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WW2 Vickers Valentia data needed


JWM

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Thank you for info about u/c, I was not aware about any visual difference in this area before. 

Here we have Valentia 

EcLlRIFWAAILCPV.jpg

 

And here is Victoria

victoria10.jpg 

 

You need to look at them carefully, but indeed, there is a difference clearly seen . Besides appearent different construction of suspension (shock absorbents) The Valentia looks to have it taller, so this should result in different height given in technical data. I have to look for it. 

On 12/26/2020 at 12:24 AM, JOCKNEY said:

When are you planning on starting building Jerzy ?

Pat, I think (or hope) to do her in 2021, but certainly not now yet. I have to collect more info to feel myself ready for build...

 

Regards

Jerzy-Wojtek

 

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Thanks for the pictures Jerzy.

 

Definitely able to spot the different engines also the nose hase glazed panels on the Valentia which seem to be missing on the Victoria.

 

Are you building the Contrail on that comes with 5 kits in one box ?

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Hi, I am currently building the three Victoria/Valentia available in the Contrail kit. Finding references is a true hunt, as soon as one is trying to decide which one to make ! I thank everyone contributing to the exchanges on this thread. I have not yet decided what to make, but certainly a Victoria, a normal Valentia, and the Valentia with the turrets. I will probably make the latter camouflaged. I am now making the interiors, and up to now it was difficult to properly understand how the cockpit was made. The pictures of the interiors in the various posts here were unknown to me. Thank you !

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6 hours ago, beekeeper said:

Hi, I am currently building the three Victoria/Valentia available in the Contrail kit. Finding references is a true hunt, as soon as one is trying to decide which one to make ! I thank everyone contributing to the exchanges on this thread. I have not yet decided what to make, but certainly a Victoria, a normal Valentia, and the Valentia with the turrets. I will probably make the latter camouflaged. I am now making the interiors, and up to now it was difficult to properly understand how the cockpit was made. The pictures of the interiors in the various posts here were unknown to me. Thank you !

Do you have a camouflaged  scheme for Valentia with turrets, especially the nose one?

Regards

J-W

 

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Hi, thanks for your reply. No, I have no camouflage scheme, and I can't find any view of the front turret, apart from the picture provided with the kit's instructions...

The link below will give you a bunch of useful pictures, but still no trace of front turret for aircraft used in WW2...

http://www.70squadron.roselake.co.uk/walkerjohngeorge5.htm

Paolo

 

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On 1/3/2021 at 7:53 PM, dogsbody said:

 

On 1/3/2021 at 7:00 PM, beekeeper said:

Hi, thanks for your reply. No, I have no camouflage scheme, and I can't find any view of the front turret, apart from the picture provided with the kit's instructions...

The link below will give you a bunch of useful pictures, but still no trace of front turret for aircraft used in WW2...

http://www.70squadron.roselake.co.uk/walkerjohngeorge5.htm

Paolo

Paolo and Chris, thank you! From that web page I took one of photos in first post (but I did not record the link...)

BTW - in this link there is a photo described as "French airplane crashed in Habbaniya" and in fact depicts Westland Wapity in an interwar livery from break of end of 1920.s and 1930.s....  So perhaps one should be a bit careful with credit all what is given there....

Regards

J-W

 

 

 

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This is a better resolution photo of Valentia "T" from first post

full?d=1533598460

 

The serial is still not seen :( . The  web page where it appeared suggest that it could be machine from 31 Sq in Iraq. The single letter perhaps confirms it. However, in another web page the same photo is illustrating the East Africa usage of SAAF Valetia... This Valentoa has four blade props whereas all SAAF machines I've seen so far had two blade props. There is something like a nose art below cockpit (?) - what it could be?  

Regards

J-W

 

P.S>

I was wrong about two blades, here is SAAF Valentia with four blades prop (colorised photo i think)

f7.jpg.opt1306x898o0,0s1306x898.jpg

Edited by JWM
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The odds are slim but the 31 Sqn Operations Record Book, might offer some options for the serial number.  If you're really lucky, it may even mention the individual code letter.  ORBs should be downloadable for free from the UK National Archives.  I stress again that it's much more likely that the ORB won't have the details you seek...but what have you got to lose?

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2 hours ago, mhaselden said:

The odds are slim but the 31 Sqn Operations Record Book, might offer some options for the serial number.  If you're really lucky, it may even mention the individual code letter.  ORBs should be downloadable for free from the UK National Archives.  I stress again that it's much more likely that the ORB won't have the details you seek...but what have you got to lose?

Thank you! Meanwhile I have some serials here

http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?20325-Vickers-Valentia-31-Squadron-Iran-26-8-1941

But.... I HAVE FOUND link between serials and some code letters here

https://books.google.pl/books?id=SLPNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT397&lpg=PT397&dq=serials+valentia+31+squadron+iraq&source=bl&ots=k-TbXiOMHD&sig=ACfU3U2OipeKyHmnoeLdt0t3jj2zDQD7-Q&hl=pl&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiq2JnumIjuAhWilosKHaGIDcAQ6AEwEHoECBIQAg#v=onepage&q=serials valentia 31 squadron iraq&f=false

Regards

J-W

 

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On 1/3/2021 at 7:00 PM, beekeeper said:

Hi, thanks for your reply. No, I have no camouflage scheme, and I can't find any view of the front turret, apart from the picture provided with the kit's instructions...

The link below will give you a bunch of useful pictures, but still no trace of front turret for aircraft used in WW2...

http://www.70squadron.roselake.co.uk/walkerjohngeorge5.htm

Paolo

Here are some interesting photos and drawings

http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft26342.htm

Regards

J-W

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/2/2021 at 4:23 PM, beekeeper said:

Hi, I am currently building the three Victoria/Valentia available in the Contrail kit. Finding references is a true hunt, as soon as one is trying to decide which one to make ! I thank everyone contributing to the exchanges on this thread. I have not yet decided what to make, but certainly a Victoria, a normal Valentia, and the Valentia with the turrets. I will probably make the latter camouflaged. I am now making the interiors, and up to now it was difficult to properly understand how the cockpit was made. The pictures of the interiors in the various posts here were unknown to me. Thank you !

Hi

Maybe you know this figure, but for any case it shows some interior details like a pilot position and arm chair 

1514-1.jpg

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  • 2 months later...

The 'SJ' is intriguing, as it appears again here, but without another letter visible. The date for this flight taking Haile Selassie from Khartoum to Gedaref on a day trip was the 6 Sept, 1940. The Valentia in camo is most likely to be K3160 of 70 Squadron RAF, that had flown down from Heliopolis a few days earlier. It's likely that these shaky shots were not actually taken by my dad but by someone using a camera of his, possibly Selassie's son.

 

49945053131_8b8e51d151_o.jpg
neg000 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

 

49945053056_cc486d349b_o.jpg

neg012 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

 

The date on another of my father's photos (also seen above here) was 8 Jan, 1939, on a trip down to Kenya in K3604 of 216 Squadron. They had some problem with the rear wheel !!

 

49944539873_1e6aa09148_o.jpg
l002 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

 

49945334192_664e856940_o.jpg
l004 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

 

Incidentally, I have only the negatives and a hand-written log by my dad - any other information has been provided from the ORB that several air historians have shared access to. Take a look at the other shots if it helps.

 

I'll be very interested to see how your Valentia progresses.

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Very interesting is also heavy damage of paint on top of fuselage given that year before tha machine was all over alu dope. So the sun and sand did the job apparently...

I am strongly tempted to do this particular Valentia...

 

8 hours ago, Sandeha Lynch said:

The 'SJ' is intriguing, as it appears again here, but without another letter visible. The date for this flight taking Haile Selassie from Khartoum to Gedaref on a day trip was the 6 Sept, 1940. The Valentia in camo is most likely to be K3160 of 70 Squadron RAF, that had flown down from Heliopolis a few days earlier. It's likely that these shaky shots were not actually taken by my dad but by someone using a camera of his, possibly Selassie's son.

 

49945053131_8b8e51d151_o.jpg

 

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I'd have to say it's a good choice! 🙂

 

Here's the notes from the ORB.

 

From the Operations Record Book of Headquarters, No.203 Group.

"6/9/40, 0600 - The Emperor HAILE SALASSIE (sic) arrived by road and was received by Group Captain C.E.V. PORTER, (SASO), Wing Commander J.G. ELTON, DFC., AFC., (Stn. Commander, RAF Khartoum), and Flight Lieutenant B.J. LYNCH, Ph.D. B.A (sic, in fact a BSc), (Group Senior Intelligence Officer). After a brief inspection of the fighter aircraft on the aerodrome the Emperor departed by a Valentia aircraft piloted by Pilot Officer FARMER, to GEDAREF and was escorted by two Vincents of 430 Flight. The Emperor was accompanied by his son and members of his staff."

 

The Valentia is most likely to be K3160 of 70 Squadron RAF, that had flown down from Heliopolis a few days earlier. You might be aware that the whereabouts of Selassie in that period was top secret, which might make an a/c identification tricky. But as someone suggested, K3160 certainly wasn't anywhere else that day.

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I've discovered the 'SJ' code is not quite what it should be on most lists.

 

No. 70 Squadron RAF used both DU and SJ


https://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/squadron_history.php?Squadron=403

 

They flew Valentias and then Wellingtons out of Habbaniya and then Egypt. But SJ is not given on the Wiki page, nor included on their code lists.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._70_Squadron_RAF

 

But this helps confirm that the Valentia in question was from 70 sqn, and therefore almost most certainly K3160 given the ORB reference.

49945053131_8b8e51d151_o.jpg
neg000 by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

 

51114866144_0365958326_o.jpg

70 sqn orb by Sandeha Lynch, on Flickr

Edited by Sandeha Lynch
Adding ORB record
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5 hours ago, dov said:

Hallo

Which kits are available? Which scale?

Just curiosity!

Happy modelling

Still, only Contrail vacu.... But I've got one! :)

Regards

J-W

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Silver Wings have been collecting info and maintaining an interest for some time. I would like to see it but it would be a commercial risk. It's an esoteric subject and the cost of the kit would be very high.  Maybe 50-100 people offering a cash deposit might entice them. 🙂 I would buy one but maybe there are not another 49-99 like minded weird, nutty wealthy discerning people around.

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11 hours ago, dov said:

Oh, may we pray, and Luckgraph or Silverwing may do it....?

Those both companies are from my home town Kraków, like also Choroszy, Ardpol (currently closed) and Karaya and few more less known. It looks that it is real basin of  resin models. I think I met each of the owners at least once in person... During my schools years (so 1970s) I visited one of them in a his flat and I was astonished by the collection of British interwar machines in 1:100, all scratch  build, as far as I remember. And there was a Valentia/Victoris among them.  I have to ask my brother ( @KRK4m ) to help my memory - -was it father of current owner of Luckgraph? He had also a collections of scratched war ships in 1/1000 (?) - the waterline models as far as I remember...

Regards

J-W

 

Edited by JWM
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