The Vickers VC.1 Viking is a British twin-engine short-range

airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...

derived from the

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

and built by

Vickers-Armstrongs Limited Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

near

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Viking was an important airliner with

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

airlines, pending the development of turboprop aircraft like the

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. An experimental airframe was fitted with

Rolls-Royce Nene The Rolls-Royce RB.41 Nene is a 1940s British centrifugal compressor turbojet engine. The Nene was a complete redesign, rather than a scaled-up Rolls-Royce Derwent"Rolls-Royce Aero Engines" Bill Gunston, Patrick Stephens Limited 1989, , p.111 w ...

turbojets and first flown in 1948 as the world's first pure jet transport aircraft. Military developments were the

Vickers Valetta The Vickers Valetta is a twin-engine military transport aircraft developed and produced by the British manufacturing company Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. Developed from the Vickers VC.1 Viking compact civil airliner, it was an all-metal mid-wing m ...

and the

Vickers Varsity The Vickers Varsity is a retired British twin-engined crew trainer operated by the Royal Air Force from 1951 to 1976. Design and development The Varsity was developed by Vickers and based on the Viking and Valetta to meet Air Ministry Speci ...

Design and development

The

Ministry of Aircraft Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

ordered three prototype ''Wellington Transport Aircraft'' to

Air Ministry Specification This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM) specifications for aircraft. A specification stemmed from an Operational Requirement, abbreviated "OR", describing what the aircraft would be used for. This in turn led to the specification ...

17/44 from

. The specification was for a peacetime requirement for an interim short-medium haul passenger aircraft to serve until the more advanced designs specified by the Brabazon Committee (in particular, the

Airspeed Ambassador The Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador is a British twin piston-engined airliner that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Ltd. It was one of the first postwar airliners to be produced. The Ambassador was developed i ...

and

Armstrong Whitworth Apollo The Armstrong Whitworth AW.55 Apollo was a 1940s British four-engine turboprop airliner built by Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton. The aircraft was in competition with the Vickers Viscount but was beset with engine problems and only two were bui ...

) could be developed.Andrews and Morgan 1988, pp. 396–398.Taylor 1983, pp. 38–39. To speed development the aircraft used the wing and undercarriage design from the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

but the fuselage was new.Jackson 1988, p. 215. Although the original contract referred to Wellington Transport Aircraft, on completion, the name Viking was chosen. The first prototype (designated the Type 491 and registered G-AGOK) was built by the Vickers Experimental Department at its wartime Foxwarren dispersal site and was first flown by 'Mutt' Summers at

Wisley Airfield Wisley Airfield is a former wartime airfield located in the Parish of Ockham near Wisley in Surrey, England. Originally a grass airstrip, the runway was converted to tarmac in 1952 and used to test aircraft built at Weybridge by Vickers. Flying ...

on 22 June 1945.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 398. This aircraft crashed on 23 April 1946 due to a double engine failure; no fatalities occurred as a result of the crash. Following successful trials of the three prototypes the Ministry of Aircraft Production ordered 50 aircraft.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 402. The first BOAC aircraft flew on 23 March 1946. The prototypes were then used for trials with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

which led to orders for military versions (the Viking C2 (12 ordered as freighter/transports) and the modified Valetta C1). Vickers Nene Viking G-AJPH

The initial 19 production aircraft (later designated the Viking 1A) carried 21 passengers, they had metal

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

s and - except for the wing inboard of the nacelles - fabric-clad

geodetic Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...

wings and tail units. Following feedback from customers, the next 14 examples, known as the Viking 1, featured stressed-metal wings and tail units. The next variant, the Viking 1B, was 28 in (71 cm) longer, carrying 24 passengers with up-rated

Bristol Hercules The Bristol Hercules is a 14-cylinder two-row radial aircraft engine designed by Sir Roy Fedden and produced by the Bristol Engine Company starting in 1939. It was the most numerous of their single sleeve valve ( Burt-McCollum, or Argyll, typ ...

piston engines, achieved a production run of 115. One of this batch was changed during production to so that it could be fitted with two

turbojet engines, with its first flight on 6 April 1948. On 25 July 1948, on the 39th anniversary of Blériot's crossing of the English Channel, the Type 618 Nene-Viking flew

Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

–

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

( Villacoublay) in the morning carrying letters to Bleriot's widow and son (secretary of the FAI), who met it at the airport. The flight of took only 34 minutes. It then flew back to London in the afternoon. It obtained a maximum speed of at and averaged . In 1954 it was bought from the Ministry of Supply and underwent the substantial conversion to Hercules 634 piston engines by Eagle Aviation to join their fleet. Production finished in 1948, including 16 for the RAF of which four were for the King's Flight,Owen Thetford 'Aircraft of the Royal Air Force' 1988 8th Ed, p. 649. but in 1952 BEA adapted some to a 38-passenger layout, taking the maximum payload up from . All Vikings featured a tailwheel undercarriage. The 58th Viking (c/n 158) became the prototype of the military

Valetta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

, of which 262 were produced for the RAF. When production of this strengthened but externally similar type ended in 1952, 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 example going to the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

. The production of 161 Varsities kept the Hurn works busy until January 1954, and they enjoyed a long service life. Examples are preserved at Brooklands Museum, the Imperial War Museum Duxford and the

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

Air Museum.

Operational history

The first Viking was flown from Vickers' flight test airfield at Wisley, Surrey, by chief test pilot Joseph "Mutt" Summers on 22 June 1945 and the third aircraft built was delivered to BOAC at

Hurn Hurn is a village and civil parish in the historic county of Hampshire and the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Situated between the River Stour and River Avon, administratively Hurn is part of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary ...

near Bournemouth on 20 April 1946. Upon the delivery of nine examples to BOAC for development flying, including the two remaining prototypes,

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...

(BEA) was established on 1 August 1946 to operate airliners within Europe and these first VC.1 Vikings were transferred to the new

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

.Taylor 1983, p. 39. After a trial flight from

Northolt Northolt is a town in West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing. It had a population of 30,304 at ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

on 20 August 1946 by the newly formed BEA, the first regular Viking scheduled service commenced between Northolt and

Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...

on 1 September 1946.Chorlton ''Aeroplane Monthly'' Winter 2013, p. 81. In all 163 Vikings were built. The initials "VC" stood for ''Vickers Commercial'', echoing the "VC" precedent set by the earlier Vimy Commercial of 1919. Vickers soon ceased to use the 'VC' letters, instead using type numbers in the 49x and 600 series, which indicated the specific customer airline. Viking 1B VK500 Arab Legion Air Force BLA 04

Viking 1B VK500 Arab Legion Air Force BLA 04

BEA operated their large fleet of Vikings on many European and UK trunk routes for eight years. From 1951, the remaining fleet was modified with 36, instead of 27 seats, and named the "Admiral Class". BEA operated the Viking until late 1954, when the last was displaced by the more modern and pressurised

and

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Visc ...

. BEA sold their Vikings to several UK independent airlines for use on their growing scheduled and charter route networks. Some were sold to other European operators. An ex-BEA Viking 1B was fitted out as a VIP aircraft for the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 195 ...

Air Force, mainly for the use of the King of

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Most Vikings had been retired from service by the mid-1960s and the sole surviving example in the UK is owned by Brooklands Museum where it is under long-term restoration.

Variants

;Viking :Prototypes with two 1,675 hp (1,250 kW)

130 engines, three built. ;Viking 1A :Initial production version with geodetic wings and two 1,690 hp (1,261 kW) Bristol Hercules 630 engines. ;Viking 1 :Production aircraft with stressed skin mainplanes and two 1,690 hp (1,261 kW) Bristol Hercules 634 engines. ;Viking 1B :Viking 1 with "long nose", 113 built. ;Nene Viking :One Viking 1B aircraft modified for trials with two 5,000 lbf (22.3 kN) Rolls-Royce Nene I turbojets. ;Viking C2 :British military designation of the Viking 1; VIP transport aircraft for the King's Flight of the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. ; Valetta C1 & C2 :Modified design with strengthened floor and large freight door. ; Varsity T1 :Highly modified Valetta design with tricycle undercarriage for navigation and crew training.

Type numbers

;Type 491 :First prototypeTaylor 1983, p. 42. ;Type 495 :Second prototype ;Type 496 :Third prototype ;Type 498 :Viking 1A for British European Airways. Three later to Argentine Air Force. ;Type 604 :Viking 1B for Indian National Airways with two Hercules 634 engines.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 501. ;Type 607 :Valetta prototype for Ministry of Supply with two Hercules 230 engines. ;Type 610 :Viking 1B for British European Airways. ;Type 613 :Projected fuel transport variant, not built. ;Type 614 :Viking 1 for British European Airways. ;Type 615 :Viking 1 for the Argentine government with two Hercules 634 engines. ;Type 616 :Viking 1 for Central African Airways. ;Type 618 : Nene Viking for Ministry of Supply. ;Type 620 :Viking 1 for the Argentine government with two Hercules 630 engines. ;Type 621 :Viking C2 for the Royal Air Force with two Hercules 130 engines. ;Type 623 :Viking C2 for the Royal Air Force with two Hercules 134 engines. Two ordered for use by the King's Flight for a royal tour of South Africa, one aircraft for the King and one for the Queen.Andrews and Morgan 1988, pp. 405, 501.Taylor 1983, p. 44. ;Type 624 :Viking C2 for the Royal Air Force with two Hercules 134 engines. One ordered for use by the King's Flight for a royal tour of South Africa for use by the state officials in 21-seat configuration. ;Type 626 :Viking C2 for the Royal Air Force with two Hercules 134 engines. One ordered for use by the King's Flight for a royal tour of South Africa as a mobile workshop support aircraft. ;Type 627 :Viking 1B for Airwork Limited. ;Type 628 :Viking 1B for DDL with two Hercules 634 engines. ;Type 631 :Projected 34-seat variant, not built. ;Type 632 :Viking 1B for Air India with two Hercules 634 engines. ;Type 634 :Viking 1B for Aer Lingus with two Hercules 634 engines. ;Type 635 :Viking 1B for South African Airways with two Hercules 634 engines. ;Type 636 :Viking 1B demonstrator. ;Type 637 :Valletta C1 for the Royal Air Force with two Hercules 230 engines. ;Type 639 :Viking 1 for Hunting Air Transport. ;Type 641 :Viking 1 for Suidair International ;Type 643 :Viking 1 for Suidair International with two Hercules 630 engines. ;Type 644 :Viking 1B for Iraqi Airways. ;Type 649 :Viking 1B for Pakistan Air Force with two Hercules 634 engines.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 502. ;Type 651 :Valetta C1 for the Royal Air Force with two Hercules 634 engines. ;Type 657 :Viking 1A conversions from Type 498 for BSAAC.

Operators

Civil operators

; *

Aerolíneas Argentinas Aerolíneas Argentinas, formally Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., is Argentina's largest airline and the country flag carrier. The airline was created in 1949 from the merger of four companies and started operations in . A consortium led by Iberia ...

* Argentine Civil Aeronautics Board * Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina *

LADE Lade may refer to: People * Brendon Lade (born 1976), an Australian rules footballer * Sir John Lade (1759–1838), a baronet and Regency horse-breeder * Heinrich Eduard von Lade (1817–1904), a German banker and amateur astronomer * The Jarls ...

; * Aero Transport ; * Aviameer Airlines ; * DDL ; *

Misrair Egyptair (Egyptian Arabic: , ') is the state-owned flag carrier of Egypt. The airline is headquartered at Cairo International Airport, its main hub, operating scheduled passenger and freight services to 81 destinations in the Middle East, Europ ...

Taylor 1983, p. 48. ; * Airnautic * Air Dauphine *

Air Inter Air Inter (Lignes Aériennes Intérieures) was a semi-public French domestic airline. Before its merger with Air France, the airline was headquartered in Paray-Vieille-Poste, Essonne.''World Airline Directory''. Flight International. 26 March-1 Apr ...

Air Sahara JetLite was a low-cost subsidiary of Jet Airways. It was formerly known as ''Air Sahara'' until the buyout by Jet Airways which rebranded the airline as JetLite. On April 17, 2019, JetLite grounded all of its flights and ceased all operations ...

Europe Aero Service EAS Europe Airlines was a French airline that operated from 1965 until 1995. Code data * IATA code: EY * ICAO code: EYT * Callsign: Euro Line Company history Europe Aéro Service was a subsidiary of Societé Aero Sahara and began flights ...

* '' Transportes Aeriens Reunis'' ; * Aero Express Flug * Aerotour * ''Colombus Luftreederei'' * ''

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...

'' * ''Deutsche Flugdienst'' *

LTU International LTU, legally incorporated as ''LTU Lufttransport-Unternehmen GmbH'', was a German leisure airline headquartered in Düsseldorf. It operated medium and long-haul routes and maintained hubs at Düsseldorf Airport, Munich Airport and Berlin Tegel Ai ...

* Transavia Flug ; *

Air India Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...

Indian Airlines Indian Airlines was a division of Air India Limited. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after m ...

Indian National Airways Indian National Airways Ltd was an airline based in Delhi, India.Page 15 The founder of the airline was R. E. Grant Govan, a Delhi based British industrialist who also co-founded the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Cricket Club o ...

; *

Iraqi Airways Iraqi Airways Company, operating as Iraqi Airways ( ar, الخطوط الجوية العراقية ''al-Xuṭūṭ al-Jawwiyyah al-ʿIrāqiyyah, Kurdish: ھێڵی ئاسمانی عێراق''), is the national carrier of Iraq, headquartered on ...

* Iraq Petroleum Transport Company ; *

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

; * Kuwait Oil Company ; * ''Bernado Pasquelle'' * Government of Mexico ; (

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

) * ''

Transportes Aéreos da Índia Portuguesa Transportes Aéreos da Índia Portuguesa (Air Transport of Portuguese India) or TAIP was an airline which operated from Portuguese India from 1955 to 1961. During this period, it functioned as the state airline of Portuguese India, which compris ...

'' ; * ''

Governor General of Pakistan The governor-general of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was abolished when Pakistan became an Islamic ...

. Personal plane of Quaid E Azam

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

'' ; *

Protea Airways ''Protea'' () is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes (Afrikaans: ''suikerbos''). Etymology The genus ''Protea'' was named in 1735 by Carl Linnaeus, possibly after the Greek god Proteus, who could change his form a ...

South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operated a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten destin ...

* Suldair International Airways *

Trek Airways Trek Airways was an airline based in South Africa that operated from August 1953 until April 1994. History Founded in 1953 by retired German Generalmajor Friedrich Wilhelm von Mellenthin (1904–1997), Trek Airways was the only South Africa ...

United Airways United Airways (BD) Ltd. (, ), operated as United Airways ( bn, ইউনাইটেড এয়ারওয়েজ), was a Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Uttara, Dhaka. It operated flights from its main hub at Shahjalal Internation ...

; * Central African Airways ; *

Balair Belair, legally ''Belair Airlines Aktiengesellschaft, AG'', was a Switzerland, Swiss charter airline headquartered in Glattbrugg operating out of Zürich Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg. It was a subsidiary of Air Berlin and oper ...

; *

British West Indian Airways BWIA West Indies Airways Limited, known locally as "Bee-Wee" and also as British West Indian Airways and BWIA International, was the national airline based in Trinidad and Tobago. At the end of operations, BWIA was the largest airline operating o ...

Vickers Viking G-APOP Channel Ringway 25

Vickers Viking 1B G-AIVO Eagle Aws Ringway 07

; * African Air Safaris *

Air Ferry An air ferry is a ferry service in which cars and passengers are transported by aircraft. Use of air ferries peaked in the 1950s, but the advent of more economical alternative modes of transport in the 1960s resulted in the demise of these servic ...

* Air Safaris * Airwork Services * Autair * Bembridge Air Hire Limited * BKS Air Transport * Blue-Air *

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...

(used only by BOAC development flight) * Eagle Aviation/Eagle Airways * British International Airlines * British Nederland Airservices *

Channel Airways Channel Airways was a private airline formed in the United Kingdom in 1946 as East Anglian Flying Services. The newly formed airline initially operated aerial joy rides with a single, three-seater aircraft from an airstrip on the Kent coast. Sc ...

* Continental Air Services * Crewsair Limited * Decca Navigator Company * Dragon Airways * Eros Airlines (UK) * Falcon Airways * Field Aircraft Services * First Air Trading Company * Hunting Air Transport *

Hunting-Clan Air Transport Hunting-Clan Air Transport was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that was founded in the immediate post-World War II period.''Aeroplane — Britain's Biggest Independent Airline'', Vol. 102 ...

* Invicta Airways / Invicta International Airways * Independent Air Transport * James Stuart Travel Limited * Maitland Drewery Aviation * Meredith Air Transport * Orion Airways * Overseas Aviation * Pegasus Airlines * Tradair Limited * Trans World Charter * Vendair Limited

Military operators

; *

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falklan ...

- 30 aircraft. One (T-64, ex LV-XFM) used as presidential aircraft from 1948 to 1952. ; *

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

- One Viking C2 in service from 1947 to 1951. **

No. 2 Squadron RAAF No. 2 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron that operates from RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle, New South Wales. From its formation in 1916 as part of the Australian Flying Corps, it has flown a variety of aircraft types ...

No. 34 Squadron RAAF No. 34 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) VIP transport squadron. It operates Boeing 737 Business Jets and Dassault Falcon 7Xs from Defence Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra. The squadron was formed in February 1942 fo ...

; * Arab Legion Air Force *

Royal Jordanian Air Force The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; ar, سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, Silāḥ ul-Jawu al-Malakī 'al-Urdunī) is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces. History Early days Jordan gained independence in 19 ...

; *

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

; *

Empire Test Pilots' School The Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type. T ...

** The King's Flight, RAF

Accidents and incidents

Of the 163 aircraft built 56 aircraft were lost in accidents – the following were some notable accidents: * * * * * * * * * * The aircraft carried 34 boys and 2 members of staff from

The Archbishop Lanfranc School The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy is a coeducational secondary school located in the Thornton Heath area of Croydon, South London, named after Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1070 to 1089. History The school was founded in 1931 as a boy ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. *

Aircraft on display

T-9 Vickers Viking Fuerza Aerea Argentina (7313012018)

Five Vikings survive in

aerospace museum An aviation museum, air museum, or air and space museum is a museum exhibiting the history and artifacts of aviation. In addition to actual, replica or accurate reproduction aircraft, exhibits can include photographs, maps, models, dioramas, cl ...

s worldwide with a sixth extant in Austria: ;Argentina * T-9 – Viking 1B on static display at the

Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica de Argentina The National Aeronautics Museum "Brigadier Edmundo Civati Bernasconi" ( es, Museo Nacional de Aeronáutica) is an Argentine museum located in the city of Morón, Buenos Aires. Established in 1960, the museum is dedicated to the history of aviati ...

Morón, Buenos Aires Morón () is a city in the Argentine province of Buenos Aires, capital of the Morón ''partido'', located in the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area, at . Located 20 km (13 mi) west of Downtown Buenos Aires, Morón is easily reac ...

. ;Austria * G-AGRW – Viking 1A currently stored outdoors at Bad Vöslau airfield, Austria. ;Pakistan * J-750 – Viking 1B on static display at the

Pakistan Air Force Museum Pakistan Air Force Museum Faisal ( ur, ) is an Air Force museum and park situated near ''Karsaz Flyover'' on Shahrah-e-Faisal in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.Karachi, Sindh Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. ;Switzerland * G-AIVG – Viking 1B under restoration to static display by the Vintage Aircraft Club at

EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

. It crashed at Le Bourget Airport on 12 August 1958. It uses undercarriage and other parts from Vickers Valetta VX577 destroyed by fire 24 January 1997. ;South Africa * ZS-DKH – Viking 1A under restoration to static display at the

South African Airways Museum Society The South African Airways Museum Society is an aviation museum based at Rand Airport in Germiston, Gauteng, South Africa. The museum was founded in 1986 and houses a collection of South African Airways memorabilia such as photos and aircraft sc ...

Germiston, Gauteng Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as ...

. ;United Kingdom * G-AGRU – Viking 1A under major long-term restoration while on outdoor display at the Brooklands Museum in

Weybridge, Surrey Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

Specifications (Viking 1B)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography
"Air Commerce: The Southall Accident: Report of the Public Inquiry".
''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 21 August 1959, p. 58. * Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. ''Vickers Aircraft since 1908''. London:Putnam, 1988. . * Bailey-Watson, C. B.
"Vickers Viking"
''Flight'', Vol. XLVII, No. 1900, 24 May 1945. pp. 556a–d, 557. * Bridgman, Leonard. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52''. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd, 1951. * Chorlton, Martyn. "Database: Vickers VC.1 Viking". ''

Aeroplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...

'', Vol. 41, No. 12, Winter 2013. pp. 74–87. . * Green, William and Gerald Pollinger. ''The Aircraft of the World''. London: Macdonald, 1955. * Jackson, A.J. ''British Civil Aircraft 1919–1972: Volume III''. London: Putnam, 1988. . * Martin, Bernard. ''The Viking, Valetta and Varsity''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1975. . * Taylor, H.A. "The Viking... Vickers Commercial One". ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to '' Air International'' maga ...

'', No. 21, April–July 1983, pp. 38–48. .

External links

"First Jet Transport"
a 1948 article in ''Flight''

a 1949 advertisement in ''Flight'' for Rolls-Royce engines {{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers Vc.1 Viking 1940s British airliners VC.01 Viking Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1945 Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft