Vickers Valetta
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| Valetta | |
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| Type | Twin-engined military transport |
| Manufacturer | Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd |
| Maiden flight | 30 June 1947 |
| Number built | 263 |
| Developed from | Vickers VC.1 Viking |
| Variants | Vickers Varsity |
The Vickers Valetta was a British twin-engined military transport of the late 1940s. It was an all-metal mid-wing monoplane with a tailwheel undercarriage.
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[edit] Design and development
The Valetta was a military transport development of the Vickers VC.1 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 Vickers 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.
[edit] 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].
[edit] 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 [6].
[edit] 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
[edit] Specifications (Vickers Valetta C.1)
Data from /www.britishaircraft.co.uk[7]
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: 36,500lb (16,591 kg)
- Powerplant: 2× Bristol Hercules 230 , 9-cylinder radial piston engine withde Havilland or Rotol four-blade constant-speed propellors, 1,975 hp (1,473 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 224 knots (258 mph, 415 km/h) at 10,000 ft
- Cruise speed: 150 knots [1] (172 mph, 277 km/h)
- Range: 1,270 nm (1,460 miles, 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)
[edit] See also
Related development
[edit] References
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ Taylor, Michael J.H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989. ISBN 0-51710-316-8.
- ^ Vickers Valetta Retrieved: 10 April 2007.
[edit] Bibliography
- Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Aircraft 1918-57, 1st edition. London: Putnam, 1957.
[edit] External links
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