The Vickers Valentia was a 1920s British flying boat designed during the First World War.
| Valentia | |
|---|---|
 Valentia (N126) at the Marine and Armament Experimental Establishment, Isle of Grain, April 1923.[1] | |
| General information | |
| Type | Flying boat |
| National origin | United Kingdom |
| Manufacturer | Vickers-Armstrongs |
| Primary user | Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment |
| Number built | 3 |
| History | |
| Introduction date | 1921 |
| First flight | 5 Mar 1921 |
| Retired | 1924 |
History
editThree Valentia prototypes were built by the Vickers Company at their Barrow works (Walney Island perhaps), having been ordered in May 1918 as a potential replacement for the Felixstowe F.5. The hull was built by S.E.Saunders works at Cowes. The first of the three (Serial Number N124) first flew on 5 March 1921, when Stanley Cockerell began test-flying it over the Solent.[2] N124 was damaged on landing in June 1921 and was dismantled, the second N125 forced landed on its delivery flight on 15 March 1922[3] The third flying boat N126 was delivered in 1923 and used for trials until it was withdrawn from use in November 1924.
The name was later re-used for a transport aircraft, the Vickers Type 264 Valentia.
Specifications (Valentia)
edit
Data from Vickers Aircraft since 1908 [4]
General characteristics
- Crew: 5[5]
- Length: 58 ft 0 in (17.68 m)
- Wingspan: 112 ft 0 in (34.14 m)
- Empty weight: 10,000 lb (4,536 kg)
- Gross weight: 21,300 lb (9,662 kg)
- Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Condor water-cooled V12 engine, 650 hp (480 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
- Endurance: 4 hr 30 min[6]
- Time to altitude: 9.5 min to 6,000 ft (1,800 m)[5]
Armament
- Guns: Provision for two Lewis guns. Tested with COW 37 mm gun[6]
See also
edit- Canadian Vickers – Felixstowe F-III built for transatlantic attempt
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
edit- ^ Chorlton, Martyn, ed. (2012). Aeroplane Collectors' Archive: Golden Age of Flying-boats. Kelsey Publishing Group, Cudham, Kent. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-907426-71-1.
- ^ "Air Ministry's New Flying Boat", The Times, 8 March 1921
- ^ Wixey, Ken, "Flying Boats of the RAF: 1920s 'One-offs' ", FlyPast No. 106, Stamford, Lincs., U.K., May 1990, page 68.
- ^ Andrews and Morgan 1988, p.482.
- ^ a b "The Vickers-Saunders flying boat "Valentia"". Flight. XIII (11): 191. 17 March 1921.
- ^ a b London 2003, pp.266–267.
- Andrews, C.F and Morgan, E.B. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.
- London, Peter. British Flying Boats. Stroud, UK:Sutton Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-7509-2695-3.