Vickers VC . 1 Viking The Vickers VC . 1 Viking was a British twin - engine short - range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers - Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey . In the aftermath of the Second World War , the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines pending the development of turboprop aircraft like the Viscount . An experimental airframe was fitted with Rolls - Royce Nene turbojets and first flown in 1948 as the world ' s first pure jet transport aircraft . Design and development . The Ministry of Aircraft Production ordered three prototype " Wellington Transport Aircraft " to Air Ministry Specification 17 / 44 from Vickers - Armstrongs Limited . The specification was for a peacetime requirement for a short - medium haul passenger aircraft . To speed development the aircraft used the wing and undercarriage design from the Wellington but the fuselage was new . Although the original contract referred to Wellington Transport Aircraft , on completion , the name Viking was chosen . The prototype ( designated the Type 491 and registered G - AGOK ) was built by the Vickers Experimental Department at its wartime Foxwarren dispersal site and was first flown by ' Mutt ' Summers at Wisley Airfield on 22 June 1945 . This aircraft crashed on 23 April 1946 due to a double engine failure ; no fatalities occurred as a result of the crash . Following successful trials of the three prototypes the British Overseas Airways Corporation ( BOAC ) ordered 19 aircraft . The first BOAC aircraft flew on 23 March 1946 . The prototypes were then used for trials with the Royal Air Force which lead to orders for military versions ( the Viking C2 ( 12 ordered as freighter / transports ) and modified Valetta C1 ) . The initial 19 production aircraft ( later designated the Viking 1A ) carried 21 passengers , they had metal fuselages and - except for the wing inboard of the nacelles - fabric - clad geodetic wings and tail units . Following feedback from customers , the next 14 examples , known as the Viking 1 , featured stressed - metal wings and tail units . The next variant , the Viking 1B , was 28 in ( 71 cm ) longer , carrying 24 passengers with up - rated Bristol Hercules piston engines , achieved a production run of 115 . One of this batch was changed during production to so that it could be fitted with two Rolls - Royce Nene turbojet engines and upon its first flight on 6 April 1948 became the world ' s first entirely jet - powered airliner albeit only a prototype . In 1948 , on the 39th anniversary of Blériot ' s crossing of the English Channel , the Type 618 Nene - Viking flew Heathrow - Paris ( Villacoublay ) in the morning carrying letters to Bleriot ' s widow and son ( secretary of the FAI ) who met it at the airport . The flight of 222 miles taking only 34 minutes . It then flew back to London in the afternoon . It obtained a maximum speed of at and averaged . In 1954 it was bought from the Ministry of Supply and underwent the substantial conversion to Hercules 634 piston engines by Eagle Aviation to join their fleet . Production finished in 1948 , including 16 for the RAF and the King ' s Flight , but in 1952 BEA adapted some to a 38 - passenger layout , taking the maximum payload up from 5 , 500 - 7 , 200 lb ( 2 , 500 - 3 , 300 kg ) . All Vikings featured a tailwheel undercarriage . The 158th Viking became the prototype of the military Valetta , of which 261 were sold . When production of this strengthened but externally - similar type ended in 1951 , a flying classroom version with tricycle undercarriage was already being delivered to the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) , called the Varsity . All but one of those entered RAF service , the other example going to the Swedish Air Force . The production of 161 Varsities kept the Hurn works busy until January 1954 , and they enjoyed a long service life . Examples are preserved at Brooklands Museum , the Imperial War Museum Duxford and the Newark Air Museum . Operational history . The first Viking was flown from Vickers ' flight test airfield at Wisley , Surrey , by chief test pilot Joseph " Mutt " Summers on 22 June 1945 and the third aircraft built was delivered to BOAC at Hurn near Bournemouth on 20 April 1946 . Upon the delivery of nine examples to BOAC for development flying , including the two remaining prototypes , British European Airways ( BEA ) was established on 1 August 1946 to operate airliners within Europe and these first VC . 1 Vikings were transferred to the new airline . After a trial flight from Northolt to Oslo on 20 August 1946 by the newly formed BEA , the first regular Viking scheduled service commenced between Northolt and Copenhagen on 1 September 1946 . In all 163 Vikings were built . The initials " VC " stood for " Vickers Commercial " , echoing the " VC " precedent set by the earlier Vimy Commercial of 1919 . Vickers soon ceased to use the ' VC ' letters , instead using type numbers in the 49x and 600 series , which indicated the specific customer airline . BEA operated their large fleet of Vikings on many European and UK trunk routes for eight years . From 1951 , the remaining fleet was modified with 36 , instead of 27 seats , and named the " Admiral Class " . BEA operated the Viking until late 1954 , when the last was displaced by the more modern and pressurised Airspeed Ambassador and Vickers Viscount . BEA sold their Vikings to several UK independent airlines for use on their growing scheduled and charter route networks . Some were sold to other European operators . An ex - BEA Viking 1B was fitted out as a VIP aircraft for the Arab Legion Air Force , mainly for the use of the King of Jordan . Most Vikings had been retired from service by the mid - 1960s and the sole surviving example in the UK is owned by Brooklands Museum where it is under long term restoration . Accidents and incidents . Of the 163 aircraft built 56 aircraft were lost in accidents – the following were some notable accidents : Aircraft on display . Several Viking aircraft are on public display in aerospace museum s worldwide , they include :