#vickers valiant

V Bombers: Avro Vulcan, Handley Page Victor, And Vickers Valiant, The Last British Cold War Bombers VIDEO ➤➤ https://youtu.be/djQLDxs8rIY

RAF’s potent Cold War trio of V-bombers

Two back page features from Warlord comics cover dated 3 May. Both had a common theme.

Above, from the issue dated 3 May 1975 is a feature on the Handley-Page Victor bomber. One of the famous RAF 'V Bombers'.

Below, from the issue dated 3 May 1980 is another feature on the Victor and its two fellow V Bombers: - the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant.

Valiant BK.1 XD818 at Cosford, The only remaining full example of a Valiant anywhere on the planet, XD818 was the actual aircraft that dropped Britain's first hydrogen bomb. First flown on 4th September 1956, she was delivered to 49 Squadron at RAF Wittering on 14th November 1956. XD818 was one of eight Valiants modified by Vickers for Operation Grapple - the testing of Britain's first hydrogen bomb. These mods included anti-flash curtains in the cockpit and bomb-bay-mounted cameras to record the drop. In March 1957, XD818 was flown to Christmas Island and on 15th May 1957 dropped the first British h-bomb - this drop was codenamed 'Short Granite'. She returned to Christmas Island on several other occasions for further bomb drop tests and with their cessation in December 1958 returned to normal duties, with her Grapple mods being removed in November 1959. In July 1961 she was converted to a BK.1 tanker. She was repainted into low level green/grey camouflage in September 1964 but in December was grounded along with every other Valiant due to the spar fatigue problems that had been discovered.