The next book in the great Aerofax series is on Britain's longest serving post-war bomber, the Victor. Like the Vulcan, there is no mistaking the shape of the Victor with its crescent shaped wings and tail plane. Britain no longer has a bomber force, and that is more the pity. Any more, strategic bombing is not a luxury many nations can afford as building and keeping these planes in the air is a considerable expense.

However, the world of 1947/48 was quite different and Britain went into the design of new turbo jet bombers with considerable enthusiasm. From the drawing boards emerged four designs that made it into prototypes; Vulcan, Victor, Valiant and Sperrin. The Sperrin was soon eliminated, but the triumvirate of 'V bombers' made it into production. First to go was the Valiant, doomed by airframe deficiencies when the mission changed to low level. The Vulcan followed a few years after the Falklands War and the last to exit the stage was the Victor in the early 1990s. All three had been converted to tankers once the strategic bombing mission was no longer considered viable, with the Victor the most successful of the three in this role.

This book is the story of the Victor, a name that fits in may ways. The authors go into considerable detail on the design of the aircraft, and that includes the unique, tail sitting HP.85, an aircraft built to verify that the wing would work as advertised. Unfortunately, the HP.85 was not a very lucky aircraft having been destroyed within months of first flight.

Then there are sections on the different variants of the Victor including airliner proposals, service and operational history and various trials aircraft. A complete listing of each Victor serial that includes its various units and modifications is next and that is followed by a details section on the various parts and systems of the aircraft. We then get to a most interesting part where those who flew and maintained the plane provide some of their experiences with the Victor. There is also a listing of those converted to K.2 standards. Finally, a quite large photo section is included, all in full color.

This all makes for a superlative book on the type and one that you really should not be without.

May 2009

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press , where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

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