The Vickers VC.1 Viking is 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. After 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. Military developments were the Vickers Valetta and the Vickers Varsity.
The Vickers Valetta is a twin-engine military transport aircraft developed and produced by the British manufacturing company Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. Developed from the Vickers VC.1 Viking compact civil airliner, it was an all-metal mid-wing monoplane with a tailwheel undercarriage.
The Sutton Wick air crash occurred on 5 March 1957 when a Blackburn Beverley C Mk 1 heavy transport aircraft, serial number XH117, of 53 Squadron Royal Air Force crashed at Sutton Wick, Drayton, Berkshire, England, following a shut-down of one engine and partial loss of power on another. Shortly after take-off, No. 1 engine was shut down as a precautionary measure then whilst on final approach back to RAF Abingdon, No. 2 engine failed to respond to throttle inputs. The aeroplane struck cables and trees 18 minutes after lifting off.
On 15 January 1953, a twin-engined Vickers Valetta transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF), serial number VX562, collided over the Mediterranean Sea with a four-engined RAF Avro Lancaster maritime patrol aircraft. All 26 people on board both aircraft were killed.
The Little Baldon air crash occurred on 6 July 1965 when a Handley Page Hastings C1A transport aircraft operated by No. 36 Squadron Royal Air Force, registration TG577, crashed into a field in Little Baldon, near Chiselhampton, Oxfordshire, shortly after taking off from RAF Abingdon. The flight was captained by Flt Lt John Akin. All 41 people aboard, including six crew, perished in the crash, making it the third worst air crash in the United Kingdom at the time.
The October 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash happened on 2 October 1926 at Leigh, Kent when Blériot 155 F-AICQ caught fire in mid-air and crashed while the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing at Penshurst Airfield. Both crew members and all five passengers were killed. This was the first in-flight fire occurring on an airliner.
The August 1926 Air Union Blériot 155 crash happened on 18 August 1926 at Hurst, Kent when Blériot 155 F-AIEB of Air Union hit a barn and crashed whilst attempting to make a forced landing in bad weather. Two passengers were killed in the accident, and the pilot died a day later.
The 1930 Air Union Farman Goliath crash occurred on 10 February 1930 when a Farman F.63 Goliath of Air Union crashed whilst attempting an emergency landing at Marden Airfield, Kent following the failure of the starboard tailplane. Two of the six people on board were killed.
The 1947 Croydon Dakota accident occurred on 25 January 1947 when a Spencer Airways Douglas C-47A Skytrain (Dakota) failed to get airborne from Croydon Airport near London, and crashed into a parked and empty ČSA Douglas C-47 destroying both aircraft and killing 11 passengers and one crew member.
The 1934 Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash occurred on 2 October 1934 when a de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide of Hillman's Airways crashed into the English Channel off Folkestone, Kent, killing all seven people on board. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Abridge Aerodrome to Le Bourget Airport, Paris. The accident resulted in the first write-off of a Dragon Rapide.
The 1929 Imperial Airways Handley Page W.10 crash happened on 17 June 1929 when Handley Page W.10 G-EBMT suffered an engine failure and subsequently ditched in the English Channel off Dungeness with the loss of seven lives. The aircraft was operating an international scheduled flight from Croydon to Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France.
The 1947 BOAC Douglas C-47 Crash occurred on 11 January 1947 when Douglas C-47A G-AGJX of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) crashed into a hill at Stowting, Kent, in southeast England, killing five people outright, with a further three dying from injuries received. The aircraft had been operating a scheduled international flight to West Africa via France. Poor weather caused the aircraft to attempt to divert. After attempts to land at a number of French airports, the pilot decided to return to the United Kingdom as he was running short of fuel. The aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Lympne Airport.
The 1954 Swissair Convair CV-240 crash occurred on 19 June 1954 when a Swissair Convair CV-240 ditched in the English Channel off Folkestone, Kent, having run out of fuel. Although all on board survived the ditching of the aircraft, three people drowned, as they could not swim and there were no lifejackets carried on board the aircraft. At the time of the accident, these were not required to be carried on flights where the time over water was less than 30 minutes flying time.
The Meopham Air Disaster occurred on 21 July 1930 when a Junkers F.13ge flying from Le Touquet to Croydon with two crew and four passengers crashed near Meopham, Kent with the loss of all on board. The report of the inquiry into the accident was made public, the first time in the United Kingdom that an accident report was published.
The August 1923 Air Union Farman Goliath crash occurred on 27 August 1923 when a Farman F.60 Goliath of Air Union crashed at East Malling, Kent, United Kingdom following an engine failure and reported panic amongst the passengers. One person was killed and nine were injured, including celebrated French actor Jean Murat.
The 1923 Daimler Airway de Havilland DH.34 crash occurred on 14 September 1923 when a de Havilland DH.34 of Daimler Airway operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Croydon to Manchester crashed at Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, England, killing all five people on board.
The 1924 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash occurred on 24 December 1924 when de Havilland DH.34 G-EBBX of Imperial Airways crashed at Purley, Surrey, United Kingdom killing all eight people on board. The aircraft was operating a scheduled international flight from Croydon, Surrey, to Paris, France. It was the first fatal accident suffered by Imperial Airways and led to the first public inquiry into a civil aviation accident in the United Kingdom. As a result of issues brought up during the inquiry, Croydon Airport was expanded, absorbing most of Beddington Aerodrome.
On 2 July 1949 a Douglas DC-3 aircraft departed from Perth, Western Australia for a night flight of 441 nautical miles (817 km) to Carnarvon. The aircraft climbed to a height of about 500 feet (150 m) and then spiralled almost vertically to the ground, killing all 18 people on board. It crashed about a mile north of Perth airport and burned for over an hour. At the time, it was the worst civil aviation accident in Western Australia.
On 10 March 1949 a Lockheed Lodestar aircraft became airborne at Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia for a flight to Brisbane. Before reaching a height of 300 feet (90 m) it suddenly pitched nose-up, stalled and crashed onto its belly beyond the end of the airstrip.
