26 April 2024
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Viscount Survivors

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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Featured pages

Our website contains over 20,000 pages of photos and information that can all be accessed from the menu at the top of every page. Here are a few to get you started.


In the Beginning

The Turboprop World-Beater

Sir George Edwards

The Rolls-Royce Dart

c/n 1 G-AHRF V.630
The Prototype Viscount

c/n 2 VX217 V.663
The Tay powered Viscount

c/n 3 G-AMAV V.700
The V.700 series prototype

c/n 4 G-ALWE V.701
The first BEA Viscount

c/n 5 G-ALWF V.701
The oldest surviving Viscount

c/n 8 F-BGNK V.708
The first Air France Viscount

c/n 30 EI-AFV V.707
The first Aer Lingus Viscount

c/n 40 CF-TGI V.724
The first TCA Viscount

c/n 44 VH-TVA V.720
The first TAA Viscount

c/n 67 YI-ACK V.735
The first Iraqi Airways Viscount

c/n 70 CF-GXK V.737
The first Canadian DoT Viscount

c/n 71 VP-TBK V.702
The first BOAC Associated
Companies Viscount

c/n 74 G-ANRR V.732
The first Hunting-Clan Viscount

c/n 77 LN-FOF V.736
The first Fred Olsen Viscount

c/n 79 IU-683 V.723
The first Indian Air Force Viscount

c/n 88 N7402 V.744
The first Capital Airlines Viscount

c/n 97 VH-BAT V.747
The first Butler Air
Transport Viscount


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

Viscount c/n 66

Operational Record

Photo of Viscount c/n 66
British European Airways Corporation (BEA)


England flag England

This V.701C series Viscount was built for
British European Airways Corporation (BEA) as G-ANHF

It first flew on Monday, 4 July 1955 at Hurn, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England powered by Rolls-Royce Dart 506 engines.

Photo of Viscount c/n 66
Viação Aérea São Paulo SA (VASP)


Brasil flag Brasil

Its final owner/operator was
Viação Aérea São Paulo SA (VASP) as PP-SRR.

Its fate:-
Crashed at Friburgo near the summit of Mount Nova Caledonia, Brasil at an altitude of 6,500 feet on approach to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil 4 September 1964.

The flight had taken off from Goiabeiras Airport, Vitoria, Brasil at 18:45 GMT and climbed to 1,800 metres. At 19:33 the crew reported over Rio Bonito in instrument meteorological conditions. At this point the aircraft was actually near Nova Friburgo, 43 km from Rio Bonito. The aircraft crashed into the west slope of Pico da Caledonia at about 1,950 metres. The crash site was 35 km off the intended route.

The subsequent investigation could not establish why the aircraft was so far off course.


Operational record
Photo of Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd Viscount G-ANHF

Country of Registration United Kingdom

December 1953 to June 1955

Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd

G-ANHF - c/n 66 - a V.701C series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

August 1949
Discussions concluded between Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd and British European Airways Corporation (BEA) regarding the specification for the V.701 aircraft.

Accommodation for 47 passengers at a gross weight of 53,000 lbs was specified.

3 August 1950
Order placed by British European Airways Corporation (BEA) for 20 V.701 aircraft which was later increased to 26.

This was the 26th V.701 Viscount ordered by British European Airways Corporation (BEA).

12 December 1953
Registered to Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd.

Production Aircraft No. 65 - the 65th production V.700 series Viscount built,
was the 28th Viscount fuselage assembled at Hurn, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England,
and the 35th Viscount assembled at Hurn, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

Production Order No. F06/701C. Sales Order No. F06/87A. Stock Order No. F15/22B.

6 December 1954
Fuselage assembly commenced at Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

6 January 1955
Fuselage to Erecting Shop 'E' at Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

21 June 1955
Registration to Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd cancelled.

28 June 1955
Registered to British European Airways Corporation (BEA).


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

Country of Registration United Kingdom

June 1955 to August 1962

British European Airways Corporation (BEA)

G-ANHF - c/n 66 - a V.701C series Viscount
United Kingdom registered

28 June 1955
Registered to British European Airways Corporation (BEA), Bealine House, Ruislip, Middlesex.

4 July 1955
First flight from Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

11 July 1955
Certificate of Airworthiness issued.

11 July 1955
Delivered to British European Airways (BEA) named as 'R M A Matthew Flinders'.

Englishman Matthew Flinders was a Royal Navy Captain who was a navigator and cartographer and was the leader of the first circumnavigation of Australia on board H.M.S. Investigator, which was completed in 1803. This voyage, which took nearly two years identified Australia as a continent. He made three voyages to the southern ocean between 1791 and 1810. He was born in Lincolnshire 16 March 1774 and died in London 19 July 1814.

Trans-Australia Airlines (TAA) also named Viscount VH-TVI (C/N 147) after him.

It was fitted with Rolls-Royce Dart RDa3 Mark 506 engines and designated as a Type 701C.

This was the first Viscount delivered to BEA with a new standard of flush ventral cabin air intake fitted on the rear fuselage underside. This modification was fitted to model V.720, V.724 and all subsequent Viscounts, and saw the removal of the prominent ventral cabin air intake on the fuselage underside. This also applied to G-AOFX (C/N 182).

1954 to 1962
The original ‘cutlass’ design propeller blades were gradually replaced by new symmetrical ‘needle’ blade propeller sets.

From photographic evidence, both propeller types were fitted to Rolls-Royce Dart RDa3, Mark 505 and Mark 506 engines and many aircraft flew with an ‘intermix’ of both types of propeller blades.

2 January 1956
Three engines failed due to fuel contamination with water while en-route from Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain to London Airport (Heathrow), Middlesex, England.

The flight had originated in Gibraltar. The aircraft was 70 nautical miles from Bordeaux, France at the time over the Bay of Biscay.

The crew managed to land at the military airfield of Cazaux on the west coast of France.

The flight crew, Captain E R Watts and First Officer D Haigh were both awarded the Queen’s Commendation for valuable services in the air.

7 January 1956
Noted at Blackbushe Airport, Hampshire, England due to a London Airport (Heathrow) weather diversion.

From May 1958
Converted from 40/47 seats to 60/63 seats in a new high density configuration. This modification included the installation of an 11th standard size window on the rear starboard side and a small window behind the rear entrance door on the port side of the aircraft.

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

10 January 1959
Noted at Blackbushe Airport, Hampshire, England due to a London Airport (Heathrow) weather diversion.

26 January 1959
Noted at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England due to a London Airport (Heathrow) weather diversion.

28 January 1959
Noted at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England due to a London Airport (Heathrow) weather diversion.

29 January 1959
Noted at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England due to a London Airport (Heathrow) weather diversion.

March 1959
A new BEA 'Red Square' livery was adopted and aircraft were repainted during the early 1960s when they next went in for overhaul.

Sadly, after repainting, the aircraft no longer carried a name including the nameplate on the forward cabin bulkhead.

31 March 1959
BEA annual report quotes a total flying time of 9,138 hours.

8 October 1959
Noted at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England carrying out multiple ILS approaches and overshoots.

1 April 1961
Operated the first BEA Viscount service from Jersey Airport, Channel Islands to Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.

July 1961
Noted at Renfrew Airport, Glasgow, Scotland now repainted in the new 'Red Square' livery.

30 August 1962
Sold to Viação Aérea São Paulo SA (VASP).

Total time 15,682 hours.

FURTHER READING: Books about BEA - British European Airways



Photo of Viação Aérea São Paulo SA (VASP) Viscount PP-SRR

Country of Registration Brasil

August 1962 to September 1964

Viação Aérea São Paulo SA (VASP)

PP-SRR - c/n 66 - a V.701C series Viscount
Brasil registered

30 August 1962
Purchased from British European Airways Corporation (BEA) along with nine other V.701 from the fleet.

The package deal including spare parts came to a total of £1,550.000 with an initial deposit of £310,000 and the remainder repaid over three years at an interest rate of 6%.

These Viscounts were obtained instead of an uncompleted order for new Handley Page HPR.7 Dart Heralds due to production delays and were used to replace the Saab Scanias.

25 July 1963
Departed on delivery from London Airport (later known as Heathrow), Middlesex, England via Prestwick Airport, Ayrshire, Scotland in full VASP livery together with Viscount PP-SRS (C/N 182).

25 July 1963
UK registration cancelled as aircraft sold abroad.

4 September 1964
Crashed at Friburgo near the summit of Mount Nova Caledonia, Brasil at an altitude of 6,500 feet on approach to Santos-Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

The flight had taken off from Goiabeiras Airport, Vitoria, Brasil at 18:45 GMT and climbed to 1,800 metres. At 19:33 the crew reported over Rio Bonito in instrument meteorological conditions. At this point the aircraft was actually near Nova Friburgo, 43 km from Rio Bonito. The aircraft crashed into the west slope of Pico da Caledonia at about 1,950 metres.

The flight originated from Recife via Vitoria and would have gone on to São Paulo. All of the 5 crew and 34 Passengers perished. The crash site was 35 km off the intended route. The subsequent investigation could not establish why the aircraft was so far off course.

Total time 17,165 hours and 11,000 total landings.


Photo of BEA - British European Airways Viscount G-AOJC

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