Why the Victor was retired by the RAF





Pressure Jerkin

The Victor was designed as a high-level delivery platform for striking at the Soviet Union and this would only have been carried out as a retalitory counter-strike following an attack on the UK. In this role the aircraft of the V Force were extremely capable particularly with the constantly improving suite of electronic counter measure (ECM) and development of 'stand-off' nuclear weapons such as the AVRO 'Blue Steel' missile which both the Vulcan and Victor could be modified to carry in their advanced and improved Mk2 versions. At high altitudes all 3 V-Force aircraft types (Victor, Valiant and Vulcan) were under little airframe stess in the much smoother conditions experienced at high altitude. Altitudes of well over 40,000feet were quiet normal and with modified oxygen regulators and partial pressure suits for the crew the aircraft could be flown much higher. The Victor in particular was capable of very high speeds and a high speed cruise of Mach 0.92 was not uncommon, faster than most civil airliners today with probably the exception of the Boeing 747.



Col Francis Gary Powers

All of this changed dramatically with the loss of a Lockheed U2 spyplane of the USAF being flown at very high altitude over the USSR by Col Francis Gary Powers. Once it was confirmed that the U2 had been shot down by a Soviet Surface to Air Missile (SAM) this sent shockwaves around NATO and particularly the V Force as they had always trained for high level operations and their aircraft were designed for that enviroment.


The answer to this was that the V Force would have to operate at low level and this caused a complete change in both training and operational flying. The pressure suits were no longer needed and the aircraft were painted in camouflage on the upper surfaces, retaining a white underside from the all over earlier white paint scheme.



In camo whilst on detatchment to RAF Luqa, Malta

It soon became abundantly clear that not only was low level flying uncomfortable for the crews (also at night) it was also causing problems with the airframes which were not designed for low level work. By 1965 the Vickers Valiant was literally falling apart, a training sortie from RAF Gaydon in Warks saw a Valiant return with externally visible main spar defects that by rights should have caused the aircraft to crash, by skillfull flying and an amount of good fortune this did not happen. The fleet was inspected and the engineers were horrifed to find most airframes were in a bad way. Some were immediately grounded while others were graded on inspection as fit to fly in certain circumstances, some in a state of war only would be allowed to fly. The Valiant was officially retired in 1965 as a type.

This left the Vulcan and Victor to carry on the role of  defending our country from nuclear strikes. The Vulcan was able to take the low level work as the airframe was much more 'solid' with a relatively thick wing and centre section, this although good for the aircraft was not good for the crew who became 'fatigued' rather than the aircraft! The Victor however was a different problem, it rode the buffet of low level work very well but flexed much more than the Vulcan, this helped the crew's comfort but damaged the aircraft heavily and one ex Victor captain known to us said he could quite clearly feel the aircraft 'twang and crack' and crack it did.

Bombing up!

It was discovered that the wing attachment points known as 'club feet' were fatigueing. The Victor has no main spar as such,basically it has a series of wing attachment points which attach to the fuselage structure and this is what gives the Victor its huge un-interrupted bomb bay, capable of carrying 35 x 1,000lb gravity bombs!

The cracking was monitored for the rest of the Victor's Mk2's service life as a bomber and as a Strategic Reconnaisance Platform until retirement from the bombing role in 1968 and reconnaisance in 1974.

Once it was decided to convert most of the Mk2 fleet to the tanker role a 'zero fatigue' life had to be achieved and this involved the manufacture of new 'club feet' as well as the other modifications required to effectively make the aircraft as new again.

Fatigue was always a concern particulary on a finite amount of K2 Tanker airframes (22) and they were treated as gently as possible. Despite this carrying a heavy amont of fuel was bound to stress the airframe and one memorable occasion related to us by several aircrew tells of the time the Victors had to operate from the USAF base at RAF Sculthorpe whilst RAF Marham's runway was being resurfaced. Apparently taxying around had to be kept as gently as possible due to the fact Sculthorpe was so 'bumpy' on its surfaces it was causing the aircraft's fatigue counters to clock up fatigue without even leaving the ground!

Despite gentle operating the dreaded fatigue began to build up and none  more so than during the Falklands war of 1982. Heavy tasking of the fleet in the South Atlantic and constant returns to the UK until 1986 took their toll. So much in fact that it was decided to disband No57 Sqn that year as well as No232 OCU, highly fatigued aircraft were retired. All remaining aircraft with acceptable fatigue life were transferred to No55 Sqn, leaving them to see the Victor out of RAF service and this they did with an impecably proud record. The Gulf War of 1990/91 saw the Squadron carry out 299 tasked sorties with a 100% success rate, impressive by anyones standards. The Squadron remained in the Gulf Theatre until Sept 1993 returning to the UK that month for the NATO exercise 'Elder Joust', disbanding the following month.

The Victor K2 was designed with a finite fatigue life of 100 Fatigue Indices, with carefull monitoring and dedication this was extended in some airframes to 132 FI,  XL231 'Lusty Lindy' was retired with a calculated 128 FI on the clock and she was never in any danger of falling part.

Chute-ing a line!

Lindy in full glory!

For all high speed taxy runs we endeavour to use the braking chute, although not a necessary requirement when you have a runway which is 2 miles long, it's use reduces the wear on the brakes and more importantly is a very impressive sight!

But before we can stream the chute we need to pack it - easier said than done when it weighs 165lbs and the canopy measures 45 feet in diameter - the largest chute to have been used in regular use anywhere in the world.

Brake chute hanging from the rafters

Before we start, the chute needs to be hung to ensure that it is dry and aired. Then after sweeping the hangar floor, the canopy is laid flat and all panels checked for wear and damage. The canopy is made out of a Stoppem /Dragnium blend which resembles something from an Agent Provocateur line.

Laying the canopy flat

Marking the log

The streaming log is marked before each run, recording the number of times the brake chute has been used.

Then to the lines.......so after detangling the spiders web and tracing each line from the canopy to the shackle, the lines are bunched, according to the parachute packing AP.

The canopy is packed!

Using 'judicious folding and assorted origami' skills the canopy is packed into the parachute bag in a series of S bends. 

Forming a mouth lock

The parachute lines are used to form a mouthlock at the base of the parachute.

 

Packing the lines

Again using our origami and wicker basket weaving skills the lines are pulled through the parachute bag in four sets. Now all that's left is to pack the extractor drogue chute.

So, the chute's packed and almost ready to go - all that's left is to fit it in the hopper..........

Packed up and ready to go!

Loading the chute

"The Victor tail chute - was a bastard to reload. It usually took 3 crew to get the new packed chute up and into the tail hopper. Required judicious folding and assorted origami ....... or lots of stomping and jumping about on the bloody thing ....... to get the hopper doors closed. If you landed somewhere pleasant and sunny it was not necessarily a trial to be out there loading the new chute. If you landed somewhere cold wet and miserable then it was a pain in the backside - better to be the 4th man sitting in the cockpit monitoring the refuel panel!" ex-Victor ground crew




Closing the hopper

"My idea of hell was packing a chute into the hopper on a wet and windy winters night at Leuchars for a QTR on Tansor." ex-Victor ground crew



 

 

 

 

 





And so we start again!

A lone RAF Vulcan Bomber.....

Remembering the 30th Anniversary of the start of the Falklands War and the 255 British service personnel and 3 Falkland Islanders who gave their lives.

HDU Black Buck veteran



HDU Obtained from Flight Refueling Ltd

In Early 2008 the team successfully installed a Mk17B flight refuelling Hose Drum Unit in the bomb bay of XL231, this item was generously donated by Cobham Aviation (Flight Refuelling Ltd) and once installed completed the refit of XL231 into a complete Victor K2 Tanker. This unit was in deep store for several years after being inhibited by Cobham Aviation and was last installed in a VC-10 Tanker.



 

Upon checking the records it was found by coincidence that this HDU is THE very unit which enabled Vulcan XM607 Captained by Sqn Ldr Martin Withers DFC to safely recover to Ascension Island during the 1st bombing raid on Port Stanley Airfield during the Falklands War (Black Buck 1)

 

 

Painting by Keith Woodcock

This unit at the time was fitted in Victor X2 XH672 Captained by (then) Sqn Ldr Barry Neal who successfully met and recovered the Vulcan off of the Brazilian coast. The Aviation Artist Keith Woodcock painted a famous painting of the occasion which hangs in the RAF Club, Piccadilly, London (Available in print). 



Naturally with Barry Neal being 'our' regular Captain for taxy demonstration we found this to be a bit of a strange coincidence and particularly as Martin Withers has been a friend for many years.

 

Fitting the HDU took a number of man hours but I think you will agree the hard work paid off.

 

Scoop lowered

 

Scoop removed and HDU Ready for fitting

 

HDU fitted

The record cards for this unit indicates it was fited in the following aircraft types and serial numbers;

Victor K2; XL511, XH672, Xl512, XL162. 1975-1988

Hercules Tanker; XV192,XV213. 1989-1995

VC-10 Tanker; ZA141. 1997-1999.

 Removed for storage and inhibiting in 1999.

HDU record card

HDU record card

HDU in action for the first time!

Air-to-Air Refueling Accident

The safety record of the Victor as a tanker aircraft in both the Mk1 & Mk2 versions is extremely high.

 

 

Considering how close in proximity a tanker is to its receiver aircraft, then the record is second to none and this was all down to exceptional trust, high training and professionalism shown by both the tanker and the receiver crews.

 

 

The only 'fatal' accident with a Victor tanker of any mark during Air to Air Refuelling occurred in March 1975, involving a Victor K1a (XH618) from RAF Marham and a Buccaneer S2 (XV156) from RAF Honington in Suffolk. The Buccaneer pilot was on a AARR currency check-flight and was in a two-ship formation with another Buccaneer. The aircraft in question was attempting a 'contact' with the port wing hose of the Victor.

The Buccaneer approached slightly too fast and overtook the hose basket and this then apparently bumped its way down the side of the canopy and partially down the aircraft's spine. The Buccaneer rose above the Victor's wing with the hose probably still against it and dropped back on power in order to back-off. However the Buccaneer in climbing contacted the port tailplane of the Victor and structurally weakened it to the point it was observed to oscillate visibly. One of the Buccaneer pilots realised that the situation was critical and advised an immediate bail-out to the Victor crew. Time unfortunately was not of the essence and the Victor nose dived violently and then pitched past the vertical, screaming downwards. The crew pinned in solidly by the G-forces stood little chance.

The Victor as in all the V Bombers was only equipped with ejection seats for the pilots, the rear crew (3) and the Crew Chief had to exit via the cabin door. The Captain Keith Handscombe was somehow 'ejected' from the aircraft, some say he managed to get to the seatpan firing handle and just managed to pull it with a couple of fingers in the nick of time and in fact he used to relate the story that way. Other Victor Aircrew known to us tend to believe he came out of the aircraft as it was torn apart via the forces. However he was the only survivor, all 3 rear crew perished as did the co-pilot who according to Keith Handscombe was unable to overcome the G-forces to pull the seat handle.

The Battle scarred Buccaneer returned safely to its home base. No trace of XH618 or the crew has ever been found, the accident occured off of the North East coast of England. Keith Handscombe severely traumatised physically and mentally came down in the North Sea and was picked up by a fishing vessel. He was then taken to the RAF hospital at RAF Nocton Hall by helicopter and made a full recovery. He then bravely returned to flying on the Victor K2 and passed away in Norfolk in 2009.

The cause of the accident was deemed to be: Aircrew Error.

 

 

On a pre-arranged visit several years ago I was fortunate to meet one of the immediate family members from the rear crew of this dreadful accident and I was able to show them the actual crew position and the equipment that their relative had operated. It helped them to understand what had happened that day.

50 Years of Victor XL231-------------Ray Poore

Victor XL231 shortly after delivery to RAF Wittering

Its hard to believe that 50 Years ago I saw a gleaming white, sleek aircraft coming into land at RAF Wittering. That aircraft was of course Victor XL231. It was the first Victor to take its place, with others arriving later, on 139 (Jamaica) Sqdn.

Shortly after the Victors arrived, all of the electrical ground crew had to go on a Victor course for a week. The electrics were like no other I had come across, and I had serviced on many aircraft in my time! The last three years of my RAF service was taken up working on XL231 and others.

XL231 with 'Blue Steel'

From the gleaming white to camouflage to Blue Steel, which I am proud to say I designed (and got paid for!) designing a switch test box for the Butt Connector circuit, considerably reducing testing time for that circuit.




Ray Poore (sitting) in Jamaica in 1962

In 1962 I went to Jamaica with XL231 and three other Victors, for the Jamaican Independence.







XL191 & XL231 on detachment to Jamaica

My vivid memory of XL231 was testing the Alternator voltage, at the terminal ends, situated on the engines, the test was carried out when the engine was running at about 80%, not for the feint hearted! I'm sure I got my tinnitus from carrying out that test over three years! Those ear defenders did very little to reduce the engine sound. The best part of the test was going into the cockpit and checking the voltage and frequency of each alternator, and then parallelling them all together, pushing the buttons at the right time. I remember it well.

In 2011 whilst staying with EX RAF friends near Whitby, we visited Elvington Museum, and there after 50 years I saw this great Victor, XL231, how the memories came flooding back. Since that day I have been like a 77 year old kid with a new toy; have bought a plastic scale model, complete with XL231 and Lusty Lindy transfers, got the "T" Shirt, key ring, car sticker, and finally the 2012 calendar! Do I like this aircraft or not?!

I wish to thank Andre Tempest and all the XL231 Team for keeping alive all my and many others memories of this wonderful aircraft.

Ray Poore with XL231 in 2011

Ray Poore Electrical Fitter retired, Electrical Engineer retired.

Mayhem on the A1!

Many spare parts are needed in order to keep such a complex machine in working order so an offer of spare undercarriage assemblies was not refused.

The day started off with a stop off for breakfast at a McDonalds on the motorway, one of the team suggested that the scrambled egg looked more like the new insulation in his loft at home - we knew somehow it was going to be an interesting day!

After many hours of motoring including seeing a sign indicating directions to a 'Secret Nuclear Bunker' (Kelvedon Hatch) We all had a good laugh and uttered "How can it be secret then??" "Don't tell the Russians!"

 We arrived at Hanningfield Metals, Essex and a Victor main undercarriage and nose undercarriage assemblies were then loaded onto my car trailer and the assembled mass resembled some sort of crazy buggy from 'Mad Max'!   "This is going to raise some interest on the motorway" I thought and I wasn't wrong.

After 'mountaineering' around the vast piles of interesting crumpled aircraft in the yard like a bunch of kids in a toy shop we set off for home.

Driving down the sliproad onto the motorway I suddenly got the feeling the car in the inside lane was hanging back and giving us a once over. It was then I realised it was a Police patrol vehicle. "Nobody look" I said. "There's a Police car and he's given us the eye!"  At that point everyone (except me) turned and gawped at the Police Officers in the car alongside. With a return look that I can only descibe as 'maniacs' the Police sped off!

Some time later driving up the A1 near to RAF Wittering I again noticed a white car level alongside my window. "Nobody look", I said yet again, thinking the worst...   One of the guys then recongnised the driver of the white car who was waving like crazy at us. "Its Captain Flack!" said Andy King. It was Mike Lousada aka Captain Flack to one and all that know him and he just happened to be driving up the A1 that particular day.   He then pulled in front of us indicating us to stop and so we pulled into the first turning. Unfortunately he mis-judged the stopping distance of our Mad Max creation and stopped suddenly. We had to take 'evasive action' and swung around him in order not to take his now open car door off or at worst knock him down! 

"I just KNEW it had to be you with that lot on the trailer, it couldn't possibly be anybody else!!" He said, obviously pleased to see us all. Shakily and still in mild shock for not killing him I uttered something along the lines of "What a coincidence it was to be on the A1 at the same time etc".....

This particular day is firmly etched in the folklore of XL231 and is often mentioned, usually over a beer or several.....