1950's Archive Part 2: Vickers Valiant

There is still a (part of a) Valiant at Brooklands. Photographed in the Strat chamber last week.
mmitch.

Valiant BK1 XD816. Cockpit.

Silver Vulcan and Canberra as well as Comets but I am unaware of any Valiants there.

Richard

Remember a camo Vulcan flown in. We used to send picketing blocks flying during power checks!:D:D:D
Oh yes a whistling **t as well. Argosy I think it was called

Tell me i’ve lost it completely BUT!

I seem to remember a silver Valiant at Halton 1967-69. Reg haven’t a clue, and cannot find any reference.

Anyone out there, can you put me out of my misery?

Silver Vulcan and Canberra as well as Comets but I am unaware of any Valiants there.

Richard

I can remember when I worked at Marshalls we had to clear out some storage room/cupboards in the late 90’s. Amongst the junk there were a couple of Canberra seats, mostly stripped, but I also found a Valiant spanner for the nosewheel axle nut.I tried to get the seats, but they ended up getting scrapped, but I managed to salvage the spanner from the scrap bin.

So if any one out there needs to change a nose wheel on a Valiant, give me a shout and you can borrow my spanner! 😀

Tell me i’ve lost it completely BUT!

I seem to remember a silver Valiant at Halton 1967-69. Reg haven’t a clue, and cannot find any reference.

Anyone out there, can you put me out of my misery?

A bit like this,

BRK_Weybridgeworks ed by jamtey71, on Flickr

Seeing your excellent plan convices me even more that it is at Weybridge.
I think WZ367 is parked on that ‘frying’ pan dispersal with building 1 behind it, the pic is taken close enough to it that you can’t see the other buildings, the control tower being behind the main undercarriage area.

It looks to me that building 1 is made up from a triple General Service shed at the northern end, and a double General Service shed at the other, and the two joined by a later addition.
A building list from the early 1920s lists the airfield as having the two GS sheds

Hmm, you might be on to something there Pagen! I wouldn’t have guessed at that area as there are a lot of smaller buildings between the wing skin milling building (the one you pointed out) and the open area around the runway. But at the left end (on the photo you linked to) there is an area where the curved roofs can be seen and the building on the left of WZ367 would then be part of the aircraft servicing school or something in that area. The aerial view you linked to is taken from North of the flight sheds, looking South. I had another look at this map which is on my site:

And there appears to be a parking spot just at the ‘T’ of ‘Aircraft servicing school’ which would match up. Conclusion: it might just be Weybridge! The one thing that niggles is that from that parking spot, you’d be seeing part of the fuselage assembly building on the right of the Valiant, and that building has peaked roofs. Shift a bit to the left and the apprentice training school should be in view, and as that is in the old control tower it should stick up behind the aircraft I guess. I’m not 100% convinced yet I guess…

The images on that Flickr stream are indeed interesting, I’d seen them before though as I have that DVD myself. I’ll have to reacquaint myself with it I guess!

I think the cars in the background are probably a bit too nice for Marham or any other RAF station.
I’m pretty sure it is Vickers Weybridge (Brooklands), in this shot http://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/6862881350/ I think it’s the buildings upper left to middle, seen from the opposite way from the Valiant picture above.
By the way Archer, you might want to view some of the other pictures on that Flickr page!

WZ367 certainly does look good in that picture, shortly before its death!

Edit, it looks like a triple General Service Shed, both in the wall and roof architecture, which Brooklands did have from the early days.

WZ-367 The end.

Interesting stuff Archer and chaps. Wot a sad fate for 367 !!! Who would want their lower legs yanked apart like that anyway, that brings 2 lots of tears to eyes. 😮 That lovely Low level paint scheme too.

I read somewhere during my search into 367 that this great pic. here of her in Low level camo was taken at RAF Marham, but I cannot confirm that.

So ended the days of the companion Valiant to WZ-366,the one that made the first UK Atomic Bomb drop in Aussie. (Operation Buffalo )

Time to crack a beer or 9 me-thinks and raise glass to WZ-367.

Bill T.

Thanks Pagen01, the problem is that I’ve looked at a lot of photos from Weybridge, but just cannot place these buildings. I’ll ask around though!

It looks like the dialectric fin and rudder caps have been removed to reveal the aerials underneath. Maybe part of the modification work undertaken at Marshalls?
Did Marshalls also do the painting of Valiants does anyone here know?

Jelle, I’m assuming WZ367 is shown at Weybridge, but not familiar enough with the buildings behind to say with certainty.

What is with the top of the of WZ381, fourth pic from the beginning?

It seems to me it has been removed?

Regards

Jon

Thank you for that, pagen01. 🙂

Thanks very much for this gentlemen! According to the info I was given WZ367 was flown into Weybridge late in 1964 (the photo at Wisley was from August 1964), she was modified but never flown and in the end she was parked outside and the main gears were pulled outwards to place it on the ground to make it easier for the breakers.

A second Valiant was kept at Wisley and also modified with strengthened spars but this one was in anti-flash white. This Valiant was flown for 20 hours with strain gauges on the modified spars to verify the repair but in the end was also scrapped. The site Pagen mentioned (http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/Valiant.html) shows that XD825 was:
*10/1964: Bailed back to Vickers for tests.
*6/10/1965: Struck off charge.
*6/1965: Salvaged at RAF Wisley.

So could this have been the second, modified and flown Valiant?

And a second question that popped into my head: any idea where this photo could have been taken? (it’s the one Pagen linked to earlier) I’m wondering if it is at Weybridge, seeing that some openings have been taped over it looks like it is stored:

Nice pic Archer !!

Thanks Pagen and Archer, for info and pic. on WZ-367. You are absolutely correct about this Valiant going to Wisley and then scrapped at Coley’s, (Not St. Athan ) as I finally found out a while ago. Shame, but that was a very bad time for rest of UK Aircraft Industry too.

The MB Eject. seat has just about most gear gathered for it now, but still looking for correct lower correct”Pull” handle ,cable assy and parachute “bucket” stowage release handle/cable assy. (Allows pilot to lean fwd. in seat to reach controls .)
I never was involved in moving Valiants or even line/Rect work, just Hyd./Wheel bay servicings and insult ground crew on Aircraft at each visit–lol !!!! So cannot help on panels idents.:D

BillT.

There is a large panel aft of the bomb bay which was raised to help airflow when the doors were open, aft of that was a powered flying controls bay access hatch

Does anyone have the identity of the Valiants which were at Weybridge in September 1957 please?
Jim

Does anyone know what was accessed through the quite large hatch towards the rear on the underside of the Valiant please?

Histories I’ve seen of WZ367 indicate that it was grounded and broken up at Weybridge and the scrap went to Coley’s at Ascot, Oct ’65.
Basic history with a nice picture here, http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/valiantpics/wz367.jpg
‘UK Serials’ agrees,