From Viceroy to Viscount
The Vickers Viscount was born out of the 1945 Brabazon Committee's call for a short to medium-range airliner.
The initial VC2 design carried only 24 passengers. This was considered too few, and had been increased to 32 by the time construction of the prototype was given the go-ahead. Vickers had intended to call the new aircraft the Viceroy, but when India gained its independence from the British Empire in 1947, it was thought prudent to rename the type, and the name Viscount was chosen.
The prototype and the V.700
The prototype V.630 Viscount, G-AHRF, took to the air on 16 July 1948 from the Vickers test airfield at Wisley, Surrey.
The production V.700 Viscounts were stretched by 6 ft 6 in over the two V.630 prototypes, giving a length of 81 ft 2 in and room for 43 seats in the two-class layout adopted by the first customer, British European Airways. BEA's V.701s began the world's first scheduled Viscount services on 18 April 1953.
Forty-five V.700 Viscounts were built at Brooklands before their production moved to Wisley, making room for work on the new V.800 series.
The V.800 series
The new Viscounts were stretched by a further 3 ft 10 in over the V.700, but by moving the rear bulkhead further aft, the usable cabin length grew by 9 ft 3 in.
The first production version of the V.800 series, the V.802 for BEA, first flew on 27 July 1956. It carried 58 passengers in the corporation's two-class layout, and BEA received 24 of them.
The V.806 and G-APIM
Even with more than 50 Viscounts in service or on order, BEA needed more, and ordered 14 V.806 Viscounts, G-AOYF to G-AOYT. The V.806 was essentially identical to the V.802 but with the more powerful Rolls-Royce Dart RDa.7 Mk 520 engines. The order was later increased to 16, adding G-APEX and G-APEY.
It grew again when Vickers received order 39c for three more aircraft. The first was construction number 412, which became G-APIM; the other two were G-APKF (c/n 396) and G-APJU (c/n 413).
These three were ordered to cover for the loss of a V.802, G-AOJA, which had been written off, and the first V.806, G-AOYF, which was badly damaged at Johannesburg on 20 October 1957. The remains of "YF" were later brought back to Vickers and rebuilt as c/n 418, G-APOX, which became the last Viscount delivered to BEA.
The V.810 and the last Viscounts
Vickers continued to develop the V.800 and produced the V.810 series. With the further improved Dart RDa.7/1 Mk 525 engines and internal strengthening, it could operate at greater weights and higher speeds.
Most V.810s were sold overseas, and the last of a total of 438 Viscounts sold was delivered to the Chinese state airline, CAAC, on 16 April 1964.
