Now that el General has completed and posted his excellent model of WP215, he and I thought that some of you might be interested in having some idea of the role that the Valiant’s, forming first of all 199 Squadron and then 18 Squadron, played during their final years of service.
The role of the Valiant’s was no different to that performed by the Avro Lincoln aircraft at RAF Hemswell in Lincolnshire from 1952 until 1957. The primary role was to provide, to the operators of the UK defence radar system, familiarity of operating in a level of electronic interference (radar and communications) that could be experienced in a conflict with the then unfriendly states of Eastern Europe. The Valiant was able to provide a more realistic environment than the Lincoln, in terms of the equipment installed in the aircraft and the aircraft themselves.
Typically a weeks-flying programme would be along the following lines;
Two days, normally Tuesday and Thursday, maximum effort to exercise two sectors of the UK defence radar system. One sector in the morning and another in the afternoon. In-flight lunch would be taken en route between the two sectors. Often a night time element would be flown.
On other days miscellaneous exercises or training sorties would be flown.
During the autumn of 1956 we received news that the Squadron would be re-equipping with Valiants. A big step up from the Lincolns. In fact Valiants became regular visitors to Hemswell, to have modifications incorporated by the Bomber Command Modifications Unit (BCMU), whose parent station at RAF Lindholm could not handle these aircraft. So we were able to have a sneak preview at our new beasts and we were very impressed, overawed would probably be more accurate.
The first of seven aircraft (WP213) designated to the Squadron was flown into RAF Watton in that same autumn for the necessary modifications to be carried out at the installation flight under the guidance of WO (Joe) Higgins. If ever a man knew how to organise such a task Joe did. The original scheme under which the aircraft were to be modified was to allow the RCM equipment to be removed and the navigation bombing system (NBS) and all related bombing equipment to be re-installed, so returning the aircraft to their bombing role. No one considered that the aircraft fitted with the RCM equipment could have an operational use and how long would it take for the necessary changeover to be accomplished. One could hardly expect an adversary to respond to a request for a delay in hostilities while the work was done. Ultimately the impracticability of this idea was abandoned.
In the spring of 1957 I and four other members of the RCM section were posted to RAF Honington to prepare workshops for the arrival of the first aircraft and to participate in the trials of the aircraft and equipment. It was intended to conduct the trials under the auspices of the Bomber Command Development Unit (BCDU), then located at RAF Wittering. For this purpose, we were detached to Wittering to set-up temporary maintenance workshops in the electronic centre. This turned out to be a month of frustration, due to the slow delivery of equipment required for the work benches. At the end of this month we moved back to Honington, as it had then been decided to conduct the trials out of Honington and the BCDU team could gather all the required information from there.
As the spares and workshop equipment began to arrive, we spent the time learning about the new equipment, which being mainly American supplied was provided with very good manuals (Technical Orders in American parlance). All such training was undertaken on this equipment; no formal training whatsoever was available. Many days were also spent at Watton having instruction from the Installation Flight team relative to the aircraft and equipment.
Fl/Lt Collings, who had flown the Canberra at Hemswell and one or two of the Lincoln spec. ops. undertook the Valiant conversion course. The spec. ops. whose actual aircrew category was Signaller, became Air Electronic Officers (AEO), as on the Valiant they were responsible for more than just signalling using the HF radio equipment. On the standard aircraft they also monitored some of the aircraft systems, and on our aircraft shared the task of operating the RCM equipment with a second AEO. The first aircraft was accepted at Watton and flown to Honington in May 1957 in the hands of Fl/Lt Collings and his crew, with the crew chief Chief Tech 'Woof' Barker. By now of course the nucleus of the ground crew had been formed and on 1st August 1957 we became 'C' flight of 199 Squadron, eagerly awaiting the beginning of the trials and future operation of our 'new toy'. On the 1st October we became 199 squadron proper, with 'A' and 'B' flights at Hemswell taking the flight number 1321. I have recently thought what a good idea it would have been for a Valiant, Canberra and Lincoln flypast to have been made in commemoration, but more pressings needs prevailed.
By August 1958 the following seven Valiants were on Squadron strength, listed in the sequence of delivery from Watton: WP213, WZ365, WZ372, WP212, WP215, WP216 and WP211. All seven aircraft had the same equipment installed, with the exception of WZ372, which had some slight changes, which are described later. The following describes the installation of the basic equipment.
Six Airborne Cigar (ABC)
The six VHF transmitters and noise generators were situated in racks in the electrical equipment bay, commonly known as the 'organ loft'. Access to this area was made via the nose wheel bay, which made changing of the equipment tricky. The six ABC amplifiers and transmitter controllers were situated in a rack mounted under the pilot/copilot floor, in the area normally occupied by the bomb aimer.
AN/ALT-7 and APR-4/ALA-2
The ALT-7 transmitter and power supply unit, and APR-4/ALA-2 were installed in a rack at the rear crew floor level to the right of the ABC equipment. The ABC and ALT-7 were normally operated by the AEO/signaller.
Two AN/APT-16A
The four transmitters, two power supply units and two noise modulators were installed in a rack situated in the nose radome section. The horn antenna were located in the forward area of the radome and connected by coaxial cable to the transmitter.
The two-control/indicator units were situated at the special operator desk. The operator used the area normally occupied by the Nav Plotter in the bomber role.
AN/APR-9 and AN/ALA-6
The ALA-6 antenna was situated in the nose radome and connected to the APR-9 RF tuner. The tuner, mixer amplifier, power supply units were situated in a rack under the operator desk.
The ALA-6 indicator, APR-9 panoramic display indicator and control/indicator unit were situated at the operator desk.
Window
All Valiants, not just ours, were able to carry and dispense window via panniers and chutes situated in the forward bomb bay area. The loading and installation of the panniers was the responsibility of the aircraft electrical fitters. This installation was more efficient than that of the Lincoln aircraft.
Planning for each exercise was carried out at Bomber Command and Fighter Command Headquarters, to determine which sectors of the radar network would be exercised, which communications frequencies and radars would be jammed, together with other aspects of the exercise. It must be remembered that if, for example the radar and communications channels at say sector 'A' were going to be jammed for the benefit of their controllers and associated aircraft, an adjacent radar at sector 'B' would not want to suffer any interference with what it may be doing at the same time, therefore the planning had to be thorough.
The relevant information was passed to the squadron for use by the navigation leader, for route planning, and by the signal's leader, for frequency switching planning, and the signal's officer, so that all the equipment could be prepared. The ABC required most planning. It was necessary to cover the relevant frequencies in a manner that would permit ease of switching, not only between individual sets in each aircraft, but between aircraft, so as to combine maximum coverage of each frequency and allow for possible equipment failures. When the frequencies had been allocated to each of the four sets in the appropriate aircraft, we in the workshop had to set-up the transmitters and amplifiers. The TR1985/86 were crystal controlled, and to ensure coverage of all frequencies we had a very comprehensive quantity of crystals. Therefore, the first task was to obtain the required crystals. Occasionally, when a frequency at a particular sector had changed, and we did not have the crystals, Bomber Command HQ was informed and they would arrange a hasty dispatch of the crystals, which may not arrive until shortly before the aircraft were preparing for take-off. When all the crystals were available, the TR1985/86 were tuned as required. The amplifier then needed to be tuned to each frequency, using two tuning controls and an 'on-tune' indicator. Each control had a graduated scale, the settings of which were recorded to enable the spec. op. to tune the amplifier with minimum delay when frequencies were changed during the exercise. The appropriate Dina sets were also tuned in the workshop to the required frequency, but this was not as complex as the ABC. So, with all the equipment tuned and checked out, it had to be conveyed to the appropriate aircraft for installation, when it was available, and then checked to ensure that it operated OK. Because of the number of exercises carried out each week, we had to carry two complete sets of equipment per aircraft, so that with sufficient forward planning we could at least start setting up for the next exercise, before the current one was complete. This of course meant that one set of equipment had to be removed before the other could be installed.
With the arrival of our first aircraft at Honington, trials began to determine the effectiveness of the equipment and aircraft. Because of the need to have a radar station to operate with at a dedicated period, most of the trial flights were made during the summer evenings of 1957. This proved to be advantageous to all concerned, we ground crew could ensure that all the aircraft systems were functioning correctly and the personnel at the radar station could devote their whole efforts in monitoring the effects of the jamming. Before the trials had concluded, WZ365 arrived from Watton and was therefore able to ease the work load imposed on WP213 and the crew. At times both aircraft were flown in a joint operation to determine the effectiveness of the additional capability. Overall the trials proved a great success, except of course for our attempts to use Carpet, which proved no more use than when carried in the Lincoln. On probably the only occasion when Carpet was tested the operator at the radar station observed complete saturation of the radar display at about the same time that the Carpet was switched on. At last it appeared that we would be able to provide some useful jamming of this radar. Unfortunately the display still showed apparent saturation long after the aircraft had returned to base. Apparently the radar was as reliable (?) as Carpet and by coincidence a fault had occurred giving the false impression. I do not remember that Carpet was subsequently ever used.
At the conclusion of the trials, reports were prepared and representatives from all parties attended a conference at Head Quarters Bomber Command. One of the unanimous conclusions reached by all was that if the equipment could effectively jam the UK radar and communications network it could also achieve similar effects against other such defensive systems. The Squadron commander, W/Cdr Roe had a difficult time in persuading anyone from the operations area of the headquarters from attending the debriefing conference to hear the recommendations. The CO was a very persuasive character and someone reluctantly came along. It must have been quite an eye opener for them, because as a result, when the Squadron achieved full strength we were given an operational role, whatever that may have entailed. We took part in many of the practice scrambles and always had at least one aircraft ready for immediate take-off out of normal duty hours, if required. Thank goodness none of the V force were required to perform the task for which they were formed. During 1958 as more aircraft came onto strength a similar pattern of operations were undertaken as with the Lincolns, but more effectively.
One exception was the role of WZ372, which had some changes made for RAE Farnborough to conduct evaluation trials in relation to RCM equipment being developed for all Vulcan and Victor aircraft. This equipment would ensure that each aircraft carried a full set of countermeasure equipment, thus eliminating the need for the specialist units such as 199 Squadron. The trials concerned the use of one APT-16, the output of which was fed to an adjustable splitter waveguide, one branch terminated in a dummy load, while the second branch fed an antenna located at the rear of the aircraft. The purpose was to simulate the power output of the new jammer in terms of "watts per megacycle bandwidth". The calibration of the splitter waveguide involved the use of a Heath Robinson contraption, where water at a known flow rate and temperature could be passed around the waveguide and by measuring the increase in outlet temperature, the power needed to cause this increase could be calculated. The source of water was a domestic tap, which just happened to be situated near one of the hardstands, where 372 was positioned. A long hose was then connected to the tap and across the stand up to and into the radome area. The water flow rate was stabilised (?) by a series of commands to either increase or decrease by slight adjustments of the tap, very scientific. I remember doing this one autumn afternoon when the ambient temperature was falling quite noticeably, so the effect of this on the water temperature caused havoc. Anyway some useful measurements were obviously made, as the two 'boffins' from RAE went away quite jubilant, and as far as is known the trials with 372 were a success.
In the autumn of 1958 rumours started to circulate that the squadron would be moving, but where to remained a mystery, various ideas were put forward, West Malling was a good bet for those of us from the more southern climes. This was firmly squashed, when RAF Finningley near Doncaster was revealed as being our new home. With some dismay we were told that we would be moving in December, just before Christmas, and that we would be changing Squadron number en route to No. 18. This being part of the MoD policy of retaining the older numbers, so ended another chapter of RAF history.
On the morning of the 16th December 1958 six Valiants of 199 Squadron departed from RAF Honington in Suffolk to carry out one of the weekly routine exercises. However, this exercise did not end with the usual return to Honington, but they landed at their new home, RAF Finningley in South Yorkshire. Another major difference was that they were now 18 Squadron. The change in number was due of the MoD policy of retaining the older numbers, so ended a one chapter of RAF history and another begun.
Thankfully during the time we had the Valiants no serious incidents occurred, though on one or two occasions there were some near misses. Similar incidents happened to WZ365 (4th September 1958) and WP215 (10th September) at Honington. WZ365 was increasing engine power in preparation for take-off when No. 4 engine failed. The crew was able to shut the engine down and extinguish the subsequent fire, which resulted in damage in the starboard wing. A similar failure in No. 2 engine of 215 though could have been catastrophic, as the failure occurred when overshooting from a landing while doing circuit training. The failed engine suffered a fire, and because the pilot executed too tight a turn, they had to 'go-around' for a second attempt, which was successful. The resultant damage to 215 took about 10 months to repair, 365 took somewhat less.
At Finningley on the 25th February 1961, WP211 suffered an elevator control failure, shortly after take-off, at about 2500ft, a slight bump was felt, followed by a change of trim. Although there was no indication of power control failure, elevator movement was restricted and very heavy. The captain (Sqdn Ldr Preece) diagnosed that the elevator control was probably jammed. The aircraft was taken to 10000ft to establish the degree of control available in the landing configuration. No effective elevator control was available below 140 knot, the alternatives were to land the aircraft using tailplane trim or abandon the aircraft, the former option was taken. As the weather at Finningley was fine, a successful, if somewhat heavy landing was made. The subsequent investigation revealed that a technical failure had rendered the elevator virtually unusable. Sqnd Ldr Preece was rightly awarded a Queens Commendation for this effort.
The majority of overseas trips were undertaken from our new home at Finningley. The usual pattern was for a single aircraft to do either a 'Lone Ranger' or a 'Western Ranger'. The former involved a round trip of about five or six days across Eastern Africa to Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), which was considered to be a bit of a jolly. The latter took the crew to Offet Air Force Base in Nebraska, USA, and made use of the aircrafts ECM capability to exercise the part of the North American radar network. On the return journey the crew would have a short stop at the Canadian Air Force base (St. Huberts) near Montreal to have a debriefing session to evaluate the success or otherwise of the inbound exercise.
We also had periodic detachments to exercise the defensive systems in the eastern Mediterranean, operating from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. I will recount one of these to show the reliability of the Valiant aircraft in a period of intense activity. When the aircraft were introduced into service in the 1950's it represented a major advance in technology for the RAF and, in particular the design and manufacturing team at the Vickers aircraft company. Six aircraft were positioned to Cyprus on the 23rd April 1960, with the accompanying ground crew in the luxury of a Transport Command Britannia. All six Valiants arrived safe and sound, with perhaps one or two minor snags that were soon corrected. To bolster the local area defences a number of Hunters were flown from the UK, one of which was lost en route (the pilot was OK). A member of the Hunter unit engaged in discussion over a beer in the mess, casually enquired as to how many sorties we were committed to. It being no secret he was told that it was 18 over three consecutive days, 26th, 27th and 28th. One could almost see the brain ticking to divide 18 by 3, meaning that all six aircraft would be committed each day," but not all at once?" he enquired, "and why not", came the reply, "but what about a spare aircraft?" This was probably too much for him to comprehend, so the topic of conversation was changed to something more logical to a fighter type. Well, day one dawned and all six gleaming white aircraft took to the clear blue sky and went off to do their thing and returned. After the usual round of snag fixing, refuelling etc., the same thing happened the next day. It nearly didn't happen on the third however. One of the idiosyncrasies of the Valiant concerned the nose wheel, if it was not properly centered during the take-off run, it may not retract, a little nudge on the steering mechanism by the pilot might be enough to do the trick, but it may not. In this event the crew merely abandoned the planned sortie and flew umpteen circuits until enough fuel had been used to permit a safe landing. On the third day the first five aircraft took off uneventfully, followed by number six. We saw the main landing gear retracting, but the nose wheel didn't seem to be moving, we all waited with baited breath, willing it to move. The aircraft continued to climb, the crew knowing that they only had a slight chance of raising the offending unit. What a cheer went up when we saw it disappear into the wheel bay and the aircraft continued to join the other five to complete the 18 sorties in the three days. I also remember seeing the aircraft departing Akrotiri for the return to Finningley. Three were due to route back to base with a refuelling stop at El Adam (near Tobruk, Libya) and the other three at Luqa, Malta. With the wind direction being from the east it was possible to see all six aircraft in various positions of the homeward bound course just as the last one was taking off.
The squadron had another detachment to Cyprus from the 17th October to 9th November 1960. Only four aircraft were able to participate in the detachment. The flying programme was somewhat curtailed mainly due to the need for all Valiants to have a fuel valve in one particular tank checked. The final week of the period was used to catch up on some crew training. Many of the ground crew took advantage of topping up our sun tans for the pending winter back home.
I left the RAF in May 1962, but I understand that the Squadron did detach to Malaysia later in the year.
