Vickers Vanguard

The Vickers Vanguard is a short/medium-range turboprop airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs. The Vanguard was developed during the mid-to-late 1950s in response to a specification issued by British European Airways (BEA) for a 100-seat airliner; Vickers decided to design such an airliner as a follow-up to the existing Viscount series, the principal difference from which being an expanded airframe that provided considerably more internal volume. Another key innovation was the Tyne engine, which was roughly twice as powerful as the Viscount's Rolls-Royce Dart engine, and allowed for increases in both cruising speed and altitude. Throughout the design process, the needs of two airlines, BEA and Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA), heavily shaped the Vanguard's specifics. The Vanguard was brought into revenue service on 17 December 1960, around the same time as the commercial availability of a new generation of jet-powered airliners; as a result, these competitors quickly overshadowed its performance and led to the type being largely ignored by the market. Only 44 aircraft were ever built, the type having been ordered by BEA and TCA. After only about ten years' service, TCA experimentally converted one of its Vanguards to a freighter configuration, calling it the Cargoliner. Considered to be a success, the majority of Vanguards were converted into freighters during the early 1970s, those from BEA becoming the Merchantman. As a freighter, the type remained in service for many years, the final example being retired in 1996.