New Book about the Victor

[TheVulcan]

It has been suggested that there should be a book put together consisting of stories from Victor aircrew and ground crew. The would need to be first hand accounts of notable sorties, incidents, accidents, Falklands Campaign etc. There have been innumerable number of books on Vulcans and Nimrods and it would be good to have a new one on the Victor. Richard Pike has just done a similar book on the Lightning called The Lightning Boys and maybe we need one called The Victor Boys or just The Victor.

We all know that Black Buck and all the Nimrod sorties from Ascension Island would never have taken place without the Victor tankers but the capability of the aircraft and all the hard work that the crews did is not generally known and appreciated.

David Emmerson, OC the Nimrods at Ascension says it all
‘ my most vivid lasting memory is listening to the radio communication during the first Vulcan Black Buck sortie when the Victor Tanker crews totally reorganised the complex refuelling programme as unserviceabilities and other potential disasters occurred. An incredible performance and one so complex that it would have confused any eavesdropper.’

A lot of stories will be needed so we need the word to be spread around since not everybody reads pprune.. Hopefully we will get some test flying stories and some comparisons with the Vulcan as well as operational missions. I may even feel forced to make a comment or two myself!

Producing a book of this sort does not bring significant financial rewards and costs quite a bit in computer support. However I would be prepared to have a go and would hope to be able to make a substantial contribution towards the RAF Association if the book ever gets published.

Anyone interested please send me a message. There is a similar message on my web site with my email address.

TheVulcan

[Tankertrashnav]

Good luck with the project. Roger Brooke's 2 volume set on the Victor covers all of the technical stuff very well, so I'm guessing you're going more for the "Victor tales" sort of thing, which could be very interesting. May I suggest you look at ex Victor QFI Tony Cunnane's website Tony Cunnane's Life and Times (http://tonycunnane.co.uk/index.html) if you havent already done so. He has two sections devoted to his time on Victors and would well be worth approaching for permission to use some of his stories. You would also be very welcome to put an entry requesting contributions on the guestbook on the V-Force Reunion (http://www.vforcereunion.co.uk/) website.

Must trawl through my own log book - something interesting must have happened on at least one of my 421 Victor sorties! All my time was spent on K1s - the Mk 1 has tended to become somewhat forgotten compared to its big sister the Mk 2, but it was a good reliable aircraft, if a tad short of power on occasions!

[Marham69]

Salve, O Tin Triangled One,

Having flown both backstairs (or downstairs in the coal cellar wrt your love affair), I have a tale or two to tell wrt the crescent wing, V-tailed masterpiece.

Tin Triangle time: as a Waddo "umpire" during Bomb/Nav Comps; now, yer Vulcan PLotters would never go so far as a swifty TACAN swith on for a couple of seconds to check the Astro calcuations.

(Joke Time - They never did - Bless 'em)

KIndest Regards from an agiing Tanker Nav Plotter in Scotia. "Maintain Heading please"

aka as an RV Bravo

following an 10 sec EE Ligtning F Mk 6 Collins received transmit. Brilliant lads they they were indeed. It was our pleasure to keep these Jocks travelling on.

Can still view via the rear view perisope as No 74 Sqn, the magnificent Tigers, slowly edgie in for a contact en route to Singers. Never missed. Superb pilotage as per usual..


PM please as I may have some Victor rippers for you considertion.

[Marham69]

TankerTrash (Alan Good Man) sells himself short with that appellation...

Victor K Mk 1As (Three Pointers) served with distinction between 1965 and 1973.

Their service and history has been long disregarded

Much of the recognised expertise of the K Mk 2 Tanker Force came from what had gone before. I have personal knowledge of K 2 Captains who had been as jittery as buggery Co-Pilots in 1A days. They got over it - salute to them. Still.... a bit stiff to expect a rear crew....

[VictorPilot]

From a Victor driver from 1960 to 1982 - and then some!! The Last Victor Pilot.....

[Tankertrashnav]

Thankfully not the late Victor pilot ;)

[PPRuNe Pop]

Dear folk,

This is one of those moments I personally dread. It goes without saying that it will make a good book but.............we have to think of all those with good stories and proposed books by others who have been told that we cannot take on threads for the purpose of compiling anecdotes of any aircraft or, indeed, books.

PM's are a good way of giving over stories and other info and there is some others in the Victor thread in AH&N forum where this thread will now go.

I am sure you will not be short of material by the above method so we are not shutting PPRuNe entirely.

[TheVulcan]

Has anybody got a picture taken through the Vulcan windscreen of the aircraft being refuelled from a Victor? Very understandably I'm not sure there is one but it would be a great picture and I would love to use it in my Falkland chapters.