The Valetta was designed and built for the Air Ministry to enable comparisons between a floatplane/landplane and a flying boat.

The Valetta was a monoplane powered by three Bristol Jupiter XIF engines and first flown on 21 May 1930 as a floatplane.

In July 1931 it left Rochester on an African survey flight flown by Sir Alan Cobham, it returned to Rochester in September 1931 after flying 12,300 miles.

The aircraft last flew as a floatplane in November 1931 and was converted to a landplane.

[1] and Flight[2]General characteristics Performance Data from Jackson, A.J.