Handley Page Victor K2
The Handley Page Victor is a British jet-powered strategic bomber, developed and produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company, which served during the Cold War. It was the third and final V-bomber to be operated by the RAF, the other two being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. The Victor had been developed as part of the UK's airborne nuclear deterrent. The Victor was a futuristic-looking, streamlined aircraft, with four turbojet (later turbofan) engines buried in the thick wing roots. Distinguishing features of the Victor were its highly-swept T-tail with considerable dihedral on the tail planes, and a prominent chin bulge that contained the targeting radar, nose landing gear unit and an auxiliary bomb aimer's position.
In 1968, it was retired from the nuclear mission following the discovery of fatigue cracks, which had been exacerbated by the RAF's adoption of a low-altitude flight profile to avoid interception. A number of Victors were modified for strategic reconnaissance, using a combination of radar, cameras, and other sensors. As the nuclear deterrence mission was given to the Royal Navy's submarine-launched Polaris missiles in 1969, a large V-bomber fleet could not be justified. Consequently, many of the surviving Victors were converted into aerial refuelling tankers.
Prior to the demise of the Valiant tankers, a trial installation of refuelling equipment was carried out, including: overload bomb-bay tanks, underwing tanks, refuelling probe and jettisonable de Havilland Spectre Assisted Take-Off units. The aircraft involved in the trials, B.1 XA930, carried out successful trials at Boscombe Down at very high all-up weights with relatively short field length take-offs. The withdrawal of the Valiant fleet because of metal fatigue in December 1964 meant that the RAF had no front-line tanker aircraft, so the B.1/1A aircraft, now judged to be surplus in the strategic bomber role, were refitted for this duty. To get some tankers into service as quickly as possible, six were converted to B(K).1A standard (later redesignated B.1A (K2P)), receiving a two-point system with a hose and drogue carried under each wing, while the bomb bay remained available for weapons. Handley Page worked day and night to convert these six aircraft, with the first being delivered on 28 April 1965, and 55 Squadron becoming operational in the tanker role in August 1965.
While these six aircraft provided a limited tanker capability suitable for refuelling fighters, the Mk 20A wing hosereels could only deliver fuel at a limited rate, and were not suitable for refuelling bombers. Work therefore continued to produce a definitive three-point tanker conversion of the Victor Mk.1. Fourteen further B.1A and 11 B.1 were fitted with two permanently fitted fuel tanks in the bomb bay, and a high-capacity Mk 17 centreline hose dispenser unit with three times the fuel flow rate as the wing reels, and were designated K.1A and K.1 respectively.
The remaining B.2 aircraft were not as suited to the low-level mission profile that the RAF had adopted for carrying out strategic bombing missions as the Vulcan with its strong delta wing. This, combined with the switch of the nuclear deterrent from the RAF to the RN meant that the Victors were considered to be surplus to requirements. Hence, 24 B.2 were modified to K.2 standard. Similar to the K.1/1A conversions, the wing was trimmed to reduce stress and the bomb aimer's nose glazing was plated over. During 1982, the glazing was reintroduced on some aircraft, the former nose bomb aimer's position having been used to mount F95 cameras in order to perform reconnaissance missions during the Falklands War. The K.2 could carry 41,000 kg of fuel. It served in the tanker role until withdrawn in October 1993.
The Victor was the last of the V-bombers to be retired, the final aircraft being removed from service on 15 October 1993. In its refuelling role, it was replaced by the Vickers VC10 and the Lockheed Tristar.
Handley Page Victor K2
The Handley Page Victor is a British jet-powered strategic bomber, developed and produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company, which served during the Cold War. It was the third and final V-bomber to be operated by the RAF, the other two being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. The Victor had been developed as part of the UK's airborne nuclear deterrent. The Victor was a futuristic-looking, streamlined aircraft, with four turbojet (later turbofan) engines buried in the thick wing roots. Distinguishing features of the Victor were its highly-swept T-tail with considerable dihedral on the tail planes, and a prominent chin bulge that contained the targeting radar, nose landing gear unit and an auxiliary bomb aimer's position.
In 1968, it was retired from the nuclear mission following the discovery of fatigue cracks, which had been exacerbated by the RAF's adoption of a low-altitude flight profile to avoid interception. A number of Victors were modified for strategic reconnaissance, using a combination of radar, cameras, and other sensors. As the nuclear deterrence mission was given to the Royal Navy's submarine-launched Polaris missiles in 1969, a large V-bomber fleet could not be justified. Consequently, many of the surviving Victors were converted into aerial refuelling tankers.
Prior to the demise of the Valiant tankers, a trial installation of refuelling equipment was carried out, including: overload bomb-bay tanks, underwing tanks, refuelling probe and jettisonable de Havilland Spectre Assisted Take-Off units. The aircraft involved in the trials, B.1 XA930, carried out successful trials at Boscombe Down at very high all-up weights with relatively short field length take-offs. The withdrawal of the Valiant fleet because of metal fatigue in December 1964 meant that the RAF had no front-line tanker aircraft, so the B.1/1A aircraft, now judged to be surplus in the strategic bomber role, were refitted for this duty. To get some tankers into service as quickly as possible, six were converted to B(K).1A standard (later redesignated B.1A (K2P)), receiving a two-point system with a hose and drogue carried under each wing, while the bomb bay remained available for weapons. Handley Page worked day and night to convert these six aircraft, with the first being delivered on 28 April 1965, and 55 Squadron becoming operational in the tanker role in August 1965.
While these six aircraft provided a limited tanker capability suitable for refuelling fighters, the Mk 20A wing hosereels could only deliver fuel at a limited rate, and were not suitable for refuelling bombers. Work therefore continued to produce a definitive three-point tanker conversion of the Victor Mk.1. Fourteen further B.1A and 11 B.1 were fitted with two permanently fitted fuel tanks in the bomb bay, and a high-capacity Mk 17 centreline hose dispenser unit with three times the fuel flow rate as the wing reels, and were designated K.1A and K.1 respectively.
The remaining B.2 aircraft were not as suited to the low-level mission profile that the RAF had adopted for carrying out strategic bombing missions as the Vulcan with its strong delta wing. This, combined with the switch of the nuclear deterrent from the RAF to the RN meant that the Victors were considered to be surplus to requirements. Hence, 24 B.2 were modified to K.2 standard. Similar to the K.1/1A conversions, the wing was trimmed to reduce stress and the bomb aimer's nose glazing was plated over. During 1982, the glazing was reintroduced on some aircraft, the former nose bomb aimer's position having been used to mount F95 cameras in order to perform reconnaissance missions during the Falklands War. The K.2 could carry 41,000 kg of fuel. It served in the tanker role until withdrawn in October 1993.
The Victor was the last of the V-bombers to be retired, the final aircraft being removed from service on 15 October 1993. In its refuelling role, it was replaced by the Vickers VC10 and the Lockheed Tristar.