Vickers Viking

Vickers VC.1 Viking
Type:	Airliner
Design country:	United Kingdom
Manufacturer:	Vickers -Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd.
First flight:	June 22, 1945
Commissioning:	1946
Number of pieces:	163

The Vickers VC.1 Viking from Vickers -Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd. was the first passenger aircraft to be newly built in Great Britain after World War II ; it was powered by two piston engines. In 1944, the engineers at Vickers began to design the model on the basis of the specifications issued by the Ministry of Supply , which required a transport version of the Wellington bomber . From this model, the entire outer wing with the two engines and the landing gear were taken over unchanged for the Viking. The Viking also did not have a pressurized cabin .

The unique version 618 Nene-Viking , the G-AJPH equipped with two Nene jet engines, was the world's first jet -powered airliner in 1948.

testing

The first of three prototypes with the aircraft registration G-AGOK made its maiden flight on June 22, 1945 in Wisley . The other two prototypes G-AGOL and G-AGOM, which differed from the first prototype in that they had a rudder fin pulled forward, followed in the same year. The acceptance flights carried out with the third prototype led to the issuance of the airworthiness certificate on April 24, 1946.

Series production

A Viking 1A from Eros Aviation in 1964.

Viking IA

Series production began with the Viking IA, of which 19 machines were built. Eleven of these aircraft went to the newly founded British European Airways (BEA), which became the largest operator of the type with a total of 73 Viking aircraft of all versions. The Viking remained the BEA's standard airliner until the Vickers Viscount turboprop model was commissioned. British West Indian Airways bought five more Viking IAs. On September 1, 1946, the Viking was put into service with the BEA on the routes London – Copenhagen and London – Oslo. With a cruising speed of almost 340 km / h, the Viking was almost 50 km / h faster than the DC-3 , which previously served these routes.

Viking I

The next series was the Viking I, of which 31 were built. In this version, the so-called geodetic construction (mixed planking metal / plywood) of the Viking IA was replaced by a conventional construction (all-metal planking). Most of these aircraft were delivered to BEA and its subsidiaries.

Viking IB

The most important version, however, was the Viking IB, of which a total of 113 copies were sold by the end of 1947. Initial buyers were again BEA and Airwork Ltd., Air India, Indian National Airways, Central African Airways, South African Airways, Det Danske Luftfartselskap (DDL), Aer Lingus and Iraqi Airways. Like the Viking I, the IB series was powered by two Hercules 634s with 1,690 hp (1,242 kW) takeoff power each, but the hull was lengthened by 0.71 m, increasing the seating capacity from 21 to 24.

Viking IB (618 Nene-Viking)

A machine of the IB series was changed structurally under construction and with two Rolls-Royce Nene - jet engines equipped. The first flight of this machine with the registration number G-AJPH, which was carried out on April 6, 1948 and remained unique, made this version, called the 618 Nene-Viking , the first airliner to be exclusively equipped with jet engines. On July 25, 1948, the 39th anniversary of Louis Blériot's canal crossing , it flew at an average speed of 596.4 km / h in 34 minutes from Heathrow to Paris Villacoublay . After testing was completed, the machine was converted to piston engines and used by the British Eagle airline .

Viking 3 / 3A / 3B

To increase the payload, numerous Vikings were converted, so the I / IA / IB series became the 3 / 3A / 3B versions with a payload increased by half a ton. These machines of the aircraft designated by BEA as Admiral Class could carry 36 passengers.

Viking C.IA

The Viking remained in passenger service with the BEA until 1954, with the type carrying around 3 million passengers. After that, the fleet was sold to charter airlines. Eagle Aviation Ltd. operated the largest civil fleet of earlier BEA aircraft. (later British Eagle Airways).

The King's Flight of the Royal Air Force used four copies from 1947 as a Viking C.IA in the VIP transport role for the royal family. In addition, a military version as Vickers Valetta was operated in larger numbers.

Use in Germany

A Vickers Viking 1B operated by Lufthansa in 1964.

From 1956 the Viking also flew in Germany. Deutsche Flugdienst (later Condor Flugdienst ) used a total of four 36-seater Viking IB (serial numbers 167, 219, 243 and 250) in the charter flight business between March 21, 1956 and April 1964. Two Viking IB (serial numbers 167 and 243) also flew as cargo planes with Lufthansa . A Viking IA and four Viking IB (serial numbers 9/109, 150, 217, 222, and 223) were in use at the Düsseldorf LTU between 1956 and 1963.

End of production

Production of the Viking ended in 1948.

The Viking C.2 was built for the Royal Air Force, which corresponded to the civilian IA. Based on the IB, the Valetta followed (first flight on June 30, 1947), but it had a higher takeoff weight of 16,556 kg. With a maximum payload of 4000 kg, its range was 850 km.

Also for the Royal Air Force, the Viking IB was the result of the Varsity model with nose wheel landing gear and elongated fuselage nose. The drive consisted of two Bristol Hercules engines of 1950 hp (1433 kW) each. The Varsity made its maiden flight on July 17, 1949, and it was the last model in the Viking series, which ended production in 1954.

Military use

Argentina Argentina

Fuerza Aérea Argentina

Australia Australia

Royal Australian Air Force

Jordan Jordan
Pakistan Pakistan
United Kingdom United Kingdom

Royal Air Force

Incidents

From 1946 to 1965, 57 Vikings were destroyed, 55 of them in accidents. At around 34 percent, this is an unusually high rate for a post-war commercial aircraft. In 22 of them there were a total of 342 fatalities.

Technical data (Viking IB)

Vickers Viking 1B

Parameter	Data
crew	3
Passengers	24-36
length	19.90 m
span	27.20 m
height	5.60 m
Max. Takeoff mass	15,422 kg
economic travel speed	337 km / h
Summit height	6700 m
Range	1570 km
Engines	2 air-cooled 14-cylinder radial engines Bristol Hercules 634, each 1690 HP (1242 kW)

literature

CF Andrews, EB Morgan: Vickers Aircraft since 1908. Putnam, London 1988, ISBN 0-85177-815-1 .
William Green, Gerald Pollinger: The Aircraft of the World. Macdonald, London 1955.
AJ Jackson: British Civil Aircraft 1919-1972. Volume III. Putnam, London 1988, ISBN 0-85177-818-6 .
Bernard Martin: The Viking, Valetta and Varsity. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., Tonbridge 1975, ISBN 0-85130-038-3 .
HA Taylor: The Viking ... Vickers Commercial One. In: Air Enthusiast. No. April 21, 1983, ISSN 0143-5450 , pp. 38-48.

Web links

Commons : Vickers Viking - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ John Stroud: Vickers-Armstrongs Viking - Post-War Propliners . In: Airplane Monthly October 1992, pp. 56–63 (list of all BEA Vikings on p. 63)
^ Bill Gunston: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Commercial Aircraft.
↑ Picture of the 618 Nene-Viking on FLICKR
^ Aero, issue 9, year 1989
^ Bernard Martin: Viking Valetta Varsity , Air-Britain 1975, ISBN 0-85130-038-3
^ Accident statistics Vickers Viking , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.

[1] John Stroud: Vickers-Armstrongs Viking - Post-War Propliners . In: Airplane Monthly October 1992, pp. 56–63 (list of all BEA Vikings on p. 63)

[2] Bill Gunston: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Commercial Aircraft.

[3] Picture of the 618 Nene-Viking on FLICKR

[4] Aero, issue 9, year 1989

[5] Bernard Martin: Viking Valetta Varsity , Air-Britain 1975, ISBN 0-85130-038-3

[6] Accident statistics Vickers Viking , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.