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AVIATION ARCHIVE
Classic British
Propliners
G
NCLUDIN
I
Viscount
Brabazon
Argosy
Britannia
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INTRODUCTION
3
Classic British Propliners
T
here are few sights and sounds in
aviation more evocative than a classic
propliner in full flight… and there
was no better time and place to witness
these glorious machines than in post-war
Britain. This was the golden age of the props,
when the aircraft that plied the airways
represented the zenith of piston-powered
technology, hotly pursued by the new
‘fangled’ turboprop. But sadly the glory was
to be short lived...
The post-war years were an exciting but
troubled time for the British airliner industry.
It was battling to wrest control of the skies
away from the dominance of the giant US
conglomerates, but it was hamstrung by
decisions made by the infamous Brabazon
Committee. Set up in 1943 to safeguard
the very survival of the airliner industry in
peacetime, the Committee’s thinking was both
expansive and conservative, though misguided on both counts. For a
committee buried in the 1940s, jet travel was just too futuristic to be
fully trusted. Instead it championed the proven piston-engine, backed
up, somewhat reluctantly, by the ‘go-between’ turboprop, a hybrid of
both propeller and jet power. Unwittingly, it had struck the death knell
for the future of the British aviation industry. But in the meantime, it
left us with a legacy of wonderfully exotic machines that demonstrated
the very best and worst of British ingenuity and eccentricity. Without
Lord Brabazon and his committee, we would not have seen the like of
the world’s first true ‘jumbo’ in the shape of the narcissistically-named
Brabazon, the eight-engined giant that was an engineering marvel, yet
outmoded at the same time. Another gargantuan crowd pleaser was the
Princess flying boat, a machine that again was doomed even before the
first rivet had been hammered into its sublime hull. But it was not all bad.
Vickers produced a true record-breaking winner in its beautiful Viscount,
the world’s first turboprop airliner to enter service. And who could not
be impressed by the majesty of the Britannia, an aircraft so divine that it
virtually named itself? Meanwhile, the British manufacturers were busy
producing a plethora of imaginative propeller-driven aircraft to supply
the burgeoning number of airlines around the world. Many filled a niche
market, serving ‘parts that other aircraft could not reach’, while others
strove to be the next DC-3, a ubiquitous jack of all trades. But the window
of opportunity was brief… competition was hotting up (literally) and
the first generation of pure jet airliners quickly seduced the masses. The
elitism of air travel was no more and the throbbing sound of the big
propliner died alongside it, the dinosaurs of another era. But despite
their antiquity, or perhaps because of it, there is one characteristic that all
the propliners of old had, that the current crop of computer-generated
machines would die for… charisma. Now that is what makes a true classic.
Allan Burney
AVIATION ARCHIVE SERIES
The age of the propliners may be long gone, but the nostalgia lives on
and this issue of ‘Aviation Archive’ presents a pictorial tribute to some
true British classics. For some, the word ‘propliner’ relates to piston power,
but with the passage of time it has more commonly been applied to any
aircraft that has a ‘big fan’ bolted onto the front of it. In the interest of
variety, it is the latter parameter that we have adopted in ‘Classic British
Propliners’. Under the ‘classic’ moniker we have chronologically featured
the main types constructed after the war that were either built for, or saw
service with, a British airline. Hence we get the opportunity to begin with
the delightfully idiosyncratic Bristol Freighter and end in grand style with
the mighty Shorts Belfast. As ever, the photographs have been carefully
selected out of the extensive ‘Aeroplane Archive’ for their historic and
rarity value. The images are complemented by ‘period’ cutaways from
the talented pens of the ‘Flight’ and ‘Aeroplane’ artists of the era and by
contemporary profiles by Andy Hay and Rolando Ugolini.
Bibliography:
The Brabazon Committee and British Airliners 1945-1960
by
Mike Phipp;
British Airliner Prototypes since 1945
by Stephen Skinner
Aviation Archive Series
Classic British Propliners
•
Editor:
Allan Burney •
Design:
Key Studio
•
Publisher and Managing Director:
Adrian Cox •
Executive Chairman:
Richard Cox •
Commercial Director:
Ann Saundry •
Group Editor:
Nigel Price
•
Distribution:
Seymour Distribution Ltd +44 (0)20 7429 4000 •
Printing:
Warners (Midlands) PLC, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH.
All rights reserved. The entire content of Aviation Archive is © Key Publishing 2016. Reproduction in whole or in part and in any form whatsoever is strictly prohibited without the prior permission of the Publisher. We are unable to guarantee the
bona fides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly recommended to take their own precautions before parting with any information or item of value, including, but not limited to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information in
response to any advertisements within this publication. Published by Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs PE19 1XQ. Tel: +44 (0) 1780 755131. Fax: +44 (0) 1780 757261. Website: www.keypublishing.com
ISBN:
9781910415573
4
CONTENTS
Classic British Propliners
6
BRISTOL FREIGHTER
Long lasting freighter that was both rugged and endearing
10 HANDLEY PAGE HERMES
The first true airliner of the post-war era
14 AIRSPEED AMBASSADOR
One of the first British airliners to be pressurised, but forever marred
by a high-profile crash
16 VICKERS VISCOUNT
The world’s first turboprop airliner and one of the great success
stories of British aviation
28 BRISTOL BRABAZON
A gargantuan aircraft that became a gargantuan failure
32 DE HAVILLAND HERON
Functional and basic, exactly what appealed to its operators
36 BRISTOL BRITANNIA
Arguably the pinnacle of turboprop airliner design, only the timing
was wrong
46 SAUNDERS-ROE PRINCESS
British eccentricity on a huge scale that marked the passing of the
flying boat era
50 SCOTTISH AVIATION TWIN PIONEER
Versatile little STOL airliner that had limited appeal
54 HANDLEY PAGE HERALD
A promising design that suffered from costly mistakes
61 ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH ARGOSY
A distinctive twin-boomer from the 1960s
70 VICKERS VANGUARD
The vaunted successor to the Viscount was always going to struggle
to live up to expectations
81 HAWKER SIDDELEY 748
A twin-engined turbo success that proved a hit worldwide
90 SHORTS SKYVAN
It might have looked unfashionable, but the flying ’shed’ filled a
niche market
92 SHORTS BELFAST
Bowing out in style with the largest propeller-driven aircraft ever to
enter service with a British airline
CONTENTS
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