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| VC.1 Viking | |
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| Role | airliner |
| Manufacturer | Vickers-Armstrongs Limited |
| Designed by | R K Pierson |
| First flight | 22 June 1945 |
| Introduced | 1946 |
| Primary user | British European Airways |
| Number built | 163 |
| Developed from | Vickers Wellington |
| Variants | Vickers Valetta Vickers Varsity |
The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engined piston-engined short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited. In the aftermath of the war the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines pending the development of turboprop aircraft like the Vickers Viscount. A non-standard variant fitted with Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets and first flown in 1948 was the first British pure jet transport aircraft.
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Design and development
The Ministry of Aircraft Production ordered three prototype Wellington Transport Aircraft to Air Ministry Specification 17/44 from Vickers-Armstrong Limited. The specification was for a peacetime requirement for a medium-short haul passenger aircraft. To speed development the aircraft used the wing and undercarriage design from the Vickers Wellington but the fuselage was a new. Although the original contract referred to Wellington Transport Aircraft, on completion, the name Viking was chosen.
The prototype (designated the Type 491 and registered G-AGOK) first flew at Wisley Aerodrome on 22 June 1945.[1] Following successful trials of the three prototypes the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) ordered 19 aircraft. The first BOAC aircraft flew on 23 March 1946. The prototypes were then used for trials with the Royal Air Force which lead to orders for military versions (the Viking C2 (12 ordered as freighter/transports) and modified Valetta C1).
The initial nineteen production aircraft (later designated the Viking 1A) carried 21 passengers, they had metal fuselages and fabric clad geodetic wings and tail units. Following feedback from customers the next 14 examples, known as the Viking 1, featured stressed metal wings and tail units. The next variant, the Viking 1B, was 28 inches (710 mm) longer, carrying 24 passengers with up-rated Bristol Hercules piston engines, achieved a production run of 115. One of this batch was changed during production to be fitted with two Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engines and upon its first flight on 6 April 1948 became the world's first entirely jet-powered airliner (albeit only a prototype). The Type 618 Nene-Viking flew Heathrow-Paris on the anniversary of Blériot's crossing of the Channel, 1948 taking only 34 minutes (c.210 miles, 370.6 mph). Some six years later it was converted to a piston engined Viking.[2]
Production finished in 1948, including sixteen for the RAF and the King's Flight, but in 1952 BEA adapted some to a 38-passenger layout, taking the maximum payload up from 5,500 to 7,200 pounds (2,500 to 3,300 kg). All Vikings featured a tailwheel undercarriage.
The 158th Viking became the prototype of the military Valetta of which 261 were sold. When production of this strengthened but externally-similar type ended in 1951, a flying classroom version with tricycle undercarriage was already being delivered to the Royal Air Force (RAF), called the Varsity.[3]All but one of those entered RAF service, the other example going to the Swedish Air Force. The production of 161 Varsities kept the Hurn works busy until January 1954 and they enjoyed a long service life. An example is preserved at the Newark Air Museum.
Operational history
After a trial flight from Northolt to Oslo on 20 August 1946 by the newly formed British European Airways Corporation the first regular Viking service started between Northolt and Copenhagen on 1 September 1946.
The first of this batch flew on 22 June, 1945 and the third was delivered to British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) at Hurn near Bournemouth on 20 April, 1946. Upon the delivery of nine examples to BOAC, including the two remaining prototypes, British European Airways was established on 1 August 1946 to operate airliners within Europe and these first VC.1 Vikings were transferred to the new airline.[4] In all 163 Vikings were built. The initials "VC" stood for Vickers Civil, echoing the "DC" precedent set by the Douglas Aircraft Company of the USA, builders of the DC-1, DC-2 and DC-3 Douglas Dakota the latter also bought by BEA, and of a similar configuration to the Viking.
Variants
- Viking
- Prototypes with two 1,675hp Bristol Hercules 130 engines, three built.
- Viking 1A
- Initial production version with geodetic wings and two 1,690hp Bristol Hercules 630 engines.
- Viking 1
- Production aircraft with stressed skin mainplanes and two 1,690hp Bristol Hercules 634 engines.
- Viking 1B
- Viking 1 with "long nose", 113 built.
- Nene Viking
- One Viking 1B aircraft modified for trials with two 5,000lb Rolls-Royce Nene I turbojets.
- Viking C2
- British military designation of the Viking 1. VIP transport aircraft for the King's Flight of the RAF.
- Valetta C2
- Modified design with strengthened floor and large freight door.
- Varsity T1
- Modified Valletta design with tri-cycle undercarriage for navigation and crew training.
Operators
Civil operators
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Argentine Civil Aeronautics Board
- Flota Aerea Mercante Argentina
- Aero Transport
- Aero Express Flug
- Aerotour
- Colombus Luftreederei
- Condor Flugdienst
- Deutsche Flugdienst
- LTU International
- Transavia Flug
- Iraqi Airways
- Iraq Petroleum Transport Company
- Bernado Pasquelle
- Government of Mexico
- African Air Safaris
- Air Ferry
- Air Safaris
- Airwork Limited
- Autair
- Bembridge Air Hire Limited
- BKS Air Transport
- Blue Air
- British European Airways
- British Overseas Airways Corporation
- Eagle Aviation/Eagle Airways
- British International Airlines
- British Nederland Airservices
- British South American Airways
- Channel Airways
- Continental Air Services
- Crewsair Limited
- Decca Navigator Company
- Dragon Airways
- Eros Airlines (UK)
- Field Aircraft Services
- First Air Trading Company
- Hunting Air Transport
- Hunting Clan Air Transport
- Invicta Airways / Invicta International Airways
- Independent Air Travel
- James Stuart Travel Limited
- Maitland Drewery Aviation
- Meredith Air Transport
- Orion Airways
- Overseas Aviation
- Pegasus Airlines
- Tradair Limited
- Trans World Charter
- United Airways Limited
- Vendair Limited
Military operators
Accidents and incidents
Of the 163 aircraft built 56 aircraft were lost in accidents – the following were the notable accidents:
- 8 February 1949 – OY-DLU operated by DDL crashed into the sea off Oresund, Denmark, with the loss of all 27 occupants.
- 31 October 1950 – G-AHPN operated by British European Airways crashed on landing in bad visibility at London-Heathrow Airport, England, 25 passengers and three crew died.
- 17 February 1952 – G-AHPI operated by Hunting Air Travel flew into the La Cinta mountain range, Italy, with the loss of all 31 occupants.
- 5 January 1953 – G-AJDL operated by British European Airways crashed on approach at Belfast-Nutts Corner Airport, Northern Ireland, three crew and 24 passengers died.
- 1 May 1957 – G-AJBO operated by Eagle Aviation crashed after engine failure near Blackbushe Airport, England, five crew and 29 passengers died.
- 9 August 1961 – G-AHPM operated by Cunard Eagle Airways crashed into a hill on approach to Stavanger Airport with the loss of all 39 occupants.
- 11 September 1963 – F-BJER operated by Airnautic crashed into a mountain in the Pyrennes with the loss of all 40 occupants, the worst Viking accident.
Survivors
- Viking 1A G-AGRU - On display at the Brooklands Museum, Surrey, England
- Viking 1A G-AGRW - On display near Vienna Schwechat airport, Austria
- Viking 1 G-AHPB - On display in Switzerland
- Viking 1 ZS-DKH - Preserved in South Africa
- Viking 1B T-29 - On display in Argentina
- Viking 1B J-750 - On display at the Pakistan Air Force Museum Karachi, Pakistan.
Specifications (Viking 1B)
Data from Vickers Aircraft since 1908 [5]
General characteristics
- Crew: Two pilots
- Capacity: 36 passengers
- Length: 65 ft 2 in (19.86 m)
- Wingspan: 89 ft 3 in (27.20 m)
- Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)
- Wing area: 882 ft² (82.0 m²)
- Empty weight: 23,000 lb (10,430 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 34,000 lb (15,420 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Bristol Hercules 634 14-cylinder two-row radial engine, 1,690 hp (1,260 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 263 mph (229 knots, 423 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 210 mph[6] (183 knots, 338 km/h)
- Range: 1,700 miles (1,478 NM, 2,740 km)
- Service ceiling 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,500 ft/min (7.6 m/s)
- Wing loading: 38.5 lb/ft² (127 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.099 hp/lb (0.16 kW/kg)
See also
Related development Vickers Wellington - Vickers Valetta - Vickers Varsity
References
Notes
- ^ Andrews and Morgan 1988, p.398.
- ^ http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/vickers_neneviking.php Avia.russia.ee accessed 24 October 2007
- ^ Green and Pollinger 1955, p. 184.
- ^ Taylor 1983, p.39.
- ^ Andrews and Morgan 1988, p.416.
- ^ Jackson 1988, p.221.
Bibliography
- Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.
- Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. The Aircraft of the World. London: Macdonald, 1955.
- Jackson, A.J. British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972: Volume III. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-818-6.
- Taylor, H.A. "The Viking...Vickers Commercial One". Air Enthusiast, No. 21, April-July 1983, pp. 38–48. ISSN 0143-5450.
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