Boeing 707-420 Sovereign Airways

In 1957, Sovereign Airways was in a bit of a predicament. All of their flagship aircraft, which were the piston-powered Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, the turboprop Bristol Britannia and the turbojet De Havilland Comet, were either outdated or flawed. Entering into the jet age, the Stratocruiser was obsolete, there were many delays and engine troubles plaguing the Britannia, and after suffering two fatal accidents with the aircraft, they had grounded their Comet fleet. Sovereign Airways needed something new, something that would put them. and keep them, at the top.

Unfortunately for the UK aviation industry, the solution they found was not local. On the 15th May 1957, Sovereign Airways ordered 22 Boeing 707s. This was an incredibly controversial order, as previously, Sovereign Airways had almost always maintained a policy of "British First" when choosing new aircraft, especially flagships. The UK Government therefore tried to convince Sovereign Airways to cancel the order and look at a potential civilian version of the in-development Vickers V-1000. The airline was very interested in the aircraft, and requested for a civilian version, leading to the Vickers VC7.

However, the VC7 was constantly getting delayed. The main reason for this was sourcing of the Rolls-Royce Conway, the engine selected for the aircraft. Remembering the problems encountered with the Britannia due to engine troubles, Sovereign Airways was quite skeptical about supporting another British aircraft project. In addition, they didn't believe that the engine was suitable for transatlantic flights, as it would be underpowered. They pulled out of the deal in 1958, leading to the cancellation of the program.

However, by that time the Conway had been fully developed, and was ready to enter service, now without an aircraft to use it. Sovereign Airways then had the idea to fit the incoming Boeing 707 with Conways. They requested to the British Government to allow such a version to be created, and requested to Boeing to build it. Thus, the 707-420, based on the -320 model, was introduced. Sovereign Airways was the first in the world to use the 707-420, receiving their first in 1960.

However, it turned out that the 707-420s were oversized and underpowered for their intended routes to places like Canada, India and Ghana. So, after much negotiation, Sovereign Airways would also buy the Vickers VC10 to fly these routes. Except, by the time the VC10 was ready, those airports were upgraded, and the 707 could operate to them easily, while being more efficient than the VC10, leading Sovereign Airways to reduce their VC10 order, in favour of more 707s.

Shown above is G-CDFA, Sovereign Airways' first 707-420 delivered in 1960, wearing the 1960 livery designed for this aircraft. The 707 fleet would fly transatlantic throughout its career. The airline also used them for flights to Tokyo and Hong Kong. The 707 fleet would be accompanied by the VC10 in 1964, and the two aircraft would fly alongside each other until 1982, when both were retired, and replaced by the Lockheed L-1011 fleet.

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