Hawker Siddeley HS 748 Paper ended most military manned-aircraft development in the UK, and Avro decided to re-enter the civilian market. The Vickers Viscount had the larger end of the short-haul market, and Avro therefore decided to design a smaller regional airliner powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines, intended to replace the many DC-3 Dakotas that were by then reaching the end of their economic lifespan. Original plans were for a 20–30 seat aircraft with a similar configuration to the Fokker F27, but talks with potential customers soon led to a low-wing 40-seat design being chosen for the 748 project. Avro was not
Vickers-Armstrongs part of BAC) the VC10 jet airliner, which was used in RAF service as an aerial refuelling tanker until 2013. Vickers-Armstrongs was one of the few British manufacturers of marine diesel engines, notably for Royal Navy S, T-class and Estonian Kalev class submarines during World War II. In "The Adventures of Tintin" comic "The Broken Ear", the role of Vickers-Armstrongs in the Chaco War is parodied as "Viking Arms Co. Limited". A handgun described in a trial of Walter Mitty's alter ego is a 50 caliber Webley-Vickers revolver. Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger