During the Time War why didn't the Daleks blow up at least one TARDIS while in the Time Vortex?

Question

From the Cracks in time and space story arc it's known that if a TARDIS is blown up (possibly while in the Time Vortex) it rips creation itself apart. Also, from the Stolen Earth / Journey's End we learn the Daleks' masterplan which is subjugating creation itself via destroying it with the Reality Bomb (unfading Z-neutrino energy radiation).

In the Last Great Time War all sorts of temporal weapons were used and it's known that Daleks have the ability of time travel as well. Why didn't they use the Time Vortex back then to win the war once and for all via detonating a TARDIS while inside?

Answer 1

The fracturing of time and space by exploding a TARDIS doesnt appear to be a guaranteed thing in the slightest.

For one, Eleven had to deal with his TARDIS exploding yet again (see Journey to the Center of the TARDIS), and time wasnt cracked for the rest of the universe, just locally inside the ship.

For another the Daleks dont seem to have any real fear of destroying the ship in Stolen Earth. If there were such common negative consequences for destroying a TARDIS they would have hesitated at least a little. Actually, since these were Daleks that had someone with direct knowledge of the Time War, they would hesitate quite a lot.

(For a third tangential point, Daleks, even after zombie puppet tricks, are not the stealthiest nor silent of creatures. If they got on board a TARDIS, they wouldnt take much opportunity for sabotage, just slaughter, and possibly reverse engineering the thing.)

The TARDIS was in a special situation with the Silence. They had special knowledge of the future, specifically the Doctor's and its own future. In blowing up the TARDIS to prevent it from reaching Trenzalore, the Silence added their own paradox to the mix, one that stretched far through time. That added to the effect, greatly, and crack goes existence.

If the Daleks could weaponize such an effect, I've no doubt the would. Weaponizing involves directing at enemies and shielding themselves, and that doesn't sound like something they could arrange.

Answer 2

When Daleks learned that TARDIS was going to take out the universe, they actually teamed up with some inferior species to lock The Doctor inside Pandorica Box. It means that Dalek's masterplan has never been total event collapse. They wanted to survive. A total event collapse would have kicked them out of existence.

The Reality Bomb doesn't touch spacetime. It works by cancelling out electric field holding atoms together, but Crucible was made safe from the Reality Bomb. It means that Daleks wanted to survive.

DAVROS: Electrical energy, Miss Tyler. Every atom in existence is bound by an electrical field. The Reality bomb cancels it out. Structure falls apart. That test was focused on the prisoners alone. Full transmission will dissolve every form of matter.
ROSE: The stars are going out.
DOCTOR: The twenty seven planets. They become one vast transmitter, blasting that wavelength.
DAVROS: Across the entire universe. Never stopping, never faltering, never fading. People and planets and stars will become dust, and the dust will become atoms, and the atoms will become nothing. And the wavelength will continue, breaking through the Rift at the heart of the Medusa Cascade into every dimension, every parallel, every single corner of creation. This is my ultimate victory, Doctor! The destruction of reality itself!
RED DALEK: Prepare for universal detonation. The fleet will gather at the Crucible. All Daleks will return to shelter from the cataclysm. We will become the only life forms in existence.
_{From the episode "Journey's End"}

Answer 3

An exploding TARDIS causes a Total Event Collapse, it means that everything is happening at the same time, or putting in the Doctor's words: "Every sun will supernova en any moment of history..."

It means that reality will un-happen, un-happeing the Daleks too. The thing of the Reality Bomb was to erase any No-Dalek life-form of the Universe, being the Daleks safe in the Time distortion that they created. The Total Event Collapse will hit the Daleks no mater where they hide, even in (now i am guessing) in a parallel universe. Also it has to be considered that the TARDIS exploded more than 4 (3 in screen (one in Amy's Choice), the other is mentioned in The Doctor's Wife saying that he actually has to rebuild a TARDIS once, and if it needs rebuilding (not repairing) it would mean that the TARDIS actually blew up) and only one of then caused this Event Collapse. I think that the TARDIS must have a "Safe-Blow-Up" Security Circuit, but like the Old Doctor's Type 40, the circuit must be faulty.

Answer 4

In the Last Great Time War all sorts of temporal weapons were used and it's known that Daleks have the ability of time travel as well. Why didn't they use the Time Vortex back then to win the war once and for all via detonating a TARDIS while inside?

Because of the time lock. Any plan to use a weapon like this would not work outside of the time locked war, and would not be guaranteed to work against the time lords with their technology. And we know this because the Time Lord high Council wanted to do the very same thing with the Ultimate Sanction in The End of Time part 2. They could not destroy time and everything else without escaping the time locked war first.

Answer 5

During the Time War I have no doubt the Daleks destroyed many Tardis. However historically they where more interested in trying to capture the Tardis. Davros has always had a fascination with Time travel ever since the DR went back in time and had the opportunity to destroy the first Daleks and kill Davros while they where still a Lab Experiment. In fact in the Chase the Daleks created there own time machine to chase the DR through time.

There have also been suggestions that Tardis can be destroyed in the books and old series, the Master at one point hinted his Tardis had been destroyed. And going to more recent times the DR's Wife shows a Tardis can be destroyed without any explosions.

The Silence didn't understand Timelord Technology and so basicly pushed the wrong button turning the tardis into a Universe ending machine. They where also caught up in there own Paradox and this helped fuel the crack in time. In addition the Timelords themselves helped create the cracks in time that caused the end of the universe by latching onto them to send a signal.