of the earlyproduction Viscounts, once their initialowners had decided to sell them on, showedthat there were plenty of customers willingand eager to operate them. Some of thehopeful candidates would certainly be comparable to Maitland Drewery and Tradair,in that no amount of enthusiasm would beable to make up for a lack of either managerial expertise or even plain luck. However, others would survive long enough toadd their own chapters to the tale.

to be built, were ferried to Canton during1964, arriving in February and Aprilrespectively.

One curious aspect of the CAAC Viscount operation was that, unlike other airline operators, which ordered spares on an'as required' basis, the acquisition of spareswas restricted to a single order per year. Asare ult, if a serious fault developed, an aircraft might spend a considerabl time outof service awaiting parts. However, theannual utilization of the Viscounts isbelieved to have been extremely low, evenat its height, so the absence of one or twoaircraft from the fleet did not cause toomany scheduling problem.

problems during delivery flights, whichwere flown by UK pilot. After a night stopunder guard at Hong Kong, the Viscountswere flown to nearby Canton in the People's Republic and placed under militaryjurisdiction. Only then were they paintedin CAAC's livery and given Chinesenumerical registrations.

One of the first CAAC Viscounts flew asingle UK-based mission before its delivery.On 20 August VS43 G-ASDS ferriedBAC/Hunting executives from Luton Airport to Hum to witness the prototype BAOne-Eleven's maiden flight. The last twoCAAC Viscounts, and the very last of the436 Vickers-Armstrongs/BAC Viscounts

770 777

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TCA to Air Canada again with no eriou injuries to the thirtyight pa nger and crew.

Busy Canadian Turboprops

The Vi c unt that remained with Airanada were still kept busy working across

the huge country, even though they wereincr a ingly confined to shorter, moreprovincial routes after the Vanguardsreplaced them on the longer-ranging servi e . The T A/Air Canada Vi countswere actually introduced on routes to anumber of citie not previously served bythe typ , and a repeat of the ri e in passenger figures that had occurred nearly adecade before was soon noted.

The Vanguard's use on the longer routesto the aribbean was soon curtailed, theairliner being confined to the low- ea onervices, as the DC-8s operated th p ak

season flights. Closer to home, though, theVanguards were still to be seen on the highdensity intercity ervices, offering roundthe-clock schedules, along ide Vi counts,between the main eastern Canadian citeof Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, as wellas linking numerous other points throughout anada. On the cross-border service tothe USA in the mid-1960s Vanguard tillflew most of the schedules from Montrealand Toronto to ew York, making four andseven flights a day each, respectively.Three daily Vanguard flights al 0 operatedfrom Montreal, via Toronto, to Chicago,and there were daily Toronto-Detr it and

n of the Viscount 757 , CF-THT, waI t within Jay of the name change when,

n 1 Jun 1964, it landed short at Toronto, ~ rtunat Iy with no serious injuriesamong the forty-four on board. Thi wasthe third 10 in the Canadian Vi countfl t, On 10 ovemb r 1958 v.n4 CFTGL had b en written off while parked atthe terminal at ew York when a

eaboard & Western uper Con tellationcra h d into it after it becoming uncontrollable during tak -off on a cargo flight,Luckily the two TCA pilots were the onlypersons on board, and they escapedunharmed. Another V.757, CF-TGY, wawritten off after it truck a water tower onapproach to Toronto on 3 October 1959,

BELOW: Despite selling a number of its Viscounts,Air Canada continued to operate a sizeable fleet onlocal services, including the 1958-vintage V.757 CF-THN.Jenny Gradidge

ABOVE: Air Canada's smart new modern liverymade its first appearance on the turbopropfleet of Vanguards and Viscounts in 1964,Air Canada via Bill Mellberg

•

On 1 June 1964 Tran -Canada Air Linchang d it name to Air Canada. The newname was not only simpler and contributed to a more up-to-date image, it al 0

had the advantage of being lingui ticallyneutral, and was acceptable to both anada's English- and French-speaking communities, For some time the airline hadbeen referring to it elf as 'Tran -CanadaAir Lines - Air Canada' in adv rti ingmaterial, in preparation for th change.Introduced at the same time was a modernred-and-white livery that was soon appliedto the fleet of DC-8s, Vanguard andremaining Viscounts.

Trans-Canada's first Viscount, CF-TGI, wastransferred on a long-term lease, to become thenew flagship for Winnipeg-based Trans Air in 1963.via author

single aircraft was leased to Transair ofWinnipeg, Transair (which had no connection with the previous British Vi countoperator of the ame name) had purchaseda numb r of 'prairie' routes that TCA hadfound uneconomical to operate. Thesewere operated from Winnipeg to Brandonand Regina, and from Prince Albert to

a katoon and Regina. The routes, twoD -3 and the Viscount lease were purchased from TCA for a single Canadiandollar! The Viscount was CF-TGI, the fir tTCA Viscount built, and it would serveTransair reliably for a number of years.

Two more of the early-model TCA Vi counts were eventually acquired by a UScompany, William C. Wold Asso iates, inpartnership with Timmins Aviation Ltd ofMontreal. Wold had also handled the saleof the four aircraft to Air Inter, and hadplans to offer executive conver ion of Viscounts for under $60,000, The conversionwork would include complete overhauls ofthe airframes and engines, installation of anew executive interior and exterior painting to the cu tomer' requirements, pilotand maintenance training, as well as fullafter-sale and spares support.

In the end, though, only two executiveViscount conversion were completed. In1965 Wold acquired CF-TGJ, which hadoriginally been sold by TCA to MaverickEquipment Ltd in 1963. The other, CFTGN, was sold by TCA to Canadian

chenly, also in 1963, and sold on to Woldin 1964. After being modified to V744standard by Timmins and given interiorrefit, the two aircraft were delivered toexecutive customers in the USA.

The arrival of the Vanguards led to someof TCA's Viscounts being withdrawn anddisposed of from 1963, As well as the saleof four to Air Inter already mentioned, a

- ~-.,,-

TCA Viscount Disposals

Rocky Mountain Drama

The sturdiness of the Vanguard's basic constructionwas shown to good effect on 6 May 1963, over theRocky Mountains. Trans-Canada Vanguard 952 CFTKV was en route from Vancouver to Edmonton asflight 502, cruising at 21,OOOft (6.400ml, when itencountered sudden severe clear-air turbulence.Unfortunately the two violent bursts of turbulenceencountered did not give all the cabin crew or seventy-one passengers time to return to their seats afterthe 'Fasten Seat Belts' sign was illuminated. Caughtin a severe downdraft. the Vanguard fell nearly1,OOOft (300ml before control was regained.

Twenty-five of those on board, including the threeflight attendants, were injured in the incident, and onepassenger regrettably died of aheart attack. However,once the aircraft was landed safely at Edmonton itwasfound to have escaped any structural damage otherthan afew loosened seats and damaged cabin fittings.Engineers calculated that the stresses involved couldeasily have ripped the wings away from a less sturdily built aircraft. In fact, a similar 'mountain wave' hadcaused aTCA Canadair North Star to crash in December 1956, killing all the occupants,

36sq ft (3.3sq m) of glazing providing apanoramic view, Forward vision was suchthat the horizon could still be een in thesteepest climb. To the rear, the outer leading edge of the wing could be seen up to theoutboard engine, Cabin crews were equally impressed with their working area. Thetwo spacious galleys, forward and midcabin, allowed them to provide a full service efficiently, quickly and easily to thelarge number of pa engers that could beaccommodated, even on shorter flights,

Even though the lack of sales meant thatthe Vanguard programme brought Vickersa huge financial loss, the aircraft was stillable to make money for its operators. Oncethe early problems were solved, the fortythree production aircraft were doingexactly what they were designed to do.They were kept busy carrying large, economical, commercial payloads of pa engers and cargo on high-density route, safely and with minimal fuss.

One unnamed pilot's affectionate comment on the Vanguard was soon to beechoed among many of the aircraft's crew.'This aircraft doe n't just go place, it proceeds!' The very size of the Vanguard certainly gave an impression of stateliness,and passengers felt that they were travelling in an aircraft of considerable ub tanceand strength. This could be d c ptive,though, as the aircraft could still provide assprightly a performance as any Viscount,given the right conditions. Care had to betaking in taxying, for instance, as the longfuselage wa prone to pitching when turning at speed on the ground, which couldresult in the passengers in the rearmostseat having the rather uncomfortable feeling that they were being swung sideway.

Pilots were very appreciative of th pacious flight deck as a place of work, with thecontrol wheel adjustable to the individual'needs and useful touche such a aretractable ide-table and storage space tohand for briefca e . Two seat were provided behind the two main pilots' seats, as wellas a small jump seat. Even when all fivewere occupied, the space did not feel overcrowded and all the occupants could get upwithout getting in each other's way. Vi ibility from the flight deck was excellent, the

high-profile flagships of Venezuela' LAVAeropo tal and Uruguay's PL A in

outh America. The ex-British imperialenclaves around Africa, the Far East andAustralasia, while possibly having beeninfluenced by their government in theirinitial choice of the Viscount, found plenty of reasons to keep the aircraft in serviceon their networks, not least the type'intrinsic economical operation and pa senger appeal. The Vanguards might neverbe abl to gain such diversity in their use,not lea t because of the smaller numberssold, but they would still make their ownmark on th hi tory of the airline industry.

Sturdy, Stately Vanguards

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114

to Tempelhof. Strictly speaking, the four-ngin , fir t-generation jet airliner were

highly unsuitable, operationally and economi ally, for the West German network.For one thing, re triction impo ed in the'air corridor' to We I' Berlin called for theaircraft to operate at a fuel-guzzling low altitude of 10,000ft (J,OOOm). Not until OneElevens were introduced in 1968 wa BEAable to provide an effective jet service fromWe I' B r1in.

Changes Afoot in the Med

The BEA contracts to provide capacity forMalta Airlines, Gibraltar Airways andCyprus Airways continued to involve theViscount fleet. In 1963 Malta signed a newten-year operating agreement with BEA,which would conveniently come to an endshortly after Malta was due to achieveindep ndence. After that date it waexp cted that the new island nation wouldfinally establish its own carrier. In themeantime, jets, in the form of BEAComets and, later, the new Trid nt ,would operate mo I' of the longer and m reimportant routes to the UK and mainlandItaly, supplemented by Vanguards. However, BEA Viscounts continued to operatesome of the local services to icily andLibya from Malta for several years.

115

The first aircraft to carry full Cyprus Airways livery since the days when the carrierhad its own DC-3s, the pair of Viscount 806s leased from BEA were used on regionalservices around the eastern Mediterranean area. Cyprus Airways

or from the German Internal Service atlogne, Hanover or another German

ity, or the aircraft would make an en routetop. Th Vi count operated the daily ser

vice in two-and-a-half hour, leaving London at 11.25hr, and left We I' Berlin, toreturn to Heathrow, at 15.45hr.

hortly after this, BEA began facing erious jet competition on the West Germanservices in the shape of Boeing 727-100sintroduced by Pan American on its ownBerlin-ba ed routes. Replacing Pan American' ageing DC-6B , the Boeing tri-jetswere an immediate hit with the West German public and BEA's revenue loads fromthe city plummeted. The Briti h airline hadno immediate plans to introduce jets, suitable British-built aircraft bing some yearaway. In an effort to win back some of thelost traffic, Berlin-based Viscount 800s werereconfigured in a more comfortable SilverStar seating layout. The new layout provided comparatively luxuriou accommodation for fifty-three pa engel' on the Vi counts, with much more space and comfort,even over the new Boeings. The standard ofcabin service and style of refreshments provided were also upgraded considerably.However, this expen ive exerci e was not agreat success. Eventually, following thedelivery of more new Tridents for use on itsroutes from Heathrow, BEA was able totransfer a handful of Comets from London

the form of Comets and, from 1964, Hawker Siddeley Tridents, the Viscount wa tillproving it worth on a variety of cheduledervices around the UK and European n 1'

work. In 1963 the type wa even used toopen a new trunk UK domestic route, adirect daily Aberdeen-Heathrow servicebeing inaugurated. This was the first dir ctlink from Aberdeen to the UK capital forsome years. In the 1950s a DC-3 servicehad been flown between Aberdeen andLondon, stopping at Edinburgh, thoughthis wa later dropped as uneconomic. TheVi counts flew the new non- top s rvice intwo hours, initially operating the northbound sector from London in the evening,night-stopping and flying the southboundservice from Aberdeen in the morning. Sosuccessful was the new service that it waslater modified with the addition of an extraLondon-Aberdeen service, operating inthe early afternoon, the return sector providing an evening departure to London.This wa modified once again in 1966,the earlier of the two London-Aberdeenflights being rescheduled to operate in themorning. The aircraft then operated scheduled services around BEA's Scottish internal network during the day, before returning to London in the evening.

Vi counts became even more commonon the Scottish local services from ovembel' 1966, when BEA decided to replace itstrio of Dart Heralds. These had originallybe n bought especially for the Sottishn twork, which was based on Glasgow.The Heralds had replaced BEA's last operational DC-3s in the region on scheduledflights to the Highlands and Islands, butthe Herald's much smaller capacity hadstill pr vented much profit being made onthe Scotti h network. The Dart Herald'sbetter runway performance over the Viscount, the main reason for obtaining thethree aircraft, had been greatly negated byrecent airport improvement that allowedthe introduction of the bigger, and hopefully at least lightly Ie uneconomic, Viscounts. With the Viscounts now servingmore remote points among the cottishHighland and I lands, such a Benbeculain the Outer Hebrides, the aircraft were fitted with extra-powerful batteries 0 thatthey could operate at airports lacking someof the more advanced basics, such as aground power unit for start-ups.

Vi count were al 0 u ed for the introduction of a new non- top flight from London to West Berlin, opened in 1964. Previously, passengers either had to change to

Even after its early V 701s were disposed of,BEA continued to make heavy daily use ofits Viscount 800s. When the jets arrived in

Swinging Through the Sixties

a result, TAA was forced to hand overthree of its Viscounts to Ansett-ANA, andreluctantly received two DC-6Bs, which itdid not really want or need, in return. Theaircraft were swapped under a lease/charterarrangement and operated in the receivingairline's colours, though at lea I' one of theViscounts is reported to have appeared in ajoint TAA/An ett-A A livery.

One of the ex-TAA V720s, VH-TVC,was lost on 30 November 1960 while onlea e/charter to Ansett-ANA. After taking off from Sydney it encountered unexpected turbulence after entering a thunder torm and crashed into Botany Bay.The turbulence was so violent that thstarboard wing failed, and the aircraftbroke up in flight before crashing into thesea, killing all on board.

Toward the end of the Viscount's commercial days in Australia, Ansett-ANAleased three of its V700s, one V720 and twoV747s to MacRobertson-Miller Airlines, asubsidiary company based at Perth in Western Australia. The aircraft served on routesup the west coast of the continent, uch asPerth-Port Headland-Darwin, with an average journey time of more than three hours persector. Arriving in eptember 1968, the triosuffered a tragic 10 on 31 December whenthe V 720, VH-TVB, crashed while flyingfrom Perth to Port Headland, with the 10 ofall thirty-one on board. The aircraft had suffered tructural failure in the wing, and theaccident led to a temporary grounding of allthe remaining V700s in Australia. The incident undoubtedly quickened the disposal ofthe Australian Viscount fleets as, althoughthe ban was eventually lifted, the releaseapplied only to the V756Ds. The V720s andV747s remained grounded and were soondisposed of.

The leas /charter arrangement continued until both airlines had introduced shorthaul jets, in the form of US-built Boeing727s, and thi heralded the first disposals ofthe older Vi counts in both fleets. However,until smaller McDonnell-Douglas DC-9jets, which had also been ordered, weredelivered to replace them, the Vi count810s continued to op rate over a decreasingnumber of horter routes to smaller Au tralian citie for a few more years.

were undertaken by Air anada on any ofits remaining Vanguard .

Aussie Swaps

On the other side of the world, the twomain dome tic Au tralian carriers alsocontinued to operate their Viscount fleetsthroughout the continent. Both had al 0ordered fleets of Dart-powered FokkerF.27s to operate thinner routes alongsidethe larger Vi count and Electras.

The Airlines Equipment Act had comeinto effect hortly after Ansett's takeover ofAustralian ational Airways, in an effortto bring more stability to the Australianairline market. It had be n decided that acertain degree of standardization was calledfor between Ansett-ANA and TAA, inboth equipment and service regularity. As

Originally VH-BAT with Butler, Ansett-ANA's VH-RMO was operated by MacRobertsonMiller Airlines, an Ansett subsidiary, during 1968. Jenny Gradidge

Halifax-Boston Vanguard services. One ofth mo I' demanding of the Air Canadadomestic flights to be operated by the Vanguards was a daily service from Toronto to

I' Johns, Newfoundland, with no fewerthan even top en route.

In December 1966 Vanguard CF-TKKwa withdrawn from passenger service andconverted to all-freighter configuration.All of the interior cabin fitting, includingairstairs, were removed, and the passengerwindow were blanked off. Although notfitted with a main deck cargo door, the aircraft was still capable of carrying a veryre pectable freight load of up to 42,0001b(19,000kg). Now dubbed the Cargoliner,'KK was put into ervice on Air Canada'scargo and mail ervices across the length of

anada, and performed very satisfactorilyas a dedicated freighter for several years.However, no further cargo conversion

After only five years in passenger service, V.952 CF-TKK was converted by Air Canadato the unique 'Cargoliner' configuration. via author

Several unfortunate factors came together in the loss of G-APEE at Heathrow, includingthe apparent breakdown of established and well-proven flight-deck procedures.Nonetheless, following the tragic accident the remaining aircraft managed toregain the Vanguard's hard-won reputation for reliable service. SEA via author

In 1963 a DC-3 replaced the Viscountleased from BEA by Gibair. This apparently retrograde tep was economically sensible, a only a short sector was regularlyflown from Gibraltar to Tangier. The use ofthe 0 -3, dry-leased from BEA, enabledGibair to offer more flexibility and economy in its operation. onetheless, it was nota popular move among the local population. The DC-3 had actually been purchased by BEA from its as ociate, Cambrian Airways, ironically operating ex-BEAViscounts it elf by then. The single DC-3remained with Gibair for a number of years,and even managed to earn it elf a place inthe local folklore, de pite th hostile reaction to its initial arrival.

Cyprus Airways, the joint operator of thefirst su tained Viscount scheduled ervice,had continued to lease in capa ity fromBEA and, by the early 1960s, was usingBEA Comets for most of its services from

icosia to th UK and Europe. Like Malta,on the verge of full independence, the airline wanted to expand it pre ence in theregion, and wa concerned that the Cometswould be too large to be used in the plannedexpan ion. A temporary solution was foundby leasing in a pair of BEA Viscount 806s,G-AOYJ and 'YK. Unlike earlier lease andcharter agreement with BEA, the two'new' aircraft were operated in full CypruAirways livery and permanently based at

ico ia. The first aircraft to display yprusAirways colours in their own right since theDC-3 days, they were placed into service inNovember 1965 and were eventually to beseen on routes from Nicosia to Amman,Athen , Beirut, Cairo, Istanbul, Jerusalem,Rhodes and Tel Aviv. The u e of the Viscounts under its own name allowed the airline to re-e tablish and increase its profilethroughout the eastern Mediterranean.Cypru Airways had ordered a fleet of newTrident lEs from Hawker Siddeley for1969/70 delivery, and these would, in time,replace not only the BEA Comets but al 0

the pair of leased Viscounts.

Switch from Mainlineto Regional

A well as increasing their presence on theScottish network, as more ofBEA's mainlineroutes from London and other bases weretaken over by jets, the Viscounts were seenon more regional English services, especially from Birmingham. As well as the popularroute to the Channel Islands and Scotland,

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Viscounts w re erving Eire, Northern Ireland and uropean point from the UKregions, wh re the incumbent traffic wasnot enough to upport newer jet aircraft.

Vi coun r opened BEA service fromSouthampton in 1966, the first flight to theChannel I land being operated by GAOYO on 1 April. The airline had previouslyserved outhampton until 1961, whenit withdrew its last DC-3s. At that time

outhampton had only a gra runway, andthe DC-3s were the only BEA aircraft capable of operating economically from the airport at Eastleigh. Operations were switchedto nearby Bournemouth and the routestaken over by the Viscounts, but, nevertheless, the services from Bournemouth failedto attract the commercial loads thatSouthampton had offered. For one thing,

outhampton Airport had the benefit of itsown railway station, on the main line fromLondon and the southeast, with the abilityto bring in passengers quickly and easilyfrom a much larger catchment area. Once anew concrete runway had been built at

outhampton, BEA was quick to switch itsflights back from Bournemouth and startedoperating Viscounts from Eastleigh.

Even the much larger Vanguards beganto become more regular visitors to Jer ey forBEA during the mid-1960s, after they hadmade very limited schedul d appearancesin 1963 and 1964. By 1966 there were nofewer than nineteen weekly Vanguardflight scheduled between Heathrow andJer ey in the summer sea on, with nineweekly flights from Manche ter and eventwo from Gatwick. The smaller island ofGuernsey remained almost exclusively Viscount territory for BEA, its still re trietedrunway allowing only very occasional visitsby the Vanguards. Some experimental adhoc services were operated by way of 'proving flights', but BEA was reluctant to schedule Vanguards regularly on Guern ey service, owing to the restriction that wouldbe imposed on traffic load when operatingfrom the short runway. A a result, it wouldbe some years before th Vanguards becameregular visitors to Guernsey.

One Dark Night

Given the high utilization of it Vanguardfleet, BEA had few serious incid nts withinthe day-to-day operation. Naturally, therewas the occasional incid nt. Among themore significant, G-APEF flew into a largeflock of birds on take-off from Edinburgh on

11 April 1962. Two engines failed immediately, and the aircraft managed to limpback to the airport for a safe landing, athird engine failing shortly after the aircraft was down. On 29 March 1963 GAPEJ suffered a nosewheel collapse onlanding at Dublin, and G-APEE had a similar failure on landing at Glasgow on 6October 1964. Fortunately, there were noS rious injuries to any of the aircrafts'occupants in the e episode .

Just over a year after its Glasgow nosewheel incident, G-APEE was involved ina much more serious occurrence. On 26October 1965 it was operating a BEAnight-rate service from Edinburgh toHeathrow, having taken off at 23.17hr.The aircraft was crewed by Capt N. Shackell and two first officers, 1. Cochrane andD. wanson, and a teward and two stewardesses were working in the cabin,attending to th light load of thirty passenger. It had already been reported thatHeathrow was having problems with fog,and hackell had taken on enough fuel forup to six hour' flight, though the scheduled flying time was only just over an hour.This allowed him plenty of choice in hioption for holding overhead or divertingto an alternative airport if the weather wasstill bad on his arrival. The preselectedalternative had already been filed as Manchester and Gatwick, and the large fuelload permitted a safe return all the wayback to Edinburgh, even after a significantholding time over London.

As predicted, Heathrow was still in thegrip of fog when 'EE arrived over the capital. However, the visibility was reported as350m (380yd), the minimum allowed byBEA for an attempted landing. At 00.23hr'EE was establi h d on the glide path forrunway 28R, but Shackell advised thetower that he was overshooting as he hadfailed to see the runway lights on the firstapproach. A little under ten minutes later,having received more favourable reports ofthe visibility on another of Heathrow'runway, another approach was made, thitime to runway 28L. oticing that thisapproach wa lightly out of line, the radarcontroller advi ed another overshoot,which wa initiated at 00.35hr. The captain reported that they had not 'seen anything that time', and that the fog hadseemed 'very patchy'. The crew decidednot to make an immediate attempt atanother approach, and 'EE began circlingover the Gar ton holding point, awaitingan improvement in the weather.

In the meantime, another BEA Vanguard, G-APED, arrived over Heathr wand made a successful landing on 28R at00.46hr. Encouraged by this, thoughweather conditions had not improved atall, G-APEE's crew turned back toHeathrow for another attempt at 00.52hr.During the flight back from the holdingpoint a third Vanguard, G-APEH,attempted to land on 28R but over hot anddiverted. Despite this news, Shackell continued his approach and, at 01.22hr waestablished on the centreline of 28R, threequarters of a mile (1.2km) from the runway.Nonetheless, twenty-two seconds laterShackell advised that they were overshooting again. The radar controllers aw the aircraft begin to climb as before, but then,inexplicably, it was seen to enter a steepdive. The Vanguard cra hed on to the runway 2,600ft (790m) from the thre hold andburst into flames. Despite a very quickresponse by the airport fire and rescue ervices, which were on the scene within twominutes, all thirty-six occupants died.

Cruel Combination

In the full investigation that followed theloss of G-APEE, everal factors weredeemed to have contributed to the tragedy.For one thing, although the vi ibility hadbeen reported as 350m (J80yd), exactly onthe BEA minimum, it was discovered thatthis was incorrect, and that the visibility inthe fog was actually 50m (55yd) less, andthe crew should not have even been considering an approach in the fir t place. Theincorrect r ading was a result of the Runway Visual Range lights not having beencalibrated properly for some time.

For many years BEA had operated a'Monitored Approach Sy tern'. While onepilot flew the aircraft on instruments, theother looked out of the aircraft, eyes fullyadjusted to the outside conditions. If therunway was sighted, the latter pilot wouldtake over and land the aircraft; otherwisehe was re ponsible for calling for the over-hoot and retracting the flaps and under

carriage if the attempt was unsuccessful. Inthe event of a three-pilot crew being present, as was standard on the BEA Vanguards, the third pair of eyes would monitor all the remaining instruments as theother pilot concentrated on the altitudeand 0 on, during the approach.

Although thi system seems to haveworked well on G-APEE's previou

FRESH TASKS

pproa he ,on the third and last attempt toland it seems to have broken down owing to

v ral factors. According to data extractedfrom the flight recorder, the overshootappeared to have been initiated rather violently, probably distracting the oth rcrewmembers from their assigned tasks inth manoeuvre. The distraction would havebeen enough to break their previou ly goodconcentration and lead to a breakdown ofthe Monitored Approach System. Duringthe resulting climb-out, spatial disorientation and an error on the setting of one of thepressure-controlled instruments led thecrew to believe they were climbing when, infact, the nose had been lowered. Althoughthe crew were operating well within allowedhours, general tiredness and the stress of thepreviou missed approaches might well havealso contributed to crew fatigue as yetanother factor.

An incorrect flap setting had also beenelected, which contributed to the descent.

An inherent design fault in the flap-selector mechanism \Va thought to have contributed to this error. The instrument inaccuracy would have been only a minorproblem had any of the crew looked at theartificial horizon, which would have alerted them to the de cent. However, in theapparent confu ion thi went unnoticeduntil, according to the flight recorder information, the nose began to lift, presumablyas a result of the crew finally recognizingthe aircraft's attitud . Unfortunately thiswas in the very last econd of the flight, fartoo late to affect the outcome.

By coincidence, thirteen days before theloss ofG-APEE, another Vanguard, also onan Edinburgh-Heathrow flight, had experienced a similar problem when attempting

(

an overshoot. On approach, also in fog andu ing the well-tried Monitored Approach

y t m, the overshoot had been initiatedat an altitude of 200ft (60m). The captainuddenly heard the third pilot calling for

him to climb because he had noticed thatthe aircraft had inadvertently continued tod cend and was only 100ft (JOm) abovethe runway. Swiftly and instinctivelypulling back on the control, the captainaw that they were now at a height of only

40ft (12m). A slower reaction, as hadapparently been the case with G-APEE,would almost certainly have resulted in anidentical tragedy. As a result of the loss of'EE, not only was the flap-selectorr de ign d, but the Monitored Approach

ystem was closely examined and a numberof revisions made.

African Movements

The heavily utilized Viscount 700 fleet ofCAA had continued to provide a popularand reliable service to the citizens of orthem and outhern Rhodesia and Nyasaland,not only within their borders but also to surrounding African nations. The fleet operated throughout central, eastern and southernAfrica over a wide variety of routes andenvironments, connecting both major ci tiesand more regional and local airport, oftenunder difficult conditions.

In 1963 the Federation compri ing thethree countries broke up and the newBritish Commonwealth nations of Zambia,Rhode ia and Malawi, respectively, wereborn in th wake of independence from theUK. A new Central African Airway waconstituted to continue to operate in the

176 177

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BUA Challenges BEA

British United Airways was the first airlinein the world to introduce the One-Eleveninto service, in 1965. Initially supplementing established Viscounts on the schedulesand inclusive-tour charters throughoutBUA's European services from Gatwick,the One-Eleven also replaced BUA Vi counts on their last long-range Safari route,to West Africa via the Canary Islands. Thearrival of the short-haul jet saw BUA startto dispose of its smaller Viscount 700s, andits ex-Air France Viscount 708s actuallyfound their way back across the Channel tojoin the still expanding Air Inter fleet inParis, which by then included most of theremaining V 708s.

On its return to BUA after its long leaseto Sudan Airways, V831 G-ASED waleased to Spanish operator Aviaco for thesummer of 1965, and placed on the panish register as EC-AZK. Avia 0 op rat dthe aircraft on inclusive-tour charter fr mthe Spanish resorts and holiday island .The three ex-Transair V804s had already

119

ABOVE: British Eagle's V.798D G-ATDR City of Glasgowwas acquired from Egypt toexpand the independent airline's scheduled and charter network. via author

from Heathrow, as well as appearing on theLiverpool-Heathrow route.

In the Starways takeover British Eaglehad also inherited a network of easonalscheduled services to Newquay, Cornwall,from a number of UK cities, includingLondon, Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool. Although mostly operated by theViscounts, occasionally supplemented byBritannias, some services to the Cornishresort were also flown by the One-Elevensat busy times. Viscounts also continued tooperate on British Eagle's European scheduled routes to popular destinations such asDinard, Innsbruck, Luxembourg andStuttgart, as well as on new routes fromLiverpool to Cork and Dublin.

While the incumbent BEA Vanguardsfrom Heathrow had been well able to compete against British Eagle's Britannias andViscounts, the arrival of the One-Elevensfinally enabled the independent carrier togive BEA a run for its money. Even withthe restricted schedules, British Eagle's OneElevens were soon attracting respectableloads at BEA's expense.

British United's Gatwick-based Viscounts maintained much of the airline's Europeanscheduled and inclusive-tour charter network until the arrival of the firstOne-Elevens. Jenny Gradidge

Author's collection

against several daily ervices operatedby BEA. Wh n authority was refused toincrease the frequencies of British Eagle'sschedules, Bamberg protested by not onlysu pending the flights, but also by cancellinga multi-million-pound order for new OneElevens, which had been purchased to operate on the routes. Leased V701 G-AMOHoperated the last schedule on the Belfastroute on 19 February 1965, and V755D GAOCB flew the last Edinburgh-HeathrowBritish Eagle schedule the next day.

Eagle Jets

A year later British Eagle began operatingjets for the first time since the Cunard Eagle707 days, when two One-Eleven 200s wereleased-in. Bamberg's persistent lobbyinghad finally borne fruit with the granting ofpermission to reopen ervices to Glasgow atan increased frequency. Although still onlyallowed to operate twice a day over theHeathrow-Glasgow route, the airline wasat least now able to offer the important dayreturn option to busine travellers.

On 2 May 1966 one of the new OneElevens, G-ATIP Swift, becam.e the firstaircraft to land at the new airport for Glasgow, at Abbotsinch, which was due toreplace the original airport at Renfrew.This first landing was on a training flight,and the first scheduled service withthe One-Elevens was inaugurated toAbbotsinch on 9 May, replacing Britannias, which had reopened the Glasgow service, operating to Renfrew, in April. MoreOne-Elevens arrived later in the summer,in the form of a batch of three Series 300s.The jets were soon supplementing orreplacing the Viscounts on British Eagle'sscheduled and charter services to Europe

British Eagle International Airlines hadsuccessfully built on the merged network ofits own original Heathrow-based Europeanservices and the acquired Starway system.A steadily growing fleet of Viscounts continued to operate on the cheduled servicesalongside larger Britannias, with whichthey also shared a great number of inclusive-tour holiday charter contracts. Extraaircraft continued to be leased-in asrequired, especially from Channel Airways, and in 1965 four Viscounts were purchased from UAA. British Eagle's chairman, Harold Bamberg, continued to lobbythe UK civil aviation authorities frequently for authority to open new schedules andincrease frequencies. A major victory wasachieved when permission was granted toopen scheduled domestic trunk servicesfrom Heathrow to Belfast, Edinburgh andGlasgow, in direct competition with BEA.Initially, both Viscounts and Britanniasflew against the BEA Vanguards.

Although the British Eagle flights were acommercial success, they were hampered byseverely restricted frequencies, in most casesbeing limited to only one flight a day,

Independent Jet Competition

dome tic and regional services, being seenon SAA flights from Johannesburg toUpington and Windhoek, and from CapeTown to Alexander Bay, Keetmanshoopand Windhoek, all the way through to theearly 1970s.

Following the dissolution of the Central African Federation. the CAA Viscount fleetwas fitted with changeable titles, depending on which of the component carriers theaircraft was flying for. Global Air Image

on secondment by Air Rhodesia, in full AirMalawi colours. The remaining Air MalawiViscount was used for an average of 1,800hra year on services from Blantyre to Beira inMozambique, Ndola in Zambia and Salisbury in Rhodesia, and also on a domesticschedule to Lilongwe. Until One-Elevensarrived in the 1970s, the Viscount remainedthe prestige equipment for Air Malawi.

Although South Africa also found itselfsubject to sanctions, owing to its own political stance and maintenance ofan apartheidsystem, SAA survived intact. In spite of theairline suffering numerous restrictions, suchas the banning of its aircraft from over-flyingmany African nations, SAA continued toflourish. Even though they were replaced onmajor domestic runs by new Boeing 727s,the Viscount 813s were still heavily used on

118

region, though it was now officially operating its services on behalf of Zambia Airways, Air Rhodesia or Air Malawi.

Initially none of the new airlines wasoperating its own aircraft. A system wasdevised whereby the Viscounts, still inCAA livery, were fitted with removablestickers for anyone of the three carriers. TheViscount operation continued to flouri h,an ex-MEA aircraft having already beenacquired in 1961. Further Viscounts, in theshape of a pair of ex-Iranian AirlinesV782Ds, arrived in 1966, but by then majorpolitical changes were in the air.

The ruling white residents of Rhodesiaclung on to power in the country, requiring its native population to continue tolive under apartheid and segregation. Thisbrought Rhodesia into ideological conflictnot only with Zambia and Malawi but alsowith the rest of the British Commonwealth of Nations. After Rhodesia wasdeclared a republic, Rhodesia was expelledfrom the Commonwealth and began tohave severe trade and financial sanctionsimpo ed upon it. On 31 December 1966CAA ceased operations when Zambiaimposed a ban on direct air links to Rhodesia. As a result, Air Malawi, Air Rhodesiaand Zambia Airways were obliged tobecome fully operational airlines, insteadof being mere 'paper' companies. TheCAA fleet was dispersed to the countriesof its previous owners, the Viscounts goingto the new national carrier of Malawi andRhode ia, which received two and five aircraft respectively.

Air Malawi maintained close relationswith Air Rhodesia, the latter remainingresponsible for the maintenance of theMalawi Viscount fleet for many years. Oneof the Malawi aircraft was actually operated

Although the Viscount 813s of SAA were displaced on many more important routes bynew Boeing jets, they remained heavily used on regional and local services throughthe 1960s. Jenny Gradidge

r ute uch a Dublin-Cardiff-Bristol andDublin-Liv rpool, on which pas engerload did not always justify the u e of an allpa enger aircraft.

Continental Goes Jet

The 1958 entry into service of ContinentalAirline' Vi count 812s had soon been follow d by the delivery of the U carrier' firstBeing 707s, which were introduced intoscheduled service in June 1959. A are ult,the Viscount 812s had enjoyed only a briefperiod as the glamorous new additions tothe fle t. Their luxurious first-class interiorwere gradually modified with five-abr a tall-economy seating as the j ts replac d theViscounts on the longer sector. The airline's inventive advertising department waseven inspired to promote what could easilyhave been r garded a a backward move in adecid dly positive vein, claiming it allowed'Even more of Continental cu tom r toenjoy Viscount service!'

A well a the previously mentionedtemporary lea e of two of the V812s toCapital, Continental actually sold off twoof it Viscount fleet quite early, in Augu tand eptember 1960. Having become surplus to Continental's requirements owingto the ucces of the Boeings, the first ofthe V812 , 240V, was sold to the Tennes ee Gas Corporation for executive u e,and 241 V was sold to Ansett-A A,becoming VH-RMK.

Two V812s were lost in accidents whilewith Continental, the fir t being N243V,which cra h d at Amarill , 'Ii xa, n 8July 1962. While taking off with thrcrew and thirteen passenger on board thaircraft sank back on to the runway andwas destroyed in the resulting fire, thoughall the occupants e cap d without ri uinjury. As no defects could b found in theaircraft, investigators eventually blamedthe accident on the captain, who had beendistracted during the rotation by somedripping water in the cockpit.

The second accident involving a Continental Viscount was much more serious. On28 January 1963 242V was on approach toKansas Municipal Airport with, unknownto the crew, a 3in (7.5cm) accumulation ofice on it tail. When the flap were loweredthi caused the nose of the aircraft to dropsuddenly. Although the landing was stillmade on the runway, the aircraft was nowout of control and overran the runway,crashing into a dyke. All four crew and nine

FRESH TASK

qui iti n of the ex-KLM Vi count11 ~ d r Lingu to dispose of its muchm 11 r kk r F. 27s and standardize on

th I rg r Vi count as it turboprop ofh i at a very rea onabl co t.

At ab ut the same time, three of AerLingu' riginal V808 were given a unique'Q ',or 'Quick Change' conversion by

otti h Aviation at Pre twick. Thisentail d the fitting ofa trengthened freightfl r, with roller guid and floor lock. Upto nine fr ight pallet, with a total payloadof up to 7 tons (7.1 tonnes), could then beaccommodated, moveable bulkheads permitting seating to be fitted for mixed pasenger/freight service. To allow the pallets,

or any other bulky freight, to be loaded, alarge double-opening forward door wasinstalled in place of the forward entry door.These aircraft were put to good use onnight-time all-cargo ervice, a well asoperating 'combi' pa nger/cargo flight on

121

New aircraft. such as the DC-9 short-haul jet. finally displaced the popular KlMViscounts. A search for a new home for the fleet eventually led to their sale,en masse, to Aer lingus. MAP

Aer Lingus Goes ShoppingAlthough Aer Lingus had already introduced hort-haul jet in 1965, in the formof a quartet of One-Eleven, th Iri h carrier seemed in no hurry to replace it turboprop fleet en masse. In fact, Aer Linguhad soon realized that the original OneEleven wa too mall for many of it route,and wa lobbying BAC to produce a largerversion, as well as examining oth r pr jects around the world. While evaluatingits next jetliner orders, in 1966 Aer Lingustook the unusual step of purchasing allnine Viscount 803 from KLM, effectivelydoubling its Viscount fleet.

The Dutch carrier had been operatingits Viscounts very successfully aroundEurope, without serious incident, since1957, but had recently started to rep lacthe V803s, and its remaining Electra,with McDonnell Dougla DC-9 jet. The

Originally delivered to KlM as PH-VIF Leonardo da Vinci, Viscount 803 EI-AOESt Damhait/Dympna found a new lease of life on the Irish airline's network.Steve Williams Collection

However, it was certainly noted by regularpas engers that BEA's standards of serviceimproved considerably once the airlinfinally faced serious competition on themain dome tic services. Initially, the use ofjet wa confined to the Glasgow route byBEA on its domestic trunk routes, thoughthey were introduced on many of theremaining routes in due time. Manch terwas already earmarked to become the mainba e of the newly delivered fleet ofstretchedOne-Eleven eries 5OOs, in 1969. Establishment of the new Super One-Eleven Division saw the new twinjets introduced on theHeathrow rvice from Manchester, replacing the Vanguards, and also displacing theViscounts at the West Berlin base.

Nonetheless, the Vanguard's basic economy did enable the fleet to score over the jetson some BEA routes, even as more of theglamorou new Tridents came into service.In 1967 a single Vanguard schedule wasoperated at mid-day over the London-Amst rdam route, supplementing jets, and thefollowing year three Vanguards a day wereoperating to the Dutch capital. Also in1967, the Vanguards actually replacedComets on the London to Budapest route,in comp tition with the 11-18 turboprops ofHungarian airline Malev. Thi was one ofthe few occa ion when the Vanguard wasdirectly in oppo ition with its very similarRussian lookalike. While the BEA Vanguard took three hours to fly to Budapest,Malev' I1-18s were scheduled to take tenminutes less. A easonal London-Zuri hVanguard service wa operated in the winterto cater for the ki-holiday trade, and a summer-season Vanguard flight operated fromLondon to Salzburg, replacing Viscounts.

of thi situation BEA, if its service are to be com

petitive, have no alternative but to lead the way

with jet aircraft to Glasgow from Heathrow. We

do not make money with the present Vanguard

flights to Glasgow and we will lose more money

with introducing jets. It is a policy decision. We

must safeguard our competitive position.

BELOW LEFT: Three of BUA's Viscounts were sold toPoland's national carrier, lOT, for use on its domesticand European network, based at Warsaw.Bill Sheridan Collection

LEFr. Spain's Aviaco operated V.831 EC-AZK, leasedfrom BUA, for one summer season on inclusive-tourcharters. Airwork and BUA had previously operatedthe aircraft on behalf of Sudan Airways.Jenny Gradidge

Jets will be noisier than the present turboprops

and the increa e in noi e to people living in the

vicinity of the airports will not be welcome. We

had hoped to avoid this situation, and some

months ago publicly offered to ban jets on

domestic routes if others would do the same. The

Minister of Aviation ha , however, authorised

jets from Gatwick and Heathrow on domestic

trunk routes. Jet ervice have already srarted and

British Eagle have now confirmed to BEA that

they will operate jets from Heathrow. In the face

FRESH TASKS

EC-.\Zl:.

120

With the opening of Abbot inch a Glasgow's airport on 1 May 1966, with a longerrunway and Ie s ob tructed surroundings,BEA was able to consider introducing jetson its busiest domestic trunk route fromLondon, to attempt to combat the newindependent competition. From 1 May

omets replaced Vanguards on the peakmorning and evening flights, offering competition to the One-Elevens of British Eagleand BUA. Other flights throughout the daycontinued to be operated by Vanguards.

Less than enthu ia tic at finding itselfforced, by commercial pr ssure, to operateComet on the Gla gow route, BEA issueda tatement in late 1965, confirming that:

SEA Replies with Cometsbeen sold by BUA to LOT Polish Airlinein 1962. LOT operated the Vi count on itEuropean route along ide a fleet of Russian-built Antonov An-24 and llyu hin 1118 turboprops. Most of the remaining BUAV800s were retained in service on shorterroutes, especially to France, the Netherlands and th Chann 1I lands.

Once th One-Eleven wa e tabli hed inservice, BUA started making plans to opennew jet routes from Gatwick to Belfast,Edinburgh and Glasgow. Although BUAclaimed that the more southerly Gatwickoffered service to a whole new catchmentarea, it was obvious that a percentage of therevenue traffic on the new routes would alsobe drawn from BEA's existing Heathrowbased traffic. Despite BEA's strong objections, which were overruled by the licen ing authorities, BUA began its 1nterjetflights to cotland and Ulster on 4 January1966. Initially, the Glasgow service usedthe old airport at Renfrew, with restrictedtraffic loads on the One-Elevens. Operatedtwice daily, the new Interjet flights weretimed to provide connections with BUA'sother routes from Gatwick, as well as offering a high-speed link into London for business travellers, via Gatwick's useful directrail link into Victoria Station.

FRESH TASKS

Pacific andFar Eastern Moves

New Z aland National Airway hadretained its Viscounts even after intr uing the first of a fle t of Bo ing 737 horthaul jets into rvic in 1968. In ad Iiti nto the four V807s bought new from Vi kers, NZNAC had also acquired on f thex-Transair/BUA V804s from L T in1967. The Vi count operation continuedfor another ix year, three of the V 07being withdrawn in 1974. Two other, thremaining V807 and the single V804,which had been converted to V 07 tandard, remained in service, upplementingthe smaller E27 on regional route foranother year, until 1975.

In Japan, ANA had replaced its Vi count828 with Boeing 727s, finally withdrawingthe la t of the turboprop from service in1969. One of ANA's Viscounts had beenlost in a training accident near Nagoya in1962, and the airline scrapped two at theend of their intensive domestic service.Nonethel ss, four survived to be sold to an

spars. In Brazil VA P was flying many ofthe olde t x-BEA V701s, mostly on shortflight, in particular on the busy SaoPaulo-Rio route, with many short sector aday. Consequently, 010 t of its Viscount701s were already well over the permittednumber of landings, and several wereimmediately grounded. The high co t ofthe engin ering work involved in renewingthe inner spars was considered prohibitiveby VASP, and many aircraft were cocoonedat Sao Paul . Most of them remained so formany years before eventually bingscrapped or donated to museums. The airline's three surviving V827s remained inuse, however, until the mid-1970s, whenthey were ou ted from the network by jet .They were then sold on to PLUNA. AtMont video they replaced the Uruguayancarrier's older Vi count 700 on regionalservices to Argentina and Brazil, as well ason its dome tic network.

xample was in the region of £100,000,approximately a third of its original price.Interested parties from pints as distant asthe UK, East Africa, Asia and outh America were soon showing a ke n interest inthe increasingly available fleets.

However, not all of the Viscount fleetwithdrawals were voluntary. Following the10 s of the MMA V 720 in December 1968,Vickers had been obliged to place a restriction on the life of Viscount inner-wing

The V.810 prototype, G-AOYV, was converted to a V.827 at the end of its developmentwork with Vickers in 1960. After service with VASP in Brazil the aircraft was sold toPLUNA as CX-BIZ in 1975. via author

New AdDlirers and Shifting Roles

BEA's new 'Union Flag' livery, introduced in 1968, was intended to take the airline

well into the 1970s. via author

HAPTERNINE

Pressures for ChangeThe arrival of the second-generati n horthaul jet airliners in the mid-late 1960effectively heralded the end of most of theremaining front-line service for the Vi count and Vanguard. However, n woperators were attracted by the rea onableprices at which the aircraft could beacquired. In the case of a Viscount 700, theaverage cost of a good-quality secondhand

New Lives to Come

Even as the longe t-standing operator ofthe Vicker turboprop were making plansfor their di posal, the first operator, BEA,was still xploring new ventures to occupyits fleet. For other airline' aircraft thatwould find their way on to the secondhandmarket, yet another new generation of airlines and operators was waiting in thewings, ready to put them to work.

1968 saw capacity relea ed, the new aircraft replacing Vanguards on several oftheir remaining passenger routes.

Rather than try to dispose of the Vanguards on an already well-over ub cribedsecondhand airlin r market, BEA considered expanding the use of Vanguards oncarg ervices, initially supplementing theArgosies. Consequently, in 1968, V953Vanguard G-APEL wa given an interimconver ion to all-cargo configuration, similar to that carried out by Air Canada onits single argoliner variation. On 'EL thepassenger airstairs and cabin interior w reremoved, but the pa enger window werenot blanked off a on the Canadian aircraft. It wa far from being an ideal cargoconver ion, and the original forward passenger door was rather small for easy bulkfreight handling. Even so, the other Vanguards al 0 had their forward airstairsremoved, allowing a quick adaptation foruse on cargo s rvices as required. The converted aircraft was put into chedul dcargo service on the route from Heathrowto Copenhagen, Milan and Paris.

LEFT. Author's collection

ABOVE: Many of BEA'sVanguards had their forwardairstairs removed in the late1960s. As well as making anyshort-term conversion forcargo services much easier,the not-inconsiderableweight saving increasedrevenue or fuel loads.Steve Richards

nose and rear-fuselage doors the Dart-powered Argosy was originally thought to bethe ideal all-cargo aircraft for the corporation' freight network. The initial aircraftwere found to be slightly underpowered,however, and a new fleet of improvedArgosies, larger and with uprated Darts,was introduced in 1965. Even 0, operatinguch a mall fleet of pecialized aircraft was

expensive for BEA, and even the largerversion did not offer sufficient capacity onthe busier cargo routes. The delivery ofnew Trident 2s and One-Elevens during

Continental's Viscount 812s were repainted in a modernized gold-and-black livery tomatch the airline's 'Golden Jet' Boeings. This one, N242V, was lost in a fatal accidentat Kansas in 1963. via Jon Proctor

E ••••••• ,.

A early as 1966 BEA decided, at lea t inprincipal, to make more use of the capaciou Vanguard fuselage for all-freight service. The Vanguards had operated a limited cargo contract in the spring of that year,flying a weekly Manche ter-Belfa t newspaper ervice. A mall fleet of specializedturboprop Armstrong Whitworth Argosieshad been in service with BEA since late1961. With its voluminous cabin and large

SEA's Cargo Vanguard

of the pa ngers died in the re ulting fire.The aerodynamic effect of ice on the tailhad also been suggested as a possible contributory factor in the crash of apital V745

7437 on approach to Tri-City Airport on6 April 1958. However, at the time, theinvestigation gave the most probable causeas the aircraft having stalled during too steepa tum at low altitude with an inoperativestall-warning device.

Th r maining aircraft continued toop rate on regional services until theintroduction of Continental's D -9-15s in1966 saw the final demise of the Viscount812s. The entire urviving fleet of ten wassold to Channel Airways, the aircraftbeing released and delivered to outhend,in the UK, between April 1966 and June1967, as the DC-9s gradually took overContinental's remaining Viscount routes.

122 123

W ADMIRERS AND SHIFTI G ROLES NJ·W ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES

Unfortunately, by 1980 Hun Air wasbeginning to experience serious financialproblems, and one of the Viscounts had tobe cannibalized to provide badly neededspares. Following the loss of another aircraft in a landing accident at Vijayawada,the airline ceased all operations and thesurvivor was broken up.

The PIA fleet of V815 was replaced byTrident lEs in 1966. Two of the five Viscounts delivered to PIA had been writtenoff in accident in 1959, shortly after delivery, but the three survivors continued inservice until they were traded-in to HawkerSidd ley in part payment for the Tridents.

Huns Air Viscounts came from surplus Indian Airline's stock. This one, VT-DOE, waseventually scrapped for valuable spares as the struggling airline battled to survive.Global Air Image

Two of the lAC fleet did find a newowner in 1974, going to Lane Xang Airlines of Cambodia. They operated in themidst of the war, originally centred onVietnam, which spread throughout theregion at the time. At least one of the aircraft was believed to have been written offduring the hostilities. The other was transferred to Royal Air Lao the next year andmanaged to survive until the 1980s. Threemore of the lAC Viscounts were sold to asmall independent Indian airline, HunsAir, which operated them on passengerand cargo charters, particularly betweenBombay and Sharjah, in the Arabian Gulf.

Indian Airlines Corporation's well-utilizedfleet of Viscount 700s had been boosted in1967 by the arrival of the two Indian AirForce examples. This brought the operational fleet up to an impressive level of fourteen, two of the original aircraft having beenwritten-off in service in 1961 and 1963.Another Viscount was lost after overrunning the runway at]aipur on 9 August 1971.After lAC flew its last Viscount services inlate 1973, most of the fleet were up duringth next few years.

been operating a small fleet of Dart H raids on domestic services from Taip i, incompetition with China Air Lines, thnational carrier. Two more Vi countarrived from Au tralia in 1971, thi time apair of V816s from TAA. In addition, anex-Austrian Airlines V837 was add d tthe fleet in 1972.

The arrival of a single Boeing 727 in1970 saw Union of Burma Airways' fleet ofthree Viscount 761D displaced from mo tof the airline's international routes andrelegated to the dome tic network. One ofthe three was lost when it was damagedbeyond repair after running off the runwayat Akyab, Burma, in August 1972. Thesurviving aircraft remained in service withBurma Airways Corporation, which UBAbecame in December 1972. Their use wasgradually decreased, until they were finally withdrawn and sold in 1976.

125

Subcontinent Sales

The sole luxair Viscount 815 was operated alongside Fokker F.27s and Caravelles on European services forthree years. Bill Sheridan Collection

from the southern Arabian territory alongside several DC-3s until one was destroyedby sabotage at Aden in 1967. Aden Airwaysoperations came to an end shortly afterward, when BOAC withdrew its interestfollowing heavy losses, and the survivingViscount was return d to the UK.

During 1970 Far Eastern Air Transport(FEAT) of Taiwan bought no fewer thanfive Viscounts from Amen-ANA, compri ing three V832s, the ex-ContinentalV812 and an ex-Cubana V818. FEAT had

Aloha Airlines' Viscounts enjoyed a long career shuttling between the HawaiianIslands. via author

their base at Malmo, in the south of Sweden. The Viscounts were later joined bythree Lockheed Electras, and continued tofly for Falconair until September 1970,when the company ceased operationsowing to financial difficulties.

After ex-BOAC Comets had replacedthem, Malayan Airways' two V760Ds,leased from BOAC Associated Companie ,were moved on to another BOAC-controlled airline, Aden Airways, in 1963.They were operated on scheduled services

124

Indonesian operator, Merpati Nusantara,and two others went to an Ecuadorian airline, Servicios Aereos Nacionales (SAN).

The three original Philippine Air LinesViscount 748Ds had eventually been joinedin 1961 by a V745D from the undeliveredCapital order. However, just over two yearslater this aircraft was leased out to Hawaiian Airlines of Honolulu. Hawaiian's mainrival in the islands was Aloha Airlines,which introduced two Viscount 700s intoservice, also in 1963, having acquired a pairofV745Ds returned to Vickers by Capital,that had been operated by Austrian Airlines. Hawaiian disposed of its Viscountwithin a year, preferring to standardize onits fleet of Dart-powered CV640 turbopropconversions. Aloha, however, went on toacquire two more Viscount, both exNortheast Airlines V 798Ds. The quartetremained the airline's flagships on Aloha'sintensive inter-i land network, alongsideFairchild F-27s, until the arrival OneElevens in 1968. Two of the Viscountsremained in service until the early 1970s,long after the One-Elevens themselves hadbeen replaced by Boeing 737s.

The remaining Philippine Viscountscontinued to operate domestically throughout the country and to neighbouring statesuntil 1967. Following their replacement byOne-Eleven, the trio was sold to a Swedishcharter airline, Falconair. They then operated over a variety of charter services from

Aden Airways' two Viscount 760Ds were flown from the protectorate for five years before political upheavalcaused the demise of the airline following the destruction of one of the aircraft; VR-AAN eventuallyreturned to the UK. Jenny Gradidge

W DMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES EW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES

Bigger 'Golden Viscounts'

Glory Days at Channel

Not surprisingly, the secondhand Viscountmarket was probably at its most buoyantamong the UK's independent operators.The Viscount was most numerous in itshome country, and continued to be a common sight at airports throughout the UK.Channel Airways had continued to keep itsViscount 700 fleet busy. The extensivecharter contracts and the high-frequency,shorthaul services across the English Channel were soon yielding record utilization figures for its Viscounts. A steadily increasinginclusive-tour charter programme took theViscounts further afield, and an outstationwas established at Manchester specificallyto cater for this market from the north ofEngland. An ex-BOAC Associated Companies and BWIA V703, G-APZA, joinedChannel in 1965. It pent most of the winter of 1965-66 back in the Caribbean, onlease to Bahamas Airways, joining its fleetduring their winter season peak period toprovide extra capacity on routes to Florida.

A typical summer Saturday flying programme for just one aircraft of the hannelfleet could involve a night-time inclusivetour charter from Southend to Barcelonaand back, departing the UK late on the Friday evening and returning to Southend at06.25hr on the Saturday morning. A veryquick turn-round would be followed by nofewer than four round trips acros theChannel to Ostend, carrying up to seventypas engers each way, and a SouthendJersey-Southend rotation, all beingcompleted by mid-afternoon. After aSouthend-Paris-South nd schedule hadbeen fitted in later in the afternoon, another long night would follow, with th operation of an inclu ive-tour chart r from

outhend to Gerona, in Spain. All of theViscount fleet would be expected to op rate similar busy daily programmes in theummer month. This impressive level of

intensive utilization was a feature of Channel Airways' operation, not only with thehard-working Viscounts, but also with itssingle Douglas DC-4, two remaining DC3s, its de Havilland Doves and its newDart-powered H .748 twin turboprops,which had entered service early in 1966.

The ex-Continental V812s, deliveries ofwhich had begun in 1966, were soonreconfigured to match the rather cramped

was lost at Maracaibo, crashing shortlyafter take-off. The last of the original threeV 749s was lost in a crash on MargaritaIsland on 14 August 1974, this time withonly one survivor of the forty-seven onboard. The two remaining aircraft, theV701X and the V702, remained in service, albeit at much reduced utilization.They were restricted to a handful of scheduled flights, often only once or twice aweek, usually supporting the DC-9s thatwere by then being operated by LAVSome charter work was also undertakenwith the Viscounts, mostly at weekends.Eventually both aircraft were quietlyretired, the V701X in December 1975 andthe V702 in January 1976.

LAV-Aeropostallost Viscount 749, YV-C-AMU, in a crash at Merida in 1971.The aircraft had been delivered new to the airline in 1956. Jenny Gradidge

(LAV) came to a poignant end. The original three V 749s, delivered in 1956, hadbeen joined by an ex-BEA V701X in1963. This aircraft was the one damagedwhile trying to take off on a blocked runway in fog at Heathrow in 1955, andrebuilt. An ex-BWIA V702 wa acquiredin 1965, and a V772, also ex-BW1A, wasleased in from 1968 to 1969. The Viscountfleet had proved extremely popular onmany of LAVs' routes, operating domestically, to neighbouring countries in SouthAmerica and around the Caribbean.

On 25 January 1971 one of the V749swas lost in a crash at Merida, killing thirteen of the forty-seven on board. Laterthat year, on 1 November, another V749

The first ex-Continental Viscount 812 to be operated by Channel Airvvays was G-ATUE.Aviation Hobby Shop

CV340, D -6 and DC-7. All of these wereexpected to be replaced quickly by the737s and the new, larger, versions of the727, due for delivery in 1968-69.

As the 737s were delivered and spreadtheir influence throughout the United network, more and more of the Viscounts wereremoved from service. The last United Viscount schedules were operated on 14 January 1969. For the most part, the Viscountshad continued to be flown, or at least keptavailable, until they became due for majormaintenance checks. They were thenstood down from the operational fleet andoffered for sale 'as is', the potential buyerbeing responsible for completing any workrequired to make them airworthy.

Six of the withdrawn aircraft requiredonly fairly minor work, such as a wing sparch ck or block overhauls, and were offeredas potentially flyable. Most of these weresold to corporate customers for executiveuse. Twenty-eight others required moreextensive work and had their registrationplates removed, though they could bereturned to the US register if all work wascompleted on them. These Viscounts wereoffered at a very reasonable price, thoughmuch of the work needed was quite expensive. Companies such as Aero Hite andCavalier Aircraft acquired several of theseaircraft purely for their Dart engines, orstripped them for other spares and scrappedthe airframes. Thirteen remaining aircraftwere sold to a new organization called theViscount International Corporation.

These aircraft were all ferried toGeorgetown, Sussex County Airport inMaryland and stored. Viscount International also purchased United's remainingstocks of Vi count spares. Variou projectsto restore at least some of the Viscountsand resell them to travel clubs or executiveoperators came and went. Eventually anumber of their Dart engines wereremoved and sold, or used for proposed reengining programmes for piston-poweredaircraft. In 1974 a few of them were finally re tored to airworthy condition, sold tonew owners and went on to varied careers.For the most part, however, the remainingViscounts lingered in the open air at Su sex ounty, slowly deteriorating.

After fifteen years of uninterrupted service, the long-established Viscount 700operation of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana

Venezuelan Curtain Call

Last Viscounts at United

In the USA, United remained an enthusiastic operator of the V 745s inherited inthe Capital merger. Although the airline's newly delivered Caravelles hadtaken over many of the longer ex-Capitalroutes, the still large fleet of over fortyViscounts was still used on much of theEast Coast and Great Lakes network. TheViscounts remained popular with United's passengers, many being retained evenafter later jets, such as the Boeing 727,arrived in 1964.

As well as the Boeing 727 tri-jet, United had also ordered a large fleet of Boeing737 twinjets. Some of United's Viscountfleet had already been sold off in smallnumbers, but mo t of the V745 remainedin regular ervice until the arrival of the737. In addition to the Viscounts, Unitedcontinued to operate many other, pistonengine, propeller-driven types, such as the

Th ypru Airways V806s, leased fromBEA, r main d on the Mediterraneanisland until 1970, when the carrier introduced it own new Trident IE . Once theTrid nt w r e tablished in service theVi c unt were returned to BEA, whichinitially plac d them back into service,still in ba i yprus colours but with BEAstickers applied. The following year THY'sthree surviving V 794Ds were transferredto th Turki h Air Force. These aircraftenjoyed a long operational life with theirnew owner, as for nearly twenty years theycontinued to be seen throughout Turkeyand the ea t rn Mediterranean region performing tran port and VIP flights. Theywere not withdrawn from use until 1990.

The large surviving United Viscount fleet continued to serve the airline long after theaircraft were inherited in the Capital Airlines merger. via Bill Mellberg

It was thought that a new home had beenfound for all three aircraft with Luxair, thenational carrier of Luxembourg, to replaceits mailer Fokker E27s. In the end, though,Luxair took delivery of only one of the trio,the remainder staying with Hawker Siddeley. Nonetheless, the sole Luxair Viscountenjoyed three years of successful solo operations on European scheduled and charterservices until it was written off when itsnosewheel hit a snow bank during a landingin 1969.

Further west, MEA had gradually reducedits Viscount fleet as initially Comets andCaravelles, and later VClOs and 707 , hadtaken over the more important routes. Thecarrier leased two of its Viscount 754Ds to anew operator in neighbouring Jordan from1961 to 1964. This airline, Jordanian Airways, was later reorganized and replaced byAlia Royal Jordanian Airlines, which, aswell as operating Caravelles and DC-6Bs,leased three Viscount 800s from BUA in thewinter of 1966/67.

British United eventually withdrew itslast Viscounts from ervice at the end of1969. One of the first customers for theredundant aircraft was Arkia, Isra l'sdomestic carrier, which operated a smallfleet of Dart Heralds. Three ex-HCATV833s were sold by BUA to Arkia in 1969,but one was written-off in a night trainingaccident at 111 Aviv only ten days afterdelivery. The Viscounts were introduced onthe major domestic services from Tel Avivto Eilat and Sta Katarina, as well as operating transport flights for the Israeli militaryand on the cheduled route to Nicosia fromTel Aviv on behalfofEI A!. A steady streamof extra secondhand Viscount 800s and810s were to follow during the 1970s asArkia's services were expanded.

726 727

EW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES NEW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES

Invicta Airways' pair of Manston-based V.755s saw only one summer season's

service. operating charter programmes from West Berlin as well as from severalUK points. Aviation Hobby Shop

Viscount 739A G-ATOR was one of a quartet of Viscounts still in service with BritishEagle in 1968. via author

control appeared to have been 10 t by thetwo pilots during the training exercise.

The End of Eagle

After the disposal of G-AOCB and 'CC,the four remaining British Eagle Viscountstill found plenty of work in 1968, operat

ing daily service from London to Inn bruck; twice-daily, Monday-Friday, Liverpool-Glasgow services; and a undayservice from London to Luxembourg. Inaddition, from May to September, the Vi counts operated on the schedules toNewquay from Liverpool, Birminghamand Manchester. One Viscount was leasedto Air France, to operate on thinner routessuch as Lille-London, replacing a pair ofCambrian Viscounts previously leased.Another of the Viscounts, V739A GATFN City of Truro, was tragically lost on9 August 1968 while on a London-Innsbruck scheduled service. After losing allelectrical power while crui ing in cloud at21,000ft (6,400m), the aircraft crashed onto an Autobahn near Pfaffenhofen, northof Munich, killing all forty-four passengersand four crew.

British Eagle chairman Harold Bambergcontinued to lobby for permission to expandhis airline's scheduled network beyondEurope. A pair of secondhand Boeing 707swere delivered in early 1968 to operate anew programme of inclusive-tour charters tothe Caribbean. Bamberg was successful ingaining approval for new scheduled routesfrom Bermuda to New York, and a brandnew Boeing 707 was ordered in the hope ofgaining approval for a London-New Yorkroute. Although approval for a transatlanticnetwork was eventually granted, it was laterwithdrawn. To add to Eagle's troubles, twolong-haul charter contracts, to ingaporand Australia, came to an end. The Britishinclusive-tour market was also in recessionin 1968, following the imposition of foreignexchange regulations, and British Eagle suffered losses of over £1 million in cancellations on its inclusive-tour ervices. In October, British Eagle (Liverpool) was suddenlyclosed down with the loss of 400 jobs, in aneffort to cut the parent company's costs.

All of this made the airline's financiersnervous, and two major banks suddenlywithdrew support for underwriting the following year's flying programme. As a result,on 6 November 1968, all British EagleInternational Airlines operation ceased atmidnight. The three urviving British Eagle

empty aircraft, the captain elected to usethe flight to undertake some training forthe first officer, en route. One of the stewardesses had asked to sit on the jump seatin the flight deck to observe the trainingsession, and the other took a seat in therear cabin. Shortly after take-off, at aheight of about 200ft (60m), the aircraftwas seen to roll and turn to the right. Thehapless Viscount continued to roll, and itsno e dropped until it struck the ground andburst into flame. All the occupants of theflight deck were killed instantly, but theother stewardess escaped unhurt. Thecause of the loss of 'JA was to remain largely undetermined, though it was stated that

Early 1969 saw the loss of two of BMA's Viscount fleet. Both of the unfortunate

aircraft. G-AVJA and G-AOOG. are seen here on the East Midlands airport rampshortly before their accidents. G.P. Jones via Steve Richards

the Viscount's back. Fortunately none ofthe passengers or crew was seriously hurtand all were safely evacuated from the crippled aircraft. To replace G-AODG, exBWIA and Bahamas Airways V702 GAPPX was leased in from Field AircraftServices for the summer of 1969.

Exactly a month after G-AODG's accident, one of BMA's ex-PIA V815s, GAVJA, was also destroyed in an accident.On 19 March the aircraft diverted intoManchester owing to bad weather at EastMidlands. The next day, it was to be positioned back to East Midlands with only thecrew of two pilots and two stewarde e onboard. Taking advantage of the otherwise

West Berlin. From there it was contractedby German tour operators for inclu ivetour charters to the Mediterranean, and italso operated charters to popular resorts onthe shores of the Baltic.

However, the two Viscounts served withInvicta for just the one summer sea on.By early 1969 Invicta was owned by Minster Assets, a holding company. Minsteralready owned British Midland Airways,based at East Midlands Airport, and hadplans to combine the operations of its twoairlines. BMA had been operating Viscounts since early 1967, having purchasedV736 G-AODG from BUA. The airlinehad previously operated a fleet of DC-3and Canadair Argonauts. Initially a smallfleet of Dart Heralds had been acquiredfrom 1965 to take the place of the DC-3s,but the airline had decided to replacethese, and eventually the Argonauts, withViscounts. Initially placed into service onthe East Midlands-Glasgow route, duringthe summer 'DG was also operated fromseveral UK airports to the Channel Islands.

The tragic loss of one of the BMA Argonauts in a fatal accident in June 1967 ledto the early retirement of the remainder,and the carrier acquired more Viscounts toreplace them. Two ex-BUA V831s andthe two remaining ex-PIA V815s fromHawker Siddeley joined 'DG in 1967, andmore aircraft went into service during1968. The extra Viscounts comprised aV745 from Alitalia and a V760D fromBOAC Associated Companies. This growing fleet was joined by the two ex-InvictaV755s that were moved to East Midlandsin early 1969 following the merger of thetwo airlines. However, only one, GAOCB, entered service with BMA, as GAOCC was found to be suffering from corro ion and was scrapped soon afterwards.The merger of BMA and Invicta wasshort-lived, Invicta's original founder, WgCdr Hugh Kennard, buying back theManston-based DC-4 cargo operationfrom Minster Assets later in the year.

The original BMA Viscount, G-AODG,enjoyed only a brief career with the company, being written off after a heavy landing in appalling weather at East MidlandsAirport on 20 February 1969. After a difficult approach at the end of a Glasgow-EastMidland scheduled flight, 'DG struck theground nosewheel first in a steep attitude,while landing in snow. The nosewheel collapsed and, when the main undercarriagemade contact with the runway, the fuselageruptured in the centre section, breaking

Invicta and SMA

inclu iv -tour charter work, but during1967 th till more numerou Viscountsundertook a large proportion of the Channel' in lu ive-tour programme.

Th r maining two Channel Viscount700s wer finally phased out by the end of1968. Th original Channel Golden Viscount, -APZ, which the airline hadinherited from Tradair, and V702 GAPTA w r kept busy even in their lastChannel Airway ummer sea on, beingseen on new longer-ranging charter routesto Alghero, Malta and Tunis, a well as onmore parochial services such as a newweekly Liverpool-O tend charter.

British Eagle continued to operate its sixViscount 700s, supplem nting its muchlarger fleets of Britannias and OneElevens. At the end of 1967 a number ofthe cheduled routes were cut and, as aresult, the two ex-Cubana V755s weresold at the beginning of 1968. The e aircraft went to Invicta Airways of Manston,which had been operating DC-4s andViking on charters from the Kent airportsince 1965. The la t of the Vikings wereretired shortly before the Vi countsarrived, but the DC-4s continued in service on passenger and cargo charters.Once in service, one of the Viscounts wasbased at Manston, operating from thereand other UK airports on inclusive-tourcharters, while the other was based in

seating of the re t of Channel's fleet, beingfitted with eighty-two high-density passenger seats. This was thirty more thanwere fitted when the aircraft were originally deliver d to Continental in theirfirst-class layout. The first of the ChannelV812s, G-ATUE, ex-N244V, entered service on a Southend-Ostend scheduledflight on 12 May 1966. By the end of thesummer of 1966 Channel had three V812sin use, with more on the way, operating asimilar mixture of charter and scheduledservices to the V 700s.

One of the Viscount 812s was destinednever to enter Channel service. Followingdelivery from the USA, N248V was converted to UK certification standards and,on 3 May 1967, was prepared for a testflight in preparation for the issue of its UKC of A as G-AVJZ. As it left the runway,number four engine was feathered and theaircraft began an uncontrolled turn at lowaltitude. Its starboard wing struck theground and it careered into a fenced compound, killing two workmen and seriouslyinjuring a third. Although the crewescaped with only minor injuries, the Vi count was a total write-off.

Channel Airways put One-Elevensinto service in 1967, and Tridents werealso on order for 1968 delivery. In 1966the airline had formed its own travel company, Mediterranean Holidays, to sellinclusive-tour holidays, and it also flew forother leading tour companies such asClarksons and Riviera Holidays. The newjets were expected to take on mo t of the

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W ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES EW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTI G ROLES

The Arrival ofBritish Air Services

end of 1971. As a result of the increasingfinancial crisis, an official receiver wasappointed on 1 February 1972 to examinethe airline's situation. All of the jet fleetwas grounded on 15 February, though theremaining Viscounts and Herons continued to operate the scheduled services,albeit with nearly empty passenger cabins.

Defeat was finally admitted on 29 February 1972 and, as no buyer had been found forthe ailing airline, all operations were closeddown at the end of that day's flying. On thelast day, two of the Viscounts, G-ATUE andG-AVJL, were operated. The former flewa Southend-Jersey-Boumemouth-Jer eySouthend schedule, and 'JL operated themorning Southend-Rotterdam outhendservice. The last-ever hannel Airwayssch duled flight wa operated by a Heronover the Ostend-Southend route later inthe day, landing at 19.54hr.

ambrian Airways acquired more Viscount 701s from Channel from 1965,eventually operating an impressive fleet oftwelve. As well as its extensive scheduledand charter pa enger services, Cambrianalso operated the Viscounts on nightlynewspaper and freight runs from Liverpoolto Belfast and the Isle of Man. Unfortunately one of the V 701s was lost whileoperating these contracts when G-AMOLcrashed while on approach to Liverpool in

Channel Bows Out

Two of the Channel Viscounts wereretired at the end of 1969, followed by twomore in early 1970. The last of the 748swere also disposed of by 1970, and theremaining Viscounts and Herons wereconfined to scheduled services, with onlya few ad hoc charters operated as required.Consolidation of the turboprop fleet wasto have been offset by the expansion of thejet operation, and four One-Elevens andfive Trident 1Es had originally beenordered. In the event, as the result offinancing and operational problems, onlythree One-Elevens and two Tridents weredelivered. Instead, five secondhandComet 4Bs were acquired from BEA in1970. However, both the Tridents andComets suffered from chronic spare shortages, and the operational chaos that followed led to numerous delays and disruption for the charter passengers, as well asinflicting a great deal of damage on Channel's professional reputation.

By the end of 1971 Channel was forcedto retrench and the Tridents were sold.Through all the jet fleet' problems, theViscounts had continued to hop to and froover the Channel to Ostend and Rotterdam from Southend, and to the ChannelIslands from Southend, Stansted andBournemouth, upplemented by theHerons. Traffic loads on the scheduledroutes were declining, however. The winter of 1971-72 was especially quiet, andV812 G-ATVR had been retired at the

Viscount 812 G-AVHK wore special 'Scottish Flyer' titles to promote the short-Jived multi-stop service fromSouthend to Scotland. Bill Sheridan Collection

the end of 1969. Noise problems and rangerestrictions resulting from using Southend'sshort runway led to the jets being moved tonearby Stansted Airport, and some of theChannel Islands schedules were also movednorth to the larger airport, still being operated by the Viscounts.

The eight remaining Viscounts weremostly used on Channel's short crossChannel scheduled services for 1969, onlya handful of charters featuring in theiroperating programme. The aircraft were,nonetheless, used to pioneer a bold newventure for the airline, with the opening ofa new scheduled route. This was a multistop Scottish Flyer 'bus-stop' service fromSouthend to Aberdeen, designed withbusiness and commuter travellers in mind.Stops were scheduled at Luton (laterchanged to Stansted), East Midlands,Leeds/Bradford, Teeside, Newcastle andEdinburgh. At the time there was very little airline service, north to south, on theeastem side of the UK, and Channel hopedto establish a new niche market in the area.Viscount 812 G-AVHK operated the firstservice, on 20 January 1969. The route wasalso shared with the HS 748s, with de Havilland Herons operating feeder flights fromNorwich and Liverpool to East Midlands.To promote the service, G-AVHK and oneof the 748s wore special Scottish Flyertitles, although other aircraft were alsoused as required. Despite disappointingloads, Channel persevered with the route,but finally closed the service down on 28November as a result of mounting losses.

the aircraft being based at Perpignan insouthern France instead. From there theFrench-based Viscount operated to severalpoints in the UK.

During 1968, however, Air Holdingsdecided to close down Air Ferry and transfer its valuable inclusive-tour contracts toBUA's Gatwick-based One-Eleven fleet,which was under-used at the time. Subsequently, all Air Ferry operations cea ed on31 October and the Viscounts were returnedto Channel when their lease expired.

The Scottish Flyer

One of Channel's V812s, G-APPU, hadbeen written off after aquaplaning onlanding on a wet Southend runway after aflight from Rotterdam on 4 May 1968. Itended up with a fractured fuselage, almo ton the main Southend-London railwayline. Of the eighty-three passengers andfour crew on board, two crew and sixteenpassengers were seriously injured, and thirteen others sustained more minor injuries.Another of the Viscount 812s, G-APPC,wa removed from service at the end of1968, leaving eight in use.

Channel Airways' ambitious plans toexpand its pure-jet fleet meant that theinclusive-tour charters would b comealmost the sole province of the jet fleet by

1968, this time to Manston-based AirFerry, which operated charters with a fleetof elderly DC-4s and Vikings. The airlinewas owned by Air Holding, which alsoowned British United, which had supplieda pair of DC-6As to Air Ferry. As with itsManston neighbour, Invicta, Air Ferrybased only one aircraft at a time atManston, on rotation. At the beginning ofthe year one of the Viscounts was based atManchester, but later this was changed,

Treffield's pair of leased Viscount 812s were only to be seen for a few months on

charter services before the airline collapsed in disarray, when very dissatisfiedtravel industry clients cancelled contracts. Aviation Hobby Shop

Viscounts never flew commercially again.One of them, V732 G-ANRS, was sold toCambrian Airways, which used its fuselagefor cabin crew training at Cardiff for manyyears. The remaining two, G-ATDR and GATDU, were stored at Blackbushe and Liverpool respectively, and were eventuallyscrapped on site.

Channel Summer Leases

As with its Viscount 700s, the excesscapacity of Channel's V812s was soonoffered out for lease contracts. The airlinesigned a potentially lucrative contract forthe summer of 1967, for a lease of three ofthe new fleet to a new operator, TreffieldIntemational Airlines of East Midlands.Two of the Viscounts were delivered to Treffield in April 1967, at which time a programme of inclusive-tour charters openedfrom Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands,Gatwick and Liverpool, mostly to Spainand Italy. A series of serious op rationalproblems followed, with passengers enduring long delay and a great deal of disruption. As a re ult, some of the disgruntledtravel companie actually cancelled theircontracts mid-season. The short-lived airline closed down on 23 June, victim of aninexperienced management and a precarious financial base. The third Viscount wasnever handed over, having been replacedby a I ased Britannia that operated for Treffield for only a few weeks.

Slightly more successful was the lease oftwo more Viscount 812s in the summer of

The Air Ferry Viscounts split their operations between the company's main base at

Manston and Perpignan in the south of France. Air Holdings eventually closed the

airline down at the end of the 1968 summer season. Aviation Hobby Shop

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EW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTI G ROLES EW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES

a result, BKS and Cambrian Airwaybecame much clo er operationally, thoughboth airline retained their eparate comm rcial identities. The success of BK 'sreintroduction of the Viscount encouragedBEA to provide it associate with ev nmore support, in the hape of ix Vi count06 tran ~ rred from BEA between Apri1

1968 and December 1969. Offering muchneeded extra capacity on both the scheduled and charter networks, the larger Vi counts initially operated along ide the foursmaller V 700. However, the Vi count700s w re soon relegated to a back-up role,and were finally withdrawn in early 1970.By then BK was also a pure-jet operator, apair ofTrid nt 1Es having been introduced.

ambrian Airway also took d livery ofex-BEA Viscount 806s, transferred fromlate 1970 to replace its V701s. By thenCambrian was also a jet operator, havingintroduced One-Elevens in the wint r of1969-70. Th fir t V806 joined ambrianin July 1970, followed by another thatOctober and a third in January 1971. F urmore followed in the autumn of 1971, leading to the withdrawal and crapping ofmost of the remaining V 701 fleet. Three ofthe V701 did, however, earn reprieves.The oldest surviving Viscount, G-ALWF,was initially pre erved as an exhibit at liverpool, though it wa later moved to thecare of th Duxford Aviation ociety inCambridge hire, following an unsuccessfulattempt to build a museum around it at

peke Airport. In addition, G-AMOG andG-AMO actually managed to r mainactive, and w re operated by Cambrian oncharter to BOA . From 1972 the two Vi counts operated feeder flights from Pr twick to Aberdeen, Belfast and Edinburgh

r ut from Leed -Bradford saw similar traffi in r e with the H 74 s.

Thi v ry success was to be the HS 748'sdownfall with BK . By 1965 it was becoming clear that the 4 -seat HS 748s werehaving tr uble coping with the demand, soBEA Vi count 806s were chartered in formany of the busiest flights to Heathrowfrom Leed -Bradford, and Channel's Viscount 701 were chartered on several occasion in 1966 to help increase capacity. Earlier in 1966 BK began negotiations tolease three Viscounts from Channel Airway, and crew training was even undertaken at Southend. However, instead of theplanned trio of harmel aircraft, a singleV745 was acquired from United Airlinesand placed in service on the Leeds-Bradfordfrom Heathrow ervice on 9 June.

The following year BK acquired a further three Viscounts, one V786 and oneV798 from TACA of El Salvador and aV 776D from BOAC Associated Companies which had been operating for KuwaitAirways. After ousting the HS 748s,which were disposed of, and also eventually replacing the remaining Ambassadors,the BKS Viscounts also operated to Ulster,Eire, the Channel Islands and Europe onscheduled flights, as well as on the important London service from Leeds-Bradford.A busy inclusive-tour charter programme,in addition to the schedule, kept themwell occupied from the Yorkshire airport.The Viscount 700s were also operated ona number of other BK services from Newcastle and Heathrow.

Later, BEA's financial holding in BKSAir Transport was increased, this shareholding and that in Cambrian being used tohelp found British Air ervices in 1967. As

poor weather on 20 July 1965. Both pil t,the only occupants, were killed. The accident was attributed to an asymmetric flapproblem, similar to that which had cau edthe loss ofG-ALWE back in 1957. A previou ly mentioned, two of the ambrianV701s were leased to Air France in 1967in full Air France livery.

Also in 1967, Cambrian Airway becamea ubsidiary of British Air S rvice (BAS),a new company formed to administer BEA'sholdings in other airlines. In 1964 SEA hadalso bought a 30 per cent share in BK AirTran port, which had experienc d a welcome turn-round in its fortune aft r itsnear-bankruptcy in 1962. Having survivedthe traumatic years of the early 1960s, BKShad finally been in a position to reintroduceturboprop into it operation, in the form ofex-BOAC Britannias and new H 748s.The Britannias were used to upplementthe established Ambassadors on schedulesand charters from ewcastle andHeathrow. The HS 748 replaced DC-3 atLeed -Bradford, where their effect on pa senger traffic was nothing short of dramatic. The flying time from Leeds-Bradford toHeathrow was reduced from nearly ninetyminute to an hour, in a modern, comfortable turboprop aircraft that offeredconsid rable improvement over the ageingD -3s. Within months of the H 748'sintroduction, passenger traffic hadimproved by 49 per cent and load factorwere averaging 80 per cent. Other BKS

OPPOSITE PAGE: The success of the Cambrian Viscount

701 fleet was a major factor in the rapid expansion of

the Welsh carrier in the mid-1960s. Author's cOllection

RIGHT: The BKS fleet of Vis

count 700s of various markswere gathered from severalsources. The ex-Northeast

and Hawaiian AirlinesV.798D G-AVED was acquired

from TACA International

Airlines of EI Salvador.Aviation Hobby Shop

(,' I

1 Holiday bound 10 Ihe sun.2 Servicing in one of the Viscount bays.3 & 4 Cambrian's all cargo services priorto departure at Liverpool Airport.S Six Viscounts of the Cambrian fleet,

132 133

EW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES NEW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES

remaining Vi counts, selling off four in1969, two in 1970 and the last four in 1971.These last four were removed from scheduled service on 5 February 1971, but werestill used for back-up duties until 31 March.For their last few years in Lufthansa servicethe V814s were mostly operated on domestic schedules as well as 'thinner' international routes. One of them, D-ANAF, wasretained by Lufthansa as a ground instruction training airframe at Frankfurt, where itstill remains in use (at the time of writing),over thirty years later.

135

Winner Airways relied heavily on Vietnam War contracts to keep its Viscount 806 busy.

Global Air Image

of, all but one leaving the operational fleetby mid-1969. However, the Viscounts wereretained a little longer.

Three of the V814s were on lease toLufthansa's charter associate, Condor, andthese were returned to the parent airline bySeptember 1969. Condor had originallyleased-in Lufthansa Viscounts for its charter contracts as early as 1961. Even afterthearrival of its own jets, Condor continued tofly the Viscounts on inclusive-tour and adhoc charters throughout Europe. Lufthansaitself was in no hurry to dispose of its

The smart and well-maintained Viscounts of Lufthansa remained in use on short-hauland regional scheduled services until early 1971. via author

More Jets in Europe

East-Bound

also found itself being brightened up, withan almo t identical livery style but with anorange cabin roof and its traditional Wei hDragon logo modernized.

As well as those joining the BAS component airlines, BEA's other V806s were soldoff, single Viscount 06s being bought byboth Lao Air Lines and Winner Airways in1969. Lao Air Line operated its single Viscount on daily flights from the capital, Vientiane, to Pakse, Satavane and Savannakheton a domestic network, and internationallyto Phnom Penh and Singapore. The aircraftwas lost in an accident on take-off fromPhnom Penh in March 1973, and the carrier itself soon ceased operations.

Winner wa a small charter airline basedat Taipei in Taiwan which held valuablefreight contracts, mostly in support of theVietnam War. When the conflict ended,the war-based transport work for the airline dried up almost overnight. Winnerhad nursed hopes of gaining licences forscheduled domestic operations within Taiwan, but these were not forthcoming.Instead, all flying ceased and the Viscountwas left to languish at Taipei for a considerable time. A dispute between Winner,BEA and the broker that had arranged thesale, delayed any chances of reselling theViscount, and it was not until 1976 thatthe aircraft was sold and leased-on by itsnew owner on to an Indonesian carrier,PT Mandala Airlines. Mandala hadalready bought three V806s directly fromBEA in 1970, and operated them ondomestic services within Indonesia, laterin association with Seulawah Air Services,on whose routes the aircraft were alsooperated. Eventually six more Viscounts,V810s of various marks, also joined Mandala in Indonesia.

The first customer for the Boeing's new 737short-haul jet had been Lufthansa. Thecarrier had already been the first Europeanairline to place a fleet of Boeing 72 7s intoservice, and had signed up for the first version of the Boeing twinjet, the shorter-bodied 737-100, specifically to replace itsremaining Convair and Viscount propliners. When the 737s began arriving in 1968,the Convairs were the first to be disposed

'British Air Services' titles displayedprominently. As th 1970s arrived, though,it was decided to update the images ofBKSand Cambrian. From 1 November 1970BKS Air Transport changed its name toNortheast Airlines, the better to reflect itsassociation with the region of England onwhich its operations were mostly based. Abright new livery was also adopted, with ayellow cabin roof over a white cheat-lineand grey underside. Bold black titling in amore-modern font was applied. Cambrian

New Images

134

in full BOAC livery, offering a connectingservice to BOAC's transatlantic flightsfrom Prestwick.

The BAS airlines maintained a rather staidimage for their first few years of co-operation. Liveries were standardized, a simplified version of the BKS red, white and bluedesign being adopted by both carriers, with

TOP: Two of Cambrian's elderly V.701s were given

a new lease of life operating in full BOAC colours

on feeder flights for transatlantic services from

Prestwick. Steve Williams Collection

ABOVE: As well as a new livery, BKS Air Transportwas given a whole new image and renamed

Northeast Airlines in November 1970. The company

was given its own yellow-topped version of thenew BAS styling. Bill Sheridan Collection

EW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTI G ROLES NhW ADMIRERS AND SHIFTING ROLES

/

1970 to September 1971 and mostly operating from Southend to Ostend, Brugesand Ghent. From November 1970 the Vi count was joined by an HS 74S leased-infrom Autair/Court Line, and another 74Sfrom the same source wa operated in thesummer of 1971.

After the first retirements in 1969, thremaining Aer Lingus Viscounts left theoperational fleet in 1970. Many werescrapped after a period spent awaiting possible sale, including most of those thatreturned to Dublin after lease contractsexpired or were cancelled. The luckyexceptions included the ex-SATA/ATAVSOSC, which was sold to a UK leasingcompany, becoming G-BBDK. The oth rtwo convertible VSOSCs, EI-AKL and

Air Ulster's single Viscount saw only limited service for a few months.

Aviation Hobby Shop

returned to Dublin. In January 1970 UlsterAir Transport/Air Ulster ceased all remaining operations.

The original cross- hannel vehicle ferryoperation of BUA, British United Air Ferries, was renamed British Air Ferrie in1967 and became a totally separate airlinefrom BUA, though both airlines were stillowned by Air Holdings at the time. Overthe years the number of all-passenger ervices, which operated alongside the vehicle ferry flights, had steadily increased,using the ferry aircraft, Bristol Freightersand Carvairs, with extra passenger seating.To develop the non-vehicle ferry serviceon its scheduled routes from Southend,BAF leased-in a VS03 from Aer Lingus, EIAOI flying in full BAF livery from March

Swiss charter operator SATA flew HB-ILR, its second Viscount leased from Aer

Lingus, for two years. Jenny Gradidge

Dublin, in poor weather on 21 Sept mb r1967, and another ex-KLM V 03, 1AOM St Feidhlim, went missing on a flightfrom Cork to Heathrow on 3 Novemb r1965. The loss of 'AOM was the subject ofmuch speculation. Theories ranged fr munexpected structural failure to waterpouts and even stray missile from a mili

tary exercise. As none of the unfortunateoccupant survived after the aircraftcrashed into the sea, and what little wreckage that was recovered offered no definiteclues, the true cause remains a mystery.

The remaining Aer Lingus Viscountsbegan to be withdrawn during 1969, sixbeing tood down from operational useduring the year. One, VS03 EI-AOE, wasleased to wiss charter operator SATAfrom March, as HB-ILP. It was operatedalongside a single Dart-powered Convair640 and Caravelles on inclusive-tour andad hoc charters from Swiss cities, most regularly to Barcelona, Palma and Palermo.In November it was returned to Dublinand was replaced by another ex-Aer Lingus Viscount, EI-AJK, which became HBALR. This aircraft remained with SATAuntil December 1971. It was then leasedout again a month later, still as HB-ILR, toanother Swiss charter airline, AirTourisme Alpine (ATA), which was basedat Basle and operated the convertibleVSOSC, on newspaper delivery contractsbetween Geneva, Munich, Paris andZurich, as well as on temporary charters. Inearly 1972 'LR was actually leased back toSATA for two months. Shortly after theend of this lease ATA ceased operations,and Aer Lingus repossessed the Viscount.

Another short-lived operator of an AerLingus Viscount was Belfast-based UlsterAir Tran port, which operated scheduledservices as Air Ulster. Its DC-3s were operated from Belfast-Aldergrove to both theGlasgow Airports, Abbotsinch and Prestwick, as well as on short-term charters. Asingle VS03 was leased from Aer Lingu inJuly 1969 to upgrade the Glasgow serviceand offer scope for more charter work,especially on the inclusive-tour market.However, the lease of the Viscount, whichretained its Irish registration, EI-APD,only lasted until November. The aircraftsaw limited use on the route to Prestwickand the hoped-for inclusive-tour chartercontracts failed to materialize, so it was

Lingus Leases

Irish Disposals

HK-I061. This was the first-ever singlewing change on a Viscount, and wasaccomplished by TAO with the assistanceof BAC and Butler Aviation of the USA.Eventually it was decided to repair HK1057 as well, and a full set of wings fromone of the scrapped 'spares' aircraft, 1LOTI, was used. Yet another accident atNeiva, in May 1972, to HK-I05S, led tothe use of a wing from the other scrappedaircraft, I-LIRG, in a similar repair.

The much-enlarged Aer Lingus ViscountSOO fleet continued to operate alongsidethe airline's quartet of One-Elevens from1966, supplementing the new jets onroutes to the UK and Europe. However,the advent of the Boeing 737 in the Irishcarrier's fleet, early in 1969, brought a swiftend to this cosy arrangement.

Aer Lingus had lost three of its ViscountSOOs in accid nts during 1967-6S. The exKLM VS03 EI-AOE St Finghin wasdestroyed during a training sortie on 22June 1967. The VSOS EI-AKK St Aodhancrashed on approach to Bristol, from

The sale was handled by UK aircraft brokerShackleton Aviation. TAC Colombialeased the aircraft out to another Colombian carrier, Lineas Aereas la Urraca Ltda,in whose service one of the aircraft wasdestroyed in a mid-air explosion in January1972. The surviving pair were returned toTAC that September. An ex-ANA VS2Swas purchased from SAN in Ecuador in1975 by TAC, which was renamedAerovias del Cesar that year. Colombia wasalso to be the new home for Aloha Airlines'surviving Viscounts, the carrier having soldits last two aircraft to another regional independent airline, Aeropesca, at th end of1971. Aeropesca operated the Viscounts,still basically in Aloha's late-1960s 'flowerpower' colour scheme, on domestic servicesfrom Bogota.

The difficult operating environment inColombia led to a great deal of innovationin maintaining the Viscounts in flyingcondition. One of the TAO aircraft, HK1061, was badly damaged in a cra h-landing at Neiva in October 1971. A little overa fortnight later another TAO Viscount,HK-I057, was damaged in a similar crashat Bucaramanga. The undamaged starboard wing of HK-1057 was u ed to repair

Aeropesca was one of several small Colombian carriers which acquired various

marks of Viscount on the second-hand market. Bill Sheridan Collection

Alitalia had maintained its sizeable fleetof Viscount 700s even after Caravelles hadtaken over many of the denser Europeanand domestic routes. It was only when DC9-30s arrived from the USA that the airlinebegan to consider disposing of its Viscounts.Two were sold to PLUNA in 1967, and oneeach to British Midland and a regionalColombian carrier, Aerolineas TAO, in1965. The latter also bought four more exAlitalia Viscounts over the next few years,though two of them were scrapped to provide spares for the other aircraft. Ecuadorian airline SAETA bought two of the Alitalia fleet in 1969 and 1970.

The remaining three aircraft were delivered to Altialia's associate, Somali Airlinesin East Africa, in 1965, 1969 and 1970. TheSomali aircraft suffered mixed fortuneswhile flying regional routes in East Africa,one being destroyed in a forced landing aftera cabin fire in May 1970. The remaining twocontinued in service from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, for several years until theywere broken up for spares in 1977 and 1979.

Three of Austrian Airlines' VS37s alsofound their way to Colombia in 1971 and1972, being sold to Transportes Aereos delCesar, otherwise known as TAC Colombia.

136 137

.W ADMIRERS AND SHIFTI G ROLES

,-----------------------~---------------------.,

By the early 1970s most of Air Canada'Viscount 700 fleet had also been withdrawn. One of the aircraft, V 757 CF-THI,had already been pre ented to the NationalMu eum of cience and Technology asearly as 1969, where it is still preserved in itsoriginal TCA colours. At the end of 1973,though, five Viscounts remained in fulltime rvice, with another five retained onstandby. These were operated in the easternregi ns, erving routes linking Halifax,Montreal, orth Bay, Ottawa, Toronto andVal D'or. The final scheduled Viscountflight were operated on 27 April 1974,completing over twenty-nine years of turboprop service with TCA and Air Canada.

Viscount Farewells

Air anada's Vanguards began to bewithdrawn from early 1969, as they, too,were replaced by the DC-9s. This processcontinued over the following two year,the la t Vanguard pas engel' flights beingoperated on 31 October 1971. The remaining Vanguards pent their last month withAir Canada on routes to the MaritimeProvinces, from Montreal to Halifax, viaMoncton and also to Gander and St John.The sole argoliner, CF-TKK, remained inuse on all-freight services until May 1972,when it too was withdrawn.

HAPTER TEN

fleet of DC-9-lOs, delivered from 1966onwards, wa later expanded by the purchase of everal secondhand aircraft, andalso by the addition of a large number ofthe stretched DC-9-30 series ordered newfrom McDonnell Douglas.

A Busy Middle Age

BOTIOM: The Air Canada Vanguards had operated their last passenger services by the end of 1971.

Air Canada via Bill Mellberg

BELOW: Air Canada's first handful of DC-9s began to arrive in 1966. Later increases in their numbers

led to the eventual disposal of the airline's remaining Viscounts and Vanguards. Air Canada via author

As at Continental, the arrival of the 0 9 saw the beginning of the end for AirCanada's Vicker fleet. An initially mall

Air Canada Dropsthe Turboprops

Longevity Sets In

canvas seats for troop transport, and al 0

flew in support of the ruler's executive aircraft fleet. Another ex-Aer Lingus aircraftwas also bought for spares, being broken upafter it was ferried to Hum in 1973. Thiaircraft had been earmarked for sale to a

orwich-based UK operator ProgressiveAirways, and had been painted up in theairline's livery in early 1971. However,Progr ssive ceased operations before theViscount could be delivered, and plans fornew scheduled services from Norwich tothe Channel Islands and Scandinavia, forwhich it wa intended, were scrapped.

A the 1970 progressed it seemed that boththe Vis ount and Vanguard had becomeenduring features, worldwide, despiteassumptions that they would have servedtheir original purpose long since and beenconsigned to hi tory. Many airframes hadmoved on to enjoy productive lives longafter their original purchasers had believedthey were no longer viable. A quarter of acentury after the Viscount had been created, even more adventures still awaited bothof the Vickers turboprop airliners.

Being highly valuable by virtue of theirversatile convertible interior, the twoVSOSCs soon found a new owner. Theywere purchased by the Sultanate of OmanAir Force ( OAF), which had bought thetwo RAAF VS16s in 1971. Two LufthansaVS14s were also acquired in 1972, thoughone of these was written-off in an accidentat Hum before delivery to Oman. TheSOAF Viscounts were used for regionaltransport work. They could be fitted with

The BAF lease of EI-AOI saw the aircraft operating passenger services that supplemented the established

car ferry operation. Aviation Hobby Shop

,AKO, were sold to West German charteroperator Air Commerz Flug in 1970. Operating both pa senger and cargo chartersthroughout Europe from their new base atHamburg, the Viscounts, regi tered 0ADAM and D-ADAN, were eventuallyjoined by two Boeing 707s. Air ommerzsu cumbed to bankruptcy on 1 September1972 and the aircraft were repossessed byAer Lingus, which was owed a great deal ofmoney for maintenance on the aircraft.

The Sultanate of Oman Air Force fleet of Viscounts, some of them equipped with

large cargo doors, were operated both on general transport duties and VIP services.

Jenny Gradidge

138 139

A BUSY MIDDLE AGE A BUSY MIDDLE AGE

A fifth, nose-mounted, engine was eventually fitted to C-FTID for research anddevelopment work. Jenny Gradidge

fuul'9' Siringer,RH'''''l1t.

VIEW LOOKING FORWARD

_._._ - Tun. Impact dam~

~i~fffr: F'.r!J "an r'co ....r.d

~~~~~ Fold .nd crunchvd lonu

Tragedy over Belgium

..I

\

\~=~=~~,.

Although their numbers had been seriously depleted bythe Merchantman programme, there were still fiveV951 s and six V953 BEA Vanguards in passenger ser·vice in 1971. As well as the domestic trunk routes toBelfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, they werealso used on international services to Alghero, Gerona,Gibraltar, Madrid, Malta, Palma, Salzburg and Shannon.In the winter of 1971-72 the Vanguards also operatedtwice a day from Birmingham to Paris, and on a dailyBirmingham-Dublin flight.

That summer season's Vanguard flying, which hadbeen as uneventful and dependable as usual. came to asad end on 2 October 1971. On that day, V951 G-APECwas scheduled to operate the London-Salzburg flight,and left Heathrow at 09.34hr with eight crew and fiftyfive passengers on board. At 10.04hr the aircraft hadalready crossed the Channel and was over Belgium, enroute to its Austrian destination, and routinely reportedpassing the Wulpen VOR (VHF omnidirectional radiorange; a fixed signal-emitting beacon, the most commonradio navigation aidl at flight level 190. ('Flight levels' arealtitudes in controlled airspace, where altimeters are setto a standard pressure setting of 1013.3mB. FL190 is19,OOOft (5,800ml at this setting, FL150 is 15,000ft14,500m), and so on.l Five minutes later, however, at10.09hr, radio messages from the crew reported that theywere 'going down', followed by two voices giving the'Mayday' distress call several times over. Other distortedcalls followed to the effect that they were 'going downvertically' and 'out of control', all of which suddenlyceased 54 seconds after the first distress calls. At10.1 OAO the stricken G-APEC smashed into a field closeto the village of Aarsele, its impact making a large crater.All on board were killed instantly.

It soon became evident that the outer two-thirds ofboth tailplanes and left elevator, together with the entireright elevator, were not at the wreckage site, and musthave become detached. These were later found, in fragments, scattered downwind from the track of the flight,northwest of the main wreckage. The ensuing investigation showed that the rear pressure bulkhead had apparently ruptured, having suffered corrosion caused by aleaky toilet. The force of the cabin's pressurized air suddenly expelling through the rupture blew off the elevators and tailplane, forcing G-APEC into adive from whichthere was no hope of recovery. As aresult of the findings,all Vanguards were restricted to a maximum cruisingheight of 1O,OOOft (3,000m) until they had been examinedand a strengthening modification for the rear bulkhead,recommended as a precaution by BAC, undertaken.

TOP: The unfortunate V.951 G-APEC had served BEA forten years when it was lost in t971. via author

BOTTOM: The corrosion and tears in the bulkhead ofG-APEC became apparent when the wreckage wasrecovered and reassembled. via author

maintenance programmes, the companyhad modified a number of Britannias withretrofitted cargo doors and freight floors forseveral British independent airlines. TheVanguard conversion entailed the fitting ofa large, upward-opening freight door, 139in(3.53m) long and 80in (2m) high, in theforward port fuselage. All passenger cabinwindows were to be blocked out, and astrengthened roller-floor was to be installedto facilitate the speedy loading of cargo.

The Vanguard's capacious fuselage wouldbe able to accommodate up to 18% tons(l8.7 tonnes) in its 3,850cu ft (109cu m)and could accommodate standard cargo pallet. The airline adopted the name Merchantman for its all-freighter Vanguards.The contract with Aviation Traders coveredthe Merchantman design and the conversion of two of the five BEA Vanguards initially selected modification. AviationTraders would supply the components in kitform for BEA to carry out the work itself onthe remaining three aircraft, and for anysubsequent adaptions.

New Lease of Life at BEA

Although Air Canada had decided to dispose of its Vanguards, BEA had other ideasfor its aircraft. As early as 1966, speculative tenders had been invited for the conversion of a number of the Vanguards to anall-freight configuration. The experimental cargo ervices operated by G-APEL hadconvinced the airline that the aircraftmight still have a profitable future in allfreight operations. The small fleet ofArgosies was struggling to earn any moneyat all. Their break-even load factor wasapproximately 73 per cent, and the average loads carried were barely in the regionof 55 per cent. It was calculated that an allcargo conversion of the Vanguard wouldoffer break-even loads 25 per cent lowerthan those of the Argosies, placing thefreight services on a more viable footing.

The conversion contract was eventually awarded to Aviation Traders Ltd ofSouth-end in Essex. With a well-established reputation for aero-engineering and

The newly installed main-deck cargo door gave the Vanguard a new future as ahigh-capacity dedicated freighter. Jenny Gradidge

Canadian Trade-ins

One of the V.757s, CF-TID, faced a verydifferent future to those of most of its colleagues. In 1972 it was sold to United Aircraft of Canada as a flying test-bed. Thecompany later became Pratt & WhitneyAircraft of Canada. One of the first tasksfor the re-registered C-FTID-X was toserve in the development of the Pratt &Whitney PT-6 turboprop engine. Afterbeing tried in two different po itions onthe wing, in place of one of the Darts, aprototype PT-6 was finally fitted in theViscount's nose and operated as a fifthengine. The nose engine's propeller rotated in the opposite direction to those onthe wing, in an ffort to retain asymmetryand reduce stress on the airframe. The aircraft continued to serve Pratt & Whitn yon similar projects until 1989.

Some of the redundant Vanguards weretraded in as part of the purchase of a fleetof new widebody Lockheed L.l 0 11 TriStars. The TriStars were being bought byAir Canada via a third party, Air Holdings(Sales) Ltd of the UK, which had orderedno fewer than thirty of them from Lockheed for resale outside the USA. Initiallyonly five Vanguards were included in theAir Canada deal, but the number was laterincreased to twelve.

Air Holdings took delivery of eight ofthe Vanguards during 1969, and threeother stored Air Canada aircraft were soldto another aircraft sales company, AviacoTraders (Lockheed). The e were also to behandled by Air Holdings under a separateagreement with Lockheed. The first eightAir Holdings aircraft were all ferried to theUK for storage at ambridge during 1969,where they were joined by the AviacoTraders trio the same year. The remainderof the Air Holdings aircraft arrived in1972, as they were withdrawn from scheduled service in Canada. Four passengerVanguards and the sole Cargoliner weresold directly by Air Canada to Europe AeroService (EAS), of Perpignan, France, in1972-73. These were later joined at EASby two of the three Aviaco Traders aircraft.The final three unsold Air Canada Vanguards were sold to a Panamanian company, Cie Interamericana Export-Import SAin August 1973. They were all scrapped onsite at Montreal, for spares. While CFTKM was being dismantled, a fire brokeout and destroyed it on the ramp at Dorval.

740 747

First to be earmarked for conversion wasG-APEM, which was flown to Southendon 1 October 1968. The second aircraft,G-APEO, was ferried to outhend on 2January 1969, and BEA began work on GAPEK at Heathrow in May. In November1969 G-APEG was withdrawn ftOmscheduled service and flown to Cranfield,where it was to take part in trials of thenew onboard computer system beingdesigned for the Merchantman.

In the meantime 'EM was rolled out atSouthend as a full Merchantman, makingits first po t-conversion flight on 10 October 1969. Following a number of test flightsover the next month, 'EM became the firstof the type to receive certification, beingdelivered back to BEA at Heathrow on 26November. The first commercial Merchantman service, a Heathrow-StuttgartVienna-Heathrow round trip, was operated by 'EM on 7 February. The second aircraft returned to Heathrow from Southendon 23 February 1970, just under a weekafter the conversion and certification of'EK was completed by BEA at Heathrowon 17 February. A fourth Merchantman,G-APES, was awarded its new C of A on 1April. Two more Vanguards, G-APEL and'EP, were withdrawn from passenger servicein early 1970 to undergo conversion.

With four of the fleet in service, BEAwas finally able to dispose of its Argosies,which operated their last BEA services on30 April. The new Merchantman quartetwas operated on the international cargoflights from Heathrow to Amsterdam,Athens, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin,Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Malta,Milan, Nicosia, Paris, Stuttgart, Turin,Vienna and Zurich. This was in addition todomestic cargo schedules from Heathrowto Belfast, Guernsey, Glasgow, Jersey andManchester. Encouraged by the success ofthe first services, BEA had adapted nine ofits V953s by 1973, 'EG and 'EJ following'EP and 'ES in the programme. The V951swere deemed unsuitable for Merchantmanconversion owing to their lower operatingweights, which would restrict their usefulness in all-cargo mode.

BEA's Last Days

The remaining pas enger-equipped Vanguards continued in BEA service through1972 and 1973, gradually reducing in numbers. One V951, G-APEF, was sold to aleasing broker, Templewood Aviation, in

A BUSY MIDDLE AGE

1972, end wo others, G-APEA and GAPE ,w r r tired and scrapped at the endof the umm r season. The last of BEA'sV951. -AP B, met a similar fate inJune1973. Two m re of the V953s were sold toTemplewo d by 1974, leaving just threeVanguard in passenger service when BEAwas merged with BOAC on 1 April 1974 tocreal' Briti h Airway . The passenger Vanguards' employment for their last fewmonths with the airline was confined tolimited use on scheduled routes to Edinburgh, Gibraltar and Jersey from Heathrow.The day of the airline's last Vanguard passenger service inevitably came round, andon 16 June 1974 V953 G-APEU operateda round trip from Heathrow to Jersey. Thislast revenue load from the Channel Islandsto London brought BEA/British Airway'stotal number of Vanguard passengers carried in nearly fourteen years of service to animpressive total of21,874,nO.

The Merchantman fleet continuedoperations after the departure of the lastpassenger Vanguards. The longe I' scheduled freight service regularly operated wasto Nicosia, usually via Athens, flown oncea week. In 1974 and 1975, however, anumber of marathon transatlantic tripswere made to the USA to collect passenger seats and spares for Briti h Airways'own new L.1011 TriStaI' fleet from Lockheed's California factory.

Short-Lived Leases

The ex-Air Canada Vanguards, which hadbeen gathered together by Air Holdings,totalled eleven by November 1969. Mostwere delivered, via Stansted, straight intostorage at Cambridge. The first to arrive,CF-TKN, was ferried to Heathrow foroverhaul shortly after its delivery flight inMarch. This work, undertaken by BEA forAir Holdings was completed on 22December, and the aircraft was given thenew UK registration G-AXNT. On itsreturn to Air Holdings at Stansted, the aircraft began a series of crew training flightsin preparation for the first lease contractthe company had been able to arrange forits new Vanguard fleer.

Indonesian Angkasa Civil Air Transportof Djakarta had been operating a pair ofBritannia 102s on charter work in th Far East.In particular, the company wa involved inthe transport of Muslim pilgrim fromIndonesia to Saudi Arabia to visit the holyshrines at Mecca during the annual 'Hadj'.

742

A contract for the lease of one aircraft wassigned with Air Holdings, and anotherVanguard, CF-TKJ, which had become GAXOO, was delivered a PK-I C in February 1970. Configured in a 146-seat layout,the Indonesian Vanguard seems to havearrived too late to operate any of the Hadjflights, which were still operated by the Britannias. The Vanguard was found alternative work, operating cargo charters toSaigon four times a week, and twice-weekly to Sydney. Even this work appears tohave b en short-lived, though, as 'ICC wasreturned to Stansted on 26 April andAngkasa ceased all operations.

A single-aircraft lease was arranged withBeirut-based Lebanese Air Transport, andG-AXNT was accordingly delivered on 29May. Intended to be operated on tobaccocharters between Beirut and the UK, theVanguard was crewed by Air Holdings personnel, but very little commercial flyingseems to have taken place. On 10 June GAXNT was returned to Air Holdings, andLebanese Air Transport soon faded intohistory. However, 'NT was idle for only afew months. The reconstituted Invicta AirCargo had continued to operate three DC4s on cargo flights from Manston after theairline had extracted itself from theabortive merger with British Midland.Invicta was impressed by the V952 Vanguard's maximum 18-ton capacity compared with the DCA's mere 8 tons, andsigned up to lease G-AXNT. The aircraftwas put into Invicta service in October1970, flying cargo charters from Manstonaround Europe and to North Africa.

Another of the Vanguards found a temporary home, CF-TKD, now G-AXOY,being despatched north to Air Viking inIceland on 2 June 1970 as TF-AVA. Basedat Keflavik, the aircraft began operatingpassenger inclusive-tour charters toEurope. The most popular of these was toPalma, which could take up to five hoursto reach from Iceland. A refuelling stopwas usually made at Stansted on thereturn flight. The Air Viking Vanguardalso operated a round-trip passenger charter on 2 July on behalf of Channel Airways from Stansted to Palma, as well asseveral ad hoc charters from Keflavik toDenmark, Germany and the UK. ByDecember, however, much of the charterwork had dried up for the winter, and theVanguard was returned to Stansted at theend of the lease.

Only two months later, in February 1971,TF-AVA I' turned to Iceland. This time it

had been stripped of its passenger fittingsand wore the title of Thor Cargo. It hadalso been reregi tered yet again, as TF-JEJ. Amonth later a second Vanguard joined theThor fleet, ex-CF-TKB and G-AYFN, reregistered as TF-JE The two wereemployed on cargo contracts that took themmostly between Iceland and Germany,though they also ventured as far south asItaly and North Africa. Unfortunately, ThorCargo was forced to cease operations on 13

A BUSY MIDDLE AGE

June 1971, and both aircraft were returnedto Air Holdings at Stansted.

A part of the investigation into the lossof BEA's G-APEC over Belgium in 1971,one of the ex-Air Canada Vanguards instorage with Air Holdings at Cambridge,CF-TKI, was used for a series of bulkheadpressure tests by the UK accident investigation authorities. Following the tests theaircraft wa scrapped and reduced to sparesby Air Holdings.

743

ABOVE: The first Invicta Vanguard, G-AXNT, offered a

huge increase in capacity over the DC-4s. via author

LEFT: Two different Icelandic charter companies

operated V.952 TF-JEJ over two years. Air Viking

flew the Vanguard on passenger charters in 1970.

and Thor Cargo operated it as a freighter in 1971.

via author

BonOM: The V.952F G-AYLD was the only

Merchantman not to be converted specifically

for BEA. Aviation Hobby Shop

A New MerchantmanAir Holdings soon noticed that theenquiries it was receiving regarding theVanguards increasingly centred on theirpossible use as freighters. Putting to u e theexperience gained by its associate, AviationTraders, in designing and producing theMerchantman conversions for BEA, thecompany decided to convert one of the exAir Canada aircraft as a demon trator forpotential clients. Having selected CFTKG, ATEL began work on turning the aircraft into a Merchantman in May 1970, atSouthend, and the 'new' Merchantman wasrolled out as G-AYLD on 8 July 1971. Aswell as the new registration, the aircraft wasgiven a fresh livery with Air Holdings(Sales) Ltd titles. This was the first of theex-Canadian fleet to wear anything but themost rudimentary adaptation of the basicAir Canada livery, its new two-tone bluescheme being ba ed on that of British AirFerries, which was also owned by Air Holdings at the time.

A series ofdemonstration flights followedthe first post-conversion flight on 21 July,


Invicta returned to passenger operations with its pair of Vanguard 952s in 1971. Steve Williams Collection

Return to Indonesia

Even though Air Hold ing's 1970 lease of thesingle Vanguard to Indonesian Angkasacould hardly be regarded as a commercialtriumph, within two year the type was onceagain to be found in the skies above the FarEastern island nation. At the time, government-owned PN Merpati Nusantara Airlines was experiencing a boom in traffic onit domestic routes. Having already operated a fleet of secondhand Viscounts, Met-patiwas very inclined to regard the Vanguard asa viable alternative to pure jets.

Initially Merpati leased-in three Vanguards from Templewood Aviation, two exAir Canada V952s from the Air Holdingsstock and a single ex-BEA V951. The firsttwo aircraft arrived in March and May 1972,and the third, the ex-BEA aircraft, arrivedthat November. The Vanguards were introduced on the airline's busier passengerschedules from Djakarta to point uch asMedan, Surabaya and Ujung Pandang.They were soon proving themselves usefulon routes serving both business and touri ttraffic and, when one of the V952s wasreturned to the UK and the V951 wascrapped at Djakarta in July 1973, the

remaining aircraft was soon joined by one ofthe ex-Air Trader V953s. These two werereturned to the UK in April 1974, but wereimmediately replaced by British Airways'last three passenger Vanguards, G-APEH,G-APEI and G-APEN, which b came PKMVF, 'MVD and 'MVE respectively.

Europe Aero Service's first Vanguards operated a variety of inclusive-tourand short-term charters from Paris and Perpignan. Jenny Gradidge

flights from various European points toTarbes, and were also very popular oninclusiv tours and student exchange charters. The Vanguards were also occasionallyoperated on EAS' small scheduled routenetwork, which was usually served by a pairof Dart Heralds. These operated from Perpignan to Nimes, Paris and Palma, and theVanguards replaced the Heralds whenloads warranted it. Two more passengerVanguards and the ex-Cargoliner had alljoined the operational fleet by the end ofthe year, to be followed by a further pair ofpa seng r aircraft, from Aviaco Traders, inmid-I973. These last two Vanguards weregiven French 'overseas' registrations andput into passenger service on a year-longcontract for the French government, basedin Tchad and the Sahara regions. At theend of this contract the aircraft were

Following Air Trader's financial collapse, its fleet was returned to Air Holdings.

via author

Vanguards witha French Flavour

from Aviation Traders' stock, CF-TKO, wasdelivered from storage in Canada, viaSouthend, and ferried immediately to Bromma, where it was cannibalized for spares. Thecolourful trio were kept busy on flights thatoften ventured to North Africa and the Middle East. On 31 July the Merchantman evenreached as far south as Johannesburg.

However, this early success did not continue, Air Trader finding itself in seriousfinancial difficulties by October. A temporary grounding of the fleet wa lifted inNovember, wh n a new investor wasfound. The Merchantman and one of theVanguards were returned to service andwere seen on a number of cargo chartersfrom Scandinavia to the UK in late 1972.Unfortunately the revival proved to beshort-lived, and Air Trader had returnedall three aircraft to Aviation Traders byearly 1973.

returned to France, where one was scrappedfor spares and the other was placed intoEuropean charter service.

B twe n May and June 1972 the first threeEurope Aero Service (EAS) Vanguardsentered service. Replacing a small fleet ofD -6Bs, they were mostly operated fromEAS's Paris base at Le Bourget, which waslater moved to Orly, as well as from thecompany's head office and maintenancebase at Perpignan in the south of France.The first two aircraft were flown on passenger charters, while the third was configured as a freighter.

As with Invicta's Vanguard fleet, theEAS aircraft were often used on pilgrim

passenger work, Invicta's Vanguards stillattracted a number of smaller holidaycompanies and travel organizations whotill appreciated the economics of the tur

boprop and the aircraft's very useful capacity of up to 146 passengers. Typical of theseimportant sources of regular revenue was acontract signed with Tyrolean Travel forfrequent inclusive-tour charter flights toMunich from Edinburgh, Luton and Manchester, from 13 May 1972.

The Air Holdings (Sales) MerchantmanG-AYLD remained idle at Southend foreveral month before it was finally found

a new home. An w Swedish cargo charterairline, Air Trader, acquired a lease on theaircraft to operate a series of freight flightsfrom Stockholm to Bangladesh on behalfof the Red Cros . Following repainting ina dramatic blue and orange livery, theMerchantman was delivered to Stockholm's Bromma Airport on 22 January1972. Crew training followed, and the firstcommercial service to Bangladesh leftBromma on 12 February, bound for Dacca.

In-between runs to Bangladesh the company found short-term cargo work aroundEurope and to die Middle East. Another ofAviation Traders' fleet was prepared for leaseto Air Trader and delivered to Bromma on13 April. A third Vanguard, on of the exTIlor Cargo fleet, followed in July. A fourth

Swedish Interlude

ent r cl rvi in April, with charters toBa I and usseldorf. The passenger Vanguard p r tions were based at Luton inBed~ rd hire, with the cargo aircraft tillflying fr m Manston, though occasionalpasseng r h rters were operated from theKent ba as well. Gatwick was also a regular departur point for the Vanguards, services being p rated to Le Bourget, Rotterdam and Tarbes in the first few months ofoperation. tansted was the starting pointfor one of the Invicta International Vanguard fleet's more spectacular charters of1971, 'OP operating a direct passengercharter flight to Tel Aviv on 5 October.

Both passenger Vanguards soon settledinto a healthily varied charter programme,with a mixture of inclusive-tour contractflights to th Mediterranean, Ministry ofDefence charters carrying servicemen andtheir families to Dusseldorf, student charters to Milan and Rome, and catholic pilgrim services to Tarbes. The pilgrim flightsto Tarbes, serving nearby Lourdes, werealso operated from other UK points such asBlackpool and Gatwick. So succes ful wasInvicta's fir t season with the Vanguardthat the passenger fleet was doubled. Thex-Air Viking Vanguard, G-AXOY, andanother ex-Air Canada aircraft, CF-TKF,which arrived directly from Canada tobecome G-AZRE, were both ready in service by May to operate a much-expandedcharter programme for 1972.

At a time when most of the larger charter airlines had converted to pure jet for

The use of G-AXNT on freight servicesimpressed Invieta's founder and managingdirector, Wg Cdr Hugh Kennard, to theextent that overtures were soon being madeto Air Holdings with a view to acquiringmore aircraft. Instead of cargo Vanguards,though, Kennard was now interested inrestarting his passenger charter operations,previously operated by Viscounts and DC4s before the BMA merger.

Consequently, G-AXOO, the exAngkasa aircraft, was made ready for Invicta and delivered to Manston on 1 March1971. The new passenger division was tooperate as Invicta International Airlines.On 8 May '00 was followed by G-AXOP,previously CF-TKV, which had been instorage since its arrival from Canada inJune 1969. In the meantime, '00 had

including a Southend-Ostend outhendservice operated for BAF on 24 August.Other demonstration flights were operatedto Dusseldorf, and Lubeck was also visitedin August. This was the home base ofGerman operator Elbeflug, which Air Holdings hoped it could interest in a Merchantman order to replace its fleet ofDC-6As and Nord Nortalases. No orderfollowed this flurry of activity, however, soG-AYLD was stored at Southend to awaitnew opportunities.

Invicta Returns toPassenger Service

144 145

A BUSY MIDDLE AGE A B Y MIDDLE AGE

ABOVE: Vintage Viscount 802 G-AOJE was assigned to the 'new' BEA Scottish Airways

Division. Steve Williams Collection

from Birmingham to Dublin and Paris andDu eldorf, as well as operating some inclu-ive-tour charters. Secondhand One-Eleven

400s were eventually acquired by BA for u eby cotti h Airways and Channel IslandsAirway, and the Trident 1E followed its oldChannel Airways stablemate to Northeast.

ew H 748s were ordered for some of thecotti h regional services previously operat

ed by the Viscounts. When the secondhandOne-Elevens and new 748s were delivered,some thirteen of the higher-hour V802were withdrawn and scrapped.

The operations of Cambrian Airways,Channel Islands Airways, Northeast Airlines and Scottish Airways were eventually 'rationalized' into a new British AirwaysRegional Division, with effect from IApril 1976. From that date the originalconstituent airlines ceased to exist and thenew division operated the fleets of TridentI Es, One-Eleven 400s and Viscount. Thibrought the surviving V802 and V806sback togeth r in th am fleet once again,and British Airways Regional now operated both versions. Although it wa nowover twenty years since the fir t cheduledBEA Viscount ervice, the tru ty Vi countwas still making its presence felt throughout the UK, and continued to make itsown significant contribution to th newBritish Airways operation.

with. H c..I that come about, it was proposedthat hannel Island Airways would haveadopted a green version of the BA livery,and cotti h Airway a blue one.

On the transformation of BEA into BritishAirways European Division, in 1974, theViscount operating units of BEA begantaking on the new red, white and bluecolours, but initially kept their own operating identity. While 'British Airways' wanow the predominant titling on the aircraft, small titles on the lower forwardfuselage identified the division concerned.Cambrian and Northeast lost their colourfulliveries in the changeover, but continued to exist in their own right, with theirown administration and op rational control. Even the ageing pair of Cambrian Viscount 70 I operated on the Prestwick services took up the bright new BA livery andwere operated in those colours untilMarch 1976.

In late 1971 BEA had bought ChannelAirway' pair of Trident IEs. One was transferred to Northeast Airlines, and BEAChannel Islands Airway had taken deliveryof the other by early 1972. TI1e aircraftreplaced Viscount on scheduled services

The British Airways Influence

The absorption of the Cambrian and Northeast Viscount 806s by the new British Airways Regional Divisionsaw the reunification of the survivors from the original BEA Viscount 800 fleet. SA via author

the Gibraltar-Tangiers route, reviving asimilar arrangement previou ly u d withBEA' V 701 . Gibair also sub-leased the aircraft to Royal Air Maroc for a number ofdomestic service from Tangier andCasablanca in 1971/1972. The u e of BEAViscount by Gibair ended in January 1974,when an ex-NZ AC V807 was deliveredto Gibraltar. Although osten ibly owned byBEA, G-BBVH wa lea ed to Gibair for itsexclu ive use, being sold to the airline sevenyear later. The solitary Viscount was operated by Gibair, later renamed GB Airways,until it wa damaged beyond repair in aheavy landing as late as 1988.

A the new divisions became established,the Viscounts were painted with additional'Scottish Airways' or 'Channel Island'titling over the BEA livery, thoughexchanges of fleet members between thetwo divi ions were common. It was by nomeans unusual for the cottish Airwaysinternal network to be operated by a Viscount bearing 'Channel Islands' marking,nor for an apparently 'Scottish' aircraft tobe een operating the daily GuernseyGatwick flight. Tentative plans to rebrandthe two divisions in the style of ortheastand Cambrian and hand their operationover to BA were overtaken by eventswhen BEA and BOAC merged to becomeBriti h Airways, and were not proceeded

the original independent airlines that hadbeen taken over by BEA on its formationin the late 1940 .

even V802 were allocated to BEAScotti h Airways and based at Glasgow.Taking over the previous cottish Divi-ion, it operated all the internal Scotti h

services with the Viscounts and twoHeron, as well as schedules to Heathrowfrom Aberdeen and Inverness, and theGlasgow-Belfa t route. The Inverne Heathrow flight, the longest non-stop rvice within the UK, was operated in 2hr10min by the Viscounts. Although BEAChannel Island Airways was, as indicatedby its title, re ponsible for many of thescheduled ervices to the two main hannel Islands, Jersey and Guernsey, it wasactually based at Birmingham. Allocatedthe remaining twelve V802s, ChannelIslands also flew the scheduled servic sfrom Birmingham within the UK to Eireand Europe, as well as the Channel IslandViscount flights from point such asHeathrow, Gatwick and Southampton.

The Birmingham-based division wa alsoresponsibl for one of its Viscount 802sleased out to Gibair in Gibraltar. This aircraft had finally replaced Gibair's DC-J on

a h p rating as a separate 'profit centre'in i own right within BEA. The remaining Vi ount 02 were split between twonew divi in, BEA cotti h Airways andBEA hann I Islands Airways, responsiblefor the heduled services from their appropriate K r gion. The two 'new' operatorswere giv n th re urrected name of two of

BelOW: Based at Birmingham's Elmdon Airport, BEA's Channel Island Airways Division

was responsible for Viscount operations from several UK and Channel Island airports.

Steve Richards

BEA Viscount ChangesEven when BEA had finally dispersed itsV 06s, either passing them on to it BAubsidiaries or selling them to new owners,

a considerable fleet of V802 wa stillavailable. In 1971 the airline was restructured into a number of mailer divisions,

146 147


Ghana Airways often operated its Viscount 838s on joint services with neighbouring Nigeria Airways.Jenny Gradidge

had been written-off following a fire ontake-off at Heathrow on 22 January 1970.

The variety of Viscount models in service was a major source of operational andengineering problems for BMA. Differently-rated engines and other variations inequipment fitted in the aircraft requiredlarge expensive stores of different spares tobe on hand to cover all eventualities. Therewere even differences in the cabin configurations, which could make fleet schedulingand passenger reservations management anightmare. In an attempt to introduce morestandardization, BMA bought the sevenstrong AA fleet. By late 1973 all threeV831s had been sold off, and four more exLufthansa V814s were acquired.

Lufthansa had originally sold thV814s to Nora Air Service GMBH(NAS), a new charter company thatplanned to fly the aircraft on inclusivetour charters from northern Germany. Inaddition, NAS had hoped to use the Viscounts to transport foreign workers fromWest Germany to their homeland, andno fewer than six ex-Lufthansa V814were purchased, though not all weredelivered. However, despite the Viscountsbeing painted up in the rather garish yellow-and-pink NAS colour schem , thecompany was unable to begin commercialoperations and four of the fleet wereacquired by BMA.

With the growth of BMA's Viscountfleet, more scheduled services were openedfrom East Midlands to Paris, Frankfurt, viaBirmingham and Brussels, Birminghamto Heathrow, in partnership with British

Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Theairline had also been awarded theSouthend-Channel Island routes after thedemise of Channel Airways. The Viscountsopened most of the new ervices, though theOne-Elevens later took over the TeesideLondon route. Before the ex-South AfricanAirways fleet arrived, BMA was still operating one V815 and three V831s. Previously,a V833 had been leased in 1969-70 toreplace the V815 lost in the Manchesteraccident, and an ex-Lufthansa V814 which

British Midland Airways was operating several different models of Viscount by theearly 1970s. including ex-Airwork and BUA V.831 G-ASED. Steve Richards

Viscount 7820 VP-WAS became a victim of the Rhodesian Civil War when it wascallously shot down in an act of terrorism. via author

SAA Viscounts Trek North

The SAA fleet of V813s enjoyed a longand productive career with the airline untilthey were replaced by Boeing 727s, andlater 737s, by the early 1970s. An exCubana V818 had been acquired in 1962,though this aircraft was lost in a crash intothe sea 22 miles (35km) off East London on13 March 1967. The seven SAA V813sfound a new home en masse, in 1972, whenthe entire fleet was sold, together with aizeable spares package, to BMA. The first

began to arrive at BMA's engineering baseat East Midlands in early 1972.

The Viscount had proved to be ideal forBMA's mixed network of seasonal holidayand business travel-based routes. By mid1970 all the Viscount 700s had all beenreplaced by an assortment of Viscount 800and 810 models, and the type wa firmlyestablished as the backbone of the airline'fleet. Although BMA's first pure jets hadarrived in 1970, in the form of new OneEleven 500s and secondhand Boeing 707for use on charters, the turboprop was tillviewed as the ideal aircraft for all but ahandful of the scheduled services.

As well as the established East Midlandsbased routes, in 1969 BMA took over anumber of scheduled routes from Teeside, inthe northeast ofEngland, including a potentially lucrative trunk route to LondonHeathrow, and seasonal services to the

Hills, 10 miles (l6km) from Lake Kariba,while en route to Salisbury with four crewand fifty-two passengers on board. In a particularly harrowing sequel to the episode,half-an-hour after the crash, the revolutionari who had shot the aircraft downarrived on the scene and cold-bloodedlyshot dead one man, seven women and twochildren who had survived the initialimpact. Eight other survivors were lucky toescape with their lives. Five months later,VP-YND Umniati was similarly broughtdown, close to the same spot, with the losof all fifty-nine passengers and crew.

Following these incidents, some of theAir Rhodesia Viscounts were given low-visibility all-grey, colour schemes and carrieddevices to divert heat-seeking missiles. In1980, after the fall of the old apartheidbased regime, the airline became Air Zimbabwe, after a short period operating as AirZimbabwe-Rhodesia. The network wasexpanded, following the lifting of sanctions,with the Boeing 720s replaced by 707s andoperating on new routes as far as Australia,as well as expanding the European network.Nonetheless, the Viscounts remained in service on most of the domestic routes whilemodern replacements were evaluated andsought. Extra secondhand aircraft were evenacquired as late as 1981.

New R gime, New Name

form f an ex-TAA V756D, from 1969,before d laring bankruptcy in 1972.

The ex- AA Viscount 700s continued tooperate with their Rhodesian successordespite the difficu lties experienced inoperating under strict international sanctions. Air Rhodesia showed a great deal ofingenuity in gathering spares for the aircraft, and managed to keep its fleet viablethroughout the 1970s, until Boeing 720were acquired to take over the more prestigious routes and expand services toEurope once more. Even then, the Viscounts still maintained services on manyimportant regional international routes,such a Salisbury to Blantyre, Johannesburg and Lorenco Marques.

The end of the 1970s saw the AirRhodesia Viscount fleet caught up inappalling events. A vicious civil war wasraging in the troubled country, and on twoseparate occasions, in September 1978 andFebruary 1979, revolutionary forces shotdown civilian Air Rhodesia Viscounts,using ground-to-air missiles.

On 3 September 1978 VP-WAS Hunyani was brought down in the Whamira

Still Under African Skies

The trio of V838 Viscounts supplied toGhana Airways had been reduced to a pairin 1965 when one was sold off to the RoyalAircraft Establishment in the UK. Theremaining two continued to lead a busy lifeoperating the carrier's regional international and busier domestic routes from Accra foranother ten years, until small regional jets,such as the Fokker F28 Fellowship, arrivedin the mid-1970s to replace them. As wellas operating Ghana's own services, a number of joint operations were und rtaken inassociation with Nigeria Airways. Nigeriaalso leased-in a V815 from British Midlandfor the winter of 1968-69.

One of the ex-Burma Airways V761Dswas leased out to Air Botswana briefly in1979-80, joining an ex-MEA V754D thathad been in ervice since 1976. Unfortunately, services were short-lived on cheduled services from the capital, Gaborone, to outhAfrica and Zambia, and the aircraft wereeventually returned to their South Africanbroker owner. The aircraft were both eventually operated, although at separate periods, bySouth African independent United Air forseveral years on charter work. Botswana's previous national canier, Botswana NationalAirways, had also operated a Viscount, in the

148 149

A B SY MIDDLE AGE A BUSY MIDDLE AGE

Viscount 815 G-AVJB was Kestrel's sole fleet member following the airline's sale ofits original DC-3. As well as flying a handful of inclusive-tour contracts for Kestrel,the aircraft operated a great many scheduled services for BMA and Dan-Air undercharter. Bill Sheridan Collection

Alidair Joins theEMA Viscount Club

Another new venture also began charterservices from East Midlands with Viscountsin 1972. Alidair was originally formed in1971 to provide executive flight servicesfor its parent company, a midlands-basedpackaging organization. Initially basedat Hucknall, it flew two Piper TwinComanches and a Beagle Pup. With a viewto expanding the flying operation, AlidairCargo was registered in January 1972, tocarry out freight charter work from Hucknail. As part of the expansion plan, Alidairhad already relocated its head office to EastMidlands in preparation for the propo edcargo services, as custom facilities were notavailable at Hucknall.

However, the demise ofChannel Airwaysin early 1972 offered a unique opportunityfor Alidair to transform its proposed operation, and the Alidair Cargo plans were modified to include passenger charter operations. In April the last three rvic able

and operated that airline's scheduled services to the Isle of Man from Bristol,Cardiff, Carlisle, Newcastle and Pre twickevery weekend, while operating ad hoc andinclusive-tour charters for Kestrel duringthe week. The DC,3 was sold in August,leaving the Viscount as Kestrel's sole fleetmember. The Dan-Air contract endedwith the close of the summer season and,unable to find sufficient work for the winter months, Kestrel International wasforced to close down and the Viscount wasrepos essed by BMA in November.

Brief Kestrel Summer

With the arrival of the ex- AA Viscountfleet, BMA proceeded further with its standardization policy by attempting to disposeof the last V,81S in the fleet, G-AVJB. Theaircraft was leased out to yet another newneighbour at East Midlands, Kestrel International Airways. Originally based at LyddAirport, Kent, Kestrel had started operations in late 1970 with a single DC-3. Busine s wa fairly slow initially, and in early1971 the company's base was moved to EastMidlands, from where it was hoped morecharter work might be forthcoming. During th following year the DC,3 operated anumber of charter services carrying bothpassengers and cargo around Europ , andwas especially busy with popular twentyminute pleasure flights from East Midlandson summer weekends.

Expansion plans for 1972 includedapplying for a number of scheduled servicelicences for routes from East Midlands andLiverpool to Newquay and from Teeside tothe Isle of Man. The licence applicationsspecified the use of both DC,3s and Viscounts. Although the sch duled serviceswere not proceeded with, the Viscount wasstill acquired from BMA, and entered service in March 1972. Tristar Travel hadcontracted Kestrel for a regular weeklyEast Midlands-Palma inclusive-tour charter, which operated via lermont Ferrand,and the Viscount was acquired to servethis charterer. In addition, a number ofservices were flown on behalf of 'JB's previousoperator on BMA's scheduled network.

For the rest of the summer the Viscountwas chartered out to Dan-Air Services,

Air International and Air Bridge

The V702 G-APPX was owned by Field Aircraft Services, an aircraft engineering, leasing and brokeringcompany based at East Midlands Airport which hadleased the aircraft to BMA for the summer of 1969.After being returned from this lease, G-APPX waseventually leased out again in 1971, this time to anambitious new charter operator, Air International,based at Stansted. Air International held several inclusive-tour charter contracts with London-based travelagencies for flights from the UK to central Europe andScandinavia. Unfortunately all of its operations ceasedin November 1972, following the impounding of theViscount at Gatwick for non-payment of landing fees.The aircraft was returned to Field at East Midlands,limping home on three engines. The airline's management also attempted to register anew carrier, Nor-Air,to operate another leased Viscount. but no commercialoperations were undertaken.

Field Aircraft Services also became the reluctantowner of afleet of three Argosy freighters that it hadmaintained on behalf of their operator, Saggitair, alsobased at East Midlands. Saggitair had operated theArgosies on cargo charter work since 1971, particularly on charter flights carrying fresh produce fromthe Channel Islands to the UK mainland. Unfortunately Saggitair ceased operations in the autumn of1972. and the Argosies passed to Field in lieu of outstanding debts.

Anew airline, Air Bridge Carriers IABCI was set upby Field Aircraft Services to operate the Argosies onthe profitable Channel Islands flights, as well as ongeneral ad hoc charters throughout Europe. TheArgosy services became asuccess under Field's ownership, and ABC soon established itself as a cargospecialist. One of the Argosies was sold in 1974, butwas replaced by ex-Air Tourisme Alpine VBOBC GBBOK. This aircraft had originally been earmarked forlease to Air International's proposed successor, NorAir. Entering ABC service in September 1974, the Viscount was operated on short-term leases to othercarriers, its flexible passenger/cargo qualities benefiting several airlines, as well as flying on the established ABC cargo-charter network.

Airways, from Gatwick to Belfast and fromHeathrow to Newquay and Strasbourg. Incontrast, the inclusive-tour market hadbecome so cut-throat that by 1974 theentire inclusive-tour charter programmewas scrapped by th airline, rather thanlose money trying to compete. As a resultthe One-Eleven fleet was disposed of andthe Boeing 707s leased out. One of theOne-Elevens wa sold to Brazilian airlineSadia, which traded-in three of its DartHeralds in part exchange for the jet. Fromthen on BMA concentrated most of itsefforts into expanding the scheduled network, based around the economic Dartpowered Viscount and Herald turboprops.

The ex-Lufthansa Viscount 814s originally intended for Nora Air Service arrived at East Midlands for BMAstill in their bright yellow-and-pink colours. Steve Richards

The arrival of the ex-SAA V.813s, and subsequent disposal of the dissimilar earlier models, meant thatBMA was finally able to enjoy the financial and operational benefits of a standardized Viscount fleet.Steve Richards

150 151


In 1974 Cyprus Airways had been forcedto suspend operations following the Turkish invasion and eventual partition of theisland. It fleet of Tridents had been devastated, the aircraft being de troyed oreverely damaged in the fi rce fighting,

and the main base at Nico ia Airport wassplit by the ceasefire line. Once the hostilities ended, the airline was finally abl toconsider restarting operations, and a newbase was established at Larnaca Airport onthe southern side of Cyprus in 1975. Toopen the new service , Cyprus Airwaysturned to BMA, which was building a reputation as a flexible leasing operator. Forthe most part, BMA used its Boeing 707fleet for the leasing services, but any of itsfleet could be made available if a customerrequired it.

The 'new' Cyprus Airway took deliveryof BMA V813s G-ALZR and 'ZS in January and February 1975. Limited serviceswere opened to Athen , with other routesin the region being opened as the airline

Cyprus Viscount Revival

leased-in Viscount capacity to cover theshortfall. The ABC V808C G-BBDK wasleased-in between March and October1975, mostly operating on the 'Coach-Air'ervice between Lydd and Beauvais in

Northern France. When 'DK was returnedto ABC an Alidair V708, G-ARBY,replaced it for two month, and was thenin turn replaced by another of Alidair'sV708s, G-ARIR. This aircraft remainedwith Dan-Air for eighteen months, andwas painted in full Dan-Air livery.

Another lease saw Alidair V724 GBDRC and one of the V,708s, G-BDIK,contracted to Intra Airways of Jersey fromMarch 1976. Intra had been operatingscheduled services with a large fleet of DC3s from J r y to the UK and NorthernFrance since 1969. The Viscount leasesenabled an upgrade of equipment on manyof the airline's longer and busier routes,and the aircraft were frequently used onth schedules to Cambridge and Ostendfrom the Channel Islands, as well a onnumerous charter services around the UKand Europe. Although 'IK was returned toAlidair at the end of the 1976 summer season, 'R was retained by Intra through thenext year, not returning to Alidair untilOctober 1977. On its return 'RC wasleased out again, this time to Dan-Air ona year-long contract from March 1978.

N w Lasing Revenue

All fiv f the ex-Air Inter fleet had beendelivered to Alidair by June 1975, and thetwo remaining ex-Channel V812s had beensold to FEAT in Taiwan by May. Noneth Ie , another V812, N501TL, wa acquiredfrom Tenneco in the USA, which had operated it as an executive aircraft since buyingit from Continental in 1960.

Also operating on the oil industry charters from Aberdeen was Dan-Air ervices,headquartered at Gatwick. Dan-Air eventually transferred most of its sizeable fleetof H 748 turboprops to Aberdeen toexploit the available contracts. This, however, left Dan-Air short of aircraft to operate its scheduled network. More 748s werebeing acquired from various sources, butpending their entry into ervice Dan-Air

Dan-Air Services operated Viscount BOBC G-BBDK on a number of scheduled serviceswhile it was on lease from Air Bridge Carriers. Aviation Hobby Shop

Tenneco's N501TL, the first production V.B12, remained on the VS register

throughout its 13 months with Alidair. via author

for its Aberdeen-based servic s was now sohigh, and the V708s were placed into service so speedily, that they were initiallyoperated by Alidair still carrying theirFrench registrations. When they did takeup UK markings, three of the V 708s wererevealed as old hands of the UK airlinescene, including two of the ex-MaitlandDrewery/BKS/BUA aircraft, G-ARBY andG-ARGR, and ex-Starways G-ARIR.

The Vi count 700s were able to offermore-economic payload and range optionsthan the larger V810s when operating fromthe Scottish airports. They were easily ableto operate a Sumburgh-Heathrow charter,a regular ad hoc service, with an economicpayload despite runway restriction at Sumburgh. With the increased dependence onthe oil-related work, Alidair also applied'Alidair Scotland' titles to the V 700s.

Alidair, Aberdeenand the Oil Boom

and from Goth nburg. A number of pas-enger flights were also operated for Volvo,

ferrying UK sales agents to th Gothenburgfactory on educational and promotionalvisits. In addition to the usual short-term,inclusive-tour and day-trip contracts, othercharter work for 1974 included severalnew paper-carrying contracts and the operation of scheduled services for other airlines, such as for Dan-Air over the Newcastl -Gatwick route. Work wa soon sobuoyant that an ex-Lufthansa and NASV814 wa acquired from the Oman AirForce. On 29 July 1975 the V814, GAZNH, was used for a very significant Viscount charter. On this day it operated fromNortholt to Le Bourget, carrying an invitedparty of VIPs to celebrate the twenty-fifthanniversary of the first revenue flights forBEA over the same route, made by the prototype V630 Viscount, G-AHRF.

The discovery of North Sea oil broughtmajor benefits to a number of UK carriers inthe early 1970s, with many contractsbecoming available for the transport of oilindustry workers and technicians from theUK mainland to i olated terminals andfacilities. Almost overnight, traffic soared atAberdeen's Dyce Airport, the site of mostof the oil-industry-related activity, withnumerous aircraft huttling between the cityand the offshore Scotti h islands such as theShetlands, canying oil-company personneland supplies. British Midland briefly based aViscount at Aberdeen to operate on behalfof a new operator, Site Aviation, specifically created to take advantage of the new business. Unfortunately, despite leasing-in theViscount capacity and acquiring everalDC-3s for the work, Site Aviation soonceased operations.

Alidair based one of its Viscounts atAberdeen from February 1975, mainlyoperating for Burmah Oil and Total Oil.As well as flying frequent services betweenAberdeen and Sumburgh, on Shetland,the aircraft also visited Amsterdam,B rgen, Norwich and Stavanger on oilcharter work. From May, most of the oilindustry work wa taken over by a 'new'fleet of four Viscount 708 and a singleV 724, which had been bought from AirInter. By the early 1970s the Frenchdomestic airline had finally replaced thelast of its Viscount fleet with jets. Demand

was eventually dropped in late 1973. Thecharter operation was much more uccessful, however, and 1973 saw inclusive-tourflights operated from Southend to Alicanteand Palma, and numerous day-trip excursion flights operated from Coventry andSouthend, as well as from East Midlands.One of the V812s was leased out to BAF inthe summer of 1973 for cross-Channel passenger schedules from Southend.

The worldwide oil crisis led to one of theViscounts being sold in early 1974, thoughthe remaining two aircraft managed to keepbusy. An important contract was held withthe Volvo Car Company, carrying spares to

Alidair's original Viscount B12s were among the last airworthy members of thedefunct Channel Airways fleet. Steve Richards

Viscount 812s of the Channel Airways fleetwere ferried to East Midlands Airport. Onewas crapped for spares, while the two otherentered service with Alidair in June, BMA'sV831, G-A ED, al 0 being acquired in thatmonth. The three aircraft spent a busy summer operating passenger charters to theChannel Islands and mainland Europe.

A scheduled service from East Midlandto Malmo, via Birmingham and Copenhagen, was opened in 1973, using one ofthe Viscounts configured in a forty-seat,first-class, configuration. The thrice-weekly route was opened on 30 April, but theloads were disappointing and the service

Viscount 700s were obtained by Alidair to expand its oil-industry-related operations

from Aberdeen, as well as the established East Midlands-based charter work.via author

752 753

A BUSY MIDDLE AGE

operations seem to have returned aremarkable record for safety and reliability. Only one of the ZAS Viscounts wasinvolved in an incident, crashing on takeoff from Kinshasa on 28 August 1984 without serious injuries to the occupants, The

\r

in 19 1. Air Charter Services and Filairalso operated Viscounts from Za'ire's capital, Kinshasa, in the 1980 .

Although flown under difficult conditions, with reliable air traffic servicesalmost non-existent, the Za'ire Viscount

The Viscount 797D flew VIP services lor the Canadian government lor many years,

Jenny Gradidge

Following twenty years 01 serving several private owners and small charter operators.

after its seventeen-year airline career with TCA and Transair, the first V,724 waseventually presented to a museum lor preservation, Jenny Gradidge

Za'ire Haven

The surviving Air aravane Viscountactually returned to Za'ire, where theAfrica nation's airlines had seeminglydeveloped a fondness for Viscounts, A vastcountry with extremely primitive groundtransporr service, Za'ire was able to supporr a number of independent airlines.Za'ire Aero Service (ZAS) had started thetrend by buying-in six ex-Air CanadaV757s in 1978. One of these was repossessed in 1980 and began to operate foranother Za'ire-based airline, Scibe Airlift,and another was sold to Za'irean Airlines

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Hectic Twilight Years

Lingering in CanadaDespite the withdrawal of the Vanguard andViscount fleet by Air Canada, the lattertype continued to be a part of the Canadianaviation scene for a while, Nonetheless,Transair had retired its single Vn4 in January 1971, before Air Canada disposed of thelast of its fleet. The aircraft was officiallyretumed to Air Canada, from whom it hadbeen leased, though it remained in storageat Transair's Winnipeg base. In 1974 CFTGI was sold to a private owner in the U A,and was eventually donated to the Pima AirMuseum in Arizona.

Especially long-lived was the operationof a pair of Viscount 700s, a V 73 7 and aV797D, by the Canadian Department ofTransportation. Delivered in 1955 and1958, both aircraft were operated on VIPservices until 1982, when they werereplaced by executive jets. Wabush Minesoperated an ex-Air anada V757 between1976 and 1988 on a private, twice-weeklysupplies and personnel service from Montreal to Wabush via Sept Isles. Air Cardinal, later renamed Air Caravane, operatedtwo Viscounts, one from Air Canada andone acquired from an operator in Za'ire, inAfrica from 1979. One was withdrawn fromervice in 1982, but the other continued in

operation on general charters around Canada and to the USA until 1986.

False Last HurrahsSome of the fortunate passengers on boardG-AZNH who were transported fromNorrholt to Le Bourget on 29 July 1975must have mused that they might well beexperiencing a final fanfare for Viscounttravel. The very fact that they were celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of theworld's first revenue passenger flight by Viscount would have indicated that the type'sdays on the aviation scene were numbered.

There were few airports in the UK thatstill did not have a regular visit from a Viscount or a Vanguard some time in the1970s and 1980s, Africa, South and Central America, and the Far East were alsoscenes of continuing Viscount activity, ahandful of Vanguards in Indonesia addingto the variety. Even in the USA and Canada, the occasional Viscount could still befound. However, it was becoming debatabl whether this situation was likely to bea long-term feature. Few could have realized that there were almost as many yearsagain of productive service ahead for manyof the remaining Viscounts, and practically as many for the Vanguards.

... tll:,.,

and March 1976. However, Alidair alsoleased its V812, N50lTL, to Cyprus Airways in March-July 1976, followed byV814 G-AZNH from July to August. AnAlidair V 708 was operated by Cyprus inDecember 1975 to March 1976, and 'NHwas leased to Cyprus again from December1976 to February 1977.

The reconstituted Cyprus Airways started operations Irom Larnaca with Viscountsleased Irom SMA. Steve Richards

struggled to re-establi h itself. Two moreBMA Viscounts, another V813 and aV814, were added by April, though theoriginal pair were returned to the UK byAugust as Cyprus Airways found jets, in theform of DC-9s, to lease-in for the moreimporrant routes. The remaining two BMAViscounts were returned in November 1975

The Viscount was still to be lound in signilicant numbers around the world in the mid-late 1970s. especiallywith UK operators such as SMA, Steve Richards

754 755

II ECTIC TWILIGHT YEARS IIEfTI TWILIGHT YEARS

During the quiet winter months of1972-73 Invicta had introduced a numberof low-cost day-trip services from Bristol toBasle and Munich. At a very reasonablecost, local group were carried to eithercity for a day's sightseeing, leaving Bri tolin the morning and returning the ameevening. These trips had proved very popular, and were re tarted when the aircraftwere returned following the airline's refinancing. On 4 April 1973 G-AXOP wasassigned to operate one of the day trips,and 139 passengers boarded the aircraft forthe flight to Ba Ie, wh ich departed Bristol'Lulsgate Airport at 07.19hr. Many of thepassengers had been drawn from Women'sInstitutes and similar young wive's andmother's groups in the local area.

On arrival over Basi, ninety minuteslater, the weather conditions w re decidedly unpleasant, with low visibility and drivingsnow. An instrument approach was initiated to Runway 16 by 'OP's crew, CaptAnthony Dorman in command and Capt

Lost Over Basle

Europe Aero Service the following month.One of BENs V953s, G-APEI, had beenpainted up with Silv r ity titles atHeathrow in October, in preparation for aproposed lease, but the aircraft was neverdelivered. Subsequently, ilver City Airwaysceased operations with the departure of'LD.

A saviour for Invicta was eventually foundby Kennard, in the form of the EuropeanFerries Group, which agreed to buy a 76per cent stake in the company. EuropeanFerries also bought back the five Vanguards from Air Holdings in time to allowoperations to begin again in March 1973.However, the C of A for G-AXOO hadexpired whil the fleet was still grounded,and the aircraft became a source of spares.Despite the relief of renewed operation,within weeks the latest Invicta revival wasmarred by misfortune.

ABOVE: Although operationally

successful, Invicta International's

Vanguard services were forced togrind to a halt while the financially

troubled company was reorganized.

Jenny Gradidge

RIGHT: Ex-Air Traders Merchantman

G-AYLO flew from Stansted for sever

al months with the revived Silver City

Airways. Jenny Gradidge

Air Holdings found itself with not only theInvicta Vanguards on its hands, but also, atthe same time, the returned Air Traderfleet. Thi was a worrying situation, but,realizing that a number of lucrative passenger and cargo contract might becomeavailable if Invicta was unable to refinance, Air Holdings set up its own airlineoperation to fly the aircraft commercially.

The company reincamated the dormantname of Silver City Airway, to which it stillheld the right, and Merchantman G-AYLDwas flown to Southend and given Silver Citytitles over its blue ex-Air Traders livery.

ommercial operations began from Stanstedin March, on European cargo and livestockcharter to Gennany and Italy. A second exAir Traders aircraft was allocated to Sitver

ity, but was not placed into service.Although 'LD enjoyed a busy summer withSilver City, Air Holdings found a buyer forthe aircraft in October, delivering it to

Silver City Revival

two on 15 eptember 1975. An ex-GhanaAirways V838 was also acquired from FieldAircraft Services in August 1976, and thearrival of this aircraft, SE-FOZ, saw theretirement of the V 784D.

Five months later the Skyline fleet wasreduced to the V814s when SE-FOZ waslost on approach to Stockholm's BrommaAirport at the end of a Linjeflyg service on15 January 1976. Carrying three crew andnineteen passengers, the aircraft sufferedthe Viscount's old enemy, tailplane icing,and entered a vertical dive, crashing into acar park and killing all on board. In October 1976 the Linjeflyg contracts expired.On 17 October SE-FOX was returnedto British Midland, and SE-FOY remainedto operate charters and the occasional adhoc Linjeflyg schedul throughout 1977.Eventually, however, Skyline was forced tocease operations, and its last Viscount wasreturned to BMA in May 1978.

Invicta's Problems

Increasing financial difficulties for InvictaInternational in the winter of 1972-73had overshadowed the company's busyVanguard operations. As a result, AirHoldings reposse sed the entire fleet offive aircraft, including the single freighter,on 16 January 1973. The aircraft wereplaced in storage by Air Holdings at Lyddwith the exception of G-AXOO, whichremained at Manston. In the meantime,Invicta's owner, Wg Cdr Kennard, begantalks with potential new investor.

saw the aircraft operating to Amsterdam,Gatwick, Jersey, Paris, Salzburg andSouthend. In addition, Sweden's domesticcarrier, Linjeflyg, increasingly began tocharter the Viscount to operate on itsscheduled network in place of its ownConvair CV-440s.

Viscount E-CNK remained Skyline'ssole fleet member until the autumn of 1975.Following the award of a contract to operate several Linjeflyg schedules on a morepermanent basis, in September two BMAV814s, G-BAPD and G-BAPF, were deliver d from the UK and became SE-FOY andSE-FOX. The first schedules under the newcontract were inaugurated by one of these

Only one of the former Falconair Viscount 7840s acquired by Skyline actually enteredcommercial service with the Swedish charter carrier. Bill Sheridan Collection

Zaire Aero Service operated several Viscounts, including many acquired from surplusCanadian stocks as well as various other sources. Steve Richards

Swedish Viscount Revival

Za'irean Airlines aircraft was operatedwithout incident for nearly fifteen years!Although ZAS had ceased Viscount operations by 1985, the type continued to bepopular with Za"ire's operators for manyyears afterwards. Even after a devastatingcivil war, which severely disrupted all ofthe country's transport services, a handfulof surviving Viscounts still made occasional appearances within the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, as Za'ire became.

Falconair's Viscounts were idle followingthe end of operations in September 1970,but a new Swedish carrier, Skyline AirCharter ofMalmo, acquired the trio of Viscount 700s in mid-1971. One V784D, SECNK, was flown to Bournemouth, whereBAC gave the aircraft a major overhaul,including a spar change. On 20 August theViscount was delivered back to Skyline,and it operated its first service for the company on 16 September, a Malmo-Gothenburg-Hamburg charter. Although theoriginal plans had called for at least one ofthe two other ex-Falconair Viscounts toent r Skyline service, in the end neitherwas returned to airworthiness, both eventually being scrapped for spares.

Configured for up to fifty-eight passengers, 'CNK operated both passenger andcargo flights throughout the winter of1971-72. However, passenger-carryingwork became more frequent with the summer months, and regular charters in 1972

756 757

liE TIC TWILIGHT YEARS HE TI TWILIGHT YEARS

Invicta International operated the ill-fated G-AXOP for two years before it crashednear Basle with great loss of life. via author

French Retirement

ABC's Merchantman Upgrade

The acqui ition of the Invicta fleet by EASassur d the French carrier of a ready supplyof both serviceable aircraft and spares forits active Vanguards. Although the first ofa number of secondhand Caravelle wereoon to join EA ,the turboprops were still

kept busy on its now established varied passenger and freight charter programme.

Two ex-British Airways Merchantmenjoined the ex-Silver City Merchantman in1976. Their arrival saw the retirement ofthe original Cargoliner, which had lackedthe u eful large freight door and other allcargo refinements. The three Merchantmen were contracted to operate on behalfof Air France on nightly newspaper chartersfrom Paris to Marseilles and Toulouse, aswell as flying many of the national carrier'all-cargo services throughout Europe. Inaddition, EAS found a great deal of ad hocwork on its own behalf for the freighters toEurope, North Africa and the Middle East.

The inevitable replacement on EAS passenger service by jets was soon under way,though, all but five of the Vanguards beingwithdrawn by 1975, and two retiring in1979. However, during 1979 th remainingthree Vanguards were overhauled andrepainted in a new livery. They remainedin regular passenger service until 16 January 19S1, when the last survivor, F-BTOV,was retired following a Paris-Orly to Perpignan flight.

British Airways' decision to dispose ofsome of its Merchantmen wa made afterthe airline found that it d dicat d allcargo fleet was much Ie s in demand. Thearrival of more wide-bodied aircraft onEuropean services saw the normal underfloor hold capacity of it fleet incr a e tothe extent that much of the freight trafficcould now be accommodated on passengerflights. As well as the pair sold to EAS inthe summer of 1976, another Merchantman, G-APES, was solei by BA to ABC.

Since 1974 ABC had operated a singleViscount SOSC, G-BBDK, alongside itsestablished fleet of Argosies. Although theViscount had spent much of its time leasedout to Dan-Air, it had also proved veryuseful on ABC's general cargo charter services. The opportunity to offer the largercapacity of the Merchantman to its customers was soon recognized by ABC, and

fr ight r , G-AXNT and G-AZRE, laterin the year. By October only G-AXOYand -BAFK remained in service, flying ahandful f charters from Luton, as thesummer season ran down.

On 21 October 'FK departed for France,leaving G-AXOY to operate the last charter contracts. Finally, on 26 October, 'OYflew one more service for Invicta International, a one-hour enthusiast pleasureflight from Luton. This was the last revenue passenger carrying flight by a UK registered Vanguard. In November G-AXOYwas also delivered to the EAS maintenancecentre at Perpignan. Only two of the Invicta Vanguards, G-AYFN and G-BAFK,would fly again commercially with EAS.After varying periods of storage and cannibalization for spares, the remainder wereeventually scrapped on site at Perpignan.

Air Bridge Carriers' first Merchantman entered service on cargo charters from East

Midlands Airport in late 1976. Steve Richards

was replaced in the cargo role by G-AZRE,which was transferred from passenger services. A pair of Boeing 720Bs had beendelivered in late 1973, though only oneentered lnvicta service, the other immediately being leased out.

By 1975 the European Ferries Grouphad decided that the Invicta operationwas not yielding enough profit to justifyits continued support. The groupannounced that the airline would be putup for sale, and that if a buyer were notfound by the end of that ummer's flyingprogramme, lnvicta International wouldbe closed down. The dismantling oflnvicta soon began, as no interested partiescame forward. Europe Aero Service(EAS) took delivery of passenger-configured G-AYFN in August, and its departure was followed by that of the two

British Airways continued to operate a reduced fleet of Merchantman freighters until1979. Sieve Williams Collection

away from it. Th 'spurious', or even possibly misinterpreted, instrument readingshad led the crew to believe they were oncourse for the runway when they were actually flying away from it and into extremedanger. Ironically, G-AXOP had originallybeen T A:s CF-TKV, which had heldtogether and protected its passengers andcrew so well in the clear-air turbulenceincident over the Rocky Mountains in May1963, a little short of ten years earlier.

The accident was officially blamed on'loss of orientation during the two ILS[instrument landing system] approachescarried out under instrument flight conditions'. It was also noted that this wouldhave been made worse by technical defectsin a localizer receiver and a glide-slopereceiver on board, which would have confused the situation for the crew.

Soldiering On

Shortly after the loss of 'OP, Invicta tookdelivery of G-AYFN, which was divertedfrom its planned delivery to Silver City.Invicta International operated a similarprogramme to previous years, with thesame mixture of varied charter flights. AV952, G-BAFK, which had been leased byAir Holdings to Merpati Nusantara, wasdelivered in June 1974. The Cargo Division's G-AXNT continued to operatefreight and livestock charters from Manston throughout Europe and to NorthAfrica and the Middle East. In 1975 'NT

the crew' estimation of their position.Shortly afterwards, the crew reported thatthey had 'spurious readings', and that theautomatic direction finder readings seemed'all over the place'. In fact, by this time, theaircraft had left the Basle radar cover andwas flying dangerously low in a hilly area.

oon after its altitude had been reportedby the crew as 1,400ft (42501), '0P brushedthe side of a wooded ridge near Herrenmatt. The aircraft somersaulted into thehillside and caught fire, killing 104 of thepassengers, both pilots and two of the cabincrew. Most of the thirty-five passengers andtwo cabin crew who did survive were located in the rear cabin, which remained fairlyintact. At the time of the crash the aircraftwas on a southerly course, flying along theextended centreline of the runway, but

Ian Terry acting as first officer. Overshooting during the first approach, the crewappear to have become disorientated, anda meandering figure-of-eight course wasflown by the Vanguard, doubling backover the airport and finally continuing tothe south of where it should have been,flying towards Hochwald, to th southwestof Basle. The crew, however, appeared tobe under the impression they were backfurther north, on course to a secondapproach.

The Vanguard was glimpsed though theovercast by witnesses on the ground, whojudged it to be flying at a height of only150ft (4501) and heading away from theairport. The crew reported that they were'established on glide-path and localizer',though the radar controller had questioned

The Vanguards took on a revised Invicta livery following the introduction into service of a leased Boeing720B. Shortly afterwards. the company was put up for sale. Malcolm L. Hill

758 759

HECTIC TWILIGHT YEARS HECTIC TWILIGHT YEARS

Intra Airways' Viscount 810s all came from BMA, and operated both scheduled andcharter services for the Jersey-based carrier. Steve Richards

ABOVE: Guernsey Airlines Viscount Sarnia had spent its previous twenty-three years withIraqi Airways before becoming the new island airline's flagship in 1978. Author's collection

One of the earliest export model Viscounts built, G-ARBY had been delivered to AirFrance in 1953. Its long and distinguished career ended in a Devon field in 1980.Steve Richards

ewca tle and Prestwick. Regular inclusive-tour charters also brought tourists toGuernsey from Belgium, and to Jersey fromParis.

The Alidair operation suffered a greatdeal of adverse publicity following the lossof one of its veteran V 708s, G-ARBY, in aforced land ing nea r Exeter on 17 June1980. The aircraft had been chartered torescue stranded UK passengers from abroken-down ship in Santander, northernSpain. One Exeter-Santander-Exeterround trip was operated without incidentby a different crew earlier in the day. Onarrival back at Santander for the next loadof fifty-eight passengers, the aircraft wasrefuelled. Unfortunately, there appearedto be confusion over the amount of fuelloaded, a situation not helped by an unserviceable fuel gauge.

When the aircraft was only 8 miles(13km) from Exeter, at a height of only2,000ft (600m), both low-pressure fuelwarning lights illuminated and all fourengines promptly lost power in rapid succession. Immed iately advising air traffic control

Alidair Changes

In 1978 Alidair had increased its fleet bybuying the last two surviving Iraqi AirwaysViscount 735s. One of these was painted inthe colours of a new Alidair subsidiary,Guernsey Airlines Ltd, and christened Sarnia, the local name for the island. The company had been set up to operate both scheduled and charter services from Guernsey, andthe aircraft was also operated on Alidair's services as required. On 25 October 1979 theGuernsey Airlines Viscount was operating aGlasgow-Kirkwall oil industry charter forAlidair when it veered off the runway whilelanding in a strong cros wind. The number 4propell r had struck the ground, causing theaircraft to leave the runway, and the nosewheel collapsed. The resulting damage wasenough to write off the Vi count, though itsforty- even occupants escaped unscathed.

Alidair subsequently provided Viscountsfor Guernsey's operations from its own fleettemporarily, until V724 G-BDRC wasrepainted as Samia 11 and permanentlyassigned to Guernsey Airlines. In April1980 a scheduled Guernsey-Manchesterroute was opened with the 'new' Viscountand seasonal services were also opened to

Midlands in December, being regarded astoo large for the available traffic. JerseyEuropean then r verted to operating itssmaller fleet members, such as the EmbraerBandierante and de Havilland CanadaTwin Otter, on a much-reduced network.

operated these aircraft on the BA schedulesfrom Prestwick, replacing the ex-CambrianV 701s, which had finally been retired. Thedropping of transatlantic services fromPrestwick by BA had eventually renderedthe feeder services redundant, and the Viscounts were r turned to BMA.

A busy summer followed, all three IntraViscounts operating charters throughoutEurope, as well as the seasonal and yearround scheduled services from the ChannelIslands to the UK. On 19 September allthree aircraft were used to ferry strandedCunard passengers between Southamptonand Cherbourg when the shipping line'sflag hip, QE2, wa forced to abandon ascheduled stop at the French port after suffering delays en route. Other services tookthe Viscounts as far afield as Dubrovnik andFaro on both pa senger and cargo work.

The three Intra Viscounts were operated through 1979 until the end of the summer season, when the airline underwent amajor reorganization. The company wasmerged with Expres Air Services, withwhich Intra had been co-op rating forome time. Only one of the Viscounts, the

V815, wa retained in service with thenew op ration, which was renamed Jer eyEuropean Airways (JEA). The V814s wereleased out while a new owner was soughtfor them. Initially G-BAPE and 'PG wereleased to Arkia, in Israel, for the winter,and ended up flying for much of 1980 withtheir old operator, BMA. The V815, GAVJB, flew for JEA on the busier schedulesin 1980, but was placed in storage at East

UK Viscount Revival

G-APES was delivered to East Midlandson 24 November 1976. After overhaul andrepainting in ABC colours, 'ES enteredservice on 15 December on a cargo charterfrom Belfast to Cagliari.

A wide-ranging programme ofad hoc service followed, the aircraft soon appearingat airports as far away a the Middle Eastand Africa on services from the UK andEurope. The operation of livestock chartersbecame a regular task for the Merchantman, which made numerous flights toMilan and Venice from points in the UKand Eire. In the meantime, the Viscountwa withdrawn from u e and returned to itsowner, Field Aircraft Service.

In 1979 BA decided to dispose of itsremaining Merchantman fleet. The last BAscheduled service was a Heathrow tockholm-Gothenburg-Heathrow trip, operated on the night of 1-2 December 1979 byG-APEJ. This ended nearly twenty years ofoperation of the Vanguard by BA and BEA.In nine years of Merchantman all-cargorevenue services, 12,735 tons of mail and397,310 tons of cargo had been carried bythe aircraft for the airline. Five aircraft werestill in service at the beginning of 1979, andABC, seeing an excellent opportunity toexpand its already successful Merchantmanventure, snapped them all up as soon asthey became available.

Two were delivered to East Midlandsfrom BA at Heathrow in November 1979,followed by two in December, and the lastone arrived in January 1980. Among thenew contracts obtained to keep the muchenlarged fleet profitable was a ix-nightsa-week Luton-Glasgow newspaper charterand a twice-weekly Heathrow-Viennascheduled cargo service flown on behalf ofAustrian Airlines. The carrier's M rchantmen also operated scheduled freight service for Swissair for a month, and increasing ad hoc work saw the fleet operating toBelgrade, Forli, Gibraltar, Milan, Rennes,Rhodes and Venice during early 1980.

December 1976 saw Intra Airways takedelivery of BMA's V815, G-AVJB, toreplace the remaining Viscount 724 it stillflew on lease from Alidair. After spendingthe summer of 1977 on Intra's scheduledand charter op rations, 'JB was joined inOctober by the first of two ex-BMA V814s,G-BAPE, the second, G-BAPG, followingin January 1978. Previously, BMA had

760 767

IIICTIC TWILIGHT YEARS liE TIC TWILIGHT YEARS

Ex-executive Viscount 765D N140RA was used

by Go Transportation's short-lived scheduled

subsidiary, Royal American Airways, on routes

from Tucson and las Vegas to the US west coast.

Global Air Image

had b en written-off in fatal accidents bythe end of 1977. Previously, from 1959 to1967, SAN's ex-LA ICA V786D hadb en operated as a private aircraft by a MrsM. Margorie Post and named Merriweather.Wh ile with Mrs Post, Merriweather was u edto transport the family between estates near

.I!B ' .

ex-Intra pair of V814s that had been delivered to Southern International. The ailingUK airline had originally tried to sell its stored V807s to Go for use by Royal American, but these aircraft failed to gain US certification and the deal fell through.

A further attempt at operating scheduled Viscount services in the USA was madein 1983, when an ex-Royal American V765was leased to Atlantic Gulf Airlines, basedat St Petersburg, Florida. Intra-state services were operated within Florida, but onceagain the Viscount was unable to attract sufficient traffic from the established carriers in the region, and Atlantic Gulf was forced to cease operation of these servicesafter only a short time.

Eventually more than thirty Viscounts of different variants were acquired by GoTransportation. Arkia's and PLUNA's remaining Viscounts were among many ferriedto Go's maintenance base at Tucson, Arizona. Whil9 several aircraft were used by Go,albeit often only sporadically as short-term contracts came and went, several otherswere refurbished and leased·out or sold to operators such as Aerolineas Republicain Mexico. The Mexican airline operated the ex-executive and SAN of EcuadorV786Don lease for two years before returning it to The Go Group in 1984. By the mid-1980sthe Go operation had become fairly static and, despite several attempts to revive thebusiness right up into the 1990s, the few remaining airworthy aircraft were sold off.The remnants of the fleet languished in various states of disrepair and dereliction atTucson, in some cases for several years, finally being scrapped.

Go Viscounts!

A handful of executive Viscounts pa sedon to airline operators, such as a pair ofV764 originally delivered to the US Steel

orporation, which eventually found theirway to ervicios Aereos Nacionales (SAN)of Ecuador to operate alongside its ex-ANAV828s and a V786D. Unfortunately, both

The exclusive Merriweather served as a personal transport for the wealthy Post family.

MAP

An operator that was to become anoted haven for ex-executive Viscounts in the USAwas Go Transportation. Ron Clark Enterprises of Burbank, California, originally founded the operation in 1971, to offer high-quality and discreet VIP flight services forshow business personalities and other high-profile individuals.

A single 21-seat V789D was acquired in 1974, and early customers included DeanMartin, the Beach Boys, Elton John and even Elvis Presley. A second aircraft, an exRoyal Bank of Canada V.745D, followed in the same year to increase the availablecapacity, and another six from various sources soon swelled the fleet further. The GoViscounts featured sumptuously comfortable interiors equipped with high-technology entertainment systems and other executive features.

In 1980 three of the Viscounts were sold to Royal American Airlines, which operated a Fayetteville-Little Rock scheduled service. Unfortunately this was acommercial failure, and The Go Group, Go Transportation's parent company, bought out theailing airline. The Viscount operation was relocated and new twice-daily scheduledflights from Las Vegas and Tucson to Long Beach and San Diego were inaugurated,as well as charter services. The Royal American Viscounts were competing againstseveral major US airlines in the area, as well as low-fare-operator Pacific SouthwestAirlines. Perhaps not surprisingly the Viscounts were unable to tempt enough of theincumbent airlines' passengers from their rival jets, and all scheduled operationswere eventually halted as uneconomic. The Royal American fleet included one of the

tailor-made executive jets such as the Gulfstream and Citation range, and even theuse of converted jet airliner uch as theOne-Eleven and OC-9, had seen the u e flarger propeller-engine executive aircraftwane rapidly.

More up-to-date aircraft 0 n replacedlarge Viscount fleets operated by corporations uch a Standard Oil, Tenneco, U

teel and others. However, U Steel hadoperated its Viscount fleet for over thirre nyears. Some of the aircraft were passed on toother executive operations, often eventually being broken up for spares. Other executive Viscounts were lucky enough to remainwith more-loyal operators, su h as the Ray

harles Organization, which had found theaircraft popular with its touring groups ofmu icians, who appreciated comfortable,reliable Viscount transport throughout theUSA. The Viscount also proved popularwith evangelical groups uch a Cathedralof Tomorrow and John Wesley College,which u ed their aircraft to fly their followers and staff to rallies on nationwide tour.

Executive Decay

Even if the Viscount was managing to maintain its fairly healthy position on the secondhand market as an airliner, in the areaof executive operations it was finally entering a decline. The increased production of

variety of general cargo and passengercharter, mo tly from Southampton andGatwick. The other V807, G-C ZA,entered service the following March, andsp nt much of its time operating for DanAiI' on its scheduled services at weekends.By June 1979 'ZA had been r painted infull Dan-Air livery, though it also operated charter for outhem Intemationalalongside 'ZB.

A third Viscount, V80 C G-BBDK, wasdelivered to outhem Intemational inearly 1980 and took over the operation of aregular newspap r service between Gatwickand Belfast, which wa operated everaltime a week. Two ex-Intra V814s were alsoacquired with a view to replacing theV807s, but all passenger operations ceasedshortly afterwards and both the Y.807s andthe V814s were put in torage. The operation base was eventually witched to

tansted and, after an uncertain ummel',even the operations of the freighter came toan end in eptember and Southem International ceased trading.

In addition to chartering-in extra Viscount capacity when required, to operateits scheduled n twork from the UK regionsand the Lydd-Beauvais Coach-Air servicebetween London and Paris, Dan-Air hadalso placed two Viscount 810s into servicein 1979. These were required to replace H748s, which w re still needed for profitableoil industry work at Aberdeen. The twoaircraft were ex-Ghana Airways V 38 GBCZR, leased from Field Aircraft ervices,and ex-Iran Air and Oman Air Force V816G-BGLC, which was leased from ABC.

Flown on scheduled servic s from outstation bases at Bristol and Teeside, theViscounts were crewed by ABC pilotsunder contract, with Dan-Air's own locally ba ed cabin staff. Previously, 'ZR hadbeen leased by Field Aircraft ervices toBMA and 'L had been operated brieflyby Royal Swazi National Airways on localroute to South Africa during 1978. At theend of 1980 'L wa sold to Air Zimbabweby ABC, being followed to Harare by 'ZRin May 1981, where they replaced the lastof the African carrier's vintage V 700s.

In 1978 a mall charter company, outhemInt mational, which had operated a OC-3on cargo charters, acquired two of

Z AC's redundant V807s. Both had originally been sold by Z AC to two hortlived aribb an carriers, Pearl Air and Air

aribbean, neither of which was uccessful,and the aircraft were passed to a brokerwhich sold them to outhem Intemational.The aircraft were delivered to the new airline at outhampton early in the year, butonly one of them, V807 G-CSZB, initiallyntered service, in August 197 .

This aircraft was operated on reliefflights for the Red Cro s in Ethiopia andEritrea for two months. On its retum tothe UK in October 'ZB was operated on a

South rn Internationaland Dan-Air

taken vel' by a pair of new thirty-passenger h rt 30 which Inter ity sharedwith u m ey Airlines.

Dan-Air's intermittent use of various Viscounts between 1975 and 1981 included

an eighteen-month lease of late-model V.816 G-BGlC. Steve Richards

The attractively-styled Viscounts of Southern International had previously been operated

in New Zealand for many years by NZNAC. Aviation Hobby Shop

of the situation, and then waming the cabincrew and passengers over the public addressystem, the captain began looking for a suitable place for a safe forced landing, as therewas no hope of reaching Exeter Airport.Now reduced to the status of a rather largeglider, G-ARBY was guided skilfully along asmall grassy valley to the south of the villageof Ouery t Mary. As the aircraft crossed afield boundary, its underside struck a treeand it then touched down nose-up, the portwing striking another tree that caused theViscount to veer to one ide as it slid alongthe field. Fortunately all of the occupantswere evacuated safely, only one passengerrequiring hospital treatment. The aircraftwas declared beyond economic repair. Theensuing public enquiry called into questiona number of Alidair's maintenance and crewtraining practices.

On 1 March 1981 the airline wasrenamed Int r City Airline, and the Viscounts were used to open an Ea t Midlands-Edinburgh-Aberdeen chedule on 5May. Eventually, though, the route was

162 163

HECTIC TWILIGHT YEARS HECTIC TWILIGHT YEARS

Viscount 806 G-AOYJ operated the last London-Guernsey service for BA in 1980 and,after a further year based in Scotland, was sold the following year. via author

British Midland took over several of BA's ex-Viscount routes. The airline expanded itsservices from a number of local UK points. such as Birmingham. Steve Richards

The airline had already been operating itsHerald on North African oil-industrywork. Several of th Viscounts were quicklydespatched to Libya to be operated on contract to companies such as Occidental Oiland Esso, as well as Oasis, alongside the Heralds. The Algerian demonstration had alsoproved succe ful, and Air Algerie leasedtwo Viscounts to operate dome tic servicefrom Ghardaia, from March. Back in theUK, in addition to undertaking a number ofad. hoc contract , the Vi count w r oonbusy operating alongside th Heralds onsummer charters to the hartnel Islandsfrom several UK regional airports. In addition, holiday services were operated to Jersey from Billund and Cop nhagen, in Denmark, and to Beauvais from Southend.

The V815 G-AVJB joined the BAF Viscount fleet in eptember 1981, offeringgreater range and payload and permittingthe operation of direct charters to theMediterranean from the UK. In eptember19 2 the much-travelled V808 G-BBDKal 0 arrived, offering the flexibility of itsdouble-size cargo door for freight work. Incontrast, Viscount 806 G-AOYH was fitted with a VIP interior, with only thirty-sixseats in two cabins, with single and doubleseats either side of the aisle instead of themore usual, high-density, five-abreastarrangement. After being operated by BAF

The introduction of the first of BAFs 'new' Viscounts was an occasion that called forformal presentation of the aircraft and crews to the travel-trade press. BAF via author

cargo work. In 1979 BAF reached anagreement with British Island Airways(BIA) to hand over its scheduled servicefrom Southend to the latter company,allowing BAF to concentrate on potentially more lucrative charter and leasingcontracts. In the first weeks of 19 1 BAFpurchased six of the BA Viscounts, twoV802 and four V806s. The first, V802 GAOHV, wa flown to BAF's outhend baseon 16 January. In addition, another V802,G-AOHL, was purchased and immediately dismantled on its arrival at outhend inFebruary, its fu elage being adapted as acabin service trainer.

In short order, G-AOHV was overhauled, refurbished and pre ented to pressand travel trade representatives on 4 February, wearing bright yellow and blue BAFlivery detail over it basic BA paintwork.The 71-77- eat Viscounts were offered asa more economic vehicle for inclusivetour charter, a well as offering greaterrange and capacity for general charterwork than the 48/50-pa enger Heralds.Soon after the press pre entation, 'HVdeparted outhend on 8 February for aseries of dem n tration flights with AirAlgerie. Following thi it wa positioned toTripoli, where it began it fir t revenue flying for BAF, operating upply and ferryflight for the asi Oil Company.

ANew Home

route was eventually awarded to Guems yAirlines, and BMA's Viscounts took over thdirect route from the Isle of Man andLeeds/Bradford to Headlrow. Having operated the Birmingham-Headlrow service in 0

operation with BA, BMA flew that route onits own at an increased frequency after BAwithdrew its daily Viscount flight. By now,BMA had disposed of its Dart Heralds, andthe turboprop operations were firmly in thehands of the Vi count 81Os, with a growingfleet of DC-9 operating on more importantroutes. Originally, BMA had open d the Liverpool-London service, after taking it overfrom BA, with its DC-9s, but it later substituted Viscounts when the revenue loadsfailed to come up to expectation.

In November 1982 BMA was involvedin setting up Manx Airlines, to take over itsown and Air UK' ervices to the Isle ofMan. For the first time ince the absorptionof the original Manx Airline by ilver ityin the late 1950s, the Isle of Man was ableto boast its own horne-based, scheduled airline operation. For the important twicedaily connection from the i land to LondonHeathrow, BMA transferred V813 GAZNA to the new carrier. Manx also operated a mixed fleet of Fokker E27s, hort330s and some smaller twins on its regionalnetwork. In addition, the Vi count waslater used on some services to Liverpool orDublin, as required, in between the morning and evening runs to Heathrow.Although only one Viscount wa usually inservice at anyone time, further aircraftreplaced the original aircraft for variousperiods, until new BAe 146s replaced thetype a the airline's flagship in 19 7.

Although the Vi counts withdrawn by BAin 1975 had mostly been quickly crappedor donated to airport fire ervices, the fleetm mbers that followed them in 1980-82w re more fortunate. A proposed deal forthe sale of at lea t ix to Merpati Nusantarawas not completed, but a new buyer soontepped forward with a view to offering the

vintage Viscounts a profitable future.Mark t changes had seen BAF, no

longer a part f Air Holdings and nowowned by the Keegan Group, finally endit cross-Channel vehicle ferry operationand replace it with more passenger-orientated service. Dart Heralds had initiallybeen acquired to operate most of the BAFservices, a few arvairs being retained for

Route Redistribution

Other UK carriers, orne u ing their own Viscounts, soon snapped up the Viscount routedropped by BA. The Guernsey-London

predecessor, BEA. In that time a total ofs venty-eight Viscounts of various verions had been used.

thirty-five passengers, was delayed byfog until 1 April. The last ten V806sremained in service on th Scottishroute, their numbers reducing over thefollowing months until May 1982, wheneven these survivors were retired. Thela t Viscounts were replaced in cotlandby leased HS 74 s. This brought to anend twenty-eight years of continuousVi count operations by the airline and it

Pittsburgh and Washington. The Viscountwas also used to tran port privileged gueststo the Post's mountain retreat at Topridge,near Saranac Lake.

Another handful of Vi count alsofound their way into semi-private hands,being operated by that particularly Uin titution, the travel club. Licensing regulations in the U A made it very difficultfor the e tablishm nt of inclusive-tourcharter operators in the European tyle. Aa result, several travel clubs were estabIi hed, with the membership operating aircraft on holiday and tour ervi e for thegroup. With the availability of large numbers of surplus pi ton-engine aircraft at thebeginning of the jet era, a number of theseorganizations flourished, at lea t for a shortwhile, though mo t eventually succumbedto financial difficulties. The concept survived, albeit precariou Iy, into the 1960sand 1970s, and at lea t two of these club,Air World Travel lub and Holiday Air ofAmerica, operated Viscounts.

At the end of the 1970s BA was still nonearer finding a practical replacement forits own remaining Viscounts. everaloptions were studied, but none of themwa able to offer a financially viable olution. The airline was already in the midstof a financial crisis, and de perately needed to shed any routes that were incapableof making a reasonable profit. Therefore,BA decided that, with the exception ofeveral of the V806s, which would be

retained for Scottish routes in the interim,all of its r maining Viscounts would ber tired on 31 March 1980. Any routesexclusively flown by the Viscounts wouldalso be closed down. As a re ult, all BAoperations ceased at Bristol, Cardiff,Guernsey, Leed -Bradford, outhamptonand Isle of Man. In addition, ewcastleoperations were greatly reduced, only theHeathrow route, already operated by jets,remaining. Liverpool-ba ed services hadalready been handed over to BMA in apreviou cost-cutting exercise.

Consequently, the last six operationalBA V802s and four V806 were withdrawn and flown to Cardiff for storageeither before, or shortly after, most of theViscount routes were closed on 31 March.In fact, bad weather conspired to delay theclo ure, as the la t Heathrow-Guernseyservice, operated by V806 G-AOYJ with

SA Viscount Retirement

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III (Tit TWILIGHT YEAR liE Tit TWILIGHT YEARS

BAF Channel IslandExpansion

BA's H 74 on Scottish services, and itsaircraft were also seen on London-Jerseyschedules replacing One-Elevens. In April1985 G-AOHT was given the VirginAtlantic Airlines logo and titling and wasused to operate the London-Maastrichtroute for Virgin.

British Air Ferries strengthened it linkwith the Channel I lands, which hadbecome a major source of charter businessfor the airline, in April 1983, when it

tablished a Jer ey-based subsidiary, Jersey Air Ferries and repainted V806 GAOYP in the new airline's colours. However, after only one summer season JerseyAir Ferrie was reabsorbed into BAF, allubsequent operations being undertaken

in the parent company's name. hortlyafterwards the Keegan Group old BAF tonew owner Jadepoint, a holding c mpany.

Jadepoint also acquired the as t ofGu msey Airlines from the OfficialReceiver of Inter City Airline, which wassuffering increa ed financial difficulties.All the Int r City operation eventuallycea ed in July, a BAF Herald immediatelyreplacing the Guernsey Airline Viscount724, which was till owned by Inter City.A V806 was later tran ferred to theGuernsey Airlines operation, whichretained its separate identity within BAF.The airline also immediately took over theAberdeen-based oil industry shuttle contracts to Sumburgh, positioning two of itsViscounts to Scotland to take ver fromthe grounded Inter City aircraft.

Busines was so brisk that BAF had takenmore of the ex-BA fleet as they becameavailable, and by the beginning of 1984 nofewer than eight en ex-BA Viscounts hadbeen acquired. A new scheduled networkwa inaugurated from Gatwick in 1985, witha Viscount operating the Gatwick-Rotterdam route in a ociation with British Caledonian (BCal), which also conne ted withthe Guerns y Airlines Gatwick-Guemseyservice. Another BAF Viscount, G-AOYR,was repainted in full BCal Commuter liveryand took over the route from Gatwick toBrussels and also upplemcntcd OneElevens on the B al Gatwick-Jersey service. In August 19 5 the owner of Euroairdecided to reorganize its airline operationsand sold its four Viscount and their outstanding contracts to BAF for £2.5 million.

nam d had been neglected since the demiseof uthern International in 1980, languishing in torage at various UK airportand eventually ending up at Southend.Jad point Engineering, BAF's maintenanceorganization, gave the aircraft a major overhaul between August 1984 and its deliveryto Euroair at Gatwick in 0 cember.

A well as the temporary work originally undertaken, Euroair had expanded intolimited tour and holiday work, operatingregular inclusive-tour charters from and toBeauvais and Rotterdam from several UKairports. Viscount G-BLNB was leased toTunisavia for use on servic from fax andTunis to Malta. British Airways also regularly chartered Euroair's Viscounts whenthe national carrier was short of capacity.On several occasions Euroair replaced

di creetly operated, with no airline titlingand only the Euroair logo on its tail.

Commercial operations tarted in eptember 1983, the 76-passenger Vi COuntvisiting Denmark, France, Sweden,Switzerland and the Neth rlands on privatand corporate charters in the first month.Euroair wa oon attracting new customers,and by 1985 wa operating three more Viscounts, also acquired from BAF. Leasingalso featured in Euroair's programme, with'HV operating for mall Coventry-ba edcarrier Air ommuter on short-lived scheduled services to Paris. Re-registered GBLNB, 'HV was joined by V802 G-AOHTand V806 G-BNAA (the former GAOYH, which had returned fr m Canadain February), and also by ex-SouthernInternational V807 G-C ZB. The last-

The BAF fleet was increasingly used for new scheduled services to Europe and theChannel Islands. Steve Williams Collection

Viscount G-AOYR flew in BCal colours for jointly operated BAF{BCal services basedat London. Gatwick. Aviation Hobby Shop

Euroair's Arrival

In July 19 3, following Polar's collap e, GAOHV was ferried by BAF from Tee ide toSouthend, where it was prepared for ale toa new client, executive charter operatorEuroair, which was a sociated with another xecutive carrier, Business Air Centre.Intended for charter by individual andcompanies, a oppo ed to travel agents andholiday companies, the aircraft was tobe ba ed at Gatwick. It would be very

On its eventual return to the UK,restored to the K register once again asG-AOHT, the Vi count eventually found anew lease customer in the shape of Teesidebased Polar Airways. It was ferried to Teeside in August 1982, and operat d a eries ofcharters to Dus eldorf, as well as making everal appearance on BMA's scheduledcargo service between East Midlands andMaastricht. A second BAF Vi count, V 06G-AOYI, entered ervice in eptember, andboth aircraft wer soon visiting orway,Spain and the etherlands on both passenger and cargo work, even venturing a far as

orth Africa. Although 'YI was returned toBAF in March 1983, it was replaced byV802 G-AOHV, which continued operating the varied charter programme.

A busy summer ea on was planned, withv ral inclusive-tour contracts obtained.

However, all Polar operations ceased on 21April when 'HV was impounded by creditors. Both aircraft were taken back by BAF,which also took over the operation of GAOHT on the Maastricht cargo flight fromEast Midlands, with its Polar Airways titlesremoved and replaced by 'Aerolink', themarketing name of the service that wasflown for the cargo agent, Pandair.

among the Skybus management, thatwould probably justify a book of their own.A handful of demonstration flights did takeplace in Octob r, and the aircraft was eventually re-registered as ZK-SKY. However, itwas becoming increasingly clear that thedreams of Aqua-Avia Skybu would nevercome to fruition and, after reviewing thesituation in Nov mber, BAF's managementfelt obliged to cancel the initial five-yearlea e, as well a preparations to provide atlea tone mor Vi count. Subsequently, ZKSKY left Aukland on 1 December.

Initially, the Euroair Viscounts wore a very discrete livery, with no company titles visible.

MAP

Viscount 806 G-AOYH was fined-out with a unique 36-VIP passenger, all-first-class

interior. BAF via author

New Zealand Lease

From the delivery of its fir t aircraft, theBAF Viscount fleet attracted the attentionof other carri rs interested in leasing-inthe aircraft either hort- or long-term. Oneof the first was a n wand ambitiou ewZealand carrier, Aqua-Avia kybus, whichplanned to operate Viscount on low-faredomestic route a a rival to Air ewZealand. Early in September 1981 V 02G-AOHT was painted in the Skybus livery, and on the 14th it set off on the longdelivery flight, routeing via Graz, Athen ,Luxor, Bahrein, Mu cat, Bombay, Calcutta, Bangkok, ingapore, Denpasar, Darwin, Noumea and Aukland.

This would have been an epic journey forany aircraft, let alone a 25-year-old vintageairliner. evertheless, 'HT arrived safely inAukland on 23 eptember. There followeda series of political wranglings with the NewZealand licensing authorities, as well asarguments and even internal disputes

on several short-term VIP services aroundthe UK and Europe, 'YH was sold to Canadian operator orth Cariboo Air of tJohns, ewfoundland, inJuly 1983.

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II CTIC TWILIGHT YEARS IIECTIC TWILIGHT YEARS

Janus's Viscount Summer

Janus Airways obtained one more busy summer season's operations out of the surviving vintage ex-Inter City Viscount 708s. Bill Sheridan Collection

wa eventually dropped. After a year inw di h ervice as SE-IVY, the V 15 wa

withdrawn and eventually found it elfperched atop a pole in the High Chapperal Th me Park at Hillerstop. It remainedthere until 2003, when a bus, parkedunderneath it caught fire and the flamessoon spread to the hapless aircraft.

The Baltic name wa revived in 1988,when th ame wed ish owner e tablisheda new UK-based operator, Baltic Airlines,to be based at outhend. Five V lOs,comprising two V813s, two V814 and aV816, were acquired from BMA. Following some delays in the issuing of licencesand the airline's Air Operator' Certificate, the first commercial flight wa aSouthend-Twente-Hanover charter on 9June, operated by V813 G-AZNA. Balticintended to operate its charter under themarketing name of Hot Air, th moreedate 'Baltic' being used for any future

scheduled ervices. The colout{ul Hot Airlivery wa di played by V814 G-SAPFwhen it operated another chart r fr mEast Midland to Clermont Ferrand, al 0

on 9 June. Much of the airline's early workinvolved operations for other carriers, andAir UK, SMA and Manx Airline all chartered the Viscounts. In July G-BAPF wad livered to The Gambia, where it undertook scheduled operations for Gambia AirShuttle, from Banjul to Bamako, Bissau,Dakar and al.

Baltic and Hot Air

BAF' olitary VIS, G-AVJB, was sold inlat 19 6, to a new wedish airline, BalticAviation. Primarily established as a freightoperator, Baltic also eventually opened aMalmb-Southend low-fare scheduled passenger service with the Vi count. This wanot a commercially succe sful venture and

survive in use long enough to be repaintedin BMA's new 'Diamond' livery, and p ntits last few months with the companyoperating on chedule from Birminghamto Brussels, Guernsey and Jersey. Th veryla t BMA Viscount schedule was a Bru 1Birmingham sector operated on 19 February, ending almost twenty years of Viscountoperation by the carrier.

British Midland's last Viscount, V.813 G-AZNA. was disposed of in February 1988.Steve Williams Collection

Baltic also operated as Hot Air. One aircraft. the ex-G-BMAT. was suitably reregistered G-OHOT.Bill Sheridan Collection

BMA Re-equips

In February 1988 the last of BMA' onceomnipresent Vi count fleet wa retiredfrom ervice. A the airline began to concentrate more on services from the UK toEurope, the Viscounts were displaced byDC-9s and Boeing 737. In addition,Fokker F.27s had replaced them on some ofthe regi nal and domestic routes, new BAeATP turboprops also being introducedlater. Although some were sold on, a number of the Viscounts were con igned toscrap following their withdrawal by SMA.The V813 G-AZNA was the only one to

summer, operating the routes to France and Belgium from Lydd and Coventry, up to fourflights aday to Beauvais being flown at the busiest times. On 30 October, however, GARGR completed the last scheduled flight from Beauvais to Lydd, and the operation wasclosed down following increasing financial losses. This was the last time a UK-registered Viscount 700 carried fare-paying passengers.

The two Viscounts were promptly sold to Za"lre, though only one, G-ARGR, made thetrip to Africa. The other, G-ARIR. was re-registered as 90-CAH for its new owner, MMMAero Services, but had only got as far as Ostend by November. After a long period ofstorage it. too, was found to be suffering from corrosion, and was broken up in 19BB.Re-registered 90-CAN, 'GR was operated in Za"fre until 19B7, when it finally succumbedto the scrapman.

Viscounts to be registered in Spain sincethe lease of a single example to Aviaco inthe early 1960, they were operated onscheduled inter-island rvice betweenthe Canaries, fitted out in a very-highdensity 81-passenger configuration. Operations continued until 19 9, when LACopted to concentrate on inclusive-tourcharters with it jet fleet and the Viscountswere withdrawn from use and left to decayin open storage at Tenerife. Although BAFdid eventually con ider buying back theaircraft for spare, they were found uponinspection to have deteriorated too muchin the salty island atmosphere.

After the demise of Inter City Airlines, Lydd-based Janus Airways eventually acquiredits surviving three airworthy Viscount 7oos. Janus had been formed in 1983 as a subsidiary of Hards Travel. to take up the Lydd-Beauvais route that had been dropped byDan-Air. The Beauvais services, and anew route from Lydd to Ostend, were to be operated primarily for the benefit of the parent company's coach-air holiday passengers. Asingle Dart Herald was operated on the short cross-Channel network in 1983. The Viscounts were added to provide extra capacity required for expansion plans for 1984,which included opening ne.w services from Coventry to Beauvais and Ostend.

Of the three aircraft acquired, the two remaining V.708s and the ex-Guernsey V724,only the V708s went into service, as the V724 was suffering from corrosion and wassent on to its destruction at the Manston Fire School. The V708s enjoyed a busy

BAF's lea ing activities with the Viscounts continued through the 1980s, a single aircraft going briefly to Luton-basedLondon European Airways in 19 5. TheV806, G-AOYI, was re-registered GLaND before delivery and was used for ascheduled Luton-Amsterdam service from25 February, with charters to the ChannelIslands keeping it busy at weekends. AllVi count ervice cea ed at the end of thesummer, though, and the aircraft returnedto BAF.

A Iso in 1985, two of the V 06s weresold to Spanish carrier Lineas AereasCanaria (LAC) of Tenerife. The first

768 769

IIECTIC TWILIGHT YEARS

Originally Transair's V.804 G-AOXU in 1957, V.807 G-CSZB was still in daily revenue

service with BAF over thirty years later. Aviation Hobby Shop

Both of Intercargo Service's Merchantmen had

been lost in crashes by the end of the company's

two-year existence. Avimage via author

EA , Air Inter and another French airline, Touraine Air Transport (TAT). Initial operations centred on a scheduled allcargo servic between Paris-Orly andMontpellier, previously flown by TAT.Flights began on 17 February 1987, thesecond aircraft arriving in April. Onceboth aircraft were establi hed in service,nightly sorties were operated linking Orlywith Montpellier and Toulou e.

Sadly, the operation wa struck bytragedy. The econd aircraft delivered, Merchantman F-GEJF, originally BEA V953 GAPEL, was lost at Toulouse on the night of29 January 198 . The crash followed an

HAPTER TWELVE

all-cargo flight on behalf of Air France.As the national airline now found it elfcapable of carrying much of its own freighttraffic, the contracts with EAS ended.

In January 1980 one of the ex-BA aircraftwas sold to Libr ville-ba ed Air Gabon, forwhich it was to operat on all-freight routeswithin Africa. Previously Air Gabon hadflown a vintage 0 -6 on the e services,until it was written off in an accident. Initialoperations went so well that the ex-SilverCity V952F was sent out to Africa to double the airline's Merchantman fleet. Thepair of aircraft operated uccessfully until19 6, when specialized Lockheed Herculesfreighters took over and the M rchantmenwere returned to EA at Perpignan.

The following year the two ex-Gabonaircraft were prepared for cargo operationswith a new carrier, Inter Cargo ervice(ICS), which had been jointly formed by

Final Furlongs

African Interlude anda Last French Flourish

The use of widebodied aircraft on passenger services also had an adverse ffect onthe EAS Merchantman fleet. One of itmain activities had been the operation of

Even a the numbers of operational Vicker Arm trongs-built turboprops were decliningfrom th hundreds of a mere decade beforeto dozens, or even less in the Vanguard'case, a handful of carriers were sti II happy togive the aircraft a productive home. As longa the Viscounts and Vanguards were capable of returning a profit there would be operator willing to explOit them, despite theirrapidly advancing years.

The Ultimate Years

Last Gallop

industry services to and from Scotland andScandinavia pr ving to be mon ymakersfor the airline.

A potential buyer for BAF came forwardin late 19 8, in the form of a new holdingcompany, Mostjet. Among Mostjet' director wa Lennart Hesselburg, the founderand a director of Baltic/Hot Air. Once thelegal, financial and licensing negotiationswere completed, BAF and Baltic weremerged in the pring of 1989, the airlinebeing released from Administration at thesame time. The resulting fleet consisted oftwenty Viscounts and three Dart Herald .

With the rapid approach of the 1990 , theendurance of the remaining operationalViscounts and Vanguards was becomingincreasingly remarkable. Although theirnumbers were certainly dwindling, theurvivor were still earning their keep.

Whether on busy domestic passengerschedules around Africa and Indonesia,carrying excited holidaymakers to theirleisure destination, or ferrying oil workerto the hetlands, the remaining Viscountsstill provided reliable service to their owners. The handful of Vanguards were nearlyall freight-carriers, but the load-haulingcapability of the trusty old 'Guardsvan' wasproving difficult to replace.

The last decades were finally on the horizon for both type, but they would go doingwhat they did be t; working.

Operated by BAF as a 'Freightmaster' dedicated cargo aircraft, V.808C G-BBDK was

successful enough to inspire the company to convert another passenger aircraft tofull cargo configuration. Jenny Gradidge

The Guernsey Airlines operation was sold,and most of the remaining chedule wereclosed down shortly afterwards. The mainfinancial problems had concerned otherJadepoint companies and the loss-makingexpansion of the schedules. By returning toit core charter and lea ing activities BAFhoped to return to profitability, and V806G-BLOA, originally G-AOYJ, was converted to all-freight configuration in 1988to join the V808C as a dedicated Freightmaster on all-cargo work. Both aircraft soonfound themselves indemand on both shortterm and temporary contract work, with oil

BAF Reorganizes

The fourth Viscount to be delivered toBaltic/Hot Air was G-BMAT, which hadpreviously been G-AZLT with BMA. Theaircraft had been re-registered by BMA during repairs following a well-publicized overrun at Leeds-Bradford after a scheduled service from Heathrow in October 1980. WithBaltic/Hot Air it became G-OHOT. A contract for a Manchester-Belfast freight service occupied one of the Viscounts, whileanother was based in West Africa, leavingone available in the UK for ad hoc charters,which were operated throughout the Kand Europe. Th last Viscount to be delivered to Baltic/Hot Air was ex-Manx andBMA V 16 G-BFZL, which arrived inNovember.

Under the ownership of Jadepoint, BAFhad greatly expanded the scheduled-serviceside of its operation. The Southend hannell land market had been abandoned byBMA, and BAF moved in to replace theBMA Viscounts with its own. A fleet ofShort 330s and 360s had also beenacquired, and these opened everal newroutes such a outhampton-Manchester,which fed into new BAF Channel Islandsflights from outhampton.

Unfortunately the move back to scheduled ervic wa not a success and, linkedwith financial problems within the parentcompany, this led to BAF being placedunder Administration from January 1988.

770 777

FINAL FURLO G

Far East Movements

More Mundane TasksThe remaining operational Merchantmanfleet was also kept busy flying from the

K, albeit on less exotic labour. As wellas the early cargo-carrying work for scheduled airlines such as Swi air and Au trianAirlines, ABC was later contracted byKLM for regular Amsterdam-Manchesterand Am terdam-Gothenburg freightchedules and an East Midlands-Amster

dam feeder cargo service on behalf of Nippon Cargo Airlines. Newspaper contractsaw the Merchantmen flying to Belfast

from Liverpool, Luton and Manchester,and from Luton to Glasgow. A weekly military cargo charter was operated from RAFBrize orton to either Laarbruch orWildenrath, to supply UK forces in Germany. Varied ad. hoc work saw the aircraftoperating all ov r Europe, the Mediterranean region and North Africa.

Livestock and bloodstock charters alsocontinued to be a feature of th UK operations, though livestock ervices laterdeclined as the result of new legi lationregarding live animal exports. Bloodstockcharter, carrying racehor e , expandedto the extent that G-APE and G-APETwere both modified to allow easy conversion for this work in-between their normal freight activities. When u ed on

RIGHT: The adaptability Df the large-capacity Merchantman, including frequent use as a livestDck DrblDDdstDck transpDrt, was well prDmDted by thecDmpanv tD attract custDm. Author's collection

ABOVE: A wide variety Df freight cDntracts awardedtD Air Bridge ensured plenty Df revenue wDrk fDr theactive fleet members. Steve Williams Collection

Viscount 832 PK-MVN spent its entireworking life in Australia and theFar East, flving for Ansell-ANA, FEATand Mandala Airlines. Visits backto Europe were rare, exceptionsincluding this one to East MidlandsAirport for major maintenance andrefurbishment. Steve Richards

Guinea and Fiji. From March 1982 theM rchantman adopted the titles f Airfa t

ervices and began flying a regular Singapore-Djakarta cargo ervice. Thi continued until January 1983, when the muchtravelled aircraft r turned to East Midlands.On its arrival back in the UK, 'EG wa inneed ofa major maintenance ch ck and wasplaced into storage. A it tran pired, the aircraft remained grounded and was eventually scrapped after donating valuable spares tokeep the remaining aircraft flying.

In the autumn of 1982 two of thestored aircraft, G-APEP and G-APEK,were returned to flying statu. For 'EP thiswas the fir t time it had flown since delivery in 1979, and 'EK had been taredsince 1980. The latter aircraft waspromptly despatch d to West Africa foranother Gabon-based cattle-hauling contract. A new wissair contract, for the

peration of services from Gla gow andManchester to Zurich, awarded in 1984,saw the first entry into ABC service of GAPET, which had been stored since itsarrival from Briti h Airways at Heathrowin 1980.

noted the excellent condition of the low-hour, well-maintained aircrah. Bouraq hadacquired the Viscounts via Hong Kong's HAECO organization, which had been involvedwith the aircraft continually since their initial delivery from Vickers.

Ironically, both Mandala and MNA had also acquired extra Viscounts from China, butfrom nationalist Taiwan. Both carriers took delivery of a number of FEAT's Viscountfleet, among other sources. All three airlines were to continue to operate their Viscounts well into the 1980s, and some even into the 1990s. Despite the inevitable accident write-offs, withdrawals and cannibalization for spares, by the mid-1980s MNAwas still operating two Viscounts, Mandala was flying four and Bouraq continued tooperate its hard-working quartet. The busy Indonesian Viscounts supplemented numerous fleets of not only HS 748s but also the similarly sized F.27, both also Dart-powered,and were a useful link between the smaller turboprop twins and growing numbers ofhigher-capacity jet fleet members.

in thi way, ABC was better able to controlthe build-up of hours on the airframes.

Initially, in early 19 0, G-APEG, 'E]and 'EK were operated once the new fleetmembers had been delivered, allowingAB 's original Merchantman, G-APES,to undergo a major overhaul and repaint.When 'ES returned to service 'E] was temporarily stored. After this period of inactivity, G-APE] was prepared for a ferryflight to Gabon the end of June. Once inWest Africa it wa u ed for a large contracttransporting 1,400 cattle to Gabon fromBanjul and Dakar.

In August 1981 G-APEG was alsodespatched on an over eas contract, beingI as d out to Singapore-based cargo operator Air Tenggara. The Merchantman wassoon seen all over the Far East on charterwork, ranging as far afield as Banglad handAustralia and cov ring most p int inbetween. In a particularly epic journey, 'EGtransported 15 tons of tents from ingaporeto Tonga, as disaster relief following a severehurricane in the area. The 6,250-mile(lO,OOOkm) trek wa accomplished in undertwo day, rout ing via Au tralia, New

On its way back to BAF from New Zealand, the Aqua-Avia Viscount 802 paused for afew weeks in the Far East in the hope of attracting a new leasing contract. The mostlikely prospect was yet another Indonesian carrier interested in Viscounts, BouraqIndonesia Airlines. Although Bouraq did not contract the BAF aircrah, the first V.812built, once Tenneco and Alidair's N501TL. had been leased from FEAT in 1980, but hadbeen lost in acrash near Djakarta in 1980.

Nonetheless, Bouraq had still maintained an interest in joining the local ranks ofMandala and MNA as a Viscount operator, to supplement its large fleet of smaller HS748s on wide-ranging scheduled and charter services throughout Indonesia and neighbouring regions. In 1983 Bouraq bought the four remaining V.843s from China's CAAC,which had finally been replaced in mainland China by jets and smaller, more modernturboprops. Two of the CAAC Viscounts had been transferred to the Chinese Air Force,but the other four aircrah were all delivered to Indonesia, where Bouraq's engineers

Air Bridge Fleet Changes

engine failure on take-off, though all thecrew survived unscathed. Decidedly less fortunate were the crew of the original ICS aircraft, F-GE]E, once the Air Holdings andSilver City Merchantman. This aircraft alsofell victim to an engine failure, this time ontake-off from Marseilles on an Air Francservice to asablanca on 6 February 1989.The stricken aircraft plunged into a lagoonand the three crew members were killed. AllI operations came to an end shortly afterthe second crash.

Although obviously keen to acquire moreaircraft, as evidenced by its purchase of thefive survivors of BA's Merchantman fleet,ABC resisted the temptation to wamp themarket with its capacity. In tead, with theavailable aircraft now standing at ix, thecompany made a conscious operationaldeci ion to rotate the aircraft, keepingabout half in day-to-day operation, withthe remainder ither tored or on majorchecks, if required. By scheduling the fleet

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Passenger Vanguard's Last Bastion

B ginning of the End

The lease of a Viscount to VirginAtlantic for the Maastricht route continued, and the contract was even expandedwith the upply of an additional aircraft tooperate Virgin's new Luton-Dublin schedule. The UK terminal for the Maastrichtservice was also eventually moved fromGatwick to Luton. The Luton-Dublinschedule wa so successful that Virgin

maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and development of the infra-red reconnaissancesystem for the Panavia Tornado GR.1A in the 1990s. The last involved high-speed passes along the runway at avery low 50ft (15m) altitude, in order to emulate the Tornado'sperformance. Although the Viscounts took such punishment in their stride, the effect ofother airframe-straining work of this nature over the years, plus the structural adaptations, took their toll.

The V837, XT575, was hangared at Thurleigh in 1991, and the V838, XT661 , wasstored in the open. By the time their official retirement and offer for sale wasannounced, it was obvious that neither was suitable to be used commercially again.The repair work required to return them to certifiable airworthiness was too prohibi·tively expensive to be considered, and both were eventually scrapped in 1993.Nonetheless, the forward fuselage of XT575 was saved and eventually placed ondisplay in the Brooklands Museum at Weybridge in Surrey, established on the oldVickers/BAC factory site.

Viscount fleet, with the declining numbersof Dart Herald playing a much more minorrole. As well a th home base at outhend,BAF was operating it Vi counts ftom outstations at Aberdeen and Manchester.Manchester was generally assigned one aircraft, while Aberde n frequently had up tothree. The remainder were u ually stationed at outhend.

In 1992 two Viscount 81 Os operated from Thurleigh, Bedfordshire, by the UK's DefenceResearch Agency IDRAI were formally retired. Previously known as the Royal AircraftEstablishment - Bedford, the ORA had operated the two Viscounts, an ex-AustrianV837 and an ex-Ghana V838 on radar equipment trials.

Neither aircraft had flown for over ayear when it was announced that all ORA operations would be concentrated at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. The Viscounts had originally been supplied, via the Ministry of Technology and Shackleton Aviation, to theRoyal Radar and Signals Establishment at Pershore, Wiltshire, in 1964 and 1965, following their civil airline careers. They had been based at Thurleigh since the closure ofPershore in 1977. Considerable modification had been carried out on them to accommodate test equipment. including large ventral fairings and, in the case of the V838, along tube fairing under the lower rear fuselage.

Tasks undertaken by the aircraft included work on the infamous BAC TSR.2 programme in the 1960s, trials of the Thorn/EMI Searchwater radar for the Nimrod

Anumber of interesting bulgesand fairings appeared on the RAEViscounts over the years. as theytook part in various researchprogrammes. Steve WilliamsCollection

Research Retirement

Only one of the Merchantmen tookon the full colours of Hunting CargoAirlines following the company'sname change. Aviation Hobby Shop

The reorganization of BAF in 1989, after itsclo e bru h with bankruptcy and emergencefrom Administration under new ownership,saw the company's management announcing its confidence in the established charteractivities. At the time these were verymuch based on the combined BAF/Baltic

BAF Recovery

just one of th ex-ABC Merchantman aircraft, G-APES, wa to be repainted in fullHuntin argo colours. While the 'new'Electras quickly took on the new identity,the r maining operational Vickers fleetmerely had 'Hunting Cargo' title appliedover the Air bridge Carriers basic livery.

In December G-APEJ was withdrawnfrom use and stored at East Midlands.This left the remaining three operating onDHL contract service from Brus el toBelfast, oventry, East Midlands, Lond n/H athrow and Luton, as well as performingocca i nal blood tock and ad hoc work. InJanuary 1994 'EM was also retired, andthe last two, G-APEP and G-APE , weremo tly operated on DHL flights ov rthe Luton-London/Heathrow-Brussels andDublin-East Midlands-Brussels routes.More Electra freighters had taken over mostof Hunting' remaining operations as thevaluable airframe hours on the Merchantmen finally began to be used up. Jets werealso on the horizon for Hunting, withsecond-hand Boeing 727 freighters about tobe acquired.

The last Vanguard in passenger service, Merpati Nusantara's V.952 PK-MVHJamdena, had previously had the distinctions of being both the last TCA Vanguardbuilt and the last Vanguard operated in passenger service in Europe while with EAS.Bill Sheridan Collection

operated by Garuda, they were still popular enough to be retained on the Jakarta-Medan service for several more years. One of the V952s was retired in 1985, leaving the sole survivor, PK-MVH, to serve until October 1987, when it was finally retired.Ironically, this had also been the last production Vanguard built, CF-TKW, originallyflown in 1962. This historic aircraft was eventually returned to EAS at Perpignan inDecember 1987, but was broken up shortly after its arrival in France.

Th M r hantman's neme i with ABCbegan on the all-cargo airline's services in19 9. M n of the ABC Merchantmanfleet wer b coming du for expensivemajor maint nance checks, and, with nouitabl Vanguard or Merchantman air

frame available, an appropriate replacem nt wa urgently sought. Ironically, ABCdecid d to a quire examples of the Vanguard' nce arch rival, the El ctra. Threewere initially leased-in from early 1989,and all had entered service by June. Theleas d aircraft were replaced by secondhand Electra freighters bought from Northwest Territorial Airways of Canada by1992, by which time the operational Merchantman fleet was reduced to four, comprising G-APEJ, 'EM, 'EP and'E .

Augu t 1992 saw the name Air BridgeCarriers changed to Hunting argo Airlines. The revival of the Hunting name waspossible as Field, the original owner ofHunting Air Transport and Hunting Clan,still held rights to the name's use. However,

In addition to its Viscount operation, MNA still remained faithful to its long-establishedVanguard service and, with the cessation of the EAS Vanguard services in 1981, wasflying the world's last passenger services with the type. Right up until the early 1980sthe MNA Vanguard scheduled services included adaily flight from Djakarta to Medan.Also, a twice-weekly Djakarta-Surabaya-Ujung-Pandang-Biak flight was scheduledto leave Djakarta at 05.00hr on Wednesdays and Saturdays, arriving at Biak at 14.55hr.This service involved anight stop at Biak for the Vanguard before it returned to Djakarta, via the same route in reverse, the next day.

The three ex-BEA V953s were operated by MNA until 1981, when two wereretired. However, two passenger-configured V952s were acquired from EAS in thesame year. These became the sole constituents of the MNA Vanguard fleet in 1982,when the last of the V953s was withdrawn. Although the Vanguards now faced com·petition from modern jets varying in size from DC-9s to Airbus A300 widebodies

bloodstock service up to twenty-onehorses could be carried, along with theirgrooms.

A new and rapidly expanding marketwas the mall parcels busine s, beingdeveloped by a number of freight forwarding companie . Air Bridge Carrier hadalready become involved in thi work, itArgosie operating on behalf of Elan Airfrom East Midlands to Cologne and Shannon, alongside Elan's own Dart Herald.When the traffic on the rout had begunto outgrow the Argosies, an ex-BA Merchantman was purchased from the excessEAS tocks and restored to the UK register a G-APEM in July 1987. It was operated in full Elan colours, taking over manyof the services from East Midland, whichwere later expanded to include Brussels,London-Heathrow and Luton. Elan walater taken over by DHL, and 'EM's liverywas modified accordingly. The ABC Merchantman fleet regularly operated imilarsmall-parcel charters for T T and UP ,including a Birmingham-Brussel - openhagen- tockholm route.

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FINAL FURLONGS FINAL FURLONGS

Vintage Viscount 802 G-AOHM showed that it was still capable of marathon treks inits thirty-third operational year. MAP

G-BBDK from Stansted to Seville on 6 July1991, though a BAF One-Eleven transported the musicians themselves. The largecargo and small package forwarding company TNT also frequently chartered BAF Viscount capacity to carry its consignmentsaround the UK and Europe. Of particularimportance to the BAF Viscount fleet wasthe award of a contract in November 1992from Parcelforce, the small-package divisionof the UK Post Office.

On 8 October G-BBDK made a demonstration flight from Coventry to Edinburgh,ably illustrating its ability to carry the veryrespectable load of 17,640Ib (8,020kg) ofParcelforce consignments provided for theoccasion. The route was part of a nationwide 'hub and spoke' operation flown onbehalf of Parcelforce and the Royal Mail,the hub being at Coventry. Aircraft wouldfly in from all over the UK, exchange there-sorted loads at Coventry, and return totheir original points with the parcel or firstclass letter post destined for the cities theyserved. Hitherto, Parcelforce had charteredan HS 748 of another airline for the Edinburgh route, but the bulky nature of thecargo meant that the smaller turboprop wassometimes forced to leave some of the loadbecause the cabin was full, though the aircraft was still well below its weight limits.The use of the Viscount eliminated thisproblem.

The first revenue flight of the contractwas operated by V806 G-AOYP fromGlasgow to Coventry on the night of 9November. Later in the winter the Scottish terminal was switched to Edinburgh.In June 1993 an additional Parcelforcecontract saw the Viscounts flying fivetimes a week from Belfast to Coventry. Bythis time G-BBDK had been repainted ina bright red Parcelforce colour scheme topromote the service.

In April 1993, shortly before the award ofthe second Parcelforce contract, BAF hadofficially changed its operating name toBritish World Airlines (BWA). In fact thename had already been in use commercially since 1 January. Although the companyhad not operated its original cross-Channelcar ferry services since the mid-1970s, therewas still a steady stream ofenquires from thepublic every year about the availability ofthe service. It was obvious that the BAFname was still very much associated with

New Name

Shift to Cargo

aircraft, and 'OT was returned to full-timeservice as a freighter in February 1992.

As jets displaced the remaining Viscountsas the airline's front-line passenger equipment, members of the fleet increasinglyjoined the two Freightmaster conversionson all-cargo flights.

Fokker F27s were supplied by FederalExpress for a new cargo contract, and operated on its behalf by BAF on small packagecontracts. In due course, however, BAF'sown turboprops took over the FedEx services and the F27s were returned to theirowner. The Viscounts and Heralds flewover a nightly Heathrow-Brussels-Stansted-Brussels-Heathrow routeing, and alsoto Brussels from Manchester and Prestwick.In addition, BAF Viscounts operated forSecuricor Air on all-cargo routes from EastMidlands to Brussels and Dublin.

The growing list of regular cargo contracts for the BAF Viscounts also includednewspaper flights, carrying day-old-chicksaround Europe, car component charters forFord and General Motors, and the transporting of fresh eels from Belfast to theNetherlands. The Royal PhilharmonicOrchestra's instruments were carried by

Many of the passenger contracts weretaken over by a fleet of rather elderlysecondhand One-Eleven Series 200sacquired by BAF in 1990. The jets wereoperated from a new base at Stansted, toovercome operational restrictions in flyingthem from Southend. This duplicated analmost identical move by another Viscountoperator converting to jets, Channel Airways, over fifteen years earlier. Eventually,though Southend would remain BAF's mainengineering base, most operations weregradually moved to Stansted. More jets, inthe form of new BAe 146s, were alsoacquired, taking over more of the passengerwork from the Viscounts.

As market forces waxed and waned, ahandful of BAF Viscounts were withdrawnand scrapped, usually as they came due foran expensive major service. Others wereeventually placed in short-term storage,awaiting new contracts. Several times overthe next few years individual aircraft wereseemingly withdrawn, and even started tolose parts to keep their more activebrethren flying, only to be restored to fulloperating status when required for newcontracts. For example, V813 G-OHOTwa placed in storage soon after theBAF/Hot Air merger, at one point beingleft engineless for some months. However,in late 1991 work started on restoring the

Stripped of passenger furnishings. and with cargo-handling equipment installed. theViscount became a very capacious freight carrier. BAF via author

began in Agades, in Niger, on 8 January,and saw the elderly aircraft operating toexotically named West African points suchas Tahoua, Niamey, Gao, Tombouctou,Mopti, Nema, Tidjidka, Kiffa, Kayes, StLouis and Dakar, finally arriving in Senegalon 16 January.

Other passenger work for the Viscountsincluded the well-established AberdeenShetland oil industry shuttles, as well asnumerous ad hoc services and travel industry contracts. The Viscounts continued toprove especially popular with coach-airinclusive-tour companies and other travelagencies offering coach-air connections.Their passengers were transported by coachfrom several points in Europe to airportssuch as Maastricht, Ostend or Rotterdam,from where BAF would ferry them over toSouthend. The Channel Islands alsoremained popular destinations for travelindustry charters in the summer months,though on much-reduced frequencies compared with earlier years.

The V806 G-APIM had been damagedbeyond repair when it was struck by anoth-r aircraft at outhend on 11 January

1988, but, instead of scrapping it, BAF presented the repaired but non-airworthy aircraft to the Brooklands Museum, for display at the Viscount's birthplace. On 29July 1990 BAF V806 G-AOYN made acommemorative passenger flight fromNortholt to Le Bourget, this time celebrating no less than forty years of Viscountcommercial service. The passengers participating in the historic event enjoyed alow-level fly-past of Brooklands en route.

returning to its old Isle of Man home for several weeks when BAF leased the aircraft to itsprevious owner for operation on several IrishSea routes and to the Channel Islands. OtherBAF Viscounts appeared on Manx serviceon and off through the next few years, usually replacing un erviceable BAe ATPs.

The Viscounts were still capable ofundertaking the occasional adventure offthe well-beaten tracks of European airspace. InJanuary 1990 V802 G-AOHM, bythen the oldest operational Viscount in theBAF fleet, was despatched at short notice toAfrica to replace a Libyan Arab Fokker F28jet originally chartered as a support aircraftfor the Paris-Dakar car rally. The operation

replaced the BAF Viscount with Boeing727s, this time leased in from Dublinbased Club Air. Unfortunately Club Airceased all operations a few months later,and a BAF Viscount was again leased-in tooperate the ervice.

However, Virgin eventually decided todrop the Maastricht and Dublin servicesfrom its network, and Leeds-based operatorCapital Airlines took over the LutonDublin route. At the time Capital operated a fleet of Shorts 360s, which would havebeen far too small for the expected traffic.The airline had BAe 146 jets on order toserve the Luton-Dublin route, and untilthey arrived a BAF Viscount was onceagain brought in to fly the service, thi timeon Capital's b half, V806 G-AOYN beingdelivered to Luton in March 1989. WhileVirgin had operated a twice-daily service,the Capital schedule called for the Viscount to operate between Luton andDublin up to four times a day. As each sector took Ihr 20min by Viscount, this gavea very respectable utilization for the aircraft. Capital's BAe 146 duly took overthe Dublin flight, but for a few months aViscount could be seen once again wearing'Capital' titles, over twenty-five years afterthe demise of the original US carrier.

More leasing and ad fwe charter work forother airlines saw the BAF passenger Viscounts often flying schedules for Aer Lingu ,Air Europe Express, Air UK, BirminghamEuropean Airways, BA, Jersey European Airways and Loganair. In 1990 V836 G-BFlL,which had been acquired from Manx Airlines via BMA by Baltic/Hot Air, found itself

After inheriting the initial contracts during the takeover of Euroair's Viscountoperations, BAF regularly continued to lease Viscount capacity to Virgin AtlanticAirways. via author

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fiNAL FURLONGS FI Al FURLONGS

Viscount 813 G-OHOT came to afiery end in Staffordshire in 1994. via author

of the founding of BWA's predece sor, ilverCity Airways, a special VIP flight waplanned to operate from Heathrow on ISApril. That date also corresponded to theday in 1953 when BEA had opened the fir tpassenger Viscount 700 schedules from london to Cyprus. The vintage V 02 GAOHM was appropriately chosen for theflight and was positioned from Aberdeen to

tansted the day before, where it was d corated with stickers of sponsors of the event.Unfortunately, while being towed at tansted on the morning of the 1Sth, 'HM's wingstruck a fence post and was badly damaged.Although it was repairable, the damage wasufficiently serious to cause the Viscount'swithdrawal from the event. Instead, VS06G-APEY was rushed down from Aberdeen,direct to Heathrow, to make the flight.

Among the VIPs gathered at Heathrowwere Sir George Edwards, 'father' of theViscount design and by then SS years old,Sir Peter Masefield and ex-Vickers testpilot Jock Bryce, all major player in thetype's history. After a press pre entationand appropriate speeches, the distinguished gue ts were taken on a 45minchampagne flight over london, which alsoincluded a fly-pa tat Brooklands. A buffetlunch and reception, hosted by BA, followed, before a party of press repre entatives were carried to tan ted by G-APEY.The aircraft then positioned back toAberdeen to return to its more mundanetask of ferrying oil workers to hetland.

Another BWA Viscount made a celebratory appearance at Heathrow two monthslater. On 2 June, the fiftieth anniversary ofth opening of Heathrow, a massive flypa tof types associated with the airport overthe years was planned. The VS36 G-BFZl

It was obvious that the withdrawal of theViscounts from Aberdeen would almost certainly mark the end of passenger Viscountoperations, at least in Europe, To mark theoccasion, a well as the fiftieth anniversary

Retirement Celebrations

cantankerous behaviour by the elderly airliner n ued hortly after the arrival of thefir t ATR-72. On 22 March 1996 V936 GBFZl damaged its number 3 and 4 engineand propellers after running off the taxiway at Edinburgh and sinking into softground. It had ju t arrived at Edinburgh ona Parcelforce service from Coventry. Theusually dormant G-OPA was rushed backinto ervice to replace 'Zl while repairswere undertaken, G-BFZl finally beingreturned to servic on 17 April.

Two days later, in-between Parcelforceflights, VSOSC G-OPFE was assigned abrief training sortie before operating thatevening's flight to oventry from Belfast.This normally routine task was marredwhen the crew neglected to lower theundercarriage before land ing, and 'FE sankon to the runway on its belly, its propellersbeing irreparably mangled against theground. After blocking the runway forseveral hours, the unfortunate Viscountwas finally hoisted up by a crane and itundercarriage was lowered so that it couldbe moved. Although the damage to thefuselage and wings wa minimal, G-OPFEwas deemed beyond economic repair andscrapped for spares. Its total flying timewas 37,591hr, with 32,696 landings foreight different operators in it thirtyeight-year career.

The arrival of BWA's ATR-72s heralded lhe end of the airline's use of lhe faithfulViscounts. Aviation Hobby Shop

Signs of the TimesBy the end of 1994 three more of the surviving Vi counts were resplendent in thedistinctive red Parcelforce livery. FromOctober the contract had been expand d,frequencies on the flights from Coventryto Belfa t and Edinburgh being doubled.As a further move to promote the contract, the VSOSC freighter G-BBDK wareregistered G-OPFE, VS02 G-B lBbecame G-OPFI and VS06 G-AOYP wasconverted to a freighter and became GPFBT. Another of the VS06s, G-AOYN,was re-registered G-OPAS on donningParcelforce colours in October. Althoughconverted for full-time freight services,with the Parcelforce contract particularlyin mind, the e aircraft still did not boastthe double-sized door of the sole VSOS ,G-OPFE. The other originally dedicatedFreightmaster, V 06 G-BLOA, had beenretired from service in May 1993.

For the 1994 eason eight airworthy Viscounts were still available for BWA's charter programmes. The active fleet consistedof two VS02s, three VS06s, VS07 GCSZB, the V OSC and a single Viscount

10 eri ,VS36 G-BFZL. As well as thecontinuing Aberdeen-based contract toShetland, a handful of European ad hocpas enger charters were still undertaken bythe Vi count, though the majority of thiswork wa now undertaken by the OneElevens and BAe 146s which had deposedthe Viscounts as BWA's flagships.

With their available airframe hoursbefore major maintenance becoming verylimited, the Viscounts' use was soon beingchiefly restricted to their Parcelforce andOil Industry contracts. By the end of 1995VS06 G-APAS was so quickly running outof hours that it was relegated to back-upduties to pre erve it for use for as long aspossible. It was also announced that,although the Aberdeen contracts hadrecently been renewed by Shell Oil andProduction Ltd, for whom they were operated, the Vi counts currently flying theservice would be replaced by more-modernturboprops. With the contract beingworth £55 million to the company, entim ntality had to give way to business senseand BWA 10 t no time in confirming anorder for two new ATR-72s, due for delivery in April and June 1996.

The u ually reliable Viscounts did noteem to take kindly to the impending

arrival of th ir European-consortium-builtreplac ment, and a few weeks of mildly

the previous operation, and it was decidedthat a new, updated image was badly needed. A number of larger One-Eleven Series500s had been acquired to replace the olderSeries 200s, and more BAe 146s had alsojoined the fleet. Having worked hard toestabli h a hard-won reputation as an efficient, high-quality, charter and lea ingoperator, the company wanted to shake offthe old identity. A new burgundy-andwhite colour cherne, replacing the previous red, white and blue livery, was quicklyapplied to the high-profile jet fleet.

Unfortunately, BWA's Dart-poweredaircraft were less fortunate, only one of theViscounts, VS36 G-BFZL, being repaintedto reflect the new image. Th remainingViscounts were mostly just given 'BritishWorld' titles over the old BAF livery, andthe last of the Dart Heralds were removedfrom service altogether shortly after thename change.

The diversion point was changed from Birmingham to East Midlands, which was closer, though the stricken airliner was having trouble maintaining even the 2.500ft (760m)altitude for which it had now been given clearance.

A great deal of ice was now building up on the airframe and, finally, with the crewunable to maintain control. G-OHOT struck adescending forested, slope near Uttoxeter,Staffordshire. The impact occurred at 19.47hr, just fifteen minutes after the first enginefailure. The captain was killed in the impact, but two passers-by who witnessed thecrash were able to rescue the severely injured first officer from the wreckage. An intensefire broke out and consumed the main fuselage between the flight deck and empennage.

Following an enquiry, the main cause of the accident was attributed to the multipleengine failures, caused by ice ingestion in the extreme flying conditions. However,there was also some criticism of the crew's performance of the emergency drills, which,it was alleged, might have contributed to the failure to restart the failed engines.

On the night of 25 February 1994, V.813 G-OHOT was working on the Edinburgh-Coventry Parcel force contract. Extremely bad weather en route was forecast and, in an effortto avoid it. the crew were instructed to leave earlier than the 19.30hr scheduled departure time. The crew paid particular attention to the Viscount's control surfaces duringpre-flight checks, as it was already sleeting, but no significant residual ice or slush wasfound on the aircraft. Loaded with its cargo of packages, 'OT departed Edinburgh at18.43hr, initially climbing to Flight Level 190 (19,000ft/5,800m).

As the Viscount passed Manchester on its way to Coventry, it began its descent. At19.32hr, while still in cloud at Flight Level 150, the number 2 engine failed owing toingestion of ice. In less than aminute, as the crew completed their shut-down drills onnumber 2, number 3engine also started to run down and failed. Adiversion and emergency descent was approved by air traffic control and, while still attempting to restartnumber 2, the crew of 'OT set course for Birmingham. By now at only 7,000ft (2,1 OOm),further attempts to restart both dead engines finally met some success, number 2beingrestarted. However, in an especially cruel twist of fate, engine number 4 then failedowing to ice ingestion, and all attempts to restart the two starboard engines failed.

The only Viscount to carry full British World colours was V.839 G-BFZL.Aviation Hobby Shop

Drama Over the Midlands

778 779

1'1 AL FURLONGS FINAL FURLO GS

Merchantman Retirement

one last pleasure flight from outhend.Commanded by apt Mac iec, it carrieda full load ofseventy-four VIP passengers forBWA on an hour-long pleasure flight thatincluded flypasts at Northolt and Brooklands, as well a a final pas enger-carryingfly-past at Southend before landing.

The Last Contract

The unexpected tock of extra Viscountspares supplied by the unfortunate G-OPFEwas immediately exploited, providing a

On June 21996 G-BFZL took part in a spectacular fly-past of dozens of airlinersto commemorate Heathrow Airport's fiftieth anniversary. Steve Williams Collection

After more Parcelforce work, G-APEYhad its pas enger interior restored and wasprepared for another commemorative flight,celebrating the forty-eighth anniversary ofthe Viscount 630's first flight, on 16 July.Once again Jock Bryce was among the VIPsassembled for the celebrations. In addition,a further five pleasure flights were madefrom outhend on 2 July, carrying 368 pas-engers in total. Finally, on 29 July, the fortyixth anniver ary of G-AHRF's historic

inauguration of the world's fir t turbinepowered passenger services for BEA on the

ortholt-Le Bourget route, G-APEY made

took part in the airborne jamboree overLondon, which included types rangingfrom vintage D -3s, a DCA and de Havilland Rapide to modern-day Boeing 747sand Concorde.

The approaching retirement of the lastUK-operated passenger Viscounts saw GAPEY making further farewell appearances,often giving both those who had workedwith the aircraft and devotees the chancefor one last experience of the aircraft. Aftermaking its last flight on the Aberdeen contract on 30 May, G-APEY positioned toSouthend on 1 June and operated a specialday-trip pleasure flight to Jer ey.

Another commemorative day trip, fromSouthend to Reims in France, wa operatedfour days later, on 12 June. A brief couple ofbusy weeks for the aircraft then followed,with 'EY operating on the Parcelforce network. In the meantime, V. 07 G-CSZBremained at Aberdeen as a back-up for thenew ATR-72 . It completed its last rotationon the Aberdeen umburgh-Aberdeenroute on 29 June, and operated a returnflight charter for hell on the 30th, carryingpassengers both ways between Aberdeenand Newca tie. Also on 30 June, 'EY madean appearance at the Lydd lassie AirlinerFly In, and made three brief pleasure flightfrom the Kent airport. It had brought in afull load of enthusiasts from outhend tovisit the show, and during the busy eventthe Viscount, commanded by Capt ColinTowle, eventually carried a further 214 people on pleasure flights before returning toSouthend.

ABOVE; In 1995 G-APES was finallywithdrawn from use. Steve WilliamsCollection

LEFT: Hunting Cargo's last Merchantman, G-APEP, remained at East Midlands while preparations were madefor its final flight, to Brooklands.Steve Williams Collection

though, 'EP was to be flown into the museum, and for the next few weeks Hunting'sCapts Peter Moore and Gary West practised short landings at East Midlands to ensurethe Merchantman's safe arrival on the rarely used and rather restricted Brooklands runway. Only 2,5DDft (76Dml of the old runway remained available at the factory airfield,and arow of trees had to be removed before even this could be used. After some frustrating postponements, waiting for the required perfect weather conditions, G-APEPfinally roared down the East Midlands runway for the last time at 10.1 Dhr on the morning of 17 October 1996. After performing a spirited fly-past by way of a farewell, theVanguard headed southwards for its new home.

En route, the aircraft received an unprecedented invitation by air traHic control atHeathrow to perform one last fly-past at its original commercial home base. Slipped inbetween the regular Heathrow traHic, 'EP crossed the threshold and flew along Runway 27R before climbing away. On arrival at Brooklands yet another fly-past was performed before 'EP finally landed at 1D.52hr and taxied to its new position on the museum ramp. Among those present to welcome the aircraft home were the ex-BEAchairman Sir Peter Masefield and Jock Bryce. The meeting of Bryce, the very first Vanguard pilot. with the very last Vanguard crew at the end of the big Vickers turboprop'sactive, airborne life, must have been especially poignant.

Retirement in StyleUnlike its predecessors, however, G-APEP did not succumb to the scrappers. Instead, itfollowed the remains of 'EJ, being donated to the Brooklands Museum. Unlike 'EJ,

In addition to the much-publicized cessation of passenger services by BWfJls Viscounts,the Vanguard/Merchantman was also approaching its final withdrawal from commercial use by HCA. The airline had built up a fleet of Electra freighters that were to displace the last of the big Vickers turboprops. The company's original Merchantman, GAPES, was retired on 4 February 1995, after aBelfast-Coventry charter. Along with theredundant 'EJ and 'EM, 'ES eventually suffered the ignominy of being broken up at EastMidlands towards the end of 1995. The nose section of 'EJ was saved and presentedto the Brooklands Museum.

The sole surviving HCA Merchantman, and world's last surviving intact Vanguard variant, G-APEP, continued in service for more than a year. It was not until 30 September1996 that the aircraft, under the command of Capt Gary West, operated the world's verylast revenue Vanguard/Merchantman flight, a Belfast-Coventry DHL service. With itsreputation for reliability still intact, the type had managed to serve ABC and HCA for overtwenty of the Vickers Vanguard's grand total of thirty-five years of service.

British World's last Viscounts were mostly employed on the lucrative Parcel Force contract. Aviation Hobby Shop

780 787

FINAL FURLONGS .. INAL FURLONGS

Fitted with a 'combi' passenger/cargo interior, 9Q-CGL flew briefly in the Democratic Republic of Congobefore being lost in an accident. Afavia

of the Vickers turboprops in developingtheir airline networks over the decades.

The Viscount was presented to a travelling public used to having its earsassaulted by the pounding vibration ofpiston engines. In the 1950s it was stillquite common for the world's airliners tobe unpressurized and subject to thevagaries the weather and the usuallyrough air found at lower altitudes. Compared with more modern airliners, thenoise and vibration in the cabin of a Viscount might still be considered intrusive,but it was positively silent and totallysmooth compared with a piston-engineairliner. Although it was overshadowedby the almost simultaneous arrival of thefirst pure jets, the Viscount's reliabilityand economy managed to impress commercial operators, as well as its passengersand crews. That the original Viscountmodel could be developed into evenfaster and larger versions was a definitesign of its success.

The Vanguard was a victim of the samebad timing that beset other large turboprops, such as the Britannia and Electra.On paper, these bigger turboprops wereboth logical and financial sensible choices

"Jl 'f) \ ..... ' '-! ·f ..... "'( ,~ ' . •,\ ••\ " .... ) ••,"""" J

() ( r_~('Itt"~~=='==~~.

Epilogue

Just how long the sporadic operations byobscure carriers will keep these last fewViscounts in the air is a question that cannot be answered until long after theappearance of this publication. Alreadythere are rumours of at least one of theoriginally 'written-off' ex-BWA aircraftbeing returned to service in Africa!

With only one, irreplaceable, completeairframe left in existence, at Brooklands,the possibility of a Vanguard ever gracingthe skies again is almost nil. However, aswell as the handful of Viscounts apparently still in daily use, more potentially flyableaircraft lie in various states of 'storage' inIndonesia, Taiwan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and other more obscure partsif the word. Happily there are also severalairframes, or at least major parts of airframes, preserved by museums, not only inthe UK, but also in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Eire, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, Turkey,USA, Uruguay and Zimbabwe. The factthat these countries are concerned enoughto preserve examples of the Viscount servesto emphasize the important part played

delivered to Lanseria, the VS02s alsospent long periods in storage. EventuallyG-AOHM departed to Chad and became5V-TTJ. Sadly it was written off in anaccident in July 2001. Viscount G-OPFIalso found its way to Chad, and was lastheard of flying from Nd'jamena for a localoperator, Transtel, as TU-VAB.

The surviving Heli-Jet aircraft eventually found new operators as well. Althoughthey never took up South African registration, they were acquired by a local SouthAfrican leasing and charter specialist,Planes 'R Us. Having been given a 'combi'passenger/cargo interior, VS36 G-BFZLwas finally despatched to the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, previously Za'ire, foruse by local airline Trans IntAir as 9QCGL. Unfortunately the much-travelledVS36 was written off in an accident inMay 2003. The VS06 G-APEY was operated in Angola and also by Air Zimbabwein late 1999, as 3C-PBH. The use by AirZimbabwe echoed the long utilization ofthe Viscount by CAA/Air Rhodesia andAir Zimbabwe from 1956 until their lastVSIOs had been retired and stored in1990. The vintage VS06 was last reportedat Lanseria with Air Ogooue in 2004.

G-APEY finally departed the UK for SouthAfrica on 9 January 1995.

The Parcelforce contract betweenBelfast and oven try finally ended in January 1995. It fell to the lot of the two mostelderly of BWA's Viscounts, VS02s GAOHM and G-OPFI, to fly the last UKcommercial services, on the night of 7/SJanuary. Both aircraft had been among thefirst batch of Viscounts acquired from BAby BAF nearly seventeen years earlier, inI9S1. The last load of 11,1751b (5,OSOkg)of Parcelforce cargo was safely delivered toBelfa t by G-OPFI at 03.12hr, a little overhalf an hour after G-AOHM had operatedits last Coventry-Belfa t sector with itsown load of 15,6401b (7,110kg). Characteristically, both aircraft had operatedtheir last BWA revenue flights with noproblems and with minimal fuss.

Originally, both of the remainingVS02s had been meant to follow the previous three ex-BWA fleet members toHeli-Jet, but their departure was repeatedly delayed by administrative and financial hold-ups. The Viscounts that hadbeen delivered to Heli-Jet were spendingmost of their time either in maintenanceor storage. Eventually G-PFBT became aspares source, and was soon in no condition for use. It was not until January 1999that the last two BWA Viscounts left theUK for Africa, and then it was for another cu tomer, an agency called Airwing2000, on behalf of a Gert de Klerc. Once

New African Haven

A new owner for the Viscount fleet hadalready b n found by BWA. Based atLanseria Airport, northwest of Johannesburg, outh African charter operatorHell-Jet Aviation had already acquiredthe withdrawn VS36 G-BFZL and VS06G-PFBT during 1997. Before departure, 'ZLwas refitted with a pa senger layout and,after a marathon delivery flight via Bari,Cairo, Addi Ababa, Nairobi and Harare,finally arrived at Lanseria on 30 April 1997.A month later 'BT followed, still in allcargo configuration, and both aircraftbecame available for both passenger andfreight charter work throughout Africa.

Heli-Jet also acquired VS06 G-APEY,and during November 1997 it was flown ona number of enthusiast flights from variouUK airports in co-operation with BWA.Several day trips to Jersey were also operated, the last of these being on 15 Novemberfrom East Midlands. The Channel Island'slucrative tourist industry had benefited agr at deal from the loads of holidaymakerscarried to Jersey by Viscounts operatedby the UK's airlines for over forty-fiveyears, and it was appropriate that it shouldbe included in the itinerary. The lastenthusiast flight, a 35min sector fromBournemouth to Southend on 30 November, can'ied fifty-one passengers, the last of1,402 carried in the course of the tour. Afterundergoing maintenance at Southend,

Once delivered to South Africa, the ex-BWAViscounts were prepared for their plannedcharter and leasing work. Afavia

wing-tip to fix the unserviceable GAOHM. The inauguration of full ATR-noperations from Aberdeen meant that theVS02 was no longer required for the oilindustry contracts by the time it had beenrepaired. Instead, 'HM's passenger interiorwas removed and the aircraft repainted inParcelforce colours. Once the final BWApassenger services were completed, GAPEY and G-CSZB were also transferred tothe Parcelforce operation, allowing thehigh-houred G-OPAS finally to be retired.

The VS07 G-CSZB was retired on 15October, having completed 46,200hr in itslong and varied career. The five remainingViscounts continued to service theParcelforce venture, with two nightly rotations each between Coventry and Belfastor Edinburgh. However, the operation waseffectively halved from the end of December, when the contract for the Edinburgh-Coventry service was awarded toanother operator and VS36 was also withdrawn. Only three aircraft were requiredfor the Coventry-Belfast contract, evenwith one only on standby, and VS06 GPFBT was also withdrawn and parked up atSouthend in March 1997.

182 183

FINAL FURLO GS

APPENDIX

Viscount and Vanguard Variants

VISCOUNT

modification, such a being equipped witha totally different model of engine, theoriginal type number would remain withthe aircraft throughout its existence.

V 700 Prototype

Notes

Design study

Viceroy design study

Prototype

Not completed

Project only

Proj ct only (stretched)

Project, later developed into V. 700

Higher-capacity, 53-passenger, project

Project only

Project only

Extra order

Rebuild by Marshall's of Cambridge afteran accident

First reorder

Second reorder

Engines

4xturbines

4xturbines

4xR.Da. Mk502 Dart

4xNapier Naiad

2xBristoi Hercules

4xRolls Royce Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk505 Dart

2xR.Ta.l Tay turbojet

4xR.Da.3 Mk505 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.DaJ Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.DaJ Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.DaJ Mk506 Dart

4xR.DaJ Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.DaJ Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.DaJ Mk506 Dart

4xR.DaJ Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

4xR.DaJ Mk506 Dart

4xR.Da.3 Mk506 Dart

would be allocated a separate model number. Unless the aircraft was subject to amajor reworking while still on the production line or during a rebuild following anaccident, or received a very significant

Ministry of Supply

Ministry of Supply

British European Airways



Original Owner/Operator

Vickers/Ministry of Supply

British West Indian Airways


Aer Lingus

Air France

Trans Australia Airlines

Australian National Airways

Indian Air Force

Trans-Canada Air Lines

Cypru Airways/Aden Airways

Indian Air Force

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Hunting-Clan Air Transport

Pakistan Air Force

Iraqi Airways

Fred Olsen Air Transport

Canadian Dept of Transport

Misrair

Misrair

Misrair

The Viscount and Vanguard variants weregiven model numbers based on the basictype, variant and customer. Whether a customer bought just one or two aircraft, or awhole fleet, that model for that customer

V453

V609

V630

V640

V652

V653

V655

V633

V700

V701

V701C

V701X

Type Number

V702

V703

V707

V708

vnoVnlVn3Vn4Vn8V730

V731

V732

V734

V735

V736

V737

V739

V739A

V739B

LEFT: Although the Vanguard's use as aprestige front-line passenger airliner

was limited, the aircraft found auseful new niche as a freighter.

Jenny Gradidge

ABOVE: Viscount 701 G·AMOG,displayed at Cosford, is one of two

of SEA's original Discovery Classrestored to the airline's 1950s

livery and preserved by UK aviation

museums. The other, G·ALWF, resides

at Duxford. Malcolm L. Hill

this eventually led to new models, worldwide sales, incalculable national and international prestige for the company andeven another new, much larger, type.Nearly sixty years later only a brave personwould dare to hint that the story mightfinally be over. Anyone with any experience of aviation knows better than to say'never again' when it comes to a popularaircraft supposedly reaching the end of itsoperational life.

] ust as these words are being read, somewhere, probably under a tropical or equatorial sky, a quartet of whistling RollsRoyce Darts might very well be starting upoutside large oval windows; presaging yetanother profitable, probably uneventfuland totally routine flight.

air transport to a public that would stillhave regarded an airline journey as a reckless adventure, only to be endured ifabsolutely unavoidable. The Viscount wasa vital part of the generation of aircraftthat brought normality, and even boringroutine, to commercial air transport. Thesuccess of the aircraft's worldwide salesgave the UK aircraft industry one of itsmost productive eras, and provided valuable data and new technology that wasincorporated in succeeding airliners.

The story started with a single, slightlytubby aircraft, with engines that soundedstrangely different, making its first flight in1948 under clouds of doubt over its future.Several parliamentary, boardroom, designoffice and even factory floor battles later,

for busier intercity routes. In practice,however, the greater passenger appeal ofjets saw the turboprops soon being consigned to less-prestigious routes, chartersand even freight work many years beforetheir time. Although only enjoying a brieftime in the limelight before being oustedby jets, the Vanguard also earned itself aplace in history by simply doing what itwas designed to do. It provided a level ofeconomy that ensured that new marketscould be encouraged by introducing lowerfares.

The Viscount and Vanguard left theirmarks on aviation history in so manyways. One of the few successes from the'Brabazon' proposals, the Viscountbrought modern, comfortable and reliable

784 185

VI au T AND VANGUARD VARIANTS

The V.744 N7404 was originally one of the first three Viscounts to be delivered to Capital Airlines.The aircraft was later substantially rebuilt as a V.757 for TCA, following a serious accident at Chicago

in 1956. A.R. Krieger via Jenny Gradidge

Type Number

V772

V773

V776D

V779D

V780D

V7 ID

V7 2D

V784D

V78SD

V786D

V789D

V790

V793D

V794D

V79S

V797D

V79 D

V800

V80l

Original Owner/Op rat r

British West Indian Airway

Iraqi Airways

Kuwait Oil Company

Fred Olsen Air Tran p rt

South African Air Force

Iranian Airlines

Philippine Airlines

Linee Aeree Italiane

Lloyd Aereo olombiano

Forca Aerea Bra ileira

Royal Bank of Canada

Turk Hava Yollari

Trans World Airlines

Canadian Dept of Transport

ortheast Airlines Inc

n in

4xR.Da.3 MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.3 MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSl0 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSl0 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.DaJ MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSl0 Dart

4xR.Da.3 MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSl0 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

Note

Converted V74SD

Basic V700D VIP project

Later aircraft delivered to Alitalia

'Local ervice Vi count' project

Converted V74SD

Project only

Original stretched Viscount project

Revised stretched Viscount project

Type umber

V740

V741

V742D

V744

V74S

V74SD

V746

V747

V748D

V749

V7S4D

V7SSD

V7S6D

V7S7

V7S9D

V760D

V761D

V763D

V764D

V76SD

V766

V767

V768D

V769D

V770D

V771D


Queen's Flight

Queen's Flight

Forca Aerea Brasileira

Capital Airline

Capital Airlines

Capital Airlines

East African Airways

Butler Air Transport

Central African Airways

Lineas Aeropostal Venezolana

Middle East Airlines

Airwork Ltd

Trans Australia Airlines

Trans-Canada Air Lines

Hunting-Clan Air Transport

Hong Kong Airways

Union of Burma Airways

Hughes Tool Corporation

U Steel Corporation

tandard Oil Corporation

Fred Olsen Air Transport

BOAC Associated ompanie

Indian Airlines orporation

PLU A

Engines

4xR.DaJ MkS06 Dart

4xR.DaJ MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.3 MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.3 MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.3 MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.3 MkS06 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSl0 Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

4xR.Da.6 MkSlO Dart

186

Notes

Project only - staff aircraft

Project only - VIP aircraft

Fully 'Americanized' aircraft

Project only

Sold to ubana before delivery

old to TACA before delivery

Project only

Project only

'Americanized' Vi count project

Executive 'Americanized' Viscount projectThe Viscount's heyday in the 1950s and 1960s may be long gone, but despite half a century havingpassed since their design debut. a handful of survivors still occasionally take to the skies,continuing to represent the world's first successful turboprop airliners. Global Air Image

187

ABOVE: Invicta International referred to its Vanguards as 'Rolls-Royce VC9s' in an effort to boost the aircraft'sprofile during its last years as a passenger airliner in Europe. via author

otes

Project onlyVi count Major projectProject only

Initial Vanguard design studyPrototype

4xR.Da.S Dart4xR.Da. Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart

4xR.B.l09 Tyne4xR.Ty.l/506 Tyne4xR.Ty.l/506 Tyne4xR.Ty.1l/512 Tyne4xR.Ty.l/506 Tyne

Engines

Government of Liberia


Vickers-Armstrongs LtdBritish European AirwaysTrans-Canada Air LinesBritish European Airways

VA GUARD

V, 44V,S50V,S60

TOP: Once the Vanguard's unfortunate early engine problems were solved, the aircraft was able to settledown to a long career, both as an economic passenger aircraft and, in its 'Merchantman' guise, as ahigh-capacity freighter. Steve Richards

Type umber

V,S70V,950V,95IV952V,953

Before being sold to Poland, SP-LVCof LOT Polish Airlines had beensupplied to Transair and was lateroperated by BUA. After being boughtby NZNA the V.804 was converted toV.807 standard to match the otherViscounts already operated by theNew Zealand carrier. Global Air Image

Project only

Project only

Project onlyProject only

Development SOO/SI0 aircraft

Notes

Order cancelledOrder cancelledOrder cancelledOrder cancelled

'Combi' passenger/cargo conversionPrototype S10 Viscount

Engines

4xR.Da.6 Mk510 Dart4xR.Da.6 Mk510 Dart4xR.Da.6 Mk510 Dart4xR.Da.6 Mk510 Dart4xR.Da.7 Mk520 Dart4xR.Da.7 Mk520 Dart4xR.Da.7 Mk52 Dart4xR.Da.7 Mk520 Dart4xR.Da.7 Mk520 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR. Da. 7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/i Mk525 Dart4xR.Da. 7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/l Mk525 Dart4xR. Da. 7/l Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/l Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/l Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/l Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/i Mk530 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/i Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/i Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.7/1 Mk525 Dart4xR.Da.1l Mk541 Dart4xR.Da.ll Mk541 Dart4xR.Da.7/l Mk525 Dart

Iraqi AirwaysCAAC


British European AirwaysKLM Royal Dutch AirlinesTransair LtdEagle Aviation LtdBritish European AirwaysBritish European AirwaysNZ ACAer LinguAer LingusVickers-Armstrongs LtdContinental Airlines IncSouth African AirwayDeutsche Lufthansa AGPakistan International AirlinesTrans Australia AirlinesCubana

iarchos GroupEagle Aviation LtdCalifornia Eastern AirlinesBlack Lion Aviation LtdVASPAll ippon AirwaysTransportes Aereos PortuguesesAirwork LtdAnsett/A AHunting-Clan Air TransportPolskie Linie LorniczeTennes ee Gas TransmissionUnion Carbide CorporationAustrian AirlineGhana AirwaysIranian Government

Type Number

V,S02V,S03V,S04V,S05V,S06V,S06AV, 07V,SOV,SOV,S10V,S12V,S13V,S14V,S15V,S16V,SISV,S19V,S21V,S23V,S25V,S27V,S2SV,S29V,S31V,S32V,S33V,S34V,S35V,S36V,S37V,S3SVS39V,S40V,S42V 43

188 189

Aden Airways 124Aer Lingus 22-3,26,34,38-9,53,56,67-8,91, 10G--1,

107-8, 121, 136-8, 176Aerlinte 23Aero Flite 126Aeroflot 7G--1Aerolineas Republica 163Aerolineas TAO 136Aerolink 165Aeropesca Colombia 136Aerovias del Cesar 136Air Algerie 165Air Austria 90Air Botswana 148Air Bridge Carriers (ABC) 151,153,159-60,162,172-4,

180, 184, 189AirCanada 113-14,122,139-40,142-5,155Air Caravane 155Air Cardinal ISSAir Caribbean 162Air Charter Ltd 87-8Air Charter Services 155AirCommerzFlug 138Air Commuter 167Air Europe Express 176Air Ferry 130Air France 22-3,26,29,33-4,57,82,95,101-3,119,129,

133,159,171-2AirGabon 171Air Holdings 88,104,130,137,165Air Holdings (Sales) 140, 142-5, 156-8, 172Air Inter 103,108,112,119,152-3,171Air International 151Air Malawi 118Air Ministry 83Air New Zealand 165Air Rhodesia 118, 148-9Air Tenggara 172Air Tourisme Alpine (ATA) 137, 151AirTrader 144-5,157Air UK 165, 169Air Ulster 137Air Vietnam 102Air Viking 142-4A ir World Travel Club 164Air Zimbabwe 148,162,183Air Zimbabwe-Rhodesia 148Airbus A300 174Airfast Services 172Airlines Equipment Act 114Airnautic 103Airspeed Ambassador/Elizabethan 9,11-12,14-15,18,

21-3,28-32,35,67,75,80,89,103,133Airspeed Courier IIAirspeed Envoy IIAirspeed Horsa IIAirspeed Ltd I IAirspeed Oxford IIAirwing 2000 182Airwork 43-4,51,64,84,86-8Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines 126Alidair 151-4,160--2,172Alitalia 77,89-90,97,128,136All Nippon Airways 99-100,109,123,136,163Allegheny Airlines 70Allied Airways (Gandar Dower) 12Aloha Airlines 124, 136Alvis Leonides 68American Airlines 42, 71, III

IndexAnsen Airways 72AllSett, Reg 72-3Ansett-ANA 72-3,114,121,124,172Antonov AN-12 87Antonov AN-24 120Aqua-Avia Skybus 165, 172Arkia Israel 126, 160, 163Armstrong Siddely Mamba 9-10,14ArmstrongWhitworthArgosy 122,140,142,151,159,174Armstrong Whitworth AW.55 Apollo 14,67Atlantic Gulf Airlines 163ATR-72 179, 181-2Australian ational Airways 23-4,40,72, 114Austrian Airlines 91-2, 109, 124-5, 136, 160, 173, 175Austrian Airways 90Autair/Court Line 137Aviaco I 19-20, 168Aviation Overhauls 108Aviaco Traders (Lockheed) 140, 146Aviation Traders 87, 140, 143-5Aviation Traders Carvair 87, 137,165Avro 67,72Avro 19 12Avro 748 68Avro Lancaster 10Avro Lancastrian 12Avro Tudor 12-13Avro York 12,80

BACOne-Eleven 81,93,109,115,119-22,124,127,130--1,133,136,147,149, lSI, 163, 167,177-9

BACTSR2 175BAC/Aerospatiale Concorde 181Bae 146 165, 176-7Bae ATP 168,176, 178-9Bahamas Airways 127, 129Baillie, Capt W'Bill' 35-7Baltic Airlines 169-70, 175--6Baltic Aviation 169Bamberg, Harold 84,101,108,118-19,129Barstow, E. H s. R/O 35Baxter. Raymond 36BEA Channel Island Airways 146-7BEA Scottish Airways 146-7Beach Boys, The 163Bendix Radio 46Birmingham European Airways 176BKS Air Transport 102-5,133-4,153Blue Nile Route 86BOAC-Cunard 107Boeing 247 42Boeing 707 71,99,107,118,126,129,138,148-9,151,154Boeing 720 98, 148, 158Boeing 727 114-15,118,121,123,126,148,174Boeing 737 124,126,135,137,168Boeing 747 181Boeing Aircraft Company 24Boeing KC-97 25Boeing Srrarocruiser 24Bolton Paul Aircraft 15Botswana National Airways 148Bouraq Indonesia Airlines 172Brabazon Committee 7-9, 11,67,184Brabazon, Lord of Tara 7, 36Bramber Engineering 30Bristol Aeroplane Company 93Bristol Britannia 7,59,67,75,87-8,94,101,107,118-19,

128,130,133,140,142,183Bristol Centaurus 11-12

790

Bristol Freighter/Wayfarer 38-9, 137Bristol Hercules IIBristol Proteus 67, 75Bristow Helicopters 87British & Commonwealth Shipping 88British Air Ferries 137-8,143-4,152,165-70,172,175-8British Air Services BAS 131-4,147British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) 93,110,136,141British Airways 10,142,145,147,149, lSI, 159-60,

164-5,167,171-2,174,176,179British Airways Regional Division 147British Aviation Services 104British Caledonian Airways/Bcal Commuter 167British Eagle (Liverpool) 107, 129British Eagle International Airlines 107,118-20,12 30British European Airways (BEA) 8, 10--13,26,28-35,38-9,

42,44-5,52-3,55--6,60-4,69,71-2,75-82,84-5,87-96,105-8, III, 114-19, 122-3, 127, 133, 135,14G--3, 145-7, 152, 157, 171, 174, 179-80, 184, 187

British Internmional Airlines 91British Island Airways 165British Midland Airways (BMA) 128-9,136,148-54,156,

160,162,165--6,16 70British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) 9-10,12,

14,24,43,49-50,64-5,71,84,86-8,91,93, 107,124,127-8,133-4,142,147

British South American Airways Corporation (BSAA)12-13,24

British United (Channel Island) Airways 104British United Air Ferries (BUAF) 104,137British United Airways (BUA) 87-8,104,119-20,123,

126,128,130,137,153British West Indian Airways (BWIA) 24,35,49-50,63-5,

77-8,83-4,91, 127, 129British World Airlines (BWA) 177-82Brooklands Museum 175-6, 180--1, 183Bryce, J.R 'Jock' 12, 40, 75--6, 179-81Burma A irways Corporation 125, 148Burmah Oil 152Business Air Centre 166Butler Air Transport 49-51, 72-3Butler, Arthur 49, 73Butler Aviation 136Butler Zimmerman Company 46

California Eastern Airways 83-4Cambrian Airways 106-7,129-34,147,160Canadair C4M North Star/Argonaut 24,41,81,95, III, 128Canadair CL-66B 70Canadian Department of Transport 155Canadian Schenly 112Capital Airlines 41-2,45 ,52,58,67,70,90--1,97-100,

122,124,126,186Capital Airlines (UK) 176Cargoliner I 14, 122, 139-40Carmichael, J. H'Slim' 42,45,47Castro, Fidel 51Cathay Pacific Airways 70,91Cathedral of Tomorrow 163Cavalier Aircraft 126Central African Airways Corporation 23,50--1, 77,83,

87-8,117-18,148Central Airlines 42Chadwick, R. H. N/O 35,37Channel Air Bridge 87-8, 104Channel Airways 105,107-8,118,127 ,130--1,133,

142,147,149,151-2,177Channel Island Airways 12Chieftain, The 32

China Air Lines 125Chinese Air Force 172Cie Interamericana Export-Import SA 140Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) 98Civil Aviation Administration of China 109-10, 172Clansman, The 32Clarksons 128Clifford Ball Inc 41Club Air 176Cochrane, I F/O I 16Colonial Coach Service 43,64Compania Cubana de Aviacion 44, 51, 83, 101, 124, 128,

149Condor Flugdienst 135Continental Airlines 53-4,57-9,66,70,74,84,98-9,

111,121-2,124,127-8,139,153Convair 24-5,32,41,54,59,70, 135Convair CV240 12,14,24-5,28,53,70Convair CV340 25,53-4,70, 126Convair CV440 53,70, 156Convair CV540 70Convair CV600 71Convair CV640 124, 137Convair CV880 71Cosford Aerospace Museum 184Croydon Airport 12-13,57,87Cunard Eagle Airways 100--1,107-8,118Cunard Line 100, 160Cunliffe~Pwcn Concordia 14Cyprus Airways 31,85,88,115-16,126,153-4

Dagliesh, I. A. CR/O 35Dan-AirServices 80,151-3,159,162,168Danish Air Charter 102Dart Development Unit 21,29de Havilland Aircraft Company 11,23,72de Havilland Comet 7,23,34,67,71,87,91,94-5,97,

105-6,115-16,120,124,126,131de Havilland DH89 Rapide 12,14,30,181de Havilland Dove 14,88, lOS, 127de Havilland Heron 14,86,88,106,131,146de Havilland Propellers 51,75,93de Havilland/HS Trident 91,115-16,120,122,125--6,

128,131,133,147,153de Klerc, Gert 183Decca Navigator Company 15,28Defence Research Agency 175DHL 174,180Dorman, Capt Anthony 157Douglas DC-3 7,10,12,21,23-4,30-1,38-9,41-3,51,

53-4, 57, 59, 64-5, 67-9, 72, 72, 86-7, 89, 97-9,102--6,108,112,114,116,124,127,133,137,146,151-3,162,181

Douglas DC-4 23-4, 29,34,42,44,54,64,83,86-7,97-9,102, 107, 127-8, 130, 142-4, 181

Douglas DC-6 32,35-7,40--1,53,58-9,61,84,87-8,97-9,103,107-8,114-15,126,130,144,146,171

Douglas DC-7 53,58,94, 126Dowty Propellers 53Dunlop 27,35,46Duxford Aviation Society 133, 184

Eagle Airways 53,84, 101Eagle Airways (Bahamas) 85Eagle Airways (Bermuda) 84,100Eagle Aviation 53, 83East African Airways 88Eastern Air Lines 49, 71,84, IIIEastern Provincial Airways 10 lEdwards, Sir George 9,11,14-15,17,24,40,61-2,93,179EI Al 126Elan Air 174Elbeflug 144Empire Test Pilots School 100English Electric Canberra 35-7Epicurean Service, The 29Esso 165,167Euroair 166-7, 176EuropeAeroService 140,145,159,171,174European Ferries Group 157,159Express Air Services 160

INDEX

Falfchaid F-27 68Fairclllid F71 41Fairchild F -2 41Fairchild FIl-227 68Falconair weden 124, 156Far Eastern Air Transport (FEAT) 124-5, 172Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)) 48, 58Federal Express 177Ferris, B. 21Field Aircraft Services 21, 129, lSI, 156, 160, 162, 174Filair 155Fokker 68-9Fokker F.27 Friendship 68,100,114,121,123-4,126,165,

168, 172, 177Fokker F.28 Fellowship 148, 176Ford Motor Company 177Ford Trimotor 41-2Fred Olsen Air Transport 44-5,63-4,80,83,91-2Freightmaster 170, 177

Gambia Air Shuttle 169Garuda Indonesian Airlines 174GB Airways 147General Motors 177General Motors Allison 70--1General Motors Corporation 70Ghana Airways 86-7,109,148,156,162,175Gibbons, J. J. Mr 30Gibraltar Airways/Gibair 88,116,146-7Gloster Meteor 7Gloucester, Duke of 36Go Corporation 163Goodyear 27Grear Western & SOllthern Airways 12Guernsey Airlines 160--2,164-5,167-8,170Gulf Air 91

Handley Page 68-9Handley Page Dart Herald 68,103-4,106,114,124,126,

128,145, lSI, 165, 167-8, 174-5, 177-8Handley Page Hastings 35-7Handley Page Herald 68Handley Page Hermes 87, 104Hards Travel 168Hawaiian Airlines 124Hawker Siddeley 68,93, 125--6, 128Hawker Siddeley Nimrod 175HawkerSiddeleyHS748 68,127,131,133,137,147,153,

164,167, 172, 177Heli-Jet Aviation 182Highland Airways 12Holiday Air of America 164Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO) 172Hong Kong Airways 63,65-6,91Hot Air 169-70, 177Hourmont Travel 106Hughes, Howard 60Hughes Tool Corporation 60Huns Air 125Hunting 107 93Hunting Air Transport 43, 174Hunting Aircraft 72,93,110Hunting Cargo Airlines 174-5, 180Hunting-Clan Air Transport 42-3,51,64,84-8,91,126,

174

Icelandair 51Ilyushin 11-14 109Ilyushin 11-18 70--1,86,120Imperial Airways 10,29Indian Air Force 34, 125Indian Airlines Corporation (lAC) 59,63-5,91, 125Indonesian Angkasa Civil Air TrallSport 142, 144-5Inter Cargo Service 171-2Inter City Airlines 162,167-8Interdepartmenwl Civil Aircraft Requirements Committee

12Intra Airways 153,160,161-3Invicta Air Cargo 142-3Invicta Airways 128, 130Invicta International Airlines 144, 146, 156-9, 189Iranian Airlines/lranair 109,118,162

797

Iraqi Airways 44,49,79,83,85, 160--1Irving Trust Company 59Isle of Man Air Services 12

Jadepoint 167,170Janus Airways 168Jersey Air Ferries 167Jersey Airlines 103Jersey European Airways 160, 176John Wesley College 163John, Elton 163Johnson, Capt A. S. 21,29-30,35Jones, Capt Stanley E. 35--6Jones, Stanley 36Jordanian Airways 126Junkers JU52 12,30

Keegan Group 165,167Kennard, WngCdr Hugh 128,144,156-7Kestrel International Airways 151KLM Royal Dutch Airlines 14,35-7,53,56-7,63,72,74,

121,136-7,173Kohler Aviation Corporation 42Kuwait Airways 91,105,107,133

Laker, Freddie 88Lane Xang Airlines 125LANICA 163Lao Air Lines 135LAV Aeropostal 99, 112, 126-7Lebanese Air Transport 142Libyan Arab Airlines 176Lignes Aeriennes Inrerieures 103Lineas Aereas Canarias (LAC) 168Lineas Aereas la Urraca Ltda 136Linee Aeree Italiene (LAI) 63,89-90Linjeflyg 156Lloyd Aereo Columbiano 63Lockheed Aircraft Company 70, 140Lockheed Constellation 23, 25,34,42,44,49,51,61,70,

83,86,91,95,97-8,102-3Lockheed Hercules 171Lockheed Ll 0 II Tristar 140, 142Lockheed L-188 Electra 70--2,74,83,97,99, III, 114,

121,124,174,180,183Lockheed Lodestar 24Lockheed Orion 71Loganair 176London European Airways 168LOT Polish Airlines 120,123,188Lothian, Capt George 40,81LOllis Newmark Ltd 15Lufthansa 54,109-10,135,149-50,152Luxair 125-6Lydd Classic Airliner Fly In 181

Machimpex 109MacNiece, Capt 181MacRobertson-Miller Airlines (MMA) 114, 123Magic Carpet Route 85Maitland Drewery Aviation 101-4,110,153Malayan Airways 90--1, 124Malev Hungarian Airlines 120Malta Airline 88-9, 115Mandala Airlines 135, 172Manx Airlines 165,169-70,176Margaret, HRH Princess 59Maritime Central Airways 101Marshalls of Cambridge 45, 102Martin 24, 70Martin 202 70Martin 404 70Martin, Dean 163Masefield, Peter 17,35--6,61, 179 0Maverick Equipment 112McDonnell Douglas DC-8 71,93,95-6,99, 113McDonnell Douglas DC-9 114,121-2,127,136,139,154,

163, 165, 168, 174Mediterranean Holidays 128Melton, L. 31Merpati Nusantara Airlines (M A) 124,145,158,165,

172, 174

Middle East Airlines (MEA) 43-4,49,51,63-4,85,104,118,126,148

Miles Marathon 14Ministry of Aircraft Production 9Ministry of Aviation 120Ministry of Civil Aviation 9Ministry of Defence 144Ministry of Supply 9,14-16,35Ministry of Technology 175Minster Assets 128Misrair 44,49,85,87,109MMM Aero Services 168Moore, Capt Peter 180Monon Air Services 87Mostjet 170

Napier Eland 70apier Naiad 9, II,

National Airlines 41, 44National Museum of Science & Technology 139New Zealand National Airways Coroporation ( ZNAC)

53,56-7,63, 109, 123, 147, 162Nigeria Airways 148Nippon Cargo Airlines 173Nixon, Pat 47Nixon, Richard 47Nora Air Service GmbH 149

ord ortalas 144orth Cariboo Air 165

North Eastern Airways 12,Northeast Airlines Inc 59,90,97,100,124Northeast Airlines Ltd 134-5, 147Northwest Territorial Airways 174Nato, Joseph. P 47-8

Oasis Oil Company 165Occidental Oil 165

Pacific Southwest Airlines 163Pakistan International Airways (PIA) 53, 125-6, 128-9Pan American World Airways 44,49,84,97, 115Panavia Tornado 175Parcel force 177-9,181-2Pearl Air 162Pennsylvania Airlines 41-2Pennsylvania Central Airlines (PCA) 42Philippine Airlines 63,66,83, 124Pierson, Rex 9Pima Air Museum ISSPlanes 'R Us 183PLU A 111-12, 123, 136, 163Polar Airways 165Post Office 177Posr, M. Marjorie 163-4Pratt & Whitney Aircraft of Canada 140Pratt & Whitney PT-6 140Presley, Elvis 163Profumo MP, John 36Progressive Airways 138

QANTAS 91Quebecair 70

Railway Air Services (RAS) 9, 12Ray Charles Organizarion 163Riviera Holidays 128Rolls Royce Avon 7Rolls Royce Conway 95Rolls Royce Dart 9-10,12,14-17,20--2,25-7,32,37-8,

41,46-8,52-3,58,61-2,67-70,83-4,122,126--7,137,140,172,184

Rolls Royce Derwenr 7Rolls Royce Merlin 24Rolls Royce Nene 7, IIRolls Royce RB.109 62,75Rolls Royce Tay I5Rolls Royce Trent 7

INDEX

Rolls Royce Tync 75-6,79,93-4Rome, Pamela 31Ron larke EnrerprlSes 163Royal Aero lub 35-6Royal Air Force (RAF) 10--11,22,35,49Royal Air Force Transport Command 10Royal Air Lao 125Royal Air Maroc 147Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) 148, 175Royal American Airlines 163Royal Australian Air Force 35-7,109Royal Bank of Canada 163Royal Canadian Air Force 70Royal Mail 177Royal ew Zealand Air Force 35-7Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 177Royal Radar and Signals Establishment 175Royal Swazi ational Airways 162Rymer, Capt Richard 17,77-8,81

Sabena 7, 14, 77Sadia 151SAETA 136Safari Service 51, 64, 87-8, 119Saggitair 151SATA 137Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) 91-2,104Scibe Airlift ISSScottish Airways 12,Scottish Aviation 121Scottish Flyer 130--1Seaboard & Western Airlines 113Securicor Air 177Servicios Aereos Nacionales (SAN) 124, 136, 163Seulawah Air Services 135Shackell, Capt N. 116-17Shackelton Aviation 136, 175Shaw, R. 35Shell Mex 35,46Shell Oil & Production Ltd 179Short Bros & Harland 38Shorts330 161, 165, 170Shorts 360 170, 176Silver Arrow Service 104SilverCityAirways 104,157-9,165,171-2,179Silver Star Service liSSilver Wing, The 29,32,56Site Aviation 152Skycoach Service 88Skyline Air Charter 156Society of British Aircraft Constructors (SBAC) 12, 18Somali Airlines 136South African Airways (SAA) 53-4,86,118,149-51Southern International 162-3, 167Standard Oil Corporation 60, 163Starways 102, lOS, 107, 118-19, 153Stephenson, Bill 16Stinson A Tri-Motor 42Sud Aviation SE-210Caravelle 71-2,82,99,101,126,

136--7,159Sud Ouest Languedoc 23,44,49Sudan Airways 86,88, 119Sultanate of Oman Air Force SOAF 138, 152, 162Sumtners, J. 'Mutt' 12,Supermarine Spitfire 8Swanson. D. FlO 116Swissair 7, 14, 28, 160, 172-3Syrian Arab Airlines 85

TAC Colombia 136TACA International Airlines 60,63,66, 133TAl 103TAP 88Templewood Aviation 142, 145Tennessee Gas Corporation Tenneco 121, 153, 163, 172Terry, Capt Ian 157Thor Cargo 143-4

792

Thorn/EMI Searchwater Radar 175Timmins Aviation 112TNT 174,177TotalOil 152Touraine Air Transport (TAT) 171Towle, Capt Colin 181Tradair 100,104-5,108,110,128Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) 24,39-40,72-3,109,114,

125,148Trans IntAir 183Trans World Airlines (TWA) 70Transair 53,57,63,87-8,118,123Transair (Canada) 112,155Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) 24-6,40--1,45-6,52,

2-3,71-2,75,77-83,91,93,95-6,99,103,112-14,139, 174

Transtel 183Treffield International Airlines 130Tristar Travel lSITrubshaw, Brian 75-8Tunisavia 167Tupolev TU-I 04 71Turkish Air Force 126Turkish Airlines THY 85Tyrolean Travel 144

Ulster Air Transport 137Ulster Flyer 32Un ion Carbide Corporation 109Union of Burma Airways UBA 63,65, 125United Air 148United Air Lines 98-100, III, 126United Aircraft of Canada 140United Arab Airlines 85,109, 118UPS 174US Steel Corportation 59, 163

Viaco Aerea Sao Paulo (VASP) 81, 106, 123Vickers Aircraft Servicing School 29Vickers R I00 8Vickers Supermarine 8Vickers Varsity 34Vickers Vellox 8Vickers Viastra 8Vickers Victoria 8Vickers Viking 8,9, 11-14, 22-4, 26, 28,30,32,43-4,49,

51,64,74,84,87-8,100--3, lOS, 128, 130Vickers Vimy Commercial 8Vickers Warwick 8Vickers Wellington 8, 10VickerslBACVCIO 87,109,126Vickers-Supermarine 16Victor Camptometer Corporation 60Virgin Atlantic Airways 167,175-6Viscount International Corporation 126Volvo Car Company 152

Wabush Mines ISSWaco941Wakelin, Capt W. J. 17Walker, E. W. 35West African Airways Corporation (WAAC) 86West Coast Air Services 12,23West Coast Airlines 68West, Capt Gary. 180Western Isles Airways 12Whittaker, RIO J. 31Whittle, Sir Frank 17William C. Wold Associates 112Wilson, Capt A. 30Winner Airways 135

ZaIre Aero Service (ZAS) 155-6ZaIrean Airlines 155-6Zambezi Route 51, 87Zambia Airways 118

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Viscount_and_Vanguard