Valiant
RAF Valiant in anti-flash white
Type	Strategic bomber
Manufacturer	Vickers
Maiden flight	1951-05-18
Introduced	1955
Retired	January 1965
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Number built	107

The Vickers Valiant was a British four-jet bomber, once part of the RAF's V bomber force. Valiant V bomber in 1961 at Filton Airfield, Filton, Bristol, England. ... RAF Victor bomber circa 1961 in anti-flash white with pale roundels Anti-flash white is a brilliant white color commonly seen on American and British nuclear bombers in the 1950s and 1960s. ... An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, and/or spacecraft. ... Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 2004. ... The Maiden flight of an aircraft is the first occasion on which an aircraft leaves the ground of its own accord. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Vickers corporation, founded as the Vickers company in 1828, was a British manufacturer, primarily of military equipment. ... The B-17 Flying Fortress is one of the most recognizable and famous bombers of World War II. A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The term V bomber was used for the Royal Air Force aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the UKs strategic nuclear strike force. ...

V-Bomber origins: B.35/46 and Sperrin

The British Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command left World War II with a policy of using heavy bombers with four piston-engines for massed raids. It remained committed to this policy in the immediate postwar period, adopting the Avro Lincoln, an updated version of the Avro Lancaster, as its standard bomber. The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Bomber Command badge RAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAFs bomber forces. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A line up of Avro Lincoln B.IIs (B.2) The Avro 694 Lincoln was a British 4-engined heavy bomber of World War II, first flying on June 9, 1944 and entering service in August 1945, too late to be used in action. ... The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the British Royal Air Force (RAF). ...

The development of jet aircraft and nuclear weapons soon made this policy obsolete. The future appeared to belong to jet bombers that could fly at high altitude and speed, without defensive armament, to act as a deterrant particularly to a Soviet attack and, if deterrance failed, perform a nuclear strike. Jet aircraft are aircrafts with jet engines. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ...

After considering various specifications for such an advanced jet bomber in late 1946, in January 1947 the British Air Ministry issued a request in the form of Specification B.35/46 for an advanced jet bomber that would be at least the equal of anything the US or the USSR had. The request went to most of the UK's major aircraft manufacturers. While Short Brothers submitted a design that was judged too ambitious, the Air Staff accepted another submission from the company for a separate requirement, B.14/46, to provide a very conservative bomber design as "insurance" in case the advanced B.35/46 effort ran into trouble. Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the United Kingdom Government, established in 1918 with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the (then newly formed) Royal Air Force. ... This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry specifications for aircraft. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company now based in Belfast. ... Air Staff Organizational Chart The Air Staff is Headed by the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (currently General John P. Jumper). ...

Short's conservative design became the S.A.4 Sperrin. A prototype Sperrin was completed and flew in 1951, but its design was too conservative when compared wth the contemporary Vickers Valiant with swept wings and a much superior performance. The Sperrin engine fit was unusual, with nacelles with twin Rolls-Royce Avon turbojets arranged one above the other. Although a second prototype was built and flown, further development of the type was abandoned and its was retained as an engine testbed. The Short SA.4 Sperrin was a British jet bomber design of the early 1950s built by Short Brothers of Belfast. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1951: Events February February 21 - an English Electric Canberra becomes the first jet to make an unrefuelled crossing of the Atlantic, taking 4 hours 37 minutes March March 6 - the Martin aircraft company gains production rights to the English Electric Canberra... Look up nacelle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet was developed by Cyril Lovesey who had previously been in charge of Merlin development at Rolls-Royce. ...

Interestingly, Short's also pursued their earlier, more ambitious bomber concept on a private basis, resulting in a small test aircraft, the Short S.B.4. Sherpa. The Sherpa was basically a tailless glider with small jet powerplants and long, sweptback wings, giving something of the appearance of a boomerang with a fuselage. The Sherpa was intended to test the "aero-isoclinic" wing concept. In this scheme, the outer sections of the wings were pivoted, allowing them to maintain the same incidence even as the wing flexed. However, this line of investigation proved to be a dead end as well. Short SB4 Sherpa Short SB4 The Short Sherpa was an experimental wing research aircraft, designed to test the flight characteristics of the aero-isoclinic wing. ...

Valiant origins: Vickers Type 660

First prototype at Farnborough Air Show, 1951

Handley-Page and Avro came up with very advanced designs for the bomber competition. These would become the Victor and the Vulcan respectively, and the Air Staff decided to award contracts to both companies as a form of insurance in case one design failed. Download high resolution version (1232x816, 103 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1232x816, 103 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Farnborough 2006 Farnborough 2006 The Red Arrows in formation at Farnborough The Airbus A380, at Farnborough The Farnborough International Airshow is a seven-day international trade fair for the aerospace business which is held biannually in England. ... The Handley Page Aircraft Company was founded by Frederick Handley Page in 1909. ... Avro 504K. Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, well known for planes such as the Avro Lancaster which served in World War II. One of the worlds first aircraft builders, A.V.Roe and Company was established at Brownsfield Mills, Manchester, England by Alliot Verdon Roe and his brother... The Handley Page Victor was a British jet bomber aircraft, one of the V bombers intended to carry Britains nuclear arsenal. ... The Avro Vulcan was a British delta wing subsonic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. ...

Vickers-Armstrong's submission (later named the Valiant) had initially been rejected as not as advanced as the Victor and Vulcan, but Vickers' chief designer George Edwards energetically lobbied the Air Ministry and made changes. Edwards managed to sell the Vickers design on the basis that it would be available much sooner than the competition, going so far as to promise delivery of a prototype in 1951 and production aircraft in 1953. One argument was that the Vickers bomber would be useful as a "stopgap" until the more advanced bombers were available. Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 2004. ...

Although the idea of developing and putting into service three entirely different large aircraft in response to a single Operational Requirement (OR) is unthinkable today, the imperative of deterring Stalin's Soviet Union from further aggression in Europe created a situation of urgency.

In April 1948, the Air Staff issued a specification with the designation B.9/48 written around the Vickers design, which was given the company designation of Type 660. In February 1949, two prototypes of the aircraft were ordered. The first was to be fitted with four Rolls-Royce RA.3 Avon engines, while the second was to be fitted with four Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engines as the Type 667. Air Staff Organizational Chart The Air Staff is Headed by the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force (currently General John P. Jumper). ... The Armstrong-Siddeley automobiles (and later aircraft engines) were an English marque manufactured from 1919 (after the company was formed in 1917 by a merger between two Coventry_based companies, Armstrong-Whitworth and Siddeley-Deasy) to 1960. ... The Sapphire was a jet engine produced by Armstrong Siddeley in the 1950s. ...

The first prototype took to the air on 18 May 1951, as George Edwards had promised, and beat the first Shorts Sperrin into the air by several months. It had been only 27 months since the contract had been issued. The pilot was Jeff "Mutt" Summers, who had also been the original test pilot on the Supermarine Spitfire, and wanted to add another "first" to his record before he retired. His co-pilot on the first flight was Gabe "Jock" Bryce, who replaced Summers on his retirement. May 18 is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Supermarine Spitfire was an iconic British single-seat fighter used primarily by the RAF and many Allied countries through the Second World War and into the 1950s. ...

The Vickers Type 660 was given the official name of "Valiant" the next month, recycling the name from the Vickers Type 131 general-purpose biplane of 1931. Traditionally, RAF bombers had been named after towns and cities, for example "Lancaster", "Halifax", and "Canberra", but the new aircraft technology seemed to suggest a break from tradition, and the name "Valiant" was selected by a survey of Vickers employees. It also fitted in with an equally long held tradition of alliteration in aircraft names. The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engine heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. ... The English Electric Canberra was a first-generation jet bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. ...

The Valiant jet bomber prototype was lost due to an in-flight fire in January 1952, all the crew escaping safely except for the copilot, who is thought to have struck the tail after ejecting.

After modifications to the fuel system (thought to be the cause of the fire), the second prototype, Vickers Type 667, first flew on 11 April 1952. It was fitted with RA.7 Avon engines with 33 kN (7,500 lbf) thrust each, rather than the Sapphires originally planned. The loss of the initial prototype did not seriously compromise schedule, since the accident occurred late in the flight test programme. is the 101st day of the year (102nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1952: // Events January January 5 - Pan Am commences trans-atlantic freight services. ...

An initial order for 25 production Valiant B.1 (Bomber Mark 1) aircraft had already been placed in April 1951. The first production aircraft flew in December 1953, again more or less on the schedule Edwards had promised, and was delivered to the RAF in January 1955. Britain's "V-bomber" force, as it had been nicknamed in October 1952, was now in operation. The Victor and Vulcan would follow.

Valiant details and variants

The Valiant was a relatively conservative design, with a shoulder-mounted wing and four Avon RA.3 turbojets, each with 29 kN (6,500 lbf) thrust, two in each wing root. The design gave an overall impression of a plain and clean aircraft with simple aerodynamics. George Edwards described it appropriately as an "unfunny" aircraft.

The root chord thickness ratio (ratio of wing thickness to length at the root) was 12% and allowed the Avon engines to be within the wing rather than on pods as in the contemporary Boeing B47. This "buried engine" fit contributed to the aircraft's aerodynamic cleanliness. However, it made engine access for maintenance and repair difficult and increased the risk that the failure of one engine would contribute to the failure of its pair due to flying debris such as turbine blades. It also increased the complexity of the design of the main spar which had to be routed round the engines. For these reasons the buried engine layout is not used nowadays and the podded layout pioneered by the Boeing B47 is almost universally employed. This also has the advantage of reducing wing root bending moment in flight because the podded engines can be mounted more outboard than in the "buried engine" layout (or engines mounted on the fuselage, for that matter).

The Valiant wing had a "compound sweep" configuration, devised by Vickers aerodynamicist Elfyn Richards. It had a 45° angle of sweepback in the inner third of the wing, reducing to an angle of about 24° at the tips. This was because the thickness/chord ratio could be reduced closer to the tips, balancing this against the sweep reduction in postponement of Mach effects such as buffeting and drag rise. Limiting in-service Mach number was 0.82 and a typical cruise 0.76M at heights up to 55,000ft when light. A "clean" Valiant (one without underwing tanks) could climb straight to 50,000ft after takeoff unless it had heavy stores in the large bomb bay. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The engine inlets were long rectangular slots in the first prototype, but later Valiants featured oval or "spectacle" shaped inlets to permit greater airflow for more powerful Avon engine variants. The jet exhausts emerged from fairings above the trailing edge of the wings. Water Methanol injection was fitted to some Valiants, for instance those in the tanker role, and increased takeoff thrust by about 1000lb per engine.

The tail surfaces were swept back, and the horizontal tailplane was mounted well up the vertical tailplane to keep it out of the engines' exhaust.

The wing loading was relatively low by modern standards and the Valiant was fitted with double-slotted flaps for takeoff (20 flap) and landing (40 or full flap, about 60 degrees). The aircraft featured tricycle landing gear, with twin-wheel nosegear and tandem-wheel main gear retracting outward into the wing. Most of the aircraft's systems were electric including flaps and undercarriage. A Cessna 152 with a tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear describes a kind of aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. ...

• Electrics were based on 128 V DC generators for functions requiring large amounts of electrical power and a 28V DC system provided a controlling voltage for other systems and the actuators that initiated the 128V functions. Backup batteries were a bank of 24V units for the 28V low-voltage system and 112V batteries (28V in series) for the 128V system. The brakes and steering gear were hydraulic, but its pumps were electrically driven.

• The flight controls consisted of two channels of power control with full manual back-up. Practice flying in "manual" was allowed, even landings, under conditions of little turbulence and low crosswind. Landings in "manual" were limitd to only 40 flap because it was difficult in manual to counter the trim change when full flap was lowered, resulting in a heavy landing. The controls were very heavy indeed when flown in "manual" and bank was limited to 20 degrees.

The Valiant was built around a massive "backbone" beam that supported the wing spars and the weight of bombs in the long bomb bay. The crew were contained in a pressurized "egg" and consisted of pilot, copilot, two navigators, and an electronics operator. Only the pilot and copilot had ejection seats. This was a concern for the other three crew members, who had to bail out of the crew door on the port side of the fuselage. The crew door was held partially open for bale-out to provide shielding from the airflow until the crew man had cleared the aircraft. Chute opening was automatic by a static line.

In fact, the Air Ministry had originally requested an escape system that would eject the entire crew compartment or, if that were not possible, ejection seats for all crew. Vickers engineers replied that this requirement was impractical. Experiments were later performed at the Bomber Command Development Unit (BCDU) at Wittering that involved rear-crew ejections using instrumented dummies rather than live crew. This was not put into service due to the expense.

The Valiant B.1 could carry a single 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) nuclear weapon or up to 21 1,000 lb (450 kg) conventional bombs in its bomb bay. Large external fuel tanks under each wing with a capacity of 7,500 litres (1,650 Imperial gallons), could be used to extend range. The aircraft had no defensive armament. The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter. ... The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb produced in the United States. ...

Initial Valiant production aircraft had four Rolls-Royce Avon 201 turbojet engines, with 42 kN (9,500 lbf) thrust each. Trials were performed with two underwing de Havilland Sprite and Sprocket rocket booster engines. However, the booster rockets were deemed unnecessary, due to the availability of more powerful Avon variants, as well as fear of accidents if one booster rocket failed on take-off, resulting in asymmetric thrust.

Production

Including three prototypes, a total of 107 Valiants were built, including:

• 39 Valiant B.1 pure bomber variants, including five pre-production Type 674, which were powered by Avon RA.14 engines with the same 42 kN (9,500 lbf) thrust each as the earlier Avon 201.
• 34 Type 706 full-production aircraft, powered by Avon RA.28 204 or 205 engines with 47 kN (10,500 lbf) thrust each, longer tailpipes, and water-methanol injection for take-off boost power.
• 8 Type 710 Valiant B(PR).1 bomber/photo-reconnaissance aircraft. Edwards and his team had considered use of the Valiant for photo-reconnaissance from the start, and this particular batch of aircraft could accommodate a removable "crate" in the bomb-bay, carrying up to eight narrow-view/high resolution cameras and four survey cameras.
• 13 Type 733 Valiant B.PR(K),1 bomber/photo-reconnaissance/tanker aircraft
• 44 Type 758 Valiant B(K).1 bomber / tanker aircraft. Both tanker variants carried a removable tanker system in the bomb-bay, featuring fuel tanks and a hose-and-drogue aerial refuelling system. A further 16 Valiant B(K).1s were ordered, but cancelled.

Valiant production ended in August 1957. Look up batch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Aerial refueling, also called in-flight refueling (IFR) or air-to-air refueling (AAR), is the practice of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight. ...

Valiant tankers were flown by 214 Squadron at Marham, operational in 1958 and 90 Squadron at Honington, operational in 1959. These aircraft were fitted with a Hose Drum Unit (HDU or "Hoodoo") in the bomb bay. The HDU was mounted on bomb-mounting points and could be removed if necessary. However, this arrangement meant that the bomb doors had to be opened in order to give fuel to a receiver aircraft.

With inflight refuelling probes fitted to Valiants, Vulcans and Victors and Valiant tankers available, the so-called "Medium Bomber Force" of the RAF could go beyond "medium range", and the RAF had a true strategic bombing capability. Long range demonstration flights were made using Valiant tankers pre-deployed along the route. In 1960 Valiant Bomber flew non-stop from Marham in the UK to Singapore and in 1961 a Vulcan non-stop from the UK to Australia. The two tanker squadrons regularly practised long range missions, refuelled by other Valiant tankers on the way. In 1963 a squadron of Javelin air defence aircraft was refuelled in stages from the UK to India, the tankers flying on to Butterworth near Penang in Malaysia (exercise "Shiksha"). Other aircraft refuelled at this time included Victor and Vulcan bombers and Lightning fighters, also the Sea Vixen fighter of the Royal Navy.

Valiants of number 18 Squadron at Finningly were modified to the "radio countermeasures" (RCM) role - RCM is now called "electronic countermeasures" (ECM). These aircraft were ultimately fitted with APT-16A and ALT-7 jamming transmitters, Airborne Cigar and Carpet jammers, APR-4 and APR-9 "sniffing" receivers, and chaff dispensers. At least seven Valiants were configured to the RCM role. French ship Monge, specialised in SIGINT In telecommunication, the term electronic warfare support measures (ESM) is the division of electronic warfare involving actions taken under direct control of an operational commander to search for, intercept, identify, and locate sources of radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition. ... The term Jamming can refer to several things: Jamming as an electronic warfare (EW) - a technique to limit the effectiveness of an opponents communications and/or detection equipment, like Radio Jamming and Radar Jamming E-Mail Jamming- used by electronic political activists or hackers to disable e-mail systems... Chaff is the seed casings and other inedible plant matter harvested with cereal grains such as wheat. ...

Valiants of number 543 Squadron at Wyton were modified to the photographic reconnaissance role.

Originally, Valiants were finished in silver, but once equipped with nuclear weapons they were painted in anti-flash white to reflect some of the glare of a nuclear blast. However, the RAF roundels were left in solid red-white-blue. It was later realized that this insignia might be permanently burned into an aircraft by the flash of its dropped nuclear weapon detonating. In the other V-bombers the roundel became faded pink-white-violet, but the faded insignia was never applied to the Valiant. RAF Victor bomber circa 1961 in anti-flash white with pale roundels Anti-flash white is a brilliant white color commonly seen on American and British nuclear bombers in the 1950s and 1960s. ...

Of the three prototypes, two were Mark 1s and one was for a developed version, the Valiant B.2, designed for low level attack. As such it had a strengthened airframe to cope with the rougher ride at low level. The B.2 had a lengthened fuselage with a total length of 34.8 m (114 ft), in contrast to a length of 33 m (108 ft 3 in) for the Valiant B.1. The strengthened wing entailed changes to the main landing gear. Each main undercarriage leg had four wheels instead of two and it retracted backwards into fairings to the rear of the wings. Finished in a gloss black night operations paint scheme, it became known as the "Black Bomber". Its performance at low level was superior to that of the B.1, 655 mph at sea level compared to 414 mph.

The Air Ministry ordered 17 B.2s, including two prototypes and 15 operational aircraft, in April 1952. The prototype was completed, and flew for the first time in September 1953. However, although the Valiant B.2's low-level capabilities would later prove to be highly desirable, the B.2 program was cancelled in 1955. The B.2 prototype was used for tests for a few years, then incrementally destroyed in the humiliating role of target for ground gunnery.

Vickers also considered an air transport version of the Valiant, with a low-mounted wing, wingspan increased to 42.7 m (140 ft) from 34.8 m (114 ft 4 in), fuselage lengthened to 44.5 m (146 ft), and uprated engines. Work on a prototype, designated the Type 1000, began in early 1953. The prototype was to lead to a military transport version, the Type 1002, and a civilian transport version, the Type 1004 or VC.7. The Type 1000 prototype was almost complete when it, too, was cancelled.

Operational history

Camouflaged Valiant at Filton airfield, Bristol, England. Date unknown

As the Valiant was an entirely new class of aircraft for the RAF, the 232 Operational Conversion Unit was established at RAF Gaydon. The first operational RAF unit to be equipped with the Valiant was 138 Squadron, also at RAF Gaydon, though it later moved to RAF Wittering. At its peak, the Valiant equipped at least seven RAF squadrons. Valiant V Bomber at Filton airfield, Bristol, England, date unknown. ... Valiant V Bomber at Filton airfield, Bristol, England, date unknown. ... RAF Gaydon is a former Royal Air Force station in Warwickshire in the UK. In 1974, when RAF usage as a V-bomber base ceased, it was taken over by British Leyland as a proving ground. ... No. ... RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station near Stamford, Lincolnshire. ...

A Valiant B.1 (WZ366) of No 49 Squadron (captained by Squadron Leader E.J.G. Flavell AFC) was the first RAF aircraft to drop a British operational atomic bomb when it performed a test drop of a down-rated Blue Danube weapon on Maralinga, South Australia, on 11 October 1956. No. ... Blue Danube was the first operational British nuclear weapon. ... Maralinga is a small town in the desert of South Australia, famous for nuclear tests that took place there in the 1950s. ... Capital Adelaide Government Constitutional monarchy Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 11  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product ($m)  $59,819 (5th)  - Product per capita  $38,838/person (7th) Population (End of September 2006)  - Population  1,558,200 (5th)  - Density  1. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Valiant was the first of the V-bombers to see combat, during the Anglo-French-Israeli Suez intervention in October and November 1956. During Operation Musketeer, Valiants operating from the airfield at Luqa on Malta dropped conventional HE bombs on Egyptian targets. It was the last time the V-bombers flew a war mission until Avro Vulcans bombed Port Stanley airfield in the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War in 1982. Combatants Israel United Kingdom France Egypt Commanders Moshe Dayan Charles Keightley Pierre Barjot Gamal Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Amer Strength 175,000 Israeli 45,000 British 34,000 French 70,000 Casualties 197 Israeli KIA 56 British KIA 91 British WIA 10 French KIA 43 French WIA 650 KIA 2... Combatants Argentina United Kingdom Commanders President Leopoldo Galtieri Vice-Admiral Juan Lombardo Brigadier-General Ernesto Crespo Brigade-General Mario Menéndez Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse Rear-Admiral John “Sandy” Woodward Major-General Jeremy Moore Casualties 649 killed 1,068 wounded 11,313 taken prisoner 75 fixed...

Although the Egyptians did not oppose the attacks and there were no Valiant combat losses, the results of the raids were disappointing. Their primary targets were seven Egyptian airfields. Although the Valiants dropped a total of 856 tonnes (842 long tons) of bombs, only three of the seven airfields were seriously damaged. It should be pointed out that the Valiants had not yet been fitted with their operational Navigational and Bombing System (NBS) and were dropping largely using World War II techniques. When NBS was fitted and crews well-practised, bombing accuracies became typical of other aircraft of the time and from high level (say, 40,000ft) a 100 yard error was not uncommon. Peacetime practice involved the dropping of small practice bombs on instrumented bombing ranges, also a system of predicted bombing using radio tones to mark the position of bomb drop over non-range targets, the bomb error being calculated by a ground radar unit and passed either to the crew during flight or to a headquarters for analysis. A long ton is the name used in the US for the unit called the ton in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used (alongside the metric system) in the United Kingdom and to some extent in other Commonwealth countries. ...

On May 15, 1957 a 49 Squadron Valiant B(K).1 (captained by Wing Commander K.G. Hubbard OBE DFC AFC) dropped the first British hydrogen bomb, the Green Granite Small, over the Pacific as part of Operation Grapple. The blast was impressive, but the test was not a complete success, as the measured yield was less than a third of the maximum expected. The British still needed to do a bit more work on their fusion weapons. is the 135th day of the year (136th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... Operation Grapple: Grapple X Valiant XD824 being bombed-up behind canvas screens Operation Grapple was a United Kingdom tri-service exercise leading to the detonation of the first British hydrogen bomb on May 15, 1957. ...

The Grapple series of tests continued into 1958, and the first really satisfactory drop occurred in April 1958, with a "Green Granite Large" bomb exploding with ten times the yield of the original "Green Granite Small". Further tests followed, but testing was finally terminated in November 1958, when the British government decided it would perform no more air-delivered nuclear tests. Eventually Britain renounced such tests completely.

Valiants were originally assigned to the strategic nuclear bombing role as were the Mark 1 Vulcans and Victors when they became operational. By the early 1960s these aircraft were joined by the Victor 2 and Vulcan 2. Originally the bombing role was at high level but with the shooting down of the U-2 flown by Gary Powers by an early SA-2 Guideline missile, the SAM threat caused the V-force to train for low-level attack. They were given a new camouflage paint job, replacing their anti-flash white scheme. The Valiant did not carry the Blue Steel nuclear-tipped stand-off missile that was carried by the Victor and Vulcan. Blue Steel Type nuclear stand-off missile Nationality UK Era Cold War Launch platform Aircraft Target History Builder Avro Date of design Production period Service duration 1963-1969 Operators UK RAF Variants Number built Specifications Type Diameter 0. ...

Three squadrons of Valiants were assigned in the low-level tactical bombing role (49, 148, 207) and two more squadrons (90 and 214) served as tankers. They also continued to give good service in the strategic photo-reconnaissance role (543 squadron).

Low-level operations proved too much for the Valiant. In 1964, there was a failure of a rear spar in an OCU aircraft from Gaydon flown by Flight Lieutenant "Taffy" Foreman. This was fortunately without loss, the aircraft being landed back at Gaydon but without flap because of damage in the rear of one wing. Inspections of the entire fleet showed that the wing spars were suffering from fatigue, probably due to low level turbulence. After this inspection, the aircraft were divided into three categories, Cat A aircraft continuing to fly, Cat B to fly to a repair base, and Cat C requiring repair before flying again. The tanker squadrons had the highest proportion of Cat A aircraft because their role had been mainly at high level.

Under this plan, repairs were taking place by Vickers teams at a number of bases and Valiant crews were retained pending the aircraft coming back on line. However, in early 1965 the Wilson government with Dennis Healy as defence minister decided that the expense could not be justified and the fleet was permanently grounded. The deterrant bomber role continued with the Victor and Vulcan but the UK air tanker force ceased to exist and it was over a year before the first of the Victor tankers became operational. The last known Valiant sortie was on 9 December 1964 in XD812 on a sortie over the North Sea refuelling Lightning aircraft. The Captain was Wing Commander Ken Smith DFC, commander of 214 Squadron, Marham, flying with Valiant Captain Flight Lieutenant Ian Strachan and his crew. Smith went on to become Directing Staff at the RAF Staff College and developed doctrine on integrating flight refueling into future air operations, now an accepted universal principle. Strachan, later awarded the AFC, became a Test Pilot at the UK base at Boscombe Down and was involved in many later refueling trials including those on the Hercules, Tristar, VC-10, Victor and Vulcan tankers and a number of receiver aircraft.

The Valiant was a thoroughly competent and effective aircraft. It was particularly noteworthy for the short time in which it was designed and introduced, with remarkably few changes between the initial prototype and production machines. In fact, some aviation observers suggest that if the Valiant B.2 had been adopted, it could have been more effective than the Victor and Vulcan, particularly at low level.

The Valiant was Vickers last military aircraft, it was followed by the Vanguard, a passenger turboprop designed in 1959 and flying into the 1990s, and the Vickers VC-10, a jet passenger craft from 1962, though the latter did act as military transport for the RAF. The name Vanguard had earlier been used on a civilian model of the Vickers Virginia bomber, other versions of the same aircraft being the Victoria and Valentia. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... The VC-10 airliner was designed and built by Vickers (part of the British Aircraft Corporation) in the 1960s. ...

Only one complete Valiant survives today. This aircraft, Vickers Valiant B1 XD818 has recently been moved from RAF Museum Hendon to RAF Museum Cosford. Here it will join a Victor K2 and Vulcan B2, amongst other jets of the period as part of a new Cold War Jets Collection which opened in February 2007. Avro Lancaster R5868 in the main hangar of the RAF Museum London. ... An Avro Lancaster in the main hangar of the RAF Museum Hendon The Royal Air Force Museum (RAF Museum) is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation, and the British Royal Air Force in particular. ... The Handley Page Victor was a British jet bomber aircraft, one of the V bombers intended to carry Britains nuclear arsenal. ... The Avro Vulcan was a British delta wing subsonic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. ...

Operators

 United Kingdom

• Royal Air Force operated Valiants out of RAF Gaydon, RAF Finningley, RAF Honington, RAF Marham, RAF Wittering and RAF Wyton by:
  • No. 7 Squadron
  • No. 18 Squadron
  • No. 49 Squadron
  • No. 90 Squadron
  • No. 138 Squadron
  • No. 148 Squadron
  • No. 199 Squadron
  • No. 207 Squadron
  • No. 214 Squadron
  • No. 543 Squadron
  • No. 232 OCU RAF

Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... RAF Gaydon is a former Royal Air Force station in Warwickshire in the UK. In 1974, when RAF usage as a V-bomber base ceased, it was taken over by British Leyland as a proving ground. ... RAF Finningley was a Royal Air Force station near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, partly within the traditional county boundaries of Nottinghamshire and partly in the West Riding of Yorkshire. ... RAF Honington (IATA: BEQ, ICAO: EGXH) is a Royal Air Force station 6 miles south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. ... RAF Marham is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, England. ... RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station near Stamford, Lincolnshire. ... RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force station near St. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... No. ... [[[[No. ... No. ... No. ...

Specifications (Valiant B.1)

General characteristics

• Crew: five - two pilots, two navigators, electronics engineer
• Length: 108 ft 3 in (32.99 m)
• Wingspan: 114 ft 4 in (34.85 m)
• Height: 32 ft 2 in (9.80 m)
• Wing area: 2,362 ft² (219 m²)
• Empty weight: 75,880 lb (34 420 kg)

• Military load: 21,000 lb (9500 kg)

• Max takeoff weight: 138,000 lb (62 600 kg)

• Overload take-off: 175,000 ib (79 400 kg) with underwing tanks)

• Powerplant: 4× Rolls-Royce Avon RA28 Mk 204 turbojet, 10,000 lb (44 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 0.84 at 30,000 ft plus, 414 mph (666 km/h)
• Range: 4,500 miles with 10,000 lb bomb halfway, with underwing tanks (7200 km)
• Service ceiling: 54,000 ft (21,000 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,000 ft/min (20 m/s)
• Wing loading: 58 lb/ft² (286 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.29

Armament

• 1 × 10,000 lb (4500 kg) bomb or
• 21 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs

The distance AB is the wing span of this Aer Lingus Airbus A320. ... In aviation, the Maximum Take-Off Weight (or MTOW) is the maximum weight with which an aircraft is allowed to try to achieve flight. ... The Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet was developed by Cyril Lovesey who had previously been in charge of Merlin development at Rolls-Royce. ... Turbojets are the simplest and oldest kind of general purpose jet engines. ... VNO of an aircraft is the V speed which refers to the velocity of normal operation. ... The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing as limited by its fuel capacity. ... In aeronautics, the service ceiling is the maximum density altitude where the best rate of climb airspeed will produce a 100 feet per minute climb(twin engine) and 50 feet(single engine) at maximum weight while in a clean configuration with maximum continuous power. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... In aerodynamics, wing loading is the loaded weight of the aircraft divided by the area of the wing. ... Thrust-to-weight ratio (where weight means weight at the Earths surface) is a dimensionless parameter characteristic of rocket and jet engines, and of vehicles propelled by such engines (typically space launch vehicles and jet aircraft). ...

References

• "The Vickers Valiant" version 1.1, by Greg Goebel. The original version (placed in the public domain) can be accessed at: http://www.vectorsite.net/avval.html

External links

• RAF Museum
• The Vickers Valiant on WingWeb.co.uk
• Valiant History
• V-Bomber History
• entry for Valiant at British Aircraft Directory

Related content

Comparable aircraft

Handley Page Victor - Avro Vulcan The Handley Page Victor was a British jet bomber aircraft, one of the V bombers intended to carry Britains nuclear arsenal. ... The Avro Vulcan was a British delta wing subsonic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. ...

Designation sequence

Varsity - Viscount - Vickers Type 667 - Valiant - Vanguard - VC-10 The Vickers Varsity T.Mk 1 was a twin-engined crew trainer based on the Vickers Valetta transport and operated by the Royal Air Force for twenty years from 1951. ... The Viscount was a medium-range turboprop airliner introduced in 1953 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world. ... First prototype at Farnborough Air Show, 1951 The Vickers Valiant was a British four-jet bomber, once part of the RAFs V bomber force. ... The name Vanguard had earlier been used on a civilian model of the Vickers Virginia bomber, other versions of the same aircraft being the Victoria and Valentia. ... The VC-10 airliner was designed and built by Vickers (part of the British Aircraft Corporation) in the 1960s. ...

• Portal:British aircraft since World War II