THE VALIANT AIRCRAFT - SERVICING [Main Title]
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- Title: THE VALIANT AIRCRAFT - SERVICING [Main Title]
- Film Number: AMY 269
- Other titles:
- Summary: An instructional film for RAF ground crews responsible for the maintenance of the RAF's first long-range nuclear bomber, the Vickers-Armstrong Valiant B. 1.
- Description: START 10:00:00 Reel 1. Titles and production credits. Intertitle 'Part 1 Ground Handling' and explanation of purpose of this instructional film. A Vickers-Armstrong Valiant - an "all-metal stressed skin high wing monoplane powered by four jet engines" - flies at very low level along the airfield used by Vickers-Armstrong and the RAF to test the production prototypes at Wisley, near Woking in Surrey. Valiant WP201 taxies along a perimeter track and comes to a stop. External views of the Valiant and internal views of the controls and instrument panels inside the cockpit explaining how all the brakes, flying controls, pilot safety devices and internal power are closed down at the end of the flight. 10:03:03 The panel on the port side of the Valiant's nose where external power and microphone cables for the ground crew-aircraft cockpit intercom system are attached is shown. The special features on a Douglas Tugmaster 11-ton airfield tractor and its towing bar or arm used to tow the aircraft are displayed and explained. The towing arm is first connected to a fitting inside the Valiant's bomb aimer's fairing before being hooked up to the Tugmaster. The means by which the tractor driver maintains voice and visual contact with the technician inside the cockpit are demonstrated. 10:07:48 A vertical plan shows where the five-man ground crew needs to be positioned in order that this manoeuvre can occur safely. The film describes how the Valiant is made ready for towing and demonstrates the care with which this procedure has to take place in order to prevent any harm to the aircraft or ground crew. 10:09:43 Reel 2. The film demonstrates how the nose of the Valiant can be raised by a specially designed trolley in order to allow its 32-foot tall tailplane to pass safely beneath the upper limit of a hangar door. 10:10:42 The film shows how a Valiant WP204 can be towed by two Douglas Tugmasters forwards and backwards and by a single Tugmaster towing it backwards, noting the different types of towing bridles or cables required (these are tethered to the oleos or legs on the main undercarriage) and the need to adjust the layout of the ground crew responsible for supervising these maneouvres. 10:15:16 To protect a Valiant bomber kept in the open air, waterproof covers are shown protecting the perspex windscreen, undercarriage wheels, engine intakes and exhausts and one of the pressure heads on the wing tip. Two RAF ground crewmen carefully remove the cover from the cockpit windscreen without letting it fall onto the ground. 10:16:12 The film examines the Valiant's 34-foot long bomb bay and how its 'roller-blind' doors can be opened and closed. In order to check the ratchet solenoid motor that powers the bomb bay doors, an RAF technician uses the controls sited at the forward end of the bomb bay to isolate the mechanism from the cockpit control. This facility is switched back on once the engineer has completed his check. Intertitle 'End of Part 1. Produced by the Air Ministry by Marcus Cooper Ltd'. 10:18:22 Reel 3. Titles and production credits - 'The Valiant Aircraft - Servicing Aspects....Part 2 Preparation for Flight'. An explanation with cutaway diagrams of the Valiant and actuality footage showing the layout of the twenty wing and fuselage fuel cells and the underwing drop tank together with the gravity-fed pumps that supply fuel to the four jet engines. 10:21:35 The film describes the rubber and nylon lining for each fuel cell and illustrates the replacement of the lining of one of the fuel cells in the fuselage. In order to do this, an RAF mechanic has to don protective overalls and breathing apparatus and squeeze through a small circular access panel in the roof of the bomb bay. A second technician assists him in this task. After much effort, the old cell lining is removed from the aircraft, laid out on a table, folded up and put into a large cardboard box. 10:27:28 Reel 4. The technician makes his way back into the fuel cell and makes sure that all its interior surfaces are clean and free of small bits of debris. He then installs a new fuel cell lining with the help of his colleague. 10:29:10 The film explains the correct procedure for refuelling a Valiant before take-off, with either one or several AEC petrol bowsers. To avoid unbalancing the aircraft, the fuel cells in the fuselage are seen being filled up first, then the wing fuel cells. The process is controlled by a float-operated switch that automatically cuts off the flow of fuel when each fuel cell is full. Fuel is pumped in at a maximum rate of 150 gallons per minute. Information about the state of the aircraft's fuel reserves are provided by tank selector switches at each of the two refuelling points on the fuselage and in the fuel gauges in the cockpit. The procedure for filling the wing fuel cells is shown. 10:34:56 Reel 5. The film illustrates the method by which a Valiant is 'de-fuelled' before it is taken out of service. Fuel is pumped out of the wing tanks before the fuselage cells are emptied. The maximum rate is 75 gallons per minute. An RAF mechanic is seen operating the controls on the AEC petrol bowser extracting the fuel from the Valiant. 10:38:54 A cutaway diagram displays the network of pipes and pumps designed to empty the water that collects in the Valiant's wing fuel cells. An RAF fitter demonstrates the method of draining water from the aircraft. 10:40:42 An explanation of the oil lubrication system used on the Valiant's four RA 7 Avon jet engines and the procedure for topping up the supply of lubricant. 10:41:53 The film describes the hydraulic system that controls the steering mechanism for the nose wheels and the brakes on all the undercarriage wheels together with a demonstration of how a mechanic gains access to the main hydraulic tanks in the Valiant's nose wheel bay behind the pressurised crew cabin. An explanation of the pressurised air supply required for the hydraulic accumulators on board the aircraft that operate the steering for the nose wheel and the brakes on all of the undercarriage wheels. 10:44:13 Reel 6. A shot showing Vickers-Armstrong Valiant WP200 taxiing along the airfield perimeter at Wisley introduces a description of the aircraft's two de-icing systems (as seen here Valiant WP202). One system drawns in hot air from the four Avon jet engines to warm the leading edge of the wings and the bomb bay and pressurise the cockpit. Intakes by which cold air enters the aircraft and gauze grills through which hot air is expelled are shown. The film shows the rheostats with which the temperature of the air circulating inside the Valiant can be regulated. 10:46:08 The other system is seen to keep the pilots' windscreen and bomb aimer's window free of ice. The film demonstrates how the de-icing fluid is pumped from reservoirs in the nose of the Valiant to the spray nozzles on the pilots' windscreen. 10:48:13 The method of starting up the aircraft engines is demonstrated with shots of a ground 28 volt electrical servicing trolley that provides the pilot in the cockpit with the power to start the jet engines. He is seen operating the control switches that regulate this process. Valiant WP201 taxies along the perimeter track. Titles 'End of Part 2' and end credits. 10:50:40 Reel 7. 'The Valiant Aircraft - Servicing Aspects... Part 3 Emergency Controls, Equipment and Exits'. Starting with a shot that shows Valiant WP200 taxiing past hangars and along the perimeter track at Wisley, the film illustrates the potential dangers lurking inside the crew compartment for RAF mechanics responsible for servicing the aircraft. Attention is drawn to the high explosive cartridges on the ejector seats for the pilot and co-pilot and the explosive bolts on the pilots's windscreen that blow the entire cockpit canopy clear when the ejector seats are operated. The crew compartment is shown without the canopy. 10:54:18 The Valiant carries other explosive bolts that can lower the aircraft's undercarriage, open the bomb bay doors and jettison the large underwing fuel tanks in the event of a failure of all the conventional controls on board the aircraft. An explosive bolt is taken apart to show the detonator. The film stresses the importance of replacing time-expired explosive charges, with a shot of the Valiant's service manual. The location of the controls inside the cockpit that release the wing flaps in an emergency and jettison the bombs in the bomb bay and Rocket Assisted Take Off (RATO) gear (if fitted) are also shown. 10:58:44 The seats for the three crew members who do not have ejector seats and the controls that allow the pilot to de-pressurise the cabin prior to ejecting are shown. 10:59:13 An introduction to the fire-fighting equipment on board the Vickers-Armstrong Valiant B. 1 bomber, showing the three hand-held water glycol fire extinguishers kept in the cockpit. 11:00:20 Reel 8. A description of the automatic fire alarm and fire extinguishers that dowse fires in any one of the four jet engines and fuel cells with methyl bromide. 11:04:05 A description of the three emergency exits for the three crew members in the Valiant who have no ejector seats. The door on the port side of the aircraft used by the flight crew to enter the cockpit is the most suitable. The method of opening this and the two other smaller hatches is demonstrated. A special feature is the windscreen that protects the crew from the strong air current they will encounter as they bale out of the aircraft via the crew door. All door handles and levers on the emergency exits and controls for all other emergency equipment are seen painted with bright yellow and black diagonal stripes. 11:06:22 The film describes the inflatable rubber dinghy stowed in a compartment on top of the Valiant's fuselage and how to pull the lever inside the crew compartment that actuates the carbon dioxide cylinder which inflates the craft. 11:08:02 The location of other emergency equipment inside the crew compartment - two axes, a Very flare pistol and fifteen signal flares, an Aldis lamp, asbestos gloves and a first aid box. 11:08:50 End shot of Valiant WP200 taxiing along the perimeter track at Wisley airfield and taking off. End credits. END 11:09:36
- Alternative Title:
- Colour: B&W
- Digitised: Yes
- Object_Number: AMY 269
- Sound: Sound
- Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM
- Featured Period: 1946-1975
- Production Date: 1954-07
- Production Country: GB
- Production Details: Air Ministry (Production sponsor) Marcus Cooper Ltd (Production company) Hornby, Cliff1907 (Production individual) Orchard, Harry (Production individual) Parkhouse, Charles (Production individual) Warwick, Vivian (Production individual) Gardner, Charles (Production individual)
- Personalities, Units and Organisations:
- Keywords: Cold War 1945-1991 (theme) Defence of Great Britain since 1945 (theme) Great Britain post-1945 (theme) Military Aviation (theme) Royal Air Force 1945-2000 (theme)
- Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
- Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 6 Footage: 4765 ft; Running time: 69 mins 36 secs
- HD Media:Yes
- Link to IWM Collections page:
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Related IWM Collections Objects:
AMY 285 (BOMBING UP TECHNIQUE - THE VALIANT AND THE VICTOR AIRCRAFT [Main Title])