Vickers Viscount refurbished and saw new service with African operators; sales of these second-hand aircraft continued into the 1990s. It is believed that the last airworthy Viscount, 9Q-COD, last flew in January 2009 for Global Airways in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. See "List of accidents and incidents involving the Vickers Viscount". Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Viscount was well received by the public for its cabin conditions, which included
Airliner submissions they had made during the war for a "100 ton bomber". This evolved into the creation of the Bristol Brabazon. The Type II process was complicated by the proposition of Vickers that a move to the newly developed turboprop power should be made. The specification was, therefore ,split in two, with the conventional piston design going to the eventual de Havilland Dove and Airspeed Ambassador. The revolutionary VC.2 Viceroy, first flown in 1948, was the first turboprop design anywhere. The Type III requirement was developed as the Avro Tudor. The Type IV for the jet-powered aircraft went to de