PRINCIPAL AIMS OF THE VICTOR ASSOCIATION
V1 To restore the nose section of H.P. Victor K2 XL160 for members’ visits and the general public, the latter being allowed to inspect it when possible on payment of an entrance fee, moneys so raised to be used initially for on-going restoration and later long-term maintenance.
V2 To provide to members in an interesting manner, facts and information on the Victor and its achievements, in particular through the quarterly Victor Association Newsletter with high visual content, whilst encouraging the exchange of members’ news, memorabilia and stories – our membership has ex-RAF personnel as both members and/or contributors.
V3 To perpetuate the memory of the Handley Page Victor and its variants along with its exploits when in service with the Royal Air Force. This to be achieved through the rallying point of XL160, together with the use of our website, newsletter, advertising, posters and air display stands where possible.
V4 To liaise and exchange information/memorabilia/parts etc with other museums/groups. XL231 “Lusty Lindy” Elvington has long benefitted from Victor parts supplied by the V.A.
V5 To record the experiences and reminiscences of ex-Victor flight and ground personnel in order to illustrate the human day-to-day side of the aircraft when in service.
ABOUT THIS WEBSITE
In introducing this site we firstly hope that it will be enjoyable, easy to navigate and a useful educational resource on the Victor along with its V sisters, with stories and articles that have developed in our newsletter since my own involvement in 1992. It is also a tribute to all members of the V-Force whether they be flight or ground crew etc, as many feel that the contribution made by this unique British deterrent has not been credited enough in the transition from nuclear bomb to nuclear missile via Polaris in 1969, and in the aftermath of the Cold War era.
If any errors are detected then we will do our best to correct them after due consideration and we like to think that the site will always be a “work in progress” as we have simply had to pick a date, after beginning this exercise in October 2009 before we felt ready to launch with a sufficient volume of material that will hopefully be liked and which will be added to as time and work permit. I would like to extend my thanks to David Lang for his constant suggestions, material and encouragement and Dave Robinson, our dedicated webmaster who has put all our ideas, past articles and ongoing developments etc into a presentation that we hope will be used for many years to come. From AppleMac to PC web format has been a long transitional road indeed.
A word of thanks also to our many contributors of stories and material over the years, with a special “thank you” to the contributors of V-Force images and operations in particular, which we are very honoured to credit. Much material remains to be reviewed by myself as V.A. Editor and others and then uploaded by Dave, so that we are on a journey which will continue as we look to record further recollections and reminiscences about V-Force days, its great aircraft, and its many considerable achievements.
VICTOR ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
We produce a monochrome 12pp quarterly newsletter that is also e-mailed to members as a colour pdf file as an alternative, or both can be sent as required. I became involved around 1992 not long after Secretary Ken McGill founded the association, and after devising the logo and applying it to the newsletter while running my own graphic design practice I soon found myself writing stories as Editor while adding my own observations about the aviation scene in general. This included sourcing spares for our nose section of Victor XL160 and becoming a staunch supporter of aeromarts which are essential for contacts and affordable restorations to take place.
From an initial founding point of promoting the Victor it soon became apparent that acquiring enough material was a problem, while it would clearly be too “much” of one subject while many members were interested in other aviation matters also. It was a natural progression therefore to include the Valiant and Vulcan also and as the years passed other aviation matters such as aeromarts, preservation, politics, museums etc arose to be added to the recipe, resulting in the general mix of subjects that are underpinned by current comment on the aviation scene as space allows.
Lastly our restoration of Victor XL160 continues at N&SAM Flixton along with the nose sections of Vulcan K2 “Fireball” XL445 and Valiant XD857, thanks to the talented and dedicated museum staff there.
“May the V-Force be with You”