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06/30/2008. Twelve Model 708 Viscount aircraft, powered by four 1,400 shp Rolls-Royce Dart R.Da1 Mk.505 turboprop engines, were ordered by Air France in November 1951. The first aircraft, F-BGNK c/n 8, flew on February 11, 1952, the pictured aircraft flew for the first time from Weybridge, Surrey, England, on August 26, 1953, registered as F-BGNN. It was shown at the SBAC show at Farnborough, Hampshire, in September and delivered to the airline on October 29, 1953. On April 24, 1960 it was withdrawn from service and delivered to Marshalls at Teversham, Cambridge, for resale. In June it was sold to Maitland Drewery Aviation Ltd and registered in the UK as G-ARGR on December 20, 1960. It received its UK CofA on June 20, 1961 and immediately leased to BKS Air Transport Ltd, while on December 6 it was leased to Silver City Airways. On January 1, 1962 Silver City merged into BUA (British United Airways) and the aircraft was sold to BUA on April 3, 1962. It was sold to the French airline Air Inter registered as F-BOEB and delivered on September 29, 1966. In April 1975 it returned again to the UK when it was sold to Alidair and received its previous UK registration G-ARGR again on May 30. Subsequently it was leased to a number of airlines: Cyprus Airways, July 18, to March 3, 1976 Intra Airways of Jersey, March to June, 1976 Bursa Hava Yollari of Turkey, May 22 to June 5, 1977 Dan-Air of London, July to August 27, 1977 Dan-Air of London, July 1978 to January 18, 1979                           Alidair became Inter City Airlines on March 1, 1981, the airline ceased operations on July 29, 1983 and from then the Viscount was operated by BAF (British Air Ferries), the aircraft was acquired by BAF in the following September. However, three months later, on December 22, 1983, it was sold to Hards Travel, on April 10, 1984 it started services with Janus Airways of Lydd in Kent, while it was sold again on November 22, 1984 to MMM Aero Services of Zaire. The aircraft was broken up at Kinshasa in January 1987.