The Vickers Viscount was the world's first turboprop airliner and one of Britain's most successful post-war commercial aircraft. The Vickers Viscount flew with more than 60 operators but the principle one was British European Airways. At its peak, BEA had a fleet of some 77 aircraft in service. Designed in the 1940s, the first Viscount entered service in 1953 and the type was still operating commercially well into the 1990s.