Fly Past

58 FLYPAST April 2018

1918 2018

VICTORVICTOR

ANDY HAY ARTWORK OF AN RAF VICTOR THAT PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE

FALKLANDS CAMPAIGN

A

lthough somewhat

overshadowed by the fame of

the Avro Vulcan, it’s worth

remembering that the Handley Page

Victor was the most long-lived of

the so-called V-bombers, at least in

terms of its military career.

Used in later years as a tanker,

the Victor served alongside the

Vulcan in the 1982 Falklands War

and also participated in the 1991

Gulf War, seven years after the delta

bombers had been retired. The

Victor soldiered on in RAF hands for

another two years.

Our subject is K.2 XL189 of

57 Squadron, one of 24 aircraft

converted to fly as tankers. Leaving

Ascension Island on May 1, 1982,

Sqn Ldr Bob Tuxford and his crew –

Flt Lt Glyn Rees, Flt Lt John Keable,

Sqn Ldr Ernie Wallis and Sqn Ldr

Mike Beer – were airborne for over

14 hours supporting the first of the

Operation Black Buck raids on Port

Stanley airfield in the Falklands.

Using the call sign ‘White 2’,

XL189 refuelled Vulcan B.2 XM607

prior to its attack. This transfer

resulted in Bob’s crew having

insufficient reserves to return to

Ascension. They successfully took

on more fuel from another Victor

around three hours later, and landed

safely. Having played an essential

role in the raid, Bob was awarded the

Air Force Cross and his crew received

the Queen’s Commendation for

Valuable Service in the Air.

BLACK BUCK

Artwork

Handley Page Victor

K.2 XL189 of 57

Squadron fl own by Sqn

Ldr Bob Tuxford AFC on

May 1, 1982.

ANDY HAY-2018

Used in later years as a tanker,

the Victor served alongside the

Vulcan in the 1982 Falklands War

and also participated in the 1991

Gulf War, seven years after the delta

bombers had been retired. The

Flt Lt Glyn Rees, Flt Lt John Keable,

Sqn Ldr Ernie Wallis and Sqn Ldr

Mike Beer – were airborne for over

14 hours supporting the first of the

Operation Black Buck raids on Port

Stanley airfield in the Falklands.

around three hours later, and landed

safely. Having played an essential

role in the raid, Bob was awarded the

Air Force Cross and his crew received

the Queen’s Commendation for

Valuable Service in the Air.