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
Vickers-Armstrongs company produced the Wellesley, designed by Rex Pierson using the geodetic airframe principle of structural engineer Barnes Wallis. This would later evolve into the famous Wellington bomber, a mainstay of RAF Bomber Command and RAF Coastal Command during World War II. The Cold War-era Valiant V bomber was another Vickers product. Military aircraft with the Vickers brand: Vickers also competed for contracts with designs such as: Vickers was a pioneer in producing airliners, early examples being converted from Vimy bombers. Post-WWII, Vickers went on to manufacture the piston-engined Vickers VC.1 Viking airliner, the Viscount and Vanguard turboprop airliners and (as