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Vickers Valetta
The Vickers Valetta was a British twin-engine military transport aircraft of the late 1940s. It was an all-metal mid-wing monoplane with a tailwheel undercarriage.
Contents
Design and development
The Valetta was a military transport development of the Viking civil airliner. The 158th Viking became the prototype Valetta, which first flew on 30 June 1947[1]. The Valetta differed from the Viking fundamentally in being fitted with more powerful engines, a strengthened floor and large loading doors [2].
The Viking and Valetta provided the basis of the Varsity. The only difference between the Varsity and the Valetta was the position of the third wheel. The Varsity had a nose wheel, and the Valetta a tail wheel.
Operational history
The Valetta C.1 entered service with the RAF in 1948, replacing the Douglas Dakota with RAF Transport Command and with transport squadrons in the Middle and Far East [1]. The Valetta was used used to carry out parachute drops in the 1956 Suez Crisis[3], and was used to provide transport support for a number of other British Military operations in the 1950s and 1960s, such as during the Malayan Emergency [4] and operations in Aden [5].
The Valetta T.3 was built to provide a navigational trainer for service with the RAF College at RAF Cranwell and with No.1 and No.2 Air Navigation Schools. 40 were delivered from August 1951. 18 aircraft were later converted to T.4 standard with a longer nose to accommodate a radar scanner in order to train crews in the AI (Airborne Interception) role. [6]
Variants
- Valetta C.1 - transport, 211 built
- Valetta C.2 - VIP transport, 11 built
- Valetta T.3 - aircrew trainer, 40 built
- Valetta T.4 - converted from T.3 with radar fitted in nose [7].
Operators
- Royal Air Force
- No. 30 Squadron RAF
- No. 48 Squadron RAF
- No. 52 Squadron RAF
- No. 70 Squadron RAF
- No. 78 Squadron RAF
- No. 84 Squadron RAF
- No. 110 Squadron RAF
- No. 114 Squadron RAF
- No. 115 Squadron RAF
- No. 167 Squadron RAF
- No. 173 Squadron RAF
- No. 187 Squadron RAF
- No. 204 Squadron RAF
- No. 215 Squadron RAF
- No. 216 Squadron RAF
- No. 233 Squadron RAF
- No. 622 Squadron RAF
- No. 683 Squadron RAF
- RAF College
- No. 1 Air Navigation School
- No. 2 Air Navigation School
Serials
RAF serials include (not necessarily complete) VL249-VL282, WD157-WD171, WD172-WD197, (WD244-WD275) not build, VX483-VX485, VX490-VX499, VX506-VX515, VX521-VX531, VX537-VX546, VX555-VX564, VX571-VX590.
Specifications (Vickers Valetta C.1)
Data from Vickers Aircraft since 1908 [8]
General characteristics
- Crew: 4
- Capacity: 34 troops or 20 paratroops
- Length: 62 ft 11 in (19.18 m)
- Wingspan: 89 ft 3 in (27.21 m)
- Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)
- Wing area: 882 ft² (82.0 m²)
- Empty weight: 24,980 lb (11,355 kg)
- Loaded weight: 36,500 lb (16,591 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Bristol Hercules 230 9-cylinder radial piston engine, 1,975 hp (1,473 kW) each
- Propellers: de Havilland (or Rotol) four-bladed constant-speed
Performance
- Maximum speed: 224 kn (258 mph, 415 km/h) at 10,000 ft
- Cruise speed: 150 kn [1] (172 mph, 277 km/h)
- Range: 1,270 nmi (1,460 mi, 2,350 km)
- Service ceiling: 21,500 ft (6,550 m)
- Rate of climb: 1,275 ft/min (6.48 m/s)
- Wing loading: 41.4 lb/ft² (202 kg/m²)
- Power/mass: 0.108 hp/lb (0.178 kW/kg)
See also
Related development
Lists relating to aviation | |
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| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
References
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Thetford 1957
- ↑ Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X.
- ↑ Britain's Small Wars - The Last Drop 3 Para at El Gamil airfield. Retrieved: 10 April 2007.
- ↑ Britain's Small Wars - RAF in Malaya. Retrieved: 10 April 2007.
- ↑ Britain's Small Wars - The RAF in Aden and the Radafan. Retrieved: 10 April 2007.
- ↑ Martin, 1975, pp.35-37
- ↑ Taylor, Michael J.H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 0-51710-316-8.
- ↑ Andrews and Morgan 1988, p. 416.
Bibliography
- Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.
- Martin, Bernard. The Viking, Valetta and Varsity. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. 1975. ISBN 0-85130-038-3.
- Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Aircraft 1918-57. London: Putnam, 1st edition, 1957.
External links
Lists relating to aviation | |
|---|---|
| General | Timeline of aviation · Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines |
| Military | Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft |
| Notable incidents and accidents | Military aviation · Airliners · General aviation · Famous aviation-related deaths |
| Records | Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft |
| This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vickers Valetta". |
