Vickers Super VC10

Vickers · UK · first flew 1964 · airliner

The Super VC10 is the stretched variant of the Vickers VC10, with a fuselage nearly 4 m longer than the Standard, giving it capacity for up to 187 passengers on high-density routes.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, swept
E — Engines	4 × turbofan, fuselage-mounted
F — Fuselage	Fuselage 3.96 m longer than the Standard VC10 — visually slimmer and longer when parked alongside
T — Tail	T-tail

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Spot it by:

Fuselage 3.96 m longer than the Standard VC10 — visually slimmer and longer when parked alongside
Additional forward upper-deck emergency exits (4 per side vs 3) and enlarged overwing exits
Operated exclusively by BOAC/British Caledonian; civil registration with 'Super VC10' titling

Longer fuselage than the Standard VC10 with more overwing exit windows; both share the signature four rear-mounted engines and T-tail but the Super's fuselage proportions are visibly more slender.

Specifications

The Vickers Super VC10 has a length of 52.32 m (172 ft).
It has a wingspan of 44.55 m (146 ft).
Its maximum speed is 933 km/h (580 mph).
Typical crew: 4.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Ordered exclusively by BOAC, the Super VC10 entered service in 1965 and flew transatlantic and Commonwealth routes until BOAC's merger into British Airways; some were later converted to RAF tankers.

Variants

The Type 1151 was the BOAC Super VC10; ex-BOAC and East African aircraft were converted to VC10 K.4 tanker standard for the RAF.

Where you'll see it

British Airways retired the Super VC10 in 1981; several examples were then converted to RAF K.3 and K.4 tankers and served into the 2000s.

Related aircraft

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