There was a squadron of Victor tankers deployed to King Khalid IAP during Desert Storm. I was flying KC-135s and got sent over there at about the halfway point in the war. I had never even heard of the Victor and upon seeing one for the first time on the ramp I asked my crew if anyone knew what the strange-looking airplane was. I think it was my navigator who clued me in that it was a British tanker. I remember thinking that the design looked like something straight out of the old 1930s Buck Rogers serials that I had seen as a kid running on TV in the 60's.
The Handley Page Victor started out as a cold war nuclear deterrent bomber in the mid 1950s, but changed to tanker duties when Polaris submarines took over the nuclear deterrent role in the mid 1960s. The Victors performance was extraordinary. It could cruise at 55,000 ft if required and could achieve supersonic flight in a shallow dive, though this was not encouraged. Aerodynamically it was very advanced for its time.
The Victor, Vulcan, Hunter, Lighting, Buccaneer (seen refuelling) and the Harrier, all looked like they had just flown out of a Thunderbirds episode with Scott, Virgil and Allen at the controls. All awesome, all very British!
I think you might be confusing the Victor aircraft, which was based in Muharraq, Bahrain, with the Vickers VC10 who were based at King Khalid during Dessert Storm.
Absolutely awesome to see all this in-flight chatter, plus close-up re-fuelling, including hook-ups and departures, also "fussy" camera-man instructions to Tornado flight-crew...👋👋 😁 then super-awesome (for us non pilots 🙃) full landing, roll-out, then taxiing all the way to the stop plus some more "ribbing" with the Tower boys for the ground crew to "chew" over later..😂😂.. Fantastic to be along for the ride and definitely one of the very best videos I've ever seen on RUclips.. in my top 3 and I've seen hundreds and hundreds and hundreds... just ❤ it.👏👏👏👏
I did my first AATC tour at Marham tower, early 1980 to early 82. One occasion a K2 was going on a transit flight to St Athan for a refit so it had minimal amount of fuel and no underwing fuel tanks or pods. As it taxied out the wind was blowing right down runway 24 at some 25 knots. When the pilot called for "line up" he positioned the airframe as far down on the piano keys on Runway 24 as he could. I was the local assistant and the controller had a colleague under training. He saw this and commented "look where he is, this will be interesting". When given permission for take off, the pilot throttled up to almost 100% before releasing the brakes. The nose of the airframe lifted and off it went. It had some 25 knots going over the wings before it moved an inch and it shot off. The runway from the 24 threshold rises about 40 feet to the intersection with Runway 01/19 in about 2,200 feet and by the time the airframe had reached the intersection the pilot was rotating and it was airborne. As it flew over the opposite end of the runway it must have been passing 2000 feet. Never seen a take off like it. On the other side of the coin, a fully laden TANSOR air defence airframe with about 135,000lbs of fuel on board took a good 6,000 feet, almost two thirds of the runway length. Great days and a great clip. Thanks
What’s a beautiful When Britain was a powerhouse We’re not anywhere near even half of what we used to be such a shame I belong for them days to return But never to be
Saw this from the other side, we refuelled off the Victor several times on my Hercules AAR course. Very elegant machine the Victor, however larger aircraft refuel off the centre line HDU.
Great comms footage. I remember buchan being used for tactical until probably the late 90s, buchan closed and boulmer was used for a while. These dsys tactical with Hotspur. Listened to comms religiously since 1998 and heard many many great sorties, big exercises. Gamecock c/s remember well even can remember the air to air frequencies from way back. Lossie c/s were adopted by the tornadoes of 12 squadron, Jackal featuring here.
I've been trying to identify the two Victor K2's in this film. Although they are hard to make out both bare Vivacious Victor nose art and are therefore Operation Granby participants. I can't make out the first one but the second is XL231 Lusty Lindy which is now at Elvington. I have read that 8 Victors were detached by 55 Squadron to Muharraq and that Corporal Andy Price found time to paint 6 of them with nose art, the names derived from those of the relevant aircraft's crew chiefs' wives/girlfriends. The full list is: XH161 XH671 Slinky Sue, later Sweet Sue XH672 Maid Marion (Cosford) XL164 Saucy Sal (Bournemouth) XL190 (Manston) XL231 Lusty Lindy (Elvington) XM715 Teasin' Tina (Bruntingthorpe) XM717 Lucky Lou (Hendon) I'd like to know what the other two would have been called if Cpl Price had been able to paint them too. Also why was XH671's name changed? And what about the ladies, are their any photographs of Sue, Marion, Sal, Lindy, Tina and Lou with their aircraft?
Starting on the Runway 24 threshold, the runway rises to the intersection with the subsidiary runway 01/19 then levels out, so a dip at the east end and not really in the middle. I did my first tour at Marham air traffic control, I know the runway well.
++@@juleshathaway3894++ Ok, Thanks for that. Until 7 years ago I lived East Rudham in a house which was directly in line with the Main at Sculthorpe and directly under one leg of Marham's circuit. It must have been a damned noisy place to live when Sculthorpe was still open and the USAF were there as it was still a bit deafening at times when Marham's Tornadoes were going in and out.. Quite an interesting part of Norfolk to live in. There were at least six airfields within five miles of my house, most, other than Marham thankfully closed although STANTA still used Sculthorpe and Massingham had light aircraft in and out.
@@JohnSmith-pd1fz Oh wow, I would be loved that. I miss the sound of jet noise especially the big jets. The K2s were just awesome. My favourite though is the Phantom after a tour with 228 OCU at Leuchars in the late 80’s to early 90’s. I’m looking at the former wartime airfields in Norfolk just now. I need to visit them before they or me goes.
++@@juleshathaway3894++ Most of them already have. For instance Matlask, a satellite of Coltishall the last of it's buildings, watch office and hard standings went in the late 70's and Coltishall itself is the usual industrial/dereliction/fly tipping mess. Sculthorpe still has a working runway and is used by Stanta. Snoring is mostly gone but two hangars and some runway remain. Massingham has one hangar and houses a club and a few bits and pieces. Langham has a protected gunnery dome and some peritrack. Maybe a few odd building. Docking is all gone and Bircham houses the CITB but has no runways left. North Creake is mostly gone but has a solar farm within it's triangle. West Raynham is industrial, housing and derelict but it's three hangars are listed. North Pickenham is windfarms, Wood Norton is industrial and so on. Sad in many ways but what else could be done with them. Most have a memorial somewhere nearby, A the roadside or where the watch office used to be. I believe there were 45 or 49 airfields in Norfolk alone at the height of WWII, some nobody ever heard about. there are several books though.
Great video. Oh for the days when the UK manufactured aircraft of this quality and actually exported a great many. Hard to believe nowadays when we seem incapable of producing nothing but beaurocracy and rubbish for recycling😮
Maybe not on subject, delete if objected. One thing I always wonder is I have seen on film two type of air to air refueling pipes. The first is as shown here, probe on aircraft which plugs into the pipe from the tanker. Americans seem to basically swap male and female with a probe going from tanker and plugging into the aircraft being fueled. My question is do tankers carry both types? I would have thought essential say when in NATO both types would be in use.
I think that they had doth types,the Brits supply their syistem and the Americans supply theirs,so there will be both syestems flying.Thanks for following!
Brit system of probe and drogue, developed by Flight Refuelling Ltd, is used by RAF, US Navy and USMC and most other air forces that employ air-air refuelling. The boom method used by the USAF was developed by Strategic Air Command in the 50s to enable refuelling of nuclear bombers. Why? Because the probe/drogue system has a limited delivery rate of fuel (you can only push a certain volume of fuel down it at a certain pressure - receiver aircraft limitation), whereas the boom system can deliver a much greater volume at a greater rate hence it's primary use for big aeroplanes. Also USAF fighters fuel systems can take on fuel at a greater pressure therefore they can cycle through the boom much quicker than a probe-equipped fighter can on a hose.
@ nose art wasn’t applied to the Victors until the first gulf war 1990-1991, if you look closely you can see the artwork on the port side of the cockpit.
Still today, it has such a great looking design! It is ageing so well!
I totally agree!
Victor is epic. Still looks amazing. ❤
This is awesome! I never knew recordings like this existed. Thank you to all involved!
Glad you enjoyed it!
There was a squadron of Victor tankers deployed to King Khalid IAP during Desert Storm. I was flying KC-135s and got sent over there at about the halfway point in the war. I had never even heard of the Victor and upon seeing one for the first time on the ramp I asked my crew if anyone knew what the strange-looking airplane was. I think it was my navigator who clued me in that it was a British tanker. I remember thinking that the design looked like something straight out of the old 1930s Buck Rogers serials that I had seen as a kid running on TV in the 60's.
The Handley Page Victor started out as a cold war nuclear deterrent bomber in the mid 1950s, but changed to tanker duties when Polaris submarines took over the nuclear deterrent role in the mid 1960s. The Victors performance was extraordinary. It could cruise at 55,000 ft if required and could achieve supersonic flight in a shallow dive, though this was not encouraged. Aerodynamically it was very advanced for its time.
The Victor, Vulcan, Hunter, Lighting, Buccaneer (seen refuelling) and the Harrier, all looked like they had just flown out of a Thunderbirds episode with Scott, Virgil and Allen at the controls. All awesome, all very British!
I think you might be confusing the Victor aircraft, which was based in Muharraq, Bahrain, with the Vickers VC10 who were based at King Khalid during Dessert Storm.
Awesome mate... I seen Buccaneer planes on HMS Eagle when it visited NZ in the early 70's 👍🇳🇿
Look how stable the Buccaneers are!
Completely excellent .Thank you for posting.
Glad you enjoyed it
Beautiful aircraft
Great video, and wonderful to see two great British aircraft from an era when Britain had an industry that could design and manufacture aircraft.
Glad that you enjoyed it!
fabulous seeing the beautiful Victor in action! Such a gorgeous plane! Thank Jo for yet another magnificent upload.
Absolutely awesome to see all this in-flight chatter, plus close-up re-fuelling, including hook-ups and departures, also "fussy" camera-man instructions to Tornado flight-crew...👋👋 😁 then super-awesome (for us non pilots 🙃) full landing, roll-out, then taxiing all the way to the stop plus some more "ribbing" with the Tower boys for the ground crew to "chew" over later..😂😂..
Fantastic to be along for the ride and definitely one of the very best videos I've ever seen on RUclips.. in my top 3 and I've seen hundreds and hundreds and hundreds... just ❤ it.👏👏👏👏
Glad that you enjoyed it, Thanks for following!
Those RR Conways sound great. A great plane the Victor, flew as a V bomber and later into the 90's tanker.Retired 93.
Glad that you enjoyed it!
I did my first AATC tour at Marham tower, early 1980 to early 82. One occasion a K2 was going on a transit flight to St Athan for a refit so it had minimal amount of fuel and no underwing fuel tanks or pods. As it taxied out the wind was blowing right down runway 24 at some 25 knots. When the pilot called for "line up" he positioned the airframe as far down on the piano keys on Runway 24 as he could. I was the local assistant and the controller had a colleague under training. He saw this and commented "look where he is, this will be interesting". When given permission for take off, the pilot throttled up to almost 100% before releasing the brakes. The nose of the airframe lifted and off it went. It had some 25 knots going over the wings before it moved an inch and it shot off. The runway from the 24 threshold rises about 40 feet to the intersection with Runway 01/19 in about 2,200 feet and by the time the airframe had reached the intersection the pilot was rotating and it was airborne. As it flew over the opposite end of the runway it must have been passing 2000 feet. Never seen a take off like it.
On the other side of the coin, a fully laden TANSOR air defence airframe with about 135,000lbs of fuel on board took a good 6,000 feet, almost two thirds of the runway length.
Great days and a great clip. Thanks
Thanks for your interesting comment and I am glad that you enjoyed it..
What’s a beautiful
When Britain was a powerhouse
We’re not anywhere near even half of what we used to be such a shame
I belong for them days to return
But never to be
Art in motion.
Does anyone know where you can find more of these long form cockpit recordings?
Nice upload 👌
Saw one of these flying out while stationed at RAF Upper Heyford from '81-'82. Had no idea what it was.. until now.
I remember these aircraft and many more the RAF had when I served from 1984 to 1994 and the many bases that were operational.
Great film, thanks for uploading 👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Nice footage, great to see a 111 squadron Tornado from Leuchars too. My local Airbase when I was younger. Spent many a day there.
Glad you enjoyed it
love the intakes on this thing
Great stuff as always, thank you!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Two classic and superlative UK aircraft, Blackburn Buccaneers and a Handley Page Victor.
The Panavia Tornado doesn't look too shabby either.
When Britain makes in own aircraft.....classics
Yes that is true, 👍Thanks for following!
Saw this from the other side, we refuelled off the Victor several times on my Hercules AAR course. Very elegant machine the Victor, however larger aircraft refuel off the centre line HDU.
Thanks for the info!
Beautiful aircraft❤ and the Buccaneers
Yes they are!
Great comms footage. I remember buchan being used for tactical until probably the late 90s, buchan closed and boulmer was used for a while. These dsys tactical with Hotspur.
Listened to comms religiously since 1998 and heard many many great sorties, big exercises. Gamecock c/s remember well even can remember the air to air frequencies from way back.
Lossie c/s were adopted by the tornadoes of 12 squadron, Jackal featuring here.
Thanks for your comment and for following!
Beautiful aircraft . You gotta respect more than the machine the guys who fly tankers , it’s not a walk in the park .
Yes i do think so!
I've been trying to identify the two Victor K2's in this film. Although they are hard to make out both bare Vivacious Victor nose art and are therefore Operation Granby participants. I can't make out the first one but the second is XL231 Lusty Lindy which is now at Elvington.
I have read that 8 Victors were detached by 55 Squadron to Muharraq and that Corporal Andy Price found time to paint 6 of them with nose art, the names derived from those of the relevant aircraft's crew chiefs' wives/girlfriends.
The full list is:
XH161
XH671 Slinky Sue, later Sweet Sue
XH672 Maid Marion (Cosford)
XL164 Saucy Sal (Bournemouth)
XL190 (Manston)
XL231 Lusty Lindy (Elvington)
XM715 Teasin' Tina (Bruntingthorpe)
XM717 Lucky Lou (Hendon)
I'd like to know what the other two would have been called if Cpl Price had been able to paint them too. Also why was XH671's name changed? And what about the ladies, are their any photographs of Sue, Marion, Sal, Lindy, Tina and Lou with their aircraft?
Thanks for your interesting comment and for following!
You should do an in depth video on the tornado
I think that I will do someday. Thanks for following!
used to watch them every day when i worked at raf marham remember one catching fire at the start of the runway
Thanks for your comment.
I lived not too far away and remember that one catching fire too. Also the collision with a Canberra over Holt.
That must be the highest a Bucc flew.🙂
Marham?
Yes! Thanks for the visit.
Marham Tankers? Looks like thier runway with the dip in the middle.
Thanks for following!
Starting on the Runway 24 threshold, the runway rises to the intersection with the subsidiary runway 01/19 then levels out, so a dip at the east end and not really in the middle.
I did my first tour at Marham air traffic control, I know the runway well.
++@@juleshathaway3894++ Ok, Thanks for that. Until 7 years ago I lived East Rudham in a house which was directly in line with the Main at Sculthorpe and directly under one leg of Marham's circuit. It must have been a damned noisy place to live when Sculthorpe was still open and the USAF were there as it was still a bit deafening at times when Marham's Tornadoes were going in and out.. Quite an interesting part of Norfolk to live in. There were at least six airfields within five miles of my house, most, other than Marham thankfully closed although STANTA still used Sculthorpe and Massingham had light aircraft in and out.
@@JohnSmith-pd1fz Oh wow, I would be loved that. I miss the sound of jet noise especially the big jets. The K2s were just awesome. My favourite though is the Phantom after a tour with 228 OCU at Leuchars in the late 80’s to early 90’s. I’m looking at the former wartime airfields in Norfolk just now. I need to visit them before they or me goes.
++@@juleshathaway3894++ Most of them already have. For instance Matlask, a satellite of Coltishall the last of it's buildings, watch office and hard standings went in the late 70's and Coltishall itself is the usual industrial/dereliction/fly tipping mess. Sculthorpe still has a working runway and is used by Stanta. Snoring is mostly gone but two hangars and some runway remain. Massingham has one hangar and houses a club and a few bits and pieces. Langham has a protected gunnery dome and some peritrack. Maybe a few odd building. Docking is all gone and Bircham houses the CITB but has no runways left. North Creake is mostly gone but has a solar farm within it's triangle. West Raynham is industrial, housing and derelict but it's three hangars are listed. North Pickenham is windfarms, Wood Norton is industrial and so on. Sad in many ways but what else could be done with them. Most have a memorial somewhere nearby, A the roadside or where the watch office used to be. I believe there were 45 or 49 airfields in Norfolk alone at the height of WWII, some nobody ever heard about. there are several books though.
Beauty
It sure is,Thanks for watching!
Great video. Oh for the days when the UK manufactured aircraft of this quality and actually exported a great many. Hard to believe nowadays when we seem incapable of producing nothing but beaurocracy and rubbish for recycling😮
Well said!
👍👏👏👏
Thanks for watchng!
Maybe not on subject, delete if objected. One thing I always wonder is I have seen on film two type of air to air refueling pipes. The first is as shown here, probe on aircraft which plugs into the pipe from the tanker. Americans seem to basically swap male and female with a probe going from tanker and plugging into the aircraft being fueled. My question is do tankers carry both types? I would have thought essential say when in NATO both types would be in use.
I think that they had doth types,the Brits supply their syistem and the Americans supply theirs,so there will be both syestems flying.Thanks for following!
Brit system of probe and drogue, developed by Flight Refuelling Ltd, is used by RAF, US Navy and USMC and most other air forces that employ air-air refuelling. The boom method used by the USAF was developed by Strategic Air Command in the 50s to enable refuelling of nuclear bombers. Why? Because the probe/drogue system has a limited delivery rate of fuel (you can only push a certain volume of fuel down it at a certain pressure - receiver aircraft limitation), whereas the boom system can deliver a much greater volume at a greater rate hence it's primary use for big aeroplanes. Also USAF fighters fuel systems can take on fuel at a greater pressure therefore they can cycle through the boom much quicker than a probe-equipped fighter can on a hose.
I bet the Buccaneers had vertigo being that high
Yes they are very high. Thanks for following.
1990's footage.
Maybe or late 1980`s,Thanks for following!
@ nose art wasn’t applied to the Victors until the first gulf war 1990-1991, if you look closely you can see the artwork on the port side of the cockpit.