27 April 2024
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Viscount Survivors


59 of the 444 Viscounts built survive as complete airframes or major components. Some are in very good condition and are looked after by museums while others are just wrecks. They can be found in 24 countries.

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Established 2005
Vickers Viscount Network
A Virtual Museum dedicated to the Vickers-Armstrongs VC2 Viscount
   

Viscount c/n 30

Operational Record

Photo of Viscount c/n 30
Aer Lingus - Irish International Airlines


Ireland flag Ireland

This V.707 series Viscount was built for
Aer Lingus - Irish International Airlines as EI-AFV

It first flew on Saturday, 30 January 1954 at Hurn, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England powered by Rolls-Royce Dart 506 engines.


During its life this aircraft was also owned and/or operated by
Tradair Ltd, British European Airways (BEA), Starways Ltd, Aviation Overhauls Ltd, British Eagle International Airlines Ltd, and BKS Air Transport Ltd.


Photo of Viscount c/n 30
Channel Airways


England flag England

Its final owner/operator was
Channel Airways as G-APZB.

Its fate:-
Withdrawn from service by Channel Airways and stored at Southend Airport, Rochford, Essex, England in May 1968.

Broken up for scrap in February 1970.


Operational record
Photo of Aer Lingus - Irish International Airlines Viscount EI-AFV

Country of Registration Ireland

March 1954 to January 1960

Aer Lingus - Irish International Airlines

EI-AFV - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
Ireland registered

February 1951
Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd announced that Aer Lingus were negotiating the purchase of four Type 700 series aircraft.

9 November 1951
An order was placed by Aer Lingus for four Type 707 aircraft which would have a two crew cockpit and a 48 seat cabin.

The order for these four aircraft was worth £800,000.

At that time British European Airways Corporation (BEA) held a 30% stake in the airline.

Production Aircraft No. 27 - the 27th production Type 700 series Viscount built,
was the 1st Viscount fuselage assembled at Hurn, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England,
and the 3rd Viscount assembled at Hurn, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

Production Order No. F01/707. Sales Order No. F01/86A. Stock Order No. F09/21B.

15 June 1953
Fuselage assembly commenced at Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

16 September 1953
Fuselage to Erecting Shop 'E' at Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

14 January 1954
Engine ground running commenced.

30 January 1954
First flight from Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

7 March 1954
Departed at 10:30 local time on delivery to Aer Lingus named as 'St Patrick' / 'St Pádraig' together with EI-AFW (C/N 31) as their first Viscounts.

The flight to Dublin was flown by Captain R N White.

Passengers on board for this delivery flight included Vickers Managing Director George Edwards, his assistant Charles Gardiner, Vickers General Manager T Gammon and Hurn Manager E C Tullett. Aer Lingus Director J J O'Leary and Deputy General Manager Captain J C Kelly-Rogers were also on board.

On delivery it was fitted with Rolls-Royce Dart RDa3 Mark 506 engines with serial numbers 1164 and 1165 on the port side, and 1166 and 1167 on the starboard side.

8 March 1954
Departed from Dublin at 09:10 local time to London Airport (Heathrow) returning the Vickers management to the UK.

22 March 1954
Departed from Dublin at 15:30 local time on a demonstration flight carrying Government officials and business leaders. The flight lasted for 30 minutes.

24 March 1954
Departed from Dublin on a demonstration flight carrying 35 press representatives. The flight lasted for 1 hour.

25 March 1954
Departed from Dublin on a demonstration flight to Shannon Airport and return carrying 43 press representatives.

18 March 1955
Temporarily withdrawn from service after the crash of BEA Type 701 G-ALWE (C/N 4) and replaced by two Douglas DC-3 aircraft on their routes.

22 March 1955
The Type 707 fleet returned to service after the completion of flap modification work.

23 July 1955
Noted at Blackbushe Airport, Hampshire, England.

Painted in the Aer Lingus 'green top' livery.
Aer Lingus 'green top' livery

1955
The cabin seating capacity was increased from 48 to 53.

1955/1956
Painted in the Aer Lingus 'green top' livery that had a Winchester green cabin roof and an English green cockpit roof. The rudder was all white.

circa 1957
The word 'Viscount' was added to the cabin roof.

January 1958
Ferried to Teversham Airport, Cambridge, England for wing spar replacement work by Mashall's in order to extend the cycle fatigue life.

March 1958
Returned to service.

April 1958

Renamed as 'St Garan' and later as 'St Colmcille'.

23 December 1958
Noted at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England due to a London Airport (Heathrow) weather diversion.

April 1959
Withdrawn from service at Collinstown Airport, Dublin, Ireland on the North Apron.

Later on it was ferried to Teversham Airport, Cambridge, England for storage together with Viscounts EI-AFY (C/N 32) and EI-AGI (C/N 34).

They were cared for by Marshall's.

Total time 8,633 hours.

circa October 1959
Aer Lingus considered converting this aircraft and EI-AFV (C/N 30) and EI-AGI (C/N 34) to carry freight to replace their Douglas DC-3 freight fleet, but nothing came of it.

Aer Lingus advert selling four V.707 series Viscounts Artwork by Willem M van Velzen


1 January 1960
Sold to Tradair Ltd.

FURTHER READING: Books about Aer Lingus



Photo of Tradair Ltd Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

January 1960 to November 1962

Tradair Ltd

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

1 January 1960
Purchased from Aer Lingus and registered.

31 January 1960
Departed from Collinstown Airport, Dublin, Ireland on a local acceptance test flight.

1 February 1960
Registered to Tradair Ltd and departed from Collinstown Airport, Dublin, Ireland on delivery to Southend Airport, Rochford, Essex, England together with G-APZC (C/N 34).

It was still in full Aer Lingus livery and still carrying the Irish registration.

1 February 1960
Irish registration cancelled after the aircraft arrived at Southend.

UK Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA) issued.

12 February 1960
Entered service on a charter from Southend to Copenhagen, Denmark and then returned to Stansted to operate a charter to Amsterdam, Netherlands.

David Carter illustration of Tradair Viscount G-APZB

Viscount illustrations by David Carter


12 April 1960
Departed from Southend to Berlin to begin a series of summer season 'Inclusive Tour' charters to destinations including Barcelona, Naples, Palma and Rimini with the support of G-APZC (C/N 34).

During the summer the Viscounts also operated 'Inclusive Tour' charters from Southend to Naples (via Lyon), Nice, Oporto, Palma, Pisa, Rimini, Rome, Treviso and Turin.

29 September 1960
Operated the first of a weekly 'Inclusive Tour' charter from Southend to Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spanish Territory. During the winter it was changed to a fortnightly service.

2 November 1961
Withdrawn from service and stored at Southend Airport, Rochford, Essex, England.

4 October 1962
Test flown at Southend Airport, Rochford, Essex, England after the storage period.

7 October 1962
Leased to British European Airways (BEA).


Photo of British European Airways Corporation (BEA) Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

October 1962 to November 1962

British European Airways Corporation (BEA)

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

7 October 1962
Leased from Tradair Ltd in full Tradair livery as a replacement for G-APZC (C/N 34).

It was then flown to Hannover and operated on the West German internal services to Berlin.

1 November 1962
Returned to Tradair Ltd.

FURTHER READING: Books about BEA - British European Airways



Photo of Tradair Ltd Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

November 1962 to November 1962

Tradair Ltd

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

1 November 1962
Returned from British European Airways (BEA) after a short lease period.

21 November 1962
Sold to Starways Ltd.


Photo of Starways Ltd Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

November 1962 to January 1964

Starways Ltd

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

21 November 1962
Purchased from Tradair Ltd.

12 December 1962
Noted at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England due to a London Airport (Heathrow) weather diversion.

10 August 1963
Noted at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England due to a Ringway Airport, Manchester weather diversion.

29 August 1963
Noted at Speke Airport, Liverpool, England being used by the BBC to film the Beatles pop group.

They were faking an airport arrival scene for the documentary 'The Mersey Sound'.

31 December 1963
Operated the last Starways service from London to Liverpool via Hawarden.

1 January 1964
Transferred to Aviation Overhauls Ltd.


Photo of Aviation Overhauls Ltd Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

January 1964 to June 1964

Aviation Overhauls Ltd

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

1 January 1964
Transferred from Starways Ltd.

Aviation Overhauls Ltd was set up by the former directors of Starways Ltd.

25 May 1964
Registered to Aviation Overhauls Ltd.

3 June 1964
Leased to British Eagle International Airlines Ltd.


Photo of British Eagle International Airlines Ltd Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

June 1964 to November 1964

British Eagle International Airlines Ltd

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

3 June 1964
Leased from Aviation Overhauls Ltd in full livery.

July 1964
Noted named as 'City of Newcastle'.

November 1964
Returned to Aviation Overhauls Ltd.


Photo of Aviation Overhauls Ltd Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

November 1964 to November 1964

Aviation Overhauls Ltd

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

November 1964
Returned from British Eagle International Airlines Ltd lease.

5 November 1964
Sold to Channel Airways.


Photo of Channel Airways Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

November 1964 to January 1965

Channel Airways

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

5 November 1964
Purchased from Aviation Overhauls Ltd and ferried to Southend Airport, Rochford, Essex, England from Liverpool.

17 November 1964
Registered to Channel Airways.

16 January 1965
Entered service after an overhaul on a service to Munich, West Germany.

20 January 1965
Leased to British Eagle International Airlines Ltd.


Photo of British Eagle International Airlines Ltd Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

January 1965 to April 1965

British Eagle International Airlines Ltd

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

20 January 1965
Leased from Channel Airways in full livery named as 'City of Manchester'.

1 April 1965
Returned to Channel Airways.


Photo of Channel Airways Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

April 1965 to July 1967

Channel Airways

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

1 April 1965
Returned from British Eagle International Airlines Ltd lease and initially returned to service in a basic British Eagle livery less titles.

circa July 1965
Repainted in full Channel Airways livery.

6 July 1967
Leased to BKS Air Transport Ltd.


Photo of BKS Air Transport Ltd Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

July 1967 to July 1967

BKS Air Transport Ltd

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

6 July 1967
Leased from Channel Airways, still in full Channel livery and delivered to Leeds / Bradford Airport.

BKS relates to the surnames of three company directors: - James W Barnby, Thomas D Keegan, and Cyril Stevens.

19 July 1967
Returned to Channel Airways.


Photo of Channel Airways Viscount G-APZB

Country of Registration United Kingdom

July 1967 to February 1970

Channel Airways

G-APZB - c/n 30 - a V.707 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

19 July 1967
Returned from BKS Air Transport Ltd lease.

28 October 1967
Withdrawn from service and stored at Southend Airport, Rochford, Essex, England after a service from Jersey, Channel Islands.

Total time 16,268 hours and 11,867 total landings.

A proposed sale/lease to Irelfly was not completed.

12 May 1968
Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA) expired.

February 1970
Broken up for scrap.

26 February 1970
Registration cancelled as aircraft destroyed.


Photo of BEA - British European Airways Viscount G-AOJC

The Vickers Viscount Network is always interested to hear from anyone who has information or photographs to help complete the story of the Viscount. If you can help please contact us at
Information@VickersViscount.net.


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This website has been designed, built and is maintained by Geoff Blampied, Norwich, Norfolk, England.