HP Victor K1A XH648 Developments

[Jonny]

I thought I'd have a day wandering round IWM Duxford today.  I ambled into the Restoration / Conservation Hangar (No. 5) expecting to see the Victor there but - hardly anything to be seen  - the fin and outer wings were there but no fuselage.  I asked one volunteer who said he'd no idea and another who said he wasn't sure but it might have been carted across the road to the Astra cinema.  I thought that unlikely but thinking about it 'AirSpace' came to mind.  So I marched there to be greeted by  a strong smell of fresh paint.  And there she was, standing on her wheels looking very smart in Grey/Green over White camouflage!  Devoid of outer wings, tail assembly and bombay doors but looking just right. 

 

I've lost track of just how long she's been under restoration.  I remember being on a Hangar tour ages ago when we were shown some metal taken from the airframe which looked like lace and was to be replaced.

 

So - this unique aeroplane is nearly complete.  One can only hope she'll be kept under cover and not out in the elements as she was before this mammoth restoration started.

 

It looks as though Hangar 5's roof is being given 'the treatment - scaffolding everywhere and entrance only by a side door.  I notice that the space previously used for the Victor has been taken up by the Shackleton's fuselage but I got the impression work will wait till the roof work is completed.#

 

All in all a good day out!

 

Jonny

 

PS on the apron used to park visiting aeroplanes I spotted a single seat Vampire.  A cover was over the canopy and the tail was towards me and I couldn't work out what Mark it is, but the serial is WA123 and the squadron / aircraft ID R (RAF roundel) A.  Does anyone know anything about this? I have found a photo on the Interweb which seems to indicate the aeroplane might be the Norwegian one in new colours!

[Alpha Delta 210]

Hi Jonny

 

Glad you found her in the end! I'm amazed that the volunteers didn't know where she had gone as the move has been on the cards for a while!

 

i hope you find the fext beliw from the latest IWM Newsletter of interest:

 

"What does it take to conserve a Cold War bomber?

 

Duxford’s Handley Page Victor is the last surviving aircraft of its kind. After five years of restoration, it’s almost ready to go on display.

It has undergone significant conservation work, involving the removal of its wings and the refabrication of damaged components. The project is one of the largest ever undertaken by the team at Duxford.

The Victor was one of the British ‘V bombers’, along with the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. It was designed to be a high level strategic nuclear bomber.

Duxford’s Victor (XH648) first flew in November 1959. Built as a B1 model, it was delivered to 57 Squadron at RAF Honington in December of the same year.

In October 1960, it returned to Handley Page for conversion to a B1A status. It was fitted with new electronic countermeasure equipment and improved radio and radar equipment. The engines were also changed to Sapphire Mark 20701s.

Following conversion and test flights, XH648 was delivered to RAF Cottesmore in May 1961 to join 15 Squadron. It flew as part of the Far East Air Force during the confrontation with Indonesia in 1962-63. It became the only Victor to ever drop a full bomb load of 36,000 pounds.

 

On its return to Britain, XH648 remained with 15 Squadron until it was delivered back to RAF Honington to join 55 Squadron in April 1964.

Less than a year later it was repurposed as a refuelling aircraft. It was converted into a two-point tanker, making it a B (K) IA model. This entailed the fitting of Mark 20B refuelling pods under each wing.

It then returned to 55 Squadron, who shortly afterwards moved to RAF Marham, where it resided for the next ten years.

On 23 June 1975, XH648 was transferred to 57 Squadron, where it supported the squadron’s final year as a Mark I tanker squadron. After nearly 17 years of service, it was retired to Duxford on 2 June 1976.

Due to its sheer scale, XH648 was kept outside at Duxford for many years. In 2007, it was finally brought into a hangar, and in 2017 the restoration project began. The team started by conducting a full survey inside and out, practically disassembling the entire aircraft.

The rarity of this type of aircraft meant that the team were unsure exactly what they would find. A particular challenge was learning how the aircraft was put together. Many British aircraft of the time were hand manufactured, not mass produced. Much of the knowledge used to build them has been lost.

XH648 was built using materials which included the latest modern aluminiums of the time, plastics, nylons and even wood. Each different component requires a different conservation approach.
 

Wherever possible, the aircraft’s original hardware has been retained. The team were able to source some replacement nuts, bolts and rivets when necessary. Parts could also be manufactured specially if they needed replacing.

The team employed a number of conservation techniques including the use of chemicals, blasting techniques and even experimental laser paint stripping techniques.

When it is finished, the Victor will be in the colours of 57 Squadron. It will have a full gloss, green and grey camouflage colour scheme with a white underside, just as it did when it arrived at Duxford in 1976.

On 20 April, the Victor was moved to its new permanent home, the Conservation Hall in AirSpace. Over the next six weeks, it will undergo the final stages of its conservation. Visitors will be able to witness the reattachment of the wings, which will finally return the Victor to its 110-foot wingspan."

[Alpha Delta 210]

44 minutes ago, Jonny said:

I th ought I'd have a day wandering round IWM Duxford today.  I ambled into the Restoration / Conservation Hangar (No. 5) expecting to see the Victor there but - hardly anything to be seen  - the fin and outer wings were there but no fuselage.  I asked one volunteer who said he'd no idea and another who said he wasn't sure but it might have been carted across the road to the Astra cinema.  I thought that unlikely but thinking about it 'AirSpace' came to mind.  So I marched there to be greeted by  a strong smell of fresh paint.  And there she was, standing on her wheels looking very smart in Grey/Green over White camouflage!  Devoid of outer wings, tail assembly and bombay doors but looking just right. 

 

I've lost track of just how long she's been under restoration.  I remember being on a Hangar tour ages ago when we were shown some metal taken from the airframe which looked like lace and was to be replaced.

 

So - this unique aeroplane is nearly complete.  One can only hope she'll be kept under cover and not out in the elements as she was before this mammoth restoration started.

 

It looks as though Hangar 5's roof is being given 'the treatment - scaffolding everywhere and entrance only by a side door.  I notice that the space previously used for the Victor has been taken up by the Shackleton's fuselage but I got the impression work will wait till the roof work is completed.#

 

All in all a good day out!

 

Jonny

 

PS on the apron used to park visiting aeroplanes I spotted a single seat Vampire.  A cover was over the canopy and the tail was towards me and I couldn't work out what Mark it is, but the serial is WA123 and the squadron / aircraft ID R (RAF roundel) A.  Does anyone know anything about this? I have found a photo on the Interweb which seems to indicate the aeroplane might be the Norwegian one in new colours!

PS from the Duxford Diary thread ( https://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=86898&start=100 )  on April 5th on UKAR, I found this:

 

"Vampire LN-DHY is a familiar sight at Duxford, but she arrived yesterday in new markings as 'WA123'. This is for a film being shot of Frederick Forsythe's classic Christmas ghost story 'The Shepherd'. John Travolta (a one-time Vampire owner) is involved. He was apparently spotted in Morrisons in Fakenham !!"

[Nigel Bunker]

14 hours ago, Jonny said:

bombay doors

Shouldn't they be known as Mumbai doors these days?

[Jonny]

1 hour ago, Nigel Bunker said:

Shouldn't they be known as Mumbai doors these days?

I suppose I should really have said 'Weapons Bay doors'? 

 

I'm still laughing, Nigel!

[Jonny]

15 hours ago, Alpha Delta 210 said:

PS from the Duxford Diary thread ( https://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=86898&start=100 )  on April 5th on UKAR, I found this:

 

"Vampire LN-DHY is a familiar sight at Duxford, but she arrived yesterday in new markings as 'WA123'. This is for a film being shot of Frederick Forsythe's classic Christmas ghost story 'The Shepherd'. John Travolta (a one-time Vampire owner) is involved. He was apparently spotted in Morrisons in Fakenham !!"

 

Thanks, AD210 ... I had a closer look at a photo I took and spotted the LN-DHY registration in small characters on the port boom.  I missed it before..

 

I was rather hoping that a 'new' Vampire had been restored to fly.  No such luck.

 

It's goods to know that 'The Good Shepherd' is being filmed (thinks - OK we've a Vampire in the cast but where's the Mosquito?).

[JohnT]

17 minutes ago, Jonny said:

thinks - OK we've a Vampire in the cast but where's the Mosquito?).

  Great to see the care and love going into the most beautiful bomber ever built

 

On reading @Jonny post I had a moment of dread. No Mossie?  No problem. Just use a P-38 Lightning and an American story and you can sell the movie in the US.  Perish the thought.