Vickers Vanguard
Vickers-Armstrongs · United Kingdom · first flew 1959 · airliner
The Viscount's big four-turboprop successor — arriving just as jets stole the show.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 4 × turboprop, wing-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | Deep double-bubble fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Four big turboprops on a low straight wing
- Deep double-bubble fuselage
- Tall rounded fin
Four large turboprops on a straight low wing with a notably deep, portly fuselage — bulkier than a Britannia — and a tall round-topped fin. The engine note is a distinctive deep drone.
Specifications
- The Vickers Vanguard has a length of 37.45 m (123 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 36.15 m (119 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 684 km/h (425 mph).
- Typical crew: 3 flight crew.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Vickers scaled up its world-beating Viscount into the 100-seat Vanguard, first flown in 1959 for BEA and Trans-Canada. Economically superb but commercially doomed, it appeared exactly as passengers switched allegiance to jets, and only 44 were built.
Variants
BEA's V.951/953 and Canada's V.952 differed in weights and interiors. Many were later converted to Merchantman freighters, which hauled cargo into the 1990s.
Where you'll see it
A British type through and through — BEA flew Vanguards on trunk domestic routes, and Merchantman freighters served from East Midlands for years. A complete example is preserved at Brooklands, its birthplace.
Related aircraft
- Vickers VC10
- Vickers Viscount 800
- Vickers VC10 C.1
- Vickers Valiant
- Antonov An-24
- Boeing 720
- Convair CV-880
- Baade 152
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