Aircraft Profile – Viscount

Vickers went ahead with their design studies and renamed the project the V609 Viceroy. At this stage, the aircraft was envisaged to have a fuselage length of 74ft 6in, a wing span of 89ft and an all up weight of 39,500lb. Further refinements were made and the project became known as the V630 Viscount during 1947 when the office of Viceroy was abandoned in India. At this stage, British European Airways who were viewing the Viscount as a Viking replacement suggested alternative versions of the Viscount powered by various piston engines. It should be remembered that the development of the gas turbine engine was still in its infancy and it appears that BEA were having second thoughts about the engine’s future.

With the benefit of hindsight this seems strange, however it is perhaps easily forgotten that in the immediate post-war era all the successful medium/long-range flying was being made by aircraft powered by well-respected piston engines. For this reason, BEA wanted the Viscount to be powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins. Vickers countered with proposals to power the Viscount with two Bristol Hercules, four Rolls-Royce Darts or a combination arrangement with two Darts inboard and two Rolls-Royce Nene turbojets outboard. Another of several versions BEA had suggested was one powered by two Bristol Centaurus engines of 2700hp each. It was therefore ironic that in 1947 BEA announced an order for 20 Airspeed Ambassadors powered by this latter engine. The Ministry of Aircraft Production had doubts about the success of the propeller turbine engine from an economic viewpoint and had suggested that BEA purchase the Ambassador.

This was of course a setback for Vickers who had pinned the success of the Viscount on the new Rolls-Royce Dart. Nevertheless, they went ahead steadily with the construction of the prototypes and the first flight of the Viscount V630 registered G-AHRF took place on July 16, 1948. From this point Vickers’ enthusiasm was lifted particularly as it became evident that the Viscount possessed extremely good handling characteristics coupled with benefits that would be popular with passengers.

From the outset it became obvious that the success of the Viscount was very much dependent on Rolls-Royce’s ability to deliver the goods with Dart power plants. Almost immediately, as if an omen of things to come, a new version of the Dart, the RDa 3 of 1400shp was proposed. This represented a 40 per cent increase of the power available on the prototype. Vickers then commenced their first of many major design stretches of the aircraft with the announcement of the V100 series to accommodate the new engine. The first flight of the V700 was on August 28, 1950. Major differences included a 60 inch increase in span, an 80-inch increase in length, all up weight went up to 50,000lb, passenger capacity was lifted to 53, and cruising speed was increased by 35mph to 310mph. Whilst developmental work continued with the V700 flight testing continued with the two V630 aircraft GAHRF and G-AHRG and a full C of A was granted on July 26, 1950. GAHRF appeared in BEA livery and flew around Europe to obtain publicity.

A significant milestone occurred on July 29, 1950, when G-AHRF operated the world’s first turbine-powered scheduled passenger service between Northolt and Le Bourget. The public now had an opportunity to experience the superior comfort which the Viscount had to offer over its contemporary piston engine-powered rivals. Its success was such that BEA signed a contract to purchase 20 Viscount V701 aircraft. These mainly differed from the V?00 by having a 3000Ib weight increase to 53,000lb and more freight capacity. Powerplant was the Dart Mk 505.

The first prototype V700 Viscount GAMAV made its first flight on August 28, 1950. Extensive flight testing was now underway. To gain as much experience as possible quickly with the Dart, BEA re-engined two of their Douglas Dakota aircraft and flew them as freighters. The V700 eventually received its C of A on August 28, 1952. The BEA-ordered V701 version first flew on August 20, 1952 and entered service on April 18, 1953 operating the London-Cyprus route. The first production V701 Viscount (the 4th Viscount built), G-ALWE notched up nearly 7000 hours during its career and was lost in an accident coming in to land at Manchester’s Ringway airport on March 14, 1957. G-AMAV was a historic visitor to Australia in 1953 when it participated in the England-New Zealand air race. Although that air race was dominated by English Electric Canberra bombers flown by either RAF or RAAF teams, the entry of the Viscount was in many ways reminiscent of the earlier entry of the KLM DC-2 PH-AJU in the London-Melbourne air race 1 9 years before.

Orders for the Viscount were initially rather slow in coming. However Air France broke the ice by ordering 12 aircraft in November 1951. Aer Lingus were next with four Viscounts and was followed by TAA when they signed up for six model V720s. A most significant order was received from Trans Canada Airlines in November 1952 for 15 Viscount type V724s. This heralded the beginning of the Viscount’s assault on the North American market. Experience gained with this model paved the way for the US orders which were to follow. It was powered by the Dart Mk 506 and all up weight was increased to 60,000lb. In all a total of 25Q modifications were carried out to comply with TCA’s requirements. The entire cockpit layout was redesigned for two-man crew operations. The provision for a radio operator in the earlier models was deleted from this version.

A major coup occurred in June 1954 when Capital Airlines ordered three Viscount V744s. It is doubtful whether Vickers realised the significance of this order at the time and the eventual impact it would have on Viscount sales. In August 1954 Capital followed up with an order for a further 37 V745Ds. Many changes were incorporated in this version which was powered by the Mk 510 R Da 6 which developed a take off power of 1 740ehp. In December 1954 Capital signed up for 20 Viscount V745Ds bringing their total order to 60 aircraft. It met with enormous success in service with Capital. Their first passenger flight was on July 26, 1955, and after nine months in service, their Viscount fleet was enjoying a load factor of 80 per cent. The overall success achieved by the Viscount in North America was considerable. Trans Canada Airlines eventually ordered a total of 51 Viscounts. In addition to their initial contract they acquired 36 Viscount V757s. The total order book for North American sales was a healthy 147 aircraft.

In 1952 Vickers were investigating a larger version of the Viscount known as the vaoo to take advantage of the Dart of 1690ehp. Early design proposals envisaged a fuselage stretch of 13ft 3in and a gross weight of 65,000lb carrying 86 passengers. However, the magnitude of the size increase was reduced when it became evident that the vaoo would not have the performance of the smaller V700 series. To counteract this the fuselage stretch was reduced to 3ft 2in, gross weight was–64,500Ib and number of passengers changed to 71. Although the increase in overall fuselage length was minimal, the internal cabin length was extended by 9ft 3in. Vickers were able to achieve this by moving the aft pressure bulkhead a further 5ft 5in towards the rear. The powerplant was changed to the’ Dart R Da 6 giving a cruising speed of 325mph. BEA initiated orders for this series with a contract for 12 aircraft.

The final major improvement was the V810 series. This was powered by the Dart R Da 7/1 Mk 525 developing 1990ehp. Gross weight was 72,500lb, cruising speed 351mph, service ceiling 27,000ft. Dimensions were fuselage length 85ft Sin, span 93ft 11in, height to top of fin 26ft 9in. Major structural modifications were made to cope with the increased weight and speed.

It should be pointed out by way of explanation that Vickers intended the Viscount to be available as a custom-built aircraft. That is they invited purchasers to order changes to the basic specification. Each operator was allocated a distinguishing type number for their aircraft. For example, when the V81O series became available type numbers were given to airlines as they ordered this mark. For example, the V812 went to Continental Airlines, the V813 to South African Airways, the V814 to Lufthansa, etc. These are fairly similar aircraft but incorporate certain detail modifications for their various operators.

The career of the Viscount in Australia was typical of its success elsewhere. When TAA announced their order for six Viscounts in 1952 they were counting on the technical superiority of the gas turbine engine. In their press advertisements prior to the introduction of the Viscount into service TAA made mention of the features they believed were of appeal. Points raised were the engines, the panoramic windows, vibrationless travel (“Travel is so smooth that even a pencil may be stood on its end on the arm of a chair” claimed a TAA advertisement), and pressurised comfort. TAA had pioneered this latter innovation in Australia when it introduced the Convair 240 into service several years earlier.

TAA had planned to introduce the Viscount into service on December 1 1954. However a tragic setback occurred when their first Viscount, VHTVA “John Batman” was lost in a training accident at Mangalore, Victoria at 3. 15pm on October 30, 1954. The aircraft had just taken off on its 12th training flight for the day and was heading towards the south on three engines with the other one feathered. After reaching a height of about 100ft it made a U-turn to the north. The starboard wing hit a tree and VH-TVA broke up over a 300-yard-long path. Three pilots were lost in the accident but five other occupants survived. VHTVA was the 44th Viscount built and first flew on August 29, 1954. At the time of its loss it had only flown 100 hours. The aircraft had cost £350,000.

Following the accident, TAA had to reorganise its proposed introduction schedule. On December 13, 1954, VH-TVB “Gregory Blaxland” made a non-stop Melbourne – Brisbane demonstration flight covering the 927 miles in 3 hours 1 3 minutes. It set a new height record for a commercial aircraft in Australia by flying at 25,000. The first regular revenue passenger service followed soon after on December 18, 1954.

Despite the loss of their first aircraft the Viscount settled down to give long reliable service with TAA. Keen competition ensued between the TAA Viscounts and Douglas DC-6Bs flown by Australian National Airways. The popularity of the Viscount was such that TAA succeeded in wresting many passengers away from their competitors. Although the DC-6B was a very fine aircraft the appeal of gas turbine power was considerable. It offered a combination of smoothness and speed which was hard to beat. By 1958, Viscounts had captured 27 out of 28 Australian speed records. The initial batch of T AA Viscounts were registered VH-TVA to TVF. A further model V720 VH-TVG was delivered in 1956. Following the success of these aircraft TAA ordered seven model V756Ds registered VH-TVH to TVN delivered between 1956 and 1958. The only other model V700 Viscount T AA operated was VH-TVO a model V745D. When the V810 version became available TAA purchased three of these types. They were VH-TYP and TVQ both model V816s delivered in 1959 and a V818 VH-TVA an ex-Cubana aircraft acquired in 1962.

Butler Air Transport was another early operator of Viscounts in Australia. They had two models V74 7s, VH-BAT “Warral”, and VH-BUT “Warrawee II”. VH-BAT was delivered in 1955 followed by VH-BUT in 1956. When Butler was taken over by Ansett-ANA both aircraft were re-registered VHAMO and AMP respectively in 1958.

The other major operator of Viscounts in Australia was of course Ansett-ANA. Although Ansett had not been attracted to the Viscount initially the success enjoyed by TAA prompted them to acquire some aircraft in 1959. These were four V832s registered VHAMG to AMJ. Other Viscounts obtained were VH-AMK a model V812 previously owned by Continental Airlines Inc in 1960, VH-AML a model V818 ex-Cubana aircraft in 1962. The two ex-Butler aircraft mentioned above were also obtained. Some TAA Viscounts found service with AnsettANA. They were VH-AMQ (ex-TVB) in 1962. VH-TVC to TVF followed. Three of these aircraft, VH-TVC, TVE and TVF were on cross charter in exchange for DC-6Bs VH-INH and INU which went to TAA. VH-TVE and TVF were returned to TAA in 1967. Of the Ansett-ANA Viscounts, three were operated in 1968 by MacAobertson Miller Airlines Ltd. These were VH-AMO, AMP and AMQ.

The AAAF operated two model V816 Viscounts for VIP duties from 1964 until 1969. These two aircraft which carried the AAAF serials A6-435 and A6-436 first flew in 1959 and were originally to have been delivered to TAA. They were instead delivered to the Union Carbide Corporation and the Iranian Government respectively. The AAAF serials were derived from their construction numbers of 435 and 4;36.

The operation of the Viscount was not without mishaps. The first three Viscounts delivered to TAA were all subsequently lost in serious accidents. VH-TVA was written off before entering passenger service as previously mentioned. VH-TVC crashed into Botany Bay just after take off from Sydney on November 30, 1961. The accident occurred during a violent thunderstorm. The aircraft was under cross-charter to Ansett-ANA from TAA. It had taken off at 7:10 pm 6n runway 07 at the start of a flight to Canberra. The Viscount climbed to 3000 feet and then commenced a turn over Botany Bay last reporting at 5000 feet. Poor weather conditions prevented a search that night and an intense effort to locate the aircraft was mounted the following morning. When an oil slick was discovered in Botany Bay the location of the main portion of the wreckage was found. The cause of the accident was later attributed to the aircraft entering an area of turbulence, the severity of which was beyond its design limit.

On September 22, 1966, VH-AMI was on a flight from Mt Isa to Longreach. It had left Mt Isa at 12:05 pm and was due at Longreach at 1:30 pm. At about 1:00 pm the pilot radioed Longreach and advised that an engine was on fire, one other engine was stopped and he was unable to feather the propeller. Permission which was requested to divert to Winton, was granted. The aircraft subsequently crashed 1 2 miles west of Winton at about 1:05 pm. The enquiry that followed identified the cause as a fire that commenced in one of the cabin pressurisation air compressor units.

The final chapter in the loss of Viscounts in Australia occurred on November 30, 1968 when VH-RMQ caught fire and crashed 27 miles south of Port Hadland in Western Australia. The accident followed seven years to the day the loss of her sister aircraft V H-TVC in Sydney. VH-RMQ “Quininup” was on a flight from Perth to Port Hedland and crashed just after 1:34 pm. The aircraft, operated by MacRobertson Miller Airlines, had been on the descent to Port Hedland. It had left Perth at 10:30 am and was due at Port Hedland at 1.42pm. The last reported message to Port Hedland was at 1:34 pm when the crew reported the aircraft was on descent and the weather was fine. VH-RMQ had been the longest serving Viscount in Australia and had flown nearly 31,800hrs at the time of the accident. Following the Port Hedland crash all the other remaining V700 series Viscounts in Australia were grounded. At that time four were in service with TAA and one other with MacRobertson Miller Airlines. The cause of the accident was discovered to have been the failure of the starboard wing spar. This had resulted in the starboard wing separating from the aircraft at a height of approximately 7000ft.

When the last Viscount was built in 1962 a total of 440 had been produced. The Armstrong Whitworth Apollo mentioned earlier was not a success and only two aircraft were built. So the market for the medium-range gas turbine airliner was left to Vickers to pursue. The early doubts amongst some sections of the aviation industry about propeller turbine aircraft were soon dispelled and the Viscount proceeded to be in demand around the world. A larger version, the V840 was planned but did not go ahead. This would have been powered by the Dart Mk 540 of 2350ehp giving a cruising speed of 400mph. This version together with other projects were in some ways the predecessors of the larger Vickers Vanguard which was later to fly in 1959.

And what of the two original V609 Viscounts? The first prototype G-AHRF did fly for a short time for BEA in 1950. It was damaged in a landing accident at Khartoum in the Sudan in July, 1952 and was not repaired. Total time flown was just over 930 hours. The second prototype although allocated civil registration G-AHRG did not actually carry this marking. It first flew with the RAF serial VX217. This Viscount was later converted to be powered by two Rolls-Royce Tay turbojets and was used by Boulton Paul Aircraft for research purposes in testing controls for the Vickers Valiant bomber. It was finally scrapped in 1959.

In early 1980 there were still 98 Viscounts in service around the world. The largest operator is British Airways with 19 Viscounts in their fleet followed by British Midland with 10. It is interesting to see that British European Airways which pioneered the Viscount into service 30 years ago is still the largest operator of the type through its successor British Airways. Some comparison details of the V700, V700D and V810 versions are listed below. The V700D Viscount designation applied to all V700 series aircraft fitted with the Mk 510 R Da 6 engine of 1 740ehp, introduced initially on the Capital V745D version.