TTN

Steve Hazell's book Handley Page Victor lists XA 935 as serving at:

59-60 Radar Reconnaissance Flight Wyton

232 OCU Gaydon

10Sqn Cottesmore

XV Sqn Cottesmore

It is not on his list for 214 Sqn

"Can anyone enlighten me about the subsequent career of XA935 (seen in the picture). Global Resources have it as struck off charge on 30 April 1974, and it falls in the series of B1s which were converted to K1s which were all allocated to 214 squadron. I joined 214 in 1971 and was under the impression that I had flown in all the squadron's aircraft, but this one doesnt appear in my logbook and I dont remember it at all. Was it permanently in the hangar before being flown off to St Athan? Silly really, but this is one of those things that annoy you when you have nothing more important to think about!"

TTN

RRB's book vol.1:

10 Sqdn 9-4-58
232OCU 29-10-58
RRF 11-5-59
15 Sqdn 1-3-60
232OCU 9-5-61
10 Sqdn 1-11-61
232OCU 14-12-61
RAF St. Athan 17-6-64 NEA 6-4-70 SOC 30-7-74

Not converted to K.1, no service with 214 Sqdn.

Ciarain.

Many thanks Ozleckie and Ciarain, that's that one solved!

TTN

From VictorPilot,

Bob, I think you're probably right - it was a red cheat line. Andrew Brookes's 1988 book 'Handley Page Victor' states that WB771 was painted at Radlett in late August 1953 "in an eerie matt black finish with red fuselage trimmings and silver-grey wings and tail for the 1953 Farnborough Show". Apparently the scheme was "personally chosen by Sir Frederick" himself. Following the accident to WB771, WB775 was completed "in the same black and siver-grey livery as its predecessor" for the 1954 Farnborough Show. Whether the cheat line on WB775 was blue or red, though, is not entirely clear. I do have some colour footage of one of these 2 aircraft and I distinctly remember the cheat line as red - sadly the video machine is kaput at the moment.so I can't confirm which airframe it is (I think I got the video cassette via the Handley Page Association, many years ago?).

My interest in the Victor? Was a pilot on 55 Sqn at RAF Marham from early 1990 up until the demise of the K2 in late 1993 (great parties!). Currently flying Boeing 777s!

22 years on the V force but always preferred the Victor. I remember turning up at Wittering, fresh from Locking, to be told that I would be spending my first week in the grown up RAF on QRA " But Chief, I've never even worked on an aeroplane, never mind a VictorB2R with a podded, wet Blue Steel strapped to it ! " " Never mind you'll be OK, we will send someone over to show you around ". Jump forward 20 years and a final posting to Marham working on the exact same airframes but under the K2 guise. What goes round comes round I suppose.

Victor Peeps
 

Some might try looking at the "Were you ever on Victors" thread????

Was sorry to hear of the loss of Dave Foulger, The Young Master as I recall and was one of his men on the OCU, time catches up with us all, nearly joined him.

Have to hold my hand up to having been a Tanker W****r from 70 to 77 on 214. I always have regretted that the K1 seems to have been overshadowed by the K2. IMO operating the K1 was a much more challenging affair. First of all you needed the earth's curvature to get airborne and then the permutations needed to get all the fighters to where they wanted to go once you were airborne were truly awesome. It was 7 years that I would not have missed. Many very happy memories. Who remembers the whisky tasting night in the Marham mess or the 214 sojourn in Akrotiri one Easter? I also remember taking a number on their final flights "for disposal" - very sad that was.

I was also on "hit the floor its 214" in the early 70s.
I beleive i still have the Control column, possibly from XA 920/930 as it has a "RATOG" switch on one of the spectacles in my shed!!
Must look out some photos for the V force reunion next april.

The seabed off the eastern end of the runway at Akrotiri is littered with RATOG bottles, out from the sub-aqua club about 50 yds and just past the Renault Dauphin (don't ask) about 30ft deep.

RATOG Bottles
 

Bottles in the sea at Cyprus? Where did they come from? Not from Victors that is certain!! The switches were in Mk1 and Mk1a aircraft, but the requirement was cx before the hardware was developed. Bob

No idea Bob but there were plenty of them, 20-30ish?
This was 1970-72, and they had been there a few years judging by the marine growth on them. Maybe from Valiants or Canberras then?

Trials? Safety plus in the ability to drop 'em just about straight after take off into the oggin?

Trouble was the Sub-Aqua Club, and all the other clubs, had a rolling membership as folk were posted in and out, therefore it had no "corporate memory".

Certainly not the Valiant Tankers as they had water-methanol injection to give an extra 1000lbs of thrust per engine on T/O and very welcome it was too. I believe early Valiant Bombers may have trialled RATOG but I do not think they used it regularly.

RATOG was a waste of time. After you were airborne you had to return to the airfield to jettison the motors. A F is correct, water meth got you airborne every time. Just about. Nairobi International was the worst. With the altitude and temperature the take off took so long that the water meth would run out just as the mainwheels were leaving the ground.......... For the first time.

As I recall, on the K1/K1a at max AUW, instead of RATOG or Water Meth we had the three guys down the back pulling upwards on their seat pans, eyes closed and lips moving, as the far threshold approached. Oh yes and 101.5% power setting helped a bit as well!

Crew Chiefs.
 

Super photographs. Does anyone know the names of the Crew Chiefs at Gaydon in 1961? It,s nearly half a century ago but maybe these names will jog some memories.First is Chiefy Swinburne,Crew Chief of XA 941,as immortalised by the Patricia Forrest painting,"Incident at Gaydon".I,ve had a long conversation with Tom recently,and he is in good health.Jock Stewart,Ted Long,Chiefy Le Vac,are the only ones I can remember after so long.
Sam Weller was telling me a story about W.O. Artie Shaw working in the bomb bay of a Victor.Well I was about 6 stone in those days,and I struggled to get in by the small hatch,particularly as there was a huge fuel tank just inside the door.[The riggers used to find it amusing to start the hydraulic pumps,just as you were climing past the front of the tank] So how Artie,got in was a mystery.Sam explained.He opened the bombdoors,put a step ladder up and climbed into the bomb bay,grabbed the control rods,then he kicked over the stepladder and someone would close the doors.Sam arrived later,removed the small hatch and shouted inside to see if anyone was "in".No reply,so he opened the bomb doors.Artie dropped onto the ground,in not a very good mood.It seems he had been dismantling some small component,and had the screws in his mouth when Sam shouted,so all he could manage was,"mmmm".

AF I see from my logbook that in July 59 I cadged a copilot slot with BCDU (Bomber Command Development Unit) after my 49 Sqn Cdr had ordered me to go on leave. I flew with FltLt Hogg on water meth trials and with Sqn Ldr Gibson on RATOG trials (I seem to remember they were Super Sprites). I remember nothing of the former but the Sprites gave endles trouble as the recovery chutes failed to open or the shock absorbing airbags failed to inflate, or both. In either case it was terminal. My own sqn cdr eventually found out and I was banished from the base for a fortnight.

Sudden thought hit me last night, maybe the AKR RATOG bottles came from the Yanks? The U-2s started using the base in the late 50s or early 60s I believe.

Crewhiefs.
 

I,ve remembered another crewchief at Gaydon.Taff Jordan.Shingles McVey

Well, it's been a delight to stumble across this thread from a random internet search.

My late Father put in many hours on Victors, mainly as a Test Pilot in the late fifties. He was both colleague and very good friend of the aforementioned Geoff Fletcher.

I find it stunning that this country churned out great aircraft such as the Victor seemingly at will through this period. Not that Dad's experiences were all easy going, including a hairy moment at Wittering (I've still got the runway landing light they found in his undercarriage).

Enjoyed some of the old b&w pics as well. I'll have to look through Dad's logbook and see if there's anything I can scan across.