For the 1920s biplane, see Vickers 131 Valiant. For the 1977 tank, see Vickers Main Battle Tank Mark 4.
Valiant
Valiant XD873 in 1962
Role
Strategic bomber or aerial refueling tanker
Type of aircraft
Manufacturer
Vickers-Armstrongs
Designer
George Edwards
First flight
18 May 1951
Introduction
1955
Retired
January 1965
Status
Retired
Primary user
Royal Air Force
Produced
1951–1957
Number built
107
The Vickers Valiant was a British high-altitude jet bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons, and in the 1950s and 1960s was part of the Royal Air Force's "V bomber" strategic deterrent force. It was developed by Vickers-Armstrongs in response to Specification B.35/46 issued by the Air Ministry for a nuclear-armed jet-powered bomber. The Valiant was the first of the V bombers to become operational, and was followed by the Handley Page Victor and the Avro Vulcan. The Valiant is the only V bomber to have dropped live nuclear weapons (for test purposes).[1]
In 1956, Valiants operating from Malta flew conventional bombing missions over Egypt for Operation Musketeer during the Suez Crisis. From 1956 until early 1966 the main Valiant force was used in the nuclear deterrence role in the confrontation between NATO and the Warsaw Pact powers. Other squadrons undertook aerial refuelling, aerial reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare.
In 1962, in response to advances in Soviet Union surface-to-air missile (SAM) technology, the V-force fleet including the Valiant changed from high-level flying to flying at low-level to avoid high altitude SAM attacks. In 1964 it was found that Valiants showed fatigue and crystalline corrosion in wing rear spar attachment forgings.[N 1] In late 1964 a repair programme was underway, but a change of Government led to the new Minister of Defence Denis Healey deciding that the Valiant should be retired from service, and this happened in early 1965. The Victor and Vulcan V-bombers remained in service until the 1980s.
^Blackman and Wright 2015, p. 33.
Cite error: There are <ref group=N> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=N}} template (see the help page).
The VickersValiant was a British high-altitude jet bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons, and in the 1950s and 1960s was part of the Royal Air Force's...
demonstrated in the turret of the Vickers Mk. 7 were later incorporated into the Challenger 2. Following trials of the VickersValiant in the Middle East in 1983...
The Vickers Main Battle Tank Mk. 4 later known as the VickersValiant was a main battle tank developed as a private venture by British company Vickers for...
models of strategic bomber, known collectively as the V class, were the VickersValiant, which first flew in 1951 and entered service in 1955; the Avro Vulcan...
Vickers and are in preservation. "60th Anniversary of Valiant's First Flight." Royal Air Force Museum, 17 May 2011. "Thunder & Lightnings - Vickers Valiant...
However Vickers decided to build a single prototype as a private venture for evaluation against the specification. The Vickers 131 Valiant was a single-bay...
Civilian models of the VickersValiant and Handley Page Victor V-bombers were also planned for the same contract. The Vickers V-1000 won the contest over...
be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two being the VickersValiant and the Avro Vulcan. Entering service in 1958, the Victor was initially...
The Vickers MBT is a series of main battle tanks (MBTs) developed as a private venture by British company Vickers-Armstrongs for export. The design makes...
Look up valiant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Valiant may refer to: James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer The Valiant Brothers, a professional...
version of Green Granite known as Short Granite was dropped from a VickersValiant bomber flown by Wing Commander Kenneth Hubbard. The bomb's yield was...
The Vickers Swallow was a supersonic aircraft project headed by Barnes Wallis, working at the British aircraft company Vickers-Armstrongs. It was a wing...
deliver them did not become available until 1955. On 11 October 1956, a VickersValiant from No. 49 Squadron RAF piloted by Edwin Flavell became the first...
put into production because these swept-wing designs, such as the VickersValiant, were by then available. As their usefulness as an interim bomber aircraft...
Command as it was the first Royal Air Force (RAF) station to receive the VickersValiant when No. 138 Squadron RAF re-formed here in 1955. In 1978, the site...
English Electric Canberra, and later the V-bomber force and tankers: VickersValiant and Handley Page Victor. The station is also one of the few large enough...
record of 54 by a test pilot), from the Supermarine Spitfire, to the VickersValiant. He also holds the current second place record for 366 general types...
The Tank, Infantry, Valiant (A38) was a British tank design of the Second World War that only reached the prototype stage. It was intended to meet a specification...
Global Information