Vickers VC.1 Viking

The Vickers VC.1 Viking is a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. After the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines, pending the development of turboprop aircraft like the Viscount. An experimental airframe was fitted with Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets and first flown in 1948 as the world's first pure jet transport aircraft. Military developments were the Vickers Valetta and the Vickers Varsity.

Design and development

The Ministry of Aircraft Production ordered three prototype Wellington Transport Aircraft to Air Ministry Specification 17/44 from Vickers-Armstrongs Limited. The specification was for a peacetime requirement for an interim short-medium haul passenger aircraft to serve until the more advanced designs specified by the Brabazon Committee (in particular, the Airspeed Ambassador and Armstrong Whitworth Apollo) could be developed. To speed development the aircraft used the wing and undercarriage design from the Wellington but the fuselage was new. Although the original contract referred to Wellington Transport Aircraft, on completion, the name Viking was chosen. This aircraft crashed on 23 April 1946 Following successful trials of the three prototypes the Ministry of Aircraft Production ordered 50 aircraft. The first BOAC aircraft flew on 23 March 1946. The prototypes were then used for trials with the Royal Air Force which led to orders for military versions (the Viking C2 (12 ordered as freighter/transports) and the modified Valetta C1).

thumb|left|The jet-powered Vickers [[Rolls-Royce Nene|Nene Viking G-AJPH]]

The initial 19 production aircraft (later designated the Viking 1A) carried 21 passengers, they had metal fuselages and - except for the wing inboard of the nacelles - 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 in (71 cm) 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 so that it could be fitted with two Rolls-Royce Nene turbojet engines, with its first flight on 6 April 1948.

On 25 July 1948, on the 39th anniversary of Blériot's crossing of the English Channel, the Type 618 Nene-Viking flew Heathrow–Paris (Villacoublay) in the morning carrying letters to Bleriot's widow and son (secretary of the FAI), who met it at the airport. The flight of took only 34 minutes. It then flew back to London in the afternoon. It obtained a maximum speed of at and averaged . In 1954 it was bought from the Ministry of Supply and underwent the substantial conversion to Hercules 634 piston engines by Eagle Aviation to join their fleet.

Production finished in 1948, including 16 for the RAF of which four were for the King's Flight, but in 1952 BEA adapted some to a 38-passenger layout, taking the maximum payload up from . All Vikings featured a tailwheel undercarriage.

The 58th Viking (c/n 158) became the prototype of the military Valetta, of which 262 were produced for the RAF. When production of this strengthened but externally similar type ended in 1952, a flying classroom version with tricycle undercarriage was already being delivered to the Royal Air Force (RAF), called the Varsity. 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. Six examples are preserved, including at Brooklands Museum, and the Newark Air Museum.

Operational history

thumb|right|BEA Vickers Viking 1B G-AHPO "Venturer" at [[Manchester Airport in 1952]]

The first Viking was flown from Vickers' flight test airfield at Wisley, Surrey, by chief test pilot Joseph "Mutt" Summers on 22 June 1945 and the third aircraft built was delivered to BOAC at Hurn near Bournemouth on 20 April 1946. Upon the delivery of nine examples to BOAC for development flying, including the two remaining prototypes, British European Airways (BEA) was established on 1 August 1946 to operate airliners within Europe and these first VC.1 Vikings were transferred to the new airline.

After a trial flight from Northolt to Oslo on 20 August 1946 by the newly formed BEA, the first regular Viking scheduled service commenced between Northolt and Copenhagen Airport on 1 September 1946.

In all 163 Vikings were built. The initials "VC" stood for Vickers Commercial, echoing the "VC" precedent set by the earlier Vimy Commercial of 1919. Vickers soon ceased to use the 'VC' letters, instead using type numbers in the 49x and 600 series, which indicated the specific customer airline.

thumb|right|Viking 1B of the Arab Legion Air Force (Jordan) at [[Blackbushe Airport, Hants, in April 1955]]

BEA operated their large fleet of Vikings on many European and UK trunk routes for eight years. From 1951, the remaining fleet was modified with 36, instead of 27 seats, and named the "Admiral Class". BEA operated the Viking until late 1954, when the last was displaced by the more modern and pressurised Airspeed Ambassador and Vickers Viscount.

BEA sold their Vikings to several UK independent airlines for use on their growing scheduled and charter route networks. Some were sold to other European operators. An ex-BEA Viking 1B was fitted out as a VIP aircraft for the Arab Legion Air Force, mainly for the use of the King of Jordan. Most Vikings had been retired from service by the mid-1960s and there are now only six extant worldwide with two surviving examples in the UK, both being under long-term major restoration.

Variants

;Viking

:Prototypes with two 1,675 hp (1,250 kW) Bristol Hercules 130 engines, three built.

;Viking 1A

:Initial production version with geodetic wings and two 1,690 hp (1,261 kW) Bristol Hercules 630 engines.

;Viking 1

:Production aircraft with stressed skin mainplanes and two 1,690 hp (1,261 kW) Bristol Hercules 634 engines.

;Viking 1B

:Viking 1 with "long nose", 113 built.

;Nene Viking

:One Viking 1B aircraft modified for trials with two 5,000 lbf (22.3 kN) 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 C1 & C2

:Modified design with strengthened floor and large freight door.

;Varsity T1

:Highly modified Valetta design with tricycle undercarriage for navigation and crew training.

Type numbers

;Type 491

:First prototype

;Type 495

:Second prototype

;Type 607

:Valetta prototype for Ministry of Supply with two Hercules 230 engines.

;Type 624

:Viking C2 for the Royal Air Force with two Hercules 134 engines. One ordered for use by the King's Flight for a royal tour of South Africa for use by the state officials in 21-seat configuration.

;Type 651

:Valetta C1 for the Royal Air Force with two Hercules 634 engines.

;

Airnautic
Air Dauphine
Air Inter
Air Sahara
Europe Aero Service
Transportes Aeriens Reunis

;

Aero Express Flug One (T-64, ex LV-XFM) used as presidential aircraft from 1948 to 1952.

;

Royal Australian Air Force - One Viking C2 in service from 1947 to 1951.
No. 2 Squadron RAAF
No. 34 Squadron RAAF

;

Arab Legion Air Force
Royal Jordanian Air Force

;

Pakistan Air Force

;

Royal Air Force
Empire Test Pilots' School
The King's Flight, RAF

Accidents and incidents

Of the 163 aircraft built 56 aircraft were lost in accidents – the following were some notable accidents:

The aircraft carried 34 boys and 2 members of staff from The Archbishop Lanfranc School in Croydon.

Aircraft on display

thumb|right|T-9, ex [[Argentine Air Force, Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina]]

thumb|right|G-AGRU under restoration at the [[Brooklands Museum in 2009]]

Of the 163 Vikings produced, only six survive today; five can be found in museums around the world, while a sixth airframe was stored at an airfield near Vienna in Austria until dismantled in late April 2023. Acquired by the Blackbushe Heritage Trust, it is returning to the UK in early May for restoration and display at Blackbushe Airport in Surrey.

;Argentina

T-9 – Viking 1B on static display at the Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina in Morón, Buenos Aires.

;Pakistan

J-750 – Viking 1B on static display at the Pakistan Air Force Museum in Karachi, Sindh.

;Switzerland

G-AIVG – Viking 1B under restoration to static display by the Vintage Aircraft Club at EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg in Basel. It crashed at Le Bourget Airport on 12 August 1958. It uses undercarriage and other parts from Vickers Valetta VX577 destroyed by fire 24 January 1997.

;South Africa

ZS-DKH – Viking 1A under restoration to static display at the South African Airways Museum Society in Germiston, Gauteng.

;United Kingdom

G-AGRU – Viking 1A under major long-term restoration while on outdoor display at the Brooklands Museum in Weybridge, Surrey.
G-AGRW – Viking 1A delivered by the Blackbushe Heritage Trust to Blackbushe Airport, Hampshire, on 2 May 2023 from long term outdoor storage stored outdoors at Bad Vöslau airfield, Austria, for major restoration at this former Viking engineering maintenance base.

Specifications (Viking 1B)

thumb|right|Vickers Viking 1B