(Vickers) Valiant @·AIRCRAFTUBE

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Vickers V-660 Valiant

With the "Type 660" flying for the first time on the 18th of May, 1951, the Valiant was the first long range nuclear bomber to be conceived in England and also the first of the V-Bombers (Valiant - Vulcan - Victor).

Shortly after the second world war, a specification (B.35/46) had been issued by the English Ministry of Supply calling for a bomber capable of carrying a 10.000 lb bomb at 500 kts at 50.000 ft, to a distance of 3.300 nautical miles. Avro and Handley Page responded to this project with new concepts while Vickers proposed an already existing study. Though not completely fulfilling the requirements, the Vickers project was chosen because of the simplicity of its concept and two prototypes were ordered in early 1949.

The first prototype (WB210) crashed after an engine fire in early 1952 killing copilot Brian Foster when his ejector seat struck the tailfin.

The second prototype, equipped with new Avon engines was called "Type 667".

While the first production Mk.1 Valiants were still on the assembly line, a Mk.2 prototype flew for the first time on the 4th of September, 1953. To improve wing strength, it had a new main landing gear retracting in big under-wing fairings (Mk.1's gear retracted directly in the wing) and a longer nose. Designed for an old concept of low altitude target marking, it was soon abandoned.

In June 1954, the first B.1s entered service at Gaydon. From July 1955, different squadrons started operations from Wittering, Marham and Honington airfields.

England's first atomic test bomb was dropped in October 1956 by a B.1 at Maralinga in Australia. Valiants were sent to real action the same year, dropping conventional bombs over Egyptian airfields during the Suez Crisis.

On the 15th of May 1957, another B.1 released the first British hydrogen bomb over Malden Island in the Pacific. It detonated at 15,000 ft, but only a fraction of the expected megaton was obtained. England later co-operated with the US in these NATO nuclear projects.

Some planes successfully finished their short career as tankers (The "K" version of 1960) while others were used for reconnaissance missions ("PR" version).

In 1962, Air Command realised that the kind of high level penetration Mk.1's were designed for had very little chance of success over well defended countries like Russia. So the machine was adapted to perform low-level tactical attacks. It received for the first time a coloured camouflage at this occasion. This type of operations unfortunately led to premature metal fatigue developing in the wing spars and after several incidents and accidents, the Valiant was definitely removed from operations in early 1965. A total of 108 Valiants had been built.

The only preserved aircraft is the one that dropped UK's first hydrogen bomb in 1957. It is exposed at the RAF Museum in Hendon.

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Vickers V-660 Valiant

  • Role : Strategic bomber or aerial refueling tanker.
  • Manufacturer : Vickers-Armstrongs.
  • Designer : George Edwards.
  • First flight : 18 May 1951.
  • Introduction : 1955.
  • Retired : January 1965.
  • Primary user : Royal Air Force.
  • Produced : 1951–1957.
  • Number built : 107.

    • Specifications (B.1)

  • Crew : 5.
  • Length : 108 ft 2 in (or 32.97 m).
  • Height : 32 ft 1 in (or 9.78 m).
  • Wing span : 114 ft 4 in (or 34.85 m).
  • Wing area : 2,360 sq ft (or 219 m²).
  • Gross weight : 175,000 lb (or 79,378 kg).
  • Empty weight : 75,880 lb (or 34,419 kg).
  • Max payload : 9,920 lb (or 4,500 kg).
  • Max. speed : 567 mph (or 493 kts) at 30.000 ft.
  • Cruise Mach number : 0.82.
  • Service ceiling : 54,000 ft (or 16,459 m).
  • Max range : 4,603 mi (or 4,000 nm or 7,400 km) with external tanks.
  • Engines : Rolls-Royce RA.14 (on the B.1) or RA.28 Avon (for the BK.1).
  • Thrust : 10,500 lbf (or 46.71 kN).
  • Armament : One Blue Danube nuclear bomb, or two Red Beard tactical nuclear bombs, or four US Mk.28 or Mk.43 tactical nuclear bombs, or twenty-one 1,000 lb bombs.

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