Thunder & Lightnings

Vickers Valiant - Walkaround Photos

This page is gradually being revamped with higher quality images - more are welcome. Many of the pictures on this page have been kindly supplied by Bryan Ribbans and Paul Stainsby; they are for your personal use only and you may not republish them without their permission.

Cockpit

There's a ladder up to the pilot's cockpit, just like in the Vulcan cockpit. This is the view from near the top of the ladder looking forward. The two Martin Baker Mk.3A ejector seats are very close together just like on the Vulcan and it's a tight squeeze getting in between them. Having got firmly stuck between the two seats, here's the view to the port side of the cockpit. Starboard side. XD875 is, as you can see, in excellent condition with very view instruments missing. The control yokes contrast with the fighter style joysticks of the Vulcan. The black and brown thing at bottom center is the left arm rest of the seat, with the throttles to the left and rudder pedals visible to the right of it. The co-pilot's seat from WP206 is to be found at Duxford though it's lacking any cushions. This seat is probably all that remains of that particular Valiant, as the aircraft itself was scrapped at Foulness many years ago. XD875's entry hatch opened; here we're looking up and back into the rear crew compartment. Having climbed in and turned right a bit, we're looking back and right towards the port side of the rear crew area. Turning left a little bit and looking up to see the ditching exit. Turning left a little bit more and looking back down to see the starboard side of the rear crew area. Looks to be a generally similar layout to the Vulcan. The radar scope (mostly obscured by the triangular plate to the bottom right of the picture) and associated joystick is in the same position on the Vulcan.

Nose

XD818 when at Hendon. In common with the Vulcan and Victor the view from the cockpit is not exactly panoramic, but the Valiant has a particularly complex arrangement of canopy framing as can be seen at the top of this picture. Closeup of the 49 Squadron badge and crew names on XD818. XD818 again. The oval in the centre marked with yellow dashes is the entry hatch with the rear crew's only view out being the small oval window to the right. The complex arrangement of small windows at the side of the canopy is noteworthy; the pipe running along the fuselage below the canopy is part of the in-flight refuelling system and was only seen on Valiants fitted with the plumping for a probe. Having the plumbing meant there was at least a small stub on the nose (as seen here), if not the full probe. Unfortunately XD818 does not wear accurate markings and this includes the nose stencilling. Closeup of the visual bomb aiming blister on XD818. These days it's hard to imagine somebody peering down through the bombsight inside, preparing to drop a nuclear weapon, but that's precisely what this aircraft was designed for. XD818 again. Wide angle lens exaggerating the appearance! XD818 again. The port side is rather simpler in appearance than the starboard side. XD875 at Bruntingthorpe. No entry hatch on this side, but the small porthole is in the middle of a removable emergency exit. With the crew hatch on one side, this emergency exit and a ditching exit through the top of the canopy, the Valiant crew was in some ways a little better provided for than the rest of the V-Force.

Fuselage

Port tail, I'll let you guess which aircraft. Note the small fences on the tailplane and fin. Starboard tail. Early Valiants had a shorter tail cone. The tab at the bottom of the rudder is a control lock added by the Museum. The grey patch at the top of the fin is a fine grille allowing airflow in and out of the top cap of the fin, which covers a radio aerial. Bomb bay area with doors open (left is aft) - the doors don't just hang open, but slide up inside Bomb bay area with doors open (looking forward) - the doors don't just hang open, but slide up inside; the flat area at the top of the photo is usually hidden by a fairing, which is removed here, but would retract when the bomb doors are opened anyway.

Wings

Port wing root; the circle is a blank covering an intake, and note the white paint cracking off the dielectric cover which would normally be black Port intakes Port intakes and fuselage side with cooling intake Port drop tank. In practice rarely if ever dropped because of their expense. The wing fence is a very simple affair, just an L-shaped piece of metal curved around the leading edge. General view under the port wing showing the fuel dump pipe at the wing tip and the dark circle of the retracted landing light. The navigation light cover and pitot probe are missing. Port jetpipe shrouds from above, jetpipes absent. Closeup of the huge drop tank. Starboard exhausts. This whole area would of course have been streaked with oil and browned in service. Starboard intakes. Note the T-shaped splitter plate attached to the outboard side of the intake divider.

Undercarriage

Nose gear viewed from the port side; the visual bomb aiming blister is on the left edge of the picture. XD818's port main gear. Mostly painted silver; the outer door is closed on this museum exhibit, but would normally hang down with the gear extended. XD818's starboard main gear, viewed from ahead. All Mk.1s had this unusual style of undercarriage; the sole B.2 had a stronger undercarriage using a four wheel bogey. Starboard gear again, viewed from further aft. Starboard main gear well, outboard/top portion, looking up. Starboard main gear well, outboard/top portion, looking aft. Starboard main gear leg and well, inboard portion, looking inboard.

Weapons

Blue Danube - The Bomb! 1,000lb high explosive bomb with single lug mounting as used by the Valiant force