Handley Page Victor | |
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Country | UK |
Role | Strategic bomber or aerial refueling tanker aircraft |
First flight | 24 December 1952 |
Built | 86 |
The Handley Page Victor was 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 of the V-bombers operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two V-bombers being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. The Victor had been developed to perform as part of the United Kingdom’s airborne nuclear deterrent. In 1968, the type 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.
Source: Handley Page Victor on Wikipedia
Victor B.Mk.2K2 “Lusty Lindy” Walk Around | |
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Photographers | Luc Colin |
Localisation | Yorkshire Air Museum |
Victor K.2 XL231 | Lusty Lindy, at the Yorkshire Air Museum, York. The prototype for the B.2 to K.2 conversion. XL231 is one of two Victors currently in taxiable condition |
Photos | 81 |
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Handley Page HP 80 Victor Mk.2 Walk Around | |
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Photographers | Unknow |
Localisation | Unknow |
Photos | 36 |
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The Handley Page Victor was a British jet-powered strategic bomber, developed and produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company and served during the Cold War. It was the third and final of the V-bombers operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF); the other two V-bombers being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. The Victor had a distinctive crescent-shaped wing that enabled it to fly at high altitudes and speeds, making it less vulnerable to interception. The Victor was initially designed to carry a single nuclear bomb, but later variants were equipped with conventional bombs, cruise missiles, or aerial refueling pods.
The Victor entered service in 1958 and was retired from the nuclear deterrent role in 1968, following the discovery of fatigue cracks in the airframe. Some Victors were converted into strategic reconnaissance aircraft, using a combination of radar, cameras, and other sensors to gather intelligence. Others were modified into tankers to provide aerial refueling for other aircraft, such as the Vulcan bombers that participated in the Falklands War. The Victor was the last of the V-bombers to be retired from service, in 1993. It was replaced by the Vickers VC10 and the Lockheed Tristar as tankers, and by various other aircraft as bombers and reconnaissance platforms.
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