The Handley-Page Victor was the last of the three strategic nuclear V-Bombers to entered RAF service, the other two being the Avro Vulcan and Vickers Valiant. The Handley-Page Victor was designed in response to a the 1946 British Air Ministry requirement B.35/46. The unusual crescent-wing design was that of Dr. Gustav Victor Lachmann, a German who had been working for Handley-Page when WW2 broke out, he was initially interned but was eventually allowed to work for Handley-Page again. The first production aircraft flew on the 1st of February 1956, flown by test pilot Johnny Allam, sixteen months later Allam "accidentally" broke the sound barrier during a test flight with an indicated speed of Mach 1.1, the sonic boom was reported from several locations many miles away, it was at that time the largest aircraft in the world to have exceeded Mach 1! The Handley-Page Victor strategic nuclear bombers finally became operational with the RAF's 10 Squadron in April 1958 and remained in this role this role for ten years. Handley-Page Victor tankers went into service in 1966 and remained in RAF service until October 1993 when 55 Squadron was disbanded, the tanker role being taken over by the RAF's Vickers VC10 tankers. It is of note that although the Handley-Page Victor's never dropped a bomb in anger, modified into Victor K2 tankers they re-fuelled the Vulcan bombers that bombed the runway at Port Stanley in the Falklands during the conflict with Argentina in 1982, also during the first Gulf War eight Victor K2 tankers provided tanker support to both US Navy and RAF aircraft. Handley-Page Victor B2 Specifications: Wing Span: 120 ft. (36.48 m)
Length: 114 ft. 11 in. (35.03 m)
Height: 28 ft. 1 in. (8.57 m)
Engines: Four 17,250 lb thrust Rolls-Royce Conway R.Co.11 turbojets
Empty Weight : 91,000 lbs (41,275 kg)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 216,000 lbs (97,980 kg)
Maximum Speed: 650 mph (1,030 kph) @ 40,000 to 50,000 ft
Service Ceiling: 60,000 ft
Range: 3,500 miles | 
