The Handley Page H.P.80 Victor was a multi engine, British bomber aircraft, which was in use during the Cold War.
Design and Development[]
The Handley Page Victor was one of the three British “V-bombers”, which were, besides the Victor, the Vickers 667 Valiant and the Avro 698 Vulcan.
The Victor was first flown on 24th December 1952; however the prototype was lost on 18th July 1954. So that service entry was delayed to take place three years later. In the year 1958, 50 Victor BMk.1 were delivered to the Royal Air Force. The more advanced variant BMk.1A, the reconnaissance bomber BPR.Mk.1 and the B.K.Mk.1 were based on it.
After the first flight was made on 20th February 1959, the Victor BMk.2 entered service in 1962, on which the reconnaissance aircraft B(SR).2 was based. The Victor was powered by four Rolls-Royce Conway 201 engines, with a power of 87.9 kN each.
After the Victors service time as a bomber was over, most of them were retired but some were modified into tanker aircraft and were still used until the year 1993 by the Royal Air Force.