Vickers VC.1 Viking

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This article is about the post World War Two airliner. For the single-engined amphibian Vickers Viking of 1918, see Vickers Viking.

Vickers Viking 1A

The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a twin-engined short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber.

The Ministry of Aircraft Production agreed in 1944 to the Vickers-Armstrong Company developing a passenger carrying version of the Wellington for the post-war era. Although the original contract for three prototypes referred to Wellington Transports, on completion the name Viking was in use. The first of this batch flew on 22 June, 1945 and the third was delivered to BOAC at Hurn near Bournemouth on 20 April, 1946. Upon the delivery of nine examples to BOAC, including these two 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. In all 163 Vikings were built. The initials 'VC' stood for Vickers Civil, echoing the 'DC' precedent set by the Douglas corporation 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.

The jet-powered Vickers Nene Viking G-AJPH

The initial nineteen production aircraft (Viking 1A) contained 21 passenger seats in a metal fuselage but had fabric clad geodetic wings and tail units. The next fourteen 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 for a time fitted with two Rolls-Royce Nene engines and upon its first flight on 6 April, 1948 became the world's first entirely jet-powered airliner. 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 toughened but externally-similar type ended in 1951, a flying classroom version with tricycle undercarriage was already being delivered to the RAF, called the Varsity. All but one of those entered RAF service, the other one 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.

1 Civil Operators
2 Military Operators
3 Specifications (Viking 1B)
4 Related content

[edit] Civil Operators

Aer Lingus.
Air Ferry.
Air India.
Air Safaris.
Airwork.
Autair.
BKS Air Transport.
British European Airways.
British West Indian Airways.
Central African Airways.
Channel Airways.
Continental Air Service.
DDL.
Eagle Aviation.
Eros Airline.
Falcon Airways.
Hunting Air Transport.
Independent Air Travel.
Indian National Airways.
Invicta.
Iraqi Airways.
LTU International.
Misrair, Egyptair.
Orion Airways.
Pegasus Airlines.
South African Airways.
Southern Rhodesia Airways.
Tradair.

[edit] Military Operators

[edit] Specifications (Viking 1B)

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: ft² (m²)
Empty weight: 23,000 lb (10,430 kg)
Loaded weight: lb (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