BK.1 XD818 at Cosford, 19th November 2005; Tony Chambers

The only remaining full example of a Valiant anywhere on the planet, XD818 was the actual aircraft that dropped Britain's first hydrogen bomb. While the Valiant force was being scrapped, somebody with an eye for history earmarked her for preservation and for many years she was on display in green and grey camouflage at RAF Marham. When the Bomber Command Museum (now the On Target hall of the RAF Museum) opened, XD818 was transported to Hendon and soon after was repainted in her original anti-flash white finish. Unfortunately she was hemmed in on all sides by other aircraft, vehicles and display boards so getting a good clear picture was impossible. In late 2005 she was dismantled and moved to Cosford, where she has been stored in pieces for several weeks... outside with no protection from the elements! Thankfully in January 2006 re-assembly began - let's hope she doesn't spend much more time outdoors. Information current as of 11/01/2006.

NOSE/COCKPIT/OTHER SECTIONS

B.1 XD875 at Newark, 15th June 2002; author	BK.1 XD816 at Brooklands, 1st January 1999; author

XD875 was the last Valiant ever built. Once out of service, she was scrapped at RAF Wittering, the nose was saved and after some travels up and down the country came to rest at Bruntingthorpe. In superb condition internally, the nose was on display throughout the year (Bruntingthorpe being open to visitors every Sunday). On designated open days, the cockpit was opened up and for a small fee you could clamber inside and see the wonderful job that has been done on restoring it. Unfortunately the cockpit floor has become a little dodgy during her long stay at Brunty, and she was moved to Newark where she could be better looked after and the floor restored to a safe condition. However she's now changed hands to go all the way up to HAPS in Scotland - updates on condition of the floor welcome! Information current as of 28/08/2004.

XD816 is displayed in the Vickers-Supermarine stratospheric test chamber (designed by Barnes Wallis) preserved at Brooklands. While it's an imaginative and hugely impressive display, unfortunately it's very dark and surrounds the nose on most sides which makes photography tricky to say the least, especially when they don't even turn the lights on! Information current as of 03/03/2004.

BK.1 XD857 at Manston, 1st September 2001; author

The last mortal remains of Valiant XD857 is this small section of the cockpit. The picture shows the front pressure bulkhead well, and how the nose was cut horizontally around its mid-point, and vertically just behind the pilots' seats (the curve at the bottom right is where the crew door was). The pilots' deck is still intact but pretty much gutted with little to give away its true identity as a rare Valiant survivor. I'm told that since this picture was taken the cockpit has been placed in 'deep storage', i.e. out of public sight! Information current as of 28/08/2004.