Handley Page Victor

The Handley Page Victor was a British jet-powered strategic bomber developed and produced by Handley Page during the Cold War. It was the third and last of the V bombers flown by the Royal Air Force, after the Vickers Valiant and the Avro Vulcan. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 24 December 1952 and the type entered service in 1958 as part of the United Kingdom's airborne nuclear deterrent. Fatigue cracks, made worse by low-level flying, ended its nuclear role in 1968. Victors were then converted for strategic reconnaissance and, in larger numbers, as aerial tankers, and in 1982 tanker Victors refuelled Vulcan bombers during the Black Buck raids of the Falklands War. The Victor was the last V bomber to leave service, on 15 October 1993, when Lockheed TriStar and Vickers VC10 tankers replaced it.