Aviation 10

Victor Progresses at Duxford

Engineers and volunteers are making

good progress on the overhaul of Handley

Page Victor B(K).1A XH648 at the Imperial

War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire.

The V-bomber, which was displayed

outside for many years, has been largely

dismantled in the Conservation Hangar

and most of the camou aged paintwork

has been stripped off. The long-term

project on this very rare variant of the

Victor is expected to take between three

to  ve years.

Victor XH648 was delivered as a B.1 to

RAF Honington, Suffolk, in 1959. It was

modi ed with electronic countermeasures

equipment the following year, bringing

it up to B.1A standard. After  ying as

part of the Far East Air Force during the

Indonesian Confrontation in the 1960s, it

was converted into a K.1A air refuelling

tanker in 1965. Based at RAF Marham in

Norfolk, it continued to serve until the mid-

1970s, when it was acquired by the IWM,

and landed at Duxford on June 2, 1976.

RAF Coltishall’s Heritage Remembered

The RAF Coltishall Exhibition Rooms

was officially unveiled in June by AM

Sir Christopher Harper KBE, a former

station commander and now patron of

the RAF Station Coltishall Heritage Trust.

Housed in newly created rooms within

the Battle of Britain Hall in Baders eld,

Norfolk, it is now possible to see the

privately owned collection of models and

artefacts belonging to Warrant Officer Mick

Jennings. The rooms provide a temporary

home for the collection, showcasing the

trust’s aim to create a larger heritage

centre at the former Battle of Britain

base which for many years was home to

SEPECAT Jaguars. The attraction will be

regularly opened to the public or can be

viewed by appointment. http://www.rafscht.co.uk

Supermarine Spit re XVIe TB

(G-CKUE) made its  rst post-restoration

 ight from London Biggin Hill Airport,

on August 4, following a lengthy rebuild

by The Spit re Company (Biggin Hill).

Dan Griffith was in the cockpit for its  rst

 ight. The former 322 (Dutch) Squadron

 ghter, which entered service in March

1945 and  ew 15 operational sorties in

World War Two, has been returned to

airworthiness on behalf of owner Frits

van Eerd.

Spit re XVIe G-CKUE, which returned to

the air on August 4. Heritage Hangar via

Robin J Brooks

PRESERVATION

14 Aviation News incorporating Jets October 2018

Combat Veteran Spitfi re Re-fl ies

The cockpit section of Avro Vulcan B.2 XL

has been comprehensively restored at the

South Yorkshire Air Museum, in Doncaster.

The completion of the 18-month project was

marked with a special ceremony that took

place on August 11.

The Vulcan has been  nished in an all-

white nuclear ‘anti- ash’ livery and carries

the May ower III name that it originally

wore while serving with IX(B) Sqn at RAF

Coningsby, Lincolnshire, in the mid-1960s.

Vulcan B.2 XL388 has recently emerged

from restoration at Doncaster. Luke Webster

Vulcan

Cockpit

Restored