(Handley Page) Victor @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • HP.80 - 1st prototype HP.80 - 1st prototype
    HP.80 - 1st prototype
  • HP Victor K.2 - RAF - 1993 HP Victor K.2 - RAF - 1993
    HP Victor K.2 - RAF - 1993
  • Handley Page HP-80 Victor Handley Page HP-80 Victor
    Handley Page HP-80 Victor
  • Handley Page<br>Victor B.2 Handley Page<br>Victor B.2
    Handley Page
    Victor B.2
  • Handley Page Victor - Avro Vulcan - Richmond 1964 Handley Page Victor - Avro Vulcan - Richmond 1964
    Handley Page Victor - Avro Vulcan - Richmond 1964
  • Handley Page Victor B.2 Handley Page Victor B.2
    Handley Page Victor B.2
  • Victor B.1A - 1959 Victor B.1A - 1959
    Victor B.1A - 1959
  • Handley Page Victor BK.1 - 1985 Handley Page Victor BK.1 - 1985
    Handley Page Victor BK.1 - 1985
  • Victor B.1A Victor B.1A
    Victor B.1A
  • Handley Page Victor K.2 Handley Page Victor K.2
    Handley Page Victor K.2
  • Handley Page Victor B.2 Handley Page Victor B.2
    Handley Page Victor B.2
  • Handley Page Victor K.2 Handley Page Victor K.2
    Handley Page Victor K.2
  • Handley Page Victor K.2 Handley Page Victor K.2
    Handley Page Victor K.2
  • Handley Page Victor B.2 Handley Page Victor B.2
    Handley Page Victor B.2
  • Handley Page Victor B.2 Handley Page Victor B.2
    Handley Page Victor B.2
  • Handley Page Victor B.2 Handley Page Victor B.2
    Handley Page Victor B.2
  • Handley Page Victor Handley Page Victor
    Handley Page Victor
  • Handley Page Victor - RAF - 1961 Handley Page Victor - RAF - 1961
    Handley Page Victor - RAF - 1961

Handley Page Victor

The Handley Page Victor was the third and final of the 'V bombers' which provided Britain's nuclear deterrent. The other two V-bombers were the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. Like his predecessors, the Victor was originally designed for high-altitude, high-speed penetration of Soviet airspace to deliver a free-fall nuclear weapon. It was intended to fly higher and faster than contemporary fighter aircraft.

HP.80

Handley Page's design, the H.P.80, was prepared in response to Air Ministry Specification B.35/46. To achieve the required performance, the H.P.80 was notable for its unique "crescent" wing. This was developed by German aerodynamicist Dr. Gustav Lachmann and his Handley Page deputy, Godfrey Lee. The sweep and chord of the wing decrease in three distinct steps from the root to the tip, to ensure a constant limiting Mach number across the entire wing and consequently a high cruise speed. The crescent wing was tested in a third-scale glider, the H.P.87, and a modified Supermarine Attacker, the Handley Page H.P.88. The H.P.87 crashed on its maiden flight and by the time the H.P.88 was ready the H.P.80 wing had changed such that the former was no longer representative. In the event, design of the H.P.80 had sufficiently advanced that the loss of the H.P.88 had little negative effect on the programme. The H.P.80 also had an advanced construction, featuring a sandwich of two aluminium skins with a corrugated filling.

Two H.P.80 prototypes - WB771 and WB775 - were built. The Victor was a futuristic looking machine. It was carefully streamlined, had the engines buried in the thick wing roots and a large, highly-swept T-tail with considerable dihedral on the horizontal stabilisers. A peculiar feature of the Victor was the prominent "chin" bulge. This contained the targeting radar, cockpit, nose landing gear unit and an auxiliary bomb aimer's position. Unlike the Vulcan and Valiant, the Victor's pilots sat at the same level as the rest of the crew, thanks to a larger pressurised compartment that extended all the way to the nose. As per the other V-bombers, only the pilots were provided with ejection seats, the three systems operators relying on explosive cushions that would help them from their seats and towards a traditional "bail out".

The H.P.80 prototypes performed well, but there were a number of minor design miscalculations that lead to the loss of WB771 in July 1954. Attached to the fin using three bolts, the tailplane was subject to considerably more stress than had been anticipated and it sheared off, causing the aircraft to crash with the loss of the crew. Additionally, the aircraft were considerably tail-heavy. This was remedied by large ballast weights in the H.P.80 prototypes. Production Victors had a lengthened nose that also served to move the crew escape door further from the engine intakes and the tailplane attachment changed to a stronger four-bolt fixing.

Victor B.1

Production B.1 Victors were powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire ASSa.7 turbojets rated at 11,000 lbf (or 49 kN) and carried the Yellow Sun weapon. Twenty-four were upgraded to B.1A standard by the addition of Red Steer tail-warning radar and a suite of radar warning receivers and electronic countermeasures (ECM).

Victor B.2

The B.2 was an improved Victor powered by the Rolls-Royce Conway RCo.11 turbojet engines providing 17,250 lbf (76.8 kN). This required enlarged and re-designed intakes to provide greater airflow. The wing was stretched and incorporated two "speed pods" or "Küchemann carrots". These are anti-shock bodies; bulged fairings that reduced wave drag at transonic speeds (see area rule). The right wing incorporated a Blackburn Artouste auxiliary power unit. The latter allowed the aircraft to self-start and provided systems power for when the main engines were unlit. This feature was useful for aircraft designed to sit on constant alert. The B.2 also featured an aerial refuelling probe above the cockpit, large "slipper tanks" on the wings and a body at the base of the tailplane containing ECM gear, this featured distinctive "elephant ears" cooling inlets.

With the move to low-level penetration missions, the Victors received two-tone camouflage patterns, terrain following radar and cockpit rolling-map displays. Twenty-one B.2 were upgraded to the B.2(RS) with upgraded Conway RCo.17 engines - 20,600 lbf (91 kN) - and the Blue Steel stand-off nuclear missile. It had been intended that the AGM-48 Skybolt cruise missile would be carried (four per aircraft) but this system was cancelled in 1963.

Victor B.2 Strategic Reconnaissance

Nine B.2 aircraft were converted for "strategic reconnaissance" purposes to replace Valiants withdrawn due to wing fatigue. The received cameras, a bomb-bay mounted radar mapping system and wing-top "sniffers" to detect particles released from nuclear testing.

Victor tankers

The withdrawal of the Valiant fleet left the RAF with a shortfall in front-line tanker aircraft, so the B.1/1A aircraft, now judged to be obsolescent in the strike role, were made re-tasked with this duty. Six B.1A aircraft received a two-point system with a "hose and drogue" system carried under each wing as B.1A (K2P). Fourteen further B.1A and eleven B.1 were given a more thorough conversion, receiving bomb-bay fuel tanks and a centreline dispenser unit as three-point tankers - the K.1A / K.1 respectively.

The remaining B.2 aircraft were not as suited to the low-level strike mission as the Vulcan with its enormously strong delta wing. This, combined with the switch of the nuclear deterrent from the RAF to the Royal Navy with the Polaris missile) meant that the Victor was now surplus to requirements. Hence, 24 B.2 were modified to 'K.2' standard. Similar to the K.1/1A conversions, the wing was trimmed to reduce stress and had the nose glazing plated over. The K.2 could carry 91,000 pounds of fuel. It served in the tanker role until withdrawn in October 1993.

Operational history

The Victor was the last of the V-bombers to enter service and the last to retire, 9 years after the last Vulcan (although the Vulcan survived longer as a bomber). It saw service in the Falklands War and 1991 Gulf War as an in-flight refuelling tanker. During the Borneo conflict of 1962-66, two B.1A aircraft flew the Victor's only offensive mission.

Vertically Supersonic

The Victor has the dubious honour of being one of the heaviest aircraft ever to go supersonic in a dive. The Victor was used during testing of the Blue Steel missile at the Woomera test range in Australia between 1957 and 1965. During one of these routine flights, the right air speed indicator failed, indicating Mach 1.03. The Victor was not designed to go supersonic so a "transonic" flight signal was sent to the auto stabilisers. They initiated a pitch-up manoeuvre in an attempt to slow the aircraft down. When the pilots checked the readouts on the two airspeed indicators, they chose to believe the faulty unit, and they too added positive pitch using the control yoke, also in an attempt to slow the bomber down. This resulted in a violent pitch up followed by a wing-over taking the Victor from plus 5G to minus 3G - well beyond the airframe design limits. The bomber then settled in to an uncontrollable, vertically supersonic flat spin, descending from 46,000ft to 16,000ft in 20 seconds. One of the flight crew had significant experience in prototype aircraft and elected to pull the braking parachute - normally used to slow the aircraft down after landing. The chute deployed but broke away within seconds. Fortunately, it induced just enough drag that some heavy stick-pulling by the crew managed to regain straight and level flight. It's worth understanding that this all happened in the space of a little under a minute, to an 80 ton aircraft carrying a fully-fueled Blue Steel nuclear-capable standoff missile.

Variants

  • HP.80 : Prototype, 2 aircraft built.
  • Victor B.1 : Strategic bomber aircraft. 50 built.
  • Victor B.1A : Strategic bomber aircraft, B.1 updated with Red Steer tail-warning radar and ECM suite, 24 converted.
  • Victor B.1A(K.2P) : 2-point in-flight refuelling tanker retaining bomber capability, 6 converted.
  • Victor BK.1 : 3-point in-flight refuelling tanker (renamed K.1 after bombing capability removed), 11 converted.
  • Victor BK.1A : 3-point in-flight refuelling tanker (renamed K.1A as for K.1), 14 converted.
  • Victor B.2 : Strategic bomber aircraft, 34 built.
  • Victor B.2RS : Blue Steel-capable aircraft with RCo.17 Conway 201 engines, 21 converted.
  • Victor B(S.R).2 : Strategic reconnaissance aircraft, 9 converted.
  • Victor K.2 : Inflight refuelling tanker.

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Handley Page Victor of Wikipedia ( authors )

Specifications (Victor B.1)

  • Crew : 5.
  • Length : 114 ft 11 in (or 35.05 m).
  • Height : 28 ft 1½ in (or 8.57 m).
  • Wingspan : 120 ft (or 36.58 m).
  • Wing area : 2,406 ft² (or 223.5 m²).
  • Loaded weight : 165,000 lb (or 75,000 kg).
  • Max takeoff weight : 185,000 lb (or 83,900 kg).
  • Maximum speed : 650 mph (or 1,050 km/h).
  • Range : 1,500 mi (or 2,400 km).
  • Service ceiling : 49,000 ft (or 14,900 m)
  • Powerplant : Four Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire A.S.Sa.7 turbojets, 11,000 lbf (or 49 kN) each.
  • Thrust/weight : 0.27.
  • Armament : Up to 35 × 1,000 lb (or 450 kg) bombs. Blue Steel stand-off nuclear missile (B.2RS).

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Handley Page Victor of Wikipedia ( authors )
Handley Page 80 Victor : Your comments on this subject
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