One of Britain's famous 'V Bomber' force was the Handley Page Victor. It was the longest serving of the aircraft, though not the last one flying as a privately operated Vulcan was and perhaps still is doing very limited air show appearances in the UK. Though the type never did seem to attract the attention as did the Vulcan, it was probably one of the more important types operated. continually being developed, it was an effective carrier of the Blue Steel nuclear stand off missile, along with several Vulcan units.

The V bomber force ran afoul of the need rather early in their careers of having to start doing low level operations. Never designed for anything other than high altitude bombing, this shift in mission affected each type differently. The Valiant was soon removed from service due to its structure being unable to handle the pounding the airframe took in the denser air. The Victor was similarly affected, though not as badly while the big delta wing of the Vulcan seemed pretty much immune to fatigue problems.

The Valiant was soon converted to tanker ops, though that too was short-lived. The Victor had a major operational extension when it was also converted to tanker use and that is how it ended it career when airframe hours had expired. The Vulcan, however, was only briefly used as a tanker at the end of its operational days during the Falklands War in the early 80s.

This book covers the development, operational career and eventual end of the Victor. This includes the myriad of upgrades and updated made to the aircraft during its active service. Eventually operated by eight RAF squadrons and an OCU, the Victor came in two major versions, the Mk. I and significantly upgraded Mk. 2 version that had larger and more powerful engines. The Mk.Is were soon relegated to tanker duties or scrapped, leaving an all Mk. 2 fleet. The Victor was also operated in the reconnaissance role with 543 Squadron, though it retained its ability to be used as a bomber. Eventually, it ended its days as a tanker and was able to participate in Operation Desert Storm before its retirement soon after.

Like all Osprey aviation books, there are a superb selection of period photographs, many of them in color. In addition, there are eight pages of color profiles and plan views showing the Victor in all of its various camouflage schemes and with all of its operating units. In all, it is a superb look at this most interesting aircraft and a book I can most easily recommend to you.

March 2011

For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit www.ospreypublishing.com. In the US, it is Osprey Direct at 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101., where you can get a catalogue of available books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.