Handley Page Victor

Overview

The Handley Page Victor is a British jet-powered strategic bomber developed and produced by Handley Page during the Cold War. It was the third and final 'V bomber' to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two being the Vickers Valiant and the Avro Vulcan. Entering service in 1958, the Victor was initially developed as part of the United Kingdom's airborne nuclear deterrent. It was retired from the nuclear mission in 1968, following the discovery of fatigue cracks, which had been exacerbated by the RAF's adoption of a low-altitude flight profile to avoid interception. The pending introduction of the Royal Navy's submarine-launched Polaris missiles in 1969 meant a large bomber force would no longer be needed, and the decision was made to retire the Victors from front-line service in favour of the Vulcan. A number of Victors were modified for strategic reconnaissance, using a combination of radar, cameras, and other sensors. Prior to the introduction of Polaris, some had already been converted into tankers to replace similar converted Valiants. Further tanker conversions followed and in 1982 some of these re-purposed Victors refuelled Vulcan bombers during the Black Buck raids of the Falklands War. The Victor was the last of the V-bombers to be retired from service on 15 October 1993. The Victor was replaced by Vickers VC10 and Lockheed Tristar tankers.