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 in testing.Blackman and Wright 2015, p. 33.
All eight British nuclear weapons that were ever detonated after being dropped from an aircraft (see Operation Buffalo and Operation Grapple) were dropped by Valiants of No. 49 Squadron RAF.
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. 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.
Development Background and origins In November 1944, the Joint Technical Warfare Committee, along with a separate committee chaired by Sir Henry Tizard, examined the future potential of "weapons of war" and the accompanying Tizard Report published on 3 July 1945 made specific policy directions for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command.Turpin 2002, p. 71. After the Second World War, the policy of using heavy four-engined bombers for massed raids continued into the immediate postwar period; the Avro Lincoln, an updated version of the Avro Lancaster, became the RAF's standard bomber.McLelland 2013, p. 18. In 1946, the Air Staff issued Operational Requirements OR229 and OR230 for the development of turbojet-powered heavy bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons at high altitude and speed, without defensive armament, to act as a deterrent to hostile powers and, if deterrence failed, to perform a nuclear strike. In conjunction with this ambition, Britain set about developing its own atomic weapons.
In January 1947, the British Air Ministry issued Specification B.35/46 for an advanced jet bomber intended to carry nuclear weapons and to fly near the speed of sound at altitudes of . Three firms: A.V. Roe, Handley-Page and Vickers-Armstrongs submitted advanced designs intended to meet the stringent requirements.Burnet and Morgan Aeroplane Monthly August 1980, p. 397. While Short Brothers submitted a design, by Geoffrey T. R. Hill, that was judged too ambitious, the Air Staff accepted another submission from the company for a separate requirement, B.14/46, as "insurance" in case the advanced B.35/46 effort ran into trouble. Aviation authors Bill Gunston and Peter Gilchrist described Specification B.14/46 as "calling for little more than a traditional aircraft fitted with jet engines"Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 72. Short submitted a conservative design to meet B.14/46, which became the S.A.4 Sperrin. Two prototypes were completed, the first conducting its maiden flight in 1951, but the Sperrin was ultimately relegated to research and development purposes only.
Vickers had emerged from World War II as one of the world's pre-eminent companies in the field of aeronautical manufacturing and development. The company operated its own secretive Skunk Works-like development organisation based at Weybridge, Surrey, which had been involved in several secret wartime development projects. It was this secretive division where the early development of the Valiant took place, including the later assembly of the initial two prototypes.Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 72–73. Vickers initially produced a six-engine jet bomber design proposal to meet Specification B.35/46. As progress in the development of more powerful jet engines was made, this was re-worked to a four-engine proposal in 1948.Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 73. The proposed design submitted by Vickers was relatively straightforward, being less aerodynamically advanced in comparison to competing bids made by rival firms.Blackman and Wright 2015, p. 17.
Both Handley-Page and Avro had produced advanced designs for the bomber competition. These were produced as the Victor and the Vulcan respectively. The Air Staff decided to award contracts to each company as a form of insurance in case one of the designs failed. The submissions became known as the V bombers, or V-class, with the aircraft given names that started with the letter "V".Downey 1985, p. 5. Vickers' submission had initially been rejected as not being as advanced as the Victor and the Vulcan,Rosemeyer 2009, p. 52. but Vickers' chief designer George Edwards lobbied the Air Ministry on the basis that it would be available much sooner than the competition, going so far as to promise that a prototype would be flown by the end of 1951, that subsequent production aircraft would be flown prior to the end of 1953, and that serial deliveries would commence during early 1955. Gaining the bomber contract was considered of crucial importance to the future of aircraft manufacturing at Vickers. "Edwards was supremely confident that Weybridge could deliver the aircraft as specified .. " and "..committed to the brochure performance figures and dates because he thought they knew how to do it". He resisted being pushed to try to more closely match the Victor and Vulcan height and speed requirements or to change equipment from that originally specified as these distractions would jeopardise his promised delivery dates.Gardner 2006, p. 92.
Although developing three different aircraft types in response to a single Operational Requirement (OR) was costly, events such as the Berlin Blockade had led to a sense of urgency in providing a deterrent to the Soviet Union from possible acts of aggression in Western Europe.Rosemeyer 2009, pp. 52–53.
In April 1948, the Air Staff issued a specification with the designation B.9/48 written around the Type 660 Vickers design; and an 'Instruction to Proceed' was received by Vickers on 16 April 1948.
In February 1949, two prototypes of the Vickers 660 series were ordered. The first was to be fitted with four Rolls-Royce RA.3 Avon turbojet engines, while the second was to be fitted with four Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engines and was designated the Type 667.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 438.
Prototypes
On 18 May 1951, the first prototype, serial number WB210 took to the air for its maiden flight,Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 439. within the deadline that George Edwards had promised, only 27 months since the contract had been issued. This was several months before the competing Short Sperrin; the Sperrin had straight (not swept) wings and was not ordered. The Valiant pilot was Captain Joseph "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 succeeded Summers as Vickers' chief test pilot upon his retirement shortly after.Turpin 2002, p. 72.Blackman and Wright 2015, p. 10.McLelland 2013, p. 68. The next month, the Vickers Type 660 was given the official name of "Valiant", reusing the name given to the Vickers Type 131 general-purpose biplane of 1931. The name Valiant had been selected by a survey of Vickers employees.Jones 2007, pp. 31, 33.
On 11 January 1952, the first Valiant prototype was lost while making internal noise measurements for the V.1000 programme. Testing included engine shutdowns and re-lights,Andrews 1965, p. 4. one of which caused a fire in the starboard wing; most of the crew managed to escape the aircraft safely, except for the co-pilot, who struck the tail after ejecting.Flight 4 July 1958, p. 13.Blackman and Wright 2015, pp. 11–16.
On 11 April 1952, the second prototype WB215 made its maiden flight, after modifications to the fuel system.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 440. It was fitted with more powerful RA.7 Avon engines with thrust each, rather than the originally planned Sapphires. It also featured more rounded air inlets, replacing the narrow slot-type intakes of the first prototype, to feed sufficient air to the more powerful engines. The short delay until the second prototype became available meant that loss of the prototype did not compromise the development schedule.Turpin 2002, p. 74.Jones 2007, p. 34.
The Valiant B2 One of the three prototypes was the B.2 version.Jones 2007, p. 26. The B.2 was intended to serve as a Pathfinder aircraft, flying at low level to mark targets for the main bomber force. To cope with increased air turbulence at low level, the B.2 had a strengthened airframe. In particular, the wing was strengthened with the removal of the cut-outs in the wing structure into which the main wheels retracted, allowing the wing torsion box structure to be uninterrupted and giving more room for internal fuel storage. Instead, the main landing gear, which had four wheels instead of the two wheels of the B.1, retracted backwards into large fairings set into the rear of the wings.Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, pp. 77–78. The B.2 had a lengthened fuselage with a total length of , in contrast to a length of for the Valiant B.1, with the extra length giving room for more avionics.Jones 2007, pp. 32, 36.
The prototype B.2, serial number WJ954 first flew on 4 September 1953.Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 445. 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 (or any other V-bomber), particularly at sea level, with the aircraft being cleared for at low level (with speeds of up to being reached in testing). This was compared to the B.1 sea-level limit of . The Air Ministry ordered 17 production B.2 aircraft, which were to be powered by Rolls-Royce Conway turbofans. Although the Valiant B.2 low-level capabilities were significant, the programme was terminated because the World War 2 "Pathfinder concept" was considered obsolete in the nuclear era.Gunston and Gilchrist 1993, p. 78. The B.2 prototype was used for tests for a few years, including the clearance of rocket-assisted take-offs, for the Valiant B.1 at hot or high airfields, using two Super-Sprite rocket motors. It also did extensive taxiing tests to investigate the cause of brake judder which caused a fatigue failure of the landing gear. It was scrapped in 1958.Trubshaw and Edmondson 1998, p. 37.Jones 2007, pp. 36–37.Brookes 2012, pp. 83–84.
Production