Handley Page Victor

The Handley Page Victor was a long-range, strategic bomber used by the British Royal Air Force during the Cold War years. It was a fast subsonic aircraft, which belonged to the trio of Britain's V-bombers, the others being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. It had a large bomb-bay capacity as it could carry forty eight 1,000-lb conventional bombs, or two Blue Steel nuclear-tipped stand-off missiles. For defense, it was equipped with top-secret electronic counter-measures system.

The Handley Page Victor performed its maiden flight on December 24, 1952. From then on, it would have a protracted development period, finally being introduced into service in April 1958. It was in many ways a very advanced aircraft; for protection from interceptors attack, it was fitted with one rear-facing radar in the tail cone. Handley Page built 86 Victors in three basic variant; the B.Mk.1, B.Mk.2, and B.Mk.2R, which was a reconnaissance conversion. The K.1 and K.2 versions were in-flight refueling tankers, which was the role it had been relegated to after the Cold War. During the 1991 Gulf War, it flew many sorties to refuel British combat aircraft.

Below, the prototype WB771 in flight in early 1953.

Technical Description

The Handley Page Victor was a four-engine, jet monoplane. It was fitted with crescent-shaped mid-wing and all-metal fuselage. The wing had a sweep of 48.5 degrees inboard (at its root), 35 degrees at the center, and 27 degrees at the outboard section, thus, giving it a crescent shape. Only the outboard section had leading-edge slats, which was designed to improve low-speed handling. The tail assembly vertical stabilizer (fin) was short and fitted with an all-moving horizontal stabilizer (tailplane), which was mounted on top and swept at 45 degrees. The B.Mk.1 version was powered by four Rolls Royce Conway turbofan engines, which were buried in the wing roots.

The maximum diameter of fuselage was 3 m (9 feet, 10 inches) across. Much of the center of fuselage was taken up by the massive bomb-bay. There was a pair of airbrakes on the rear fuselage; this portion of aircraft also contained a freight compartment and fuel tanks. Two large bulged pods in the wings held additional fuel for long-range flights. The five-man crew cabin was large and comfortable, with the two pilots sitting at the front side by side, with the rest of crew sitting behind on same level. However, only the pilots sat on ejector seats; the rest could try jumping out.

Specifications (B.Mk.1)

Type: long-range strategic bomber

Length: 35 m (114 feet, 11 inches)

Wing Span: 36.57 m (120 feet)

Wing Area: 241.30 m2 (2,597 square feet)

Height: 8.57 m (28 feet, 1 inch)

Power Plant: four 20,611-lb-thrust Rolls Royce Conway RCo.17 Mk 201 turbofan engines, and two de Havilland Spectre rocket motors.

Maximum Speed: 1,037 km/h (645 mph), or Mach 0.98

Range: 6,500 km (4,039 miles)

Service Ceiling: 16,765 m (55,000 feet)

Crew: 5

Armament: forty eight 454-kg (1,000-lb) conventional bombs, or Blue Steel stand-off missiles.

Below, the Victory right after take-off in 1973

The B.Mk.1 version parked at a NATO military base in 1962

Below, the B.Mk.2 variant in flight.

Three Victor K.2s during the Gulf War.