Bob O’Brien profiles the history of the Vickers Viscount which first flew in 1948.
BRITISH AIRLINERS SPECIAL
One of the very last of the big Rolls-Royce-powered propliners, the Viscount was a remarkable success for the British Aviation industry, and Vickers-Armstrong of Weybridge in particular. It sold in large numbers to many of the world’s leading airlines and offered passengers the luxury of flying above the weather and in comfort.
The Viscount was one of several airline designs submitted to the Brabazon Committee on Transport following World War Two. The board was charged in 1942 by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to identify the post-war market needs for the British aircraft industry and to recommend new designs for a number of different airliners, each one targeted to a specific market.
The Brabazon committee’s Type II recommendation and subsequent specification was subdivided into two different categories. Type IIA called for a medium-sized airliner powered by conventional piston engines capable of serving short- to medium-haul routes and the Type IIB, for a similar machine but this time to be powered by four gas turbine powerplants. Two manufacturers put forward designs for the Type IIB compet…
