Following on from the success of Victor Boys and Vulcan Boys, Tony
Blackman, in collaboration with Anthony Wright, brings you Valiant Boys
to complete the V Force set. This is a fascinating collection of
personal accounts of operating Britain's first V bomber by aircrew and
ground crew. The book tells the story from the aircraft's birth taking
off from Vickers' tiny airfield at Brooklands to its premature death
from fatigue. There are tales of testing atom bombs in the Australian
desert, dropping hydrogen bombs in the middle of the Pacific and, as a
complete contrast, attacking airfields with conventional bombs in Egypt
during the very brief and abortive Suez campaign. We are reminded of how
the Valiant provided the UK's first nuclear deterrent by always having
some armed aircraft on standby twenty-four hours a day, supported by
their air and ground crews, ready to be flown at a moment's notice on a
one-way trip to launch an atomic war.
Some Valiants were given a photographic role providing accurate images
from high altitude and were used not only to gather military
intelligence but also to survey the UK and countries overseas. Others
were developed into flight refueling tankers breaking point to point
records before enabling Britain's fighter aircraft to be refueled and
fly anywhere in the world.
This book completes Tony Blackman's trilogy of the three V bombers. As
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham makes it clear in his
foreword: 'It is good to have a book written by aircrew and ground crew
telling their stories and how they operated the aircraft so that all
these things are recorded and not forgotten.' Not as well known as the
Vulcan and Victor, the Valiant is often overlooked; this book will go a
long way to redress the balance.