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Colin Higgs

“A first-rate review of the history of the world's first commercial jetliner, its early difficulties and their rectification” (Firetrench).

 The world got a little smaller in July 1949 when the first jet-powered airliner took to the skies barely four years after the end of the Second World War.

 Not only was the de Havilland Comet 1 was a lot faster than previous airliners, but it could also fly higher and further. It was packed with new technology but, perhaps most importantly for those early passengers, it was a quiet, luxurious, and even pleasant experience, something that could never be said for the noisy piston-engine aircraft that came before.

 The Comet’s leadership in jet travel for the future was assured until aircraft began crashing. The first ones were put down to pilot error but two disastrous events in 1954 grounded the fleet and Britain’s advantage over the rest of the world was lost. Boeing caught up with its ubiquitous 707 and the Comet was destined to become but a memory.

 However, rising from the ashes came a new Comet—one that was bigger and more powerful than before and designed for completely different roles. Where the first Comets had provided an expensive and plush way to travel for the rich few, the new Comet 4s carried more passengers to a multitude of destinations inevitably becoming key carriers for the early package holidaymakers. At the same time, they became vital strategic transports for the RAF as the British Empire receded.

 This book tells the full story of the world’s first jet-powered airliner, from its remarkable beginnings, through its early flight trials programme to its entry into service. The type’s military career is also covered, as is its construction; also included in this volume are details of the numerous variants produced and those still surviving as exhibits today.

Air World

World's Greatest Airliners

De Havilland Comet: The World's First Commercial Jetliner

Nick Stroud

By some margin the most successful British medium-range airliner ever produced, the world-beating Viscount was a sublime combination of Vickers state-of-the-art postwar design and Rolls-Royces cutting-edge power-plant technology, both companies being at the very peak of their powers during the types genesis and evolution. 

Tracing its origins back to the wartime Brabazon Committee, the Viscount was one of several designs from various British aircraft manufacturers produced to fulfil the committees specifications for a fast, economical short- to medium-range airliner to satisfy the demands of the burgeoning postwar civil aviation market, which was predicted to grow at a healthy rate over the following decades. 

Vickers chief designer and Managing Director George Edwards was quick to respond, the result being the Dart turboprop-powered Vickers V.630, which made its first flight in July 1948, despite its future looking uncertain after British European Airways having twenty examples of ordered its chief rival, Airspeeds Ambassador, six months before. The Viscount nevertheless entered full service with BEA in 1953, much to the relief of its manufacturer, orders flooding in thereafter from numerous airlines and air forces all over the world. 

Ultimately, some 200 individual airlines, companies and organizations in more than eighty countries operated the dependable and, crucially, development-friendly Viscount over its long and distinguished career. This book tells the full story of the worlds first turboprop airliner, from its Brabazon Committee beginnings, through its early flight trials program and entry into service, to its almost unassailable position as the worlds number one medium-haul turboprop, including its astonishing breakthrough in the USA, where it single-handedly broke the big American manufacturers stranglehold on the airliner market. 

The types military career is also covered, as is its construction; also included in this volume are details of the numerous variants produced and those of the 444 built still surviving as exhibits today, along with twenty-four superb artworks by world-renowned aviation illustrator Juanita Franzi.

The Vickers Viscount: The World's First Turboprop Airliner