VICTOR BOYS: TRUE STORIES FROM FORTY MEMORABLE YEARS OF THE LAST V BOMBER

The Handley Page Victor was the third of the three V bombers and the most long lasting, serving in the RAF until 1993, and still doing invaluable service in the first Iraq war. Moreover, in 1982 it was only the Victor tanker fleet based on Ascension Island that made possible the Vulcan Black Buck bombing of Port Stanley airfield and the long-range reconnaissance of Argentina by Nimrods.

Victor Boys tells the story of all the great things that were achieved, recounted first hand by the operators themselves, aircrew and ground crew. Starting with recollections by test pilot Johnny Allam, who undertook the major development of the aircraft, there are stories of its work as a nuclear bomber during the cold war, followed by testing Blue Steel in Australia, and its operation in squadron service. Finally there are first-hand accounts of the Victor's superb work as an air-to-air refuelling tanker during the Falklands War and later when providing a vital support resource for fighters and other aircraft.

Published to co-incide with the Victor's 60th anniversary, the gripping text is superbly illustrated with photographs from the operators themselves, never released before.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Tony Blackman OBE, MA FRAes obtained an honours degree in Physics at Trinity College Cambridge. He learnt to fly in the RAF, trained as a test pilot, and then joined A V Roe to become chief test pilot. As an expert in aviation electronics he was subsequently invited by Smiths Industries to join their Aerospace Board, initially as technical operations director. On leaving Smiths he joined the board of the UK Civil Aviation Authority. He is a fellow of the American Society of Experimental Test Pilots, a fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and a liveryman of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators. Squadron Leader Anthony Wright BA joined the RAF in 1960.

After navigator training he entered the V Force as a navigator radar flying Valiants and then Vulcans. After a tour in Singapore and completion of the Staff Navigation Course he was posted to Cranwell. He returned to Vulcans as an instructor, followed by wing weapons and then radar leader on 50 Squadron. After an appointment at MOD he became OC Training Squadron at RAFASUPU thus completing his RAF career. Finally, he served at HQ Air Cadets before retiring in 2003.