Vickers-Armstrongs
Vickers Valiant
The Vickers Valiant was the first of Britain’s V‑bombers, a strategic jet bomber built by Vickers‑Armstrongs in the early 1950s. Ordered in 1949 under the Air Ministry’s V‑force programme, it flew its maiden flight on 18 October 1951 and entered RAF Bomber Command service in 1955. Powered by two Rolls‑Royce Avon turbo‑jets, the Valiant could cruise at 560 mph, carry a 21 000‑lb bomb load—including nuclear weapons—and achieve a range of about 4 500 km. Its high‑wing, thin‑section design, large trailing‑edge flaps and all‑metal stressed‑skin airframe gave it stable low‑level performance and a maximum take‑off weight of 84 000 lb. In addition to strategic bombing, the type performed reconnaissance and aerial refuelling, extending the reach of other RAF aircraft. A total of 139 Valiants were built; several participated in the 1956–58 Operation Grapple nuclear tests in the Pacific, providing data on high‑altitude delivery. The aircraft was withdrawn in 1965 after structural fatigue problems, but its introduction marked Britain’s shift to jet‑powered strategic bombing and paved the way for the larger Victor and Vulcan bombers, securing the V‑force’s role in Cold‑War deterrence. Its legacy endures in museum displays and training manuals that illustrate early jet bomber engineering.
