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In
1947, the British Air Ministry issued a request in the form of
Specification B.35/46 for an advanced jet bomber capable of carrying a
nuclear bomb. Short and Vickers responded with SA.4 Sperrin and T.660
Valiant. The Sperrin was set as the program backup while Valiant was
awarded the production order. Handley-Page and Avro came up with
advanced designs for competition which would become the Victor and
Vulcan. Due to the aggression in Europe from USSR , both the Victor and
Vulcan were also awarded a production contract. The first Victor
prototype made its first flight in 1952, and the first production
aircraft B.Mk.1 flew in 1956. After improvements with more powerful
engines, wing design changes and many other modifications, the B.Mk.2
entered service in 1962. The Victor initially was armed with the Blue
Steel stand-off missile, and was also intended to be equipped with
American Skybolt missile. In 1972, Twenty-four B.Mk.2s were converted to
K.Mk.2 tanker. The Victor was never called into combat in the bomber
role but did see action in the tanker role for the Falklands war in 1982
and Gulf war in 1991. The last Victor unit was disbanded in 1993.
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