Vickers 618 Nene Viking

1948

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Vickers 618 Nene Viking

While the first Nene-Lancastrian can be dubbed 'the world's first jet airliner' only in that in 1946 it took passengers for rides in an uncanny near-silence, and with a total lack of the vibration to which airline travellers were then used (with its surplus piston engines switched off). It could not really be called an airliner at all but only an engine testbed. The Nene-Viking was a different proposition. It has also been called 'the first jet airliner' but with much more justification.

It was a true airliner, designed from the start as a civil transport and in its normal form, powered by piston engines. At an early stage in the programme the Ministry of Supply, then the government procurement agency for aircraft, decided to order one Viking with turbojets instead of the usual Hercules sleeve-valve radial piston engines. This was partly in order to assist general development of jet airliners, and see what problems might arise, and partly to furnish ministers and officials with a comfortable executive transport.

The 107th airframe on the Weybridge production line was set aside, and the designers schemed a series of major changes. The existing nacelles were replaced by completely new jet pods each housing a Rolls-Royce Nene, with the trailing edge of the wing extended at the rear to fair smoothly into the top of the pod. The Vickers main landing gears were of a totally new type, designed only for this aircraft, with four separate short legs each carrying a wheel which retracted to lie on each side of the jet pipe inside the nacelle. Unlike other Vikings the elevators were skinned with metal, and the metal skin on the wings and tailplane was made thicker than normal. There were also changes to the cockpit, fuel system and other items.

Chief test pilot J 'Mutt' Summers flew the Type 618 Nene-Viking from Wisley on April 6, 1948. At different times it bore civil registration G-AJPH and Ministry serial VX856. On the 39th anniversary of Bleriot's crossing of the Channel, on July 25, 1948, the Nene-Viking loaded with passengers (24 was the usual maximum) at London Heathrow and flew them in great comfort to Villacoublay, Paris, in 34 min 7 sec, less than half the regular scheduled time and faster than a previous record set by a Spitfire. Six years later it was sold to Eagle Aviation and rebuilt as an ordinary Viking IB freighter, with Hercules engines, and put into service as Lord Dundonald on September 24, 1954.

Bill Gunston "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Commercial Aircraft", 1980

Vickers 618 Nene Viking

Specification 
 CREW4
 ENGINE2 x 2268kg Rolls-Royce Nene I turbojets
 WEIGHTS
  Take-off weight15196 kg33502 lb
  Empty weight9548 kg21050 lb
 DIMENSIONS
  Wingspan27.2 m89 ft 3 in
  Length19.86 m65 ft 2 in
  Height5.94 m20 ft 6 in
  Wing area81.93 m2881.89 sq ft
 PERFORMANCE
  Max. speed753 km/h468 mph
  Cruise speed632 km/h393 mph
  Range555 km345 miles

3-View 
Vickers 618 Nene VikingA three-view drawing (904 x 1380)

Comments
David, e-mail, 16.02.2020 12:50

I flew in a prop Viking on my 10th birthday, from Blackbushe to Perpignan in France. I wish the Nene Viking had been developed further, as that trip trip took many hours. I guess it would have needed tricycle landing gear at some point, to reduce ground damage.

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vivian kitchener, e-mail, 23.06.2017 19:49

dear charlie i well remember this aircraft landing at henlow [my father was a air ministry police]and he took me to see it,people where amazed at the burm marks in the grass,i only wish i had the photos now.did it end up in a pit or something like that?

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Neil, e-mail, 11.03.2021 vivian kitchener

Unfortunately it was converted back to a propeller Viking and used as a cargo transport.

Shame really with an extended fuselage, greater fuel capacity and tripod gear it could have been the basis for a viable production medium haul liner

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carl BUTLER, e-mail, 03.01.2017 19:04

It was a problem because it had a tail wheel; so taxing, take off & landing the tail plane & elevators were subject to damage.

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Sqn Ldr George Shelley RAF(Ret, e-mail, 25.06.2014 22:56

As a Rolls Royce Apprentice at Hucknall, Notts., working in the Exhaust System Development Section, I flew in this aircraft with my Section Leader Ken Bagshaw in July 1948 making noise measurement tests for comparison with the Radial Engined version of the Viking. The pilot was Joseph(Mutt) Summers. If anyone has details of this flight ie date and duration of flight would they please get in touch. Thanks.

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Phil Johns, e-mail, 16.07.2023 Sqn Ldr George Shelley RAF(Ret

I was an apprentice at Eagle Aircraft Services at Blackbushe and flew in G-AJPH from Blackbushe to London Airport. This was after the conversion to a piston engine. The airfame was retired from service in the late 60s and broken up and put in a sand pit near Heathrow.

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gray Stanback, e-mail, 22.12.2010 21:24

Why didn't they make a production model of the Viking with Nene engines?

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Charlie, e-mail, 15.10.2010 04:58

I had read some stories about those early jetliners that were the Nene-Viking, the Tay-Viscount and the Avro Jetliner in some non-remembered websites. In contrast, I found considerably few and low quality images of them and would highly appreciate to be addressed to other websites where I could find more. Please feel free to send messages and shortcuts to my e-mail address if you know where those images can be found. Yours faithfully, Charlie

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