- Dunn, Robin MacRae.
Vickers Viscount.
North Branch, MN: Specialty Press, 2003.
ISBN 978-1-58007-065-2.
-
Post World War II Britain had few technological and industrial
successes of which to boast: as government administered
industrial policy, sweeping nationalisations, and ascendant
unions gripped the economy, “brain drain” became
the phrase for the era. One bright spot in this dingy
landscape was the world's first turboprop powered airliner,
the
Vickers
Viscount. Less ambitious than its contemporary, the
turbojet powered
De Havilland Comet, it escaped the tragic fate
which befell early models of that design and caused it to
lose out to competitors which entered the market much later.
Despite its conventional appearance and being equipped with
propellers, the Viscount represented a genuine revolution in
air transport. Its turbine engines were vastly more reliable
than the finicky piston powerplants of contemporary
airliners, and provided its passengers a much quieter ride,
faster speed, and the ability to fly above much of the bumpy
weather. Its performance combined efficiency in the European
short hop market for which it was intended with a maximum
range (as much as 2,450 miles for some models with optional
fuel tanks) which allowed it to operate on many intercontinental
routes.
From the first flight of the prototype in July 1948 through
entry into regular scheduled airline service in April 1953,
the Viscount pioneered and defined turboprop powered
air transport. From the start, the plane was popular with
airlines and their passengers, with a total of 445 being
sold. Some airlines ended up buying other equipment simply
because demand for Viscounts meant they could not obtain delivery
positions as quickly as they required. The Viscount flew for
a long list of operators in the primary and secondary market,
and was adapted as a freighter, high-density holiday charter
plane, and VIP and corporate transport. Its last passenger
flight in the U.K. took place on April 18th, 1996, the 43rd
anniversary of its entry into service.
This lavishly illustrated book tells the story of the Viscount
from concept through retirement of the last exemplars.
A guide helps sort through the bewildering list of
model numbers assigned to variants of the basic design, and
comparative specifications of the principal models
are provided. Although every bit as significant a breakthrough
in propulsion as the turbojet, the turboprop powered Viscount
never had the glamour of the faster planes without propellers.
But they got their passengers to their destinations quickly,
safely, and made money for the airlines delivering them
there, which is all one can ask of an airliner, and made
the Viscount a milestone in British aeronautical engineering.
April 2009 