Description

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, 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, but 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, and due to the pending introduction of the Royal Navy’s submarine-launched Polaris missiles in 1969.

With the nuclear deterrent mission relinquished to the Royal Navy a large V-bomber fleet could not be justified. 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 the Valliant’s and further conversions to tankers followed with some of these re-purposed Victors refuelling Vulcan bombers during the Black Buck raids of the Falklands War.

Due to its technological sophistication and superior capabilities, the Victor was the last of the V-bombers to be retired from service on 15 October 1993. In its refuelling role the Victor was replaced by the Vickers VC10 and the Lockheed Tristar.

A handful of the signed and numbered prints are signed by TEN distinguished Victor pilots and commanders including two Marshals of the Royal Air Force: MRAF Sir Michael Beetham, commanding officer of the first Victor AAR Squadron and the man behind the BLACK BUCK missions; MRAF Lord Craig; Gp Capt Ken Hubbard, the H-Bomb dropper; Sqn Ldr Bob Tuxford and Sqn Ldr Dick Russel, Victor tanker captain and Vulcan receiver XM607, Operation BLACK BUCK 1, plus five more BLACK BUCK veterans.