The Handley Page Victor was designed and in service as a strategic nuclear bomber, some were converted to in-flight refueling tankers and remained in service until 1993. Much use was made of them in the 1982 Falklands campaign and the 1991 Gulf War.

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The Victor was produced to Specification B35/46 and fifty MkI aircraft powered by Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire engines were built and delivered as bombers. Most were converted to tankers in 1965 and their bombing role was taken over by the more powerful and higher-flying MkII aircraft with Rolls-Royce Conway engines. After initial service carrying free-fall nuclear weapons, the Avro Blue Steel stand-off missile was fitted. Eight aircraft were converted to the Strategic Reconnaissance role and served with No.543 Squadron.
The Victor 2 bomber fleet was withdrawn in 1968.
Due to the failure of the Handley Page company, the conversion of 24 MkII aircraft to tankers was undertaken by Hawker Siddeley at Woodford.
The Victor K2 aircraft carried out all of the in-flight tanking requirements during the Falklands campaign. The final major use of these machines occurred in the Gulf War when 299 sorties were demanded and all were completed successfully in spite of the aircraft being over 30 years old.

The origin of the Victor and the other V bombers is heavily linked with the early British atomic weapons program and nuclear deterrent policies that were developed in the aftermath of the Second World War. The atom bomb program formally began with Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.1001 issued in August 1946, which anticipated a government decision in January 1947 to authorize research and development work on atomic weapons; the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) prohibited exporting atomic knowledge, even to countries that had collaborated on the Manhattan Project. OR.1001 envisaged a weapon not to exceed 24 ft 2 in (7.37 m) in length, 5 ft (1.5 m) in diameter, 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) in weight, and suitable for release from 20,000 ft (6,100 m) to 50,000 ft (15,000 m).

At the same time, the Air Ministry drew up requirements for bombers to replace the existing piston-engined heavy bombers such as the Avro Lancaster and the new Avro Lincoln which equipped RAF Bomber Command. In January 1947, the Ministry of Supply distributed Specification B.35/46 to aviation companies to satisfy Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.229 for "a medium range bomber landplane capable of carrying one 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) bomb to a target 1,500 nautical miles (1,700 mi; 2,800 km) from a base which may be anywhere in the world." A cruising speed of 500 knots (580 mph; 930 km/h) at heights between 35,000 ft (11,000 m) and 50,000 ft (15,000 m) was specified. The maximum weight when fully loaded ought not to exceed 100,000 lb (45,000 kg). The weapons load was to include a 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) "Special gravity bomb" (i.e. a free-fall nuclear weapon), or over shorter ranges 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) of conventional bombs. No defensive weapons were to be carried, the aircraft relying on its speed and altitude to avoid opposing fighters.

General characteristics

Crew: 5
Length: 114 ft 11 in (35.03 m)
Wingspan: 110 ft (34 m)
Height: 28 ft 1.5 in (8.573 m)
Wing area: 2,406 sq ft (223.5 m2)
Airfoil: Root: 16% Modified RAE Airfoil; Tip: 6% Modified RAE Airfoil
Empty weight: 89,030 lb (40,383 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 205,000 lb (92,986 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × Armstrong Siddeley A.S.Sa.7 Sapphire turbojet engines, 11,050 lbf (49.2 kN) thrust each
Performance

Maximum speed: 545 kn (627 mph, 1,009 km/h) at 36,000 ft (11,000 m)
Range: 5,217 nmi (6,004 mi, 9,662 km)
Service ceiling: 56,000 ft (17,000 m)
Armament
Bombs:
Up to 35 × 1,000 lb (450 kg) bombs or
1× Yellow Sun free-fall nuclear bomb

#bomber #aircraft #nuclear