ADF-SERIALS
Australian
& New Zealand Military Aircraft Serials & History
RAAF A87 Vickers Valletta
The 58th Viking (c/n 158) became the prototype Valetta and was first flown from Brooklands Airfield by Vickers Chief Test Pilot Joseph “Mutt” Summers on 30 June 1947. Although the type was named after the Maltese capital of Valletta, the aircraft name is spelt with only a single "l". Overall 262 Valettas were built (211 C.1, 11 C.2 & 40 T.3 versions).The Viking and Valetta also provided the basis of the Vickers Varsity which was very similar although slightly larger and was configured with a tricycle landing gear and under-fuselage pannier.
The Valetta C.1 entered service with the RAF in 1948, replacing the Douglas Dakota with some RAF Transport Command units. The Valetta was used to carry out parachute drops in the 1956 Suez Crisis as well as providing transport support for other British Military operations in the 1950s and 1960s including the Malayan Emergency and operations in Aden.
Other versions of the Valetta produced included the Valetta C.2 VIP passenger transport and extra range, the Valetta T.3 navigational trainer. 18 Valetta T.3 aircraft were later converted to T.4 standard with a longer nose to fitted to accommodate a radar scanner in order to train crews in the Airborne Interception (AI) role
