BOAC-VC 10

The VC10 has its origins in Vickers' ambition to design the world's first truly intercontinental jet airliner. At first this took shape as the V.1000, a project intended for the RAF as a strategic transport but with definite ulterior motives to be marketed as the civil VC7. This aircraft took shape along lines resembling the Vickers Valiant in many ways, with power provided by four Rolls-Royce Conway turbofan engines buried in the wing roots of the low-wing design. With the first flight of the prototype just a few months away, in 1955 the RAF order was rescinded and BOAC showed no interest to keep the project going as it was looking towards the Bristol Brittania and the de Havilland Comet 4. The result of this was that a relatively complete aircraft that showed a lot of promise for all the Vickers employees was scrapped before their eyes. Vickers managing director George Edwards commented: "We have handed to the Americans, without a struggle, the entire world market for big jet airliners."

Having ensured that Britain would forever lose whatever advantage it had held in the field of medium-long range jet airliners, and after a year's delay, BOAC then decided that it really should have a higher capacity and longer ranging replacement for the forthcoming de Havilland Comet 4 if it was going to be able to compete successfully on the North Atlantic and other routes. Rejecting de Havilland's proposal and fearing that a new British design would take too long (and ignoring the original reason for this state of affairs) BOAC ordered 707s. According to the official comment from BOAC this was "because no new British aircraft can be made available in time." After this, in 1957, they issued a requirement for a Comet and Brittania replacement with specifications tailored to their Middle-East and African routes, a specification that was far above what could be reached by the 707 or the DC-8. Vickers responded to this by submitting several design studies that they had been working on since the V.1000 cancellation. These designs progressed past a jet powered Vanguard (VanJet) with three rear mounted engines, and several other variations on this, to settle on the now familiar rear engined layout in early 1957.