We had a chat about the roadside Zimbabwe Viscounts a while back. Someone posted some photographs.
Is there a simple answer as to what eventually befell the BEA airframes?
The simple answer is No, nothing simple, and the slightly longer one is what this thread is about, for a part, only, of the onetime fleet. BEA worked through about 80 Viscounts, almost all new, which is about 20% of the total production, they were the largest customer. Lesser known is that BOAC bought quite a fleet new as well, which were all placed with their various partly-owned companies in former colonies around the world in the 1950s. BEA were the first operator, and their former fleet were some of the last in use with various independents as well, spanning from early 1950s to late 1990s.
There's a website which can occupy several evenings :
Viscount production list by construction number
what was the difference between a 800 and 806 (?) And what was the X supposed to mean ? My sense of humour still fails for a cheery response but I recall noticing that the doors were square rather than round
700 series = round doors. Larger 800 series = square(ish) doors.