The Handley Page Victor: The History & Development of a Classic Jet: The HP80 Prototype & The Mark I

THE HANDLEY PAGE

VICTOR

VOLUME ONE

Victor BK1 XA 918 refuelling on trials duty with the A&AEE during 1964. Author’s collection

THE HANDLEY PAGE

VICTOR

THE HISTORY & DEVELOPMENT

OF A CLASSIC JET

VOLUME ONE

THE HP 80 PROTYPE AND THE MARK 1 SERIES

ROGER R. BROOKS

ARAeS

Pen & Sword

AVIATION

Dedication

To my wife Heather, also known as ‘Heater’ for support and encouragement

over the many years this book has been in development and compilation.

First published in Great Britain in 2007 and reprinted 2009 by

PEN & SWORD AVIATION

an imprint of

Pen & Sword Books Limited 47 Church Street

Barnsley

S. Yorkshire

S70 2AS

Copyright © Roger Brooks, 2007, 2009

Colour profiles © Dave Windle 2007, 2009

ISBN 978 1 84415 411 1

The right of Roger R. Brooks

to be identified as Author of this Work

has been asserted by him in accordance with

the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book

is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

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and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

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CONTENTS

Foreword

Introduction and Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Bibliography

PART ONE. The HP 80 From its Concept to Flight

The Requirements that lead to the HP80 and the Victor

The Specification B35/46

The HP 80 to B34/46, dated May 1947

Operational Requirements OR 229/3

Crystallising the Concept on Paper and Metal, R.S. Stafford, Chief Designer and W.H. MacRostie, Chief Engineer

The Crescent Wing, Harry Fraser Mitchell

Safety in Aircraft Design, C.F. Joy, Chief Designer

The Turbojet Wind Tunnel, F.R.C. Houndsfield, Chief Wind Tunnel Engineer

The HP 80 Prototypes WB771 and WB775, 1951

The Construction Phase

Sandwich Construction, Chief Stressman F Tyson

The Victor, Sdn/Ldr H.G. Hazelden, Chief Test Pilot

Testing the Prototype, Ian K. Bennett, Chief Flight Test Observer

Testing and Development Flying of the Prototypes

AAEE Preview Assessment of WB775 3/55

PART TWO. The Victor Mk I Series or Into Production

The Production Specification B128P Victor B Mk 1

The Victor and its Structure, R.H. Sandifer Assistant Chief Designer Structures

Plan for Production, J.G. Roxborough, Chief Planning Engineer

Looking Inside the Victor Mk 1 Series

The Victor B Mk 1 XA917-941

Development Aircraft XA917-XA922

Production Aircraft Delivered to the RAF

The Victor B Mk 1 XA923-925 [RRF]

The Victor B Mk 1 XH587-XH667

The Victor B Mk 1A (K2P) XH615-667

The Victor B (K) Mk 1 XA918-941

The Victor B (K) Mk 1A XH587–XH651

FOREWORD

Iam honoured and delighted to have been asked to introduce this book, which is an indepth study of an aircraft whose design and development, occupied on and off nearly half my working life from 1951. I have great affection for it, not least because it brought me into close working contact with so many highly competent people, one of the foremost being the Author. In fact, I did not meet him until long after the parent company Handley Page, went out of business, since I was an aerodynamicist by trade and (unfortunately) had little contact with the RAF people at the ‘sharp end’ operating and maintaining the aircraft.

Roger Brooks has some 40 years of experience of working at the ‘sharp end’ with the Victor and other aircraft, and has distilled some of his vast knowledge into this volume. But not only operating aspects, as he has collected a comprehensive archive covering the Victor’s design and development story, mainly from those who were there — Godfrey Lee, effectively the ‘Father of the Victor’, Hedley Hazelden, Chief Test Pilot on the first flight, and many others, and lucidly presents it.

That valuable contribution is enhanced by reference to many Technical Manuals, Reports, Specifications and Brochure, all combining to make this a most valuable contribution to our Aviation Heritage literature.

The collection of statistical data is probably unique, and is usefully supplemented by a careful selection of illustrations.

The amount of ground covered by the Author is clear from the extensive quoted bibliography, but in fact his researches went further, and his experience as a Crew Chief for the aircraft (still continued with XL231 ‘Lusty Lindy’ operating at Elvington) is very evident in the scope and detail in the data presented.

I feel sure this is a book which will be on most serious aviation historian’s bookshelf, and will quickly get dog-eared with use, but I hope the aircraft enthusiast will also use it — at least he will know that this is the real, unassailable ‘gen’ compiled by someone who knows the aircraft inside out.

A.H. Fraser-Mitchell

Sometime Chief Aerodynamicist Handley Page Ltd

Vice President, Handley Page Association

January 2005

INTRODUCTION AND

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Over the past 40 years or so, many books have been written on the Handley Page Victor and the V Force aircraft in general. This book is not in the same vein as those. It is written as a Data File and subdivided into sections dealing with specific variations of this unique aircraft. It is intended as a reference book and you do not have to read all of it, just the relevant items that appeal to you. The accuracy of data in this book is backed up by the source material, which I have quoted the main items in the bibliography. It is by no means the definitive history of this aircraft as a considerable amount of very interesting data is not available for a variety of reasons by a few organisations for strange excuses.

I would like to produce a second edition within the next few years containing additional information on this book and the Victor in Service with the Royal Air Force from 1957–1993. Contributions for it are welcomed from all readers, no matter what they contain, and should be sent to the publisher.

I would like to thank the following for their assistance and guidance over the years in the course of developing the Data File.

The following members of the Handley Page Association:

Harry Fraser-Mitchell, Peter Cronbach, John Allam, Spud Murphy, Peter P. Baker, Jock Still, John Rudeforth, Alan Dowsett, John Harding, John Smith, Chris Scivyer, Brian Bowen, Mike Wilson, Harry Rayner, David Blades and Steve Mills. Finally, to all those members who I have spoken to over the past many years.

The following past Members of Handley Page Ltd and the Handley Page Association:

Godfrey Lee, Hedley Hazelden, Ian Bennett, Bob Williams, Gordon Roxborough, Reginald Stafford, Charles Joy, R.H. Sandifer, Dr G.V. Lachmann, W.H. MacRostie, C.O. Vernon, F.R.C. Houndsfield and John Tank. For being allowed access to the articles they wrote for the HP Bulletin nearly 50 years ago and in particular to Ray Funnell for access to his archives.

From the Royal Air Force:

Aircrew

Air Vice Marshal John Herrington, Flt Lt Pancho Painting, Flt Lt Eric Anstead, Flt Lt Alan Fisher, Air Commodore ‘Spike’ Milligan, Flt Lt Terry Filing, Sdn Ldr Jerry Mudford, Flt Lt Ken Norman, Air Commodore David Bywater, Flt Lt Alan Gardener, Sdn Ldr C.R. ‘Pop’ Miles, Sdn Ldr M Reade, Wing Commander Dave Griffiths, Flt Lt David Coleman, Group Captain Tony Ringer, Sdn Ldr Gordon Stringer, Flt Lt R.T. Hayward, Flt Lt John Bussey, Sdn Ldr Tim Mason, Sdn Ldr Al Stephenson, Sdn Ldr Bob Tuxford, Sdn Ldr Tony Cunnane, Wing Commander Barry Neal, Flt Lt Al Skelton, Wing Commander Bob Prothero, Flt Lt John Ledger. All the Victor captains and crews I flew with on the Mk 1 and Mk 2 Tanker Fleet as their Crew Chief.

Crew Chiefs

Bill Swann, David Haylett, John Kent, Sid Harding, Dave Parsons, Robbie Honnor and Brian Martin.

Ground Crew

Dennis Robinson, Gordon Stringer, Jim Jones, Jim Gosling, Paul Goss, Duncan Curtis, Mick Crooks, Dave Wynn-Jones, Don Williams (Australia), Robin Cooper, Stan Jones, Pete Claydon, Tony Regan, Rick Gill and Doug Gawley. Also, thanks go to all those whose names I have failed to remember.

Finally, my grateful thanks go to the following from many walks of like for their interest in the Victor and assisting in many ways:

Andre Tempest (Owner Victor XL231 ‘Lusty Lindy’), Martin Garland and BAE Systems Woodford Heritage Centre, Graeme Rodgers (NZ), Garry O’Keefe, The Victor Association, Ken Ellis, Jarrod Cotter and Duncan Cubbitt of Fly Past.

Cover credits:

The Front Cover: First Prototype of the HP 80 WB771 flown by Sdn/Ldr Hazelden On a test flight 1953. Authors Collection via HPA

The Back Cover: Top Picture: Victor B1 XA918 second production aircraft on development flying: Authors Collection via HPA

Second Picture: Victor B1 XH592 15 Squadron arriving at RAAF Richmond, Sydney NSW Australia on the 20/6/61 after a high speed run from England and on the last leg from Darwin beating the record time by 20 minutes. Captained by Wing Commander Tony Ringer seen here descending from the aircraft, the time from England was 19hours. Photo and data via Graeme Rodgers New Zealand

Third Picture: Front Cabin of Victor B1A(K2P) XH648 57 Squadron now with the IWM at Duxford. Heather Brooks

Fourth Picture: Victor K1A XH618 57 Squadron RAF Marham 1972. Authors Collection

Bottom Picture: HP 80 WB771 Banking to Port with Wheels down, Flap both nose and main down and airbrakes open. Authors Collection HPA

ABBREVIATIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

V Force, Andrew Brookes, Book Club Associates, 1982

Crash, Andrew Brookes, Ian Allan, 1991

Handley Page Victor, Andrew Brookes, Ian Allan, 1988

RAF Nuclear Deterrent Force, Humphrey Wynn, HMSO, 1994

Handley Page Aircraft, C H Barnes, Putnam, 1976

Thunder and Lightening, Chris Allen, HMSO, 1991

Tests of Character, Don Middleton, Airlife

Aim Sure 75 Years of XV Squadron, Flt Lt T W Jones, Palka Druck, 1990

Jet Adventure, Geoffrey Norris, Phoenix House, 1962

Handley Page Bulletins, nos. 213, 220, 225, 228, 229, 230, 231

Handley Page Repair Reports

Handley Page Brochures, various, HP 80, Mk 1

Handley Page Victor Servicing School Notes Mk 1

Handley Page Test Pilots Flying Log 1952–1970

Handley Page Flight Test Observers Reports

Handley Page Victor Mk 1 Tanker Final Conference Report

Handley Page Victor Low Level Role Report

Handley Page Victor Wing Tip Fuel Tanks Report

Handley Page Victor Thrust Augmentation Report

A&AEE Boscombe Down/HP Test Pilot Reports, various

Royal Aeronautical Society Transcripts of Lecture (Victor)

The following Air Publications were used for checking data accuracy only:

AP 101B-1100 Victor All Marks

AP 101B-1101 Victor B Mk 1

AP 101B-1103 Victor B Mk 1A

Bomber Command/Strike Command Victor Servicing School Notes (all Marks) Release to Service Data

My extensive collection of a wide variety of books, magazines and other records and data sources collected over thirty-five years.

Interviews and discussions with Handley Page Flight Test and Ground Test Staff, Aerodynamicists, Production Engineers and many production staff. A&AEE Test Pilots and Flight Test Engineers.

PART ONE

The HP 80

From its Concept to Flight

The Requirements that lead to the HP 80 and later the Victor

This article is based on the paper by G H Lee ARCS, BSc, DIC, FRAes

Deputy Chief Designer of Handley Page in 1954 and presented to the

Royal Aeronautical Society Handley Page Memorial Lecture on 26 May 1976.

‘Unassailable Aerodynamical Logic’ – an enduring theme for Handley Page Ltd

As for the most of the British Aircraft History, the jet age started for Handley Page in 1945, when the war had been won and we had the chance to consider properly the implication of jet propulsion, until then used only in the fighter installations. Two events in that year should be recorded.

1. The setting up by the Ministry of Aircraft Production of the Swept Wings Advisory Committee, comprising of representatives of the official Establishments [RAE etc] and the aircraft manufacturers.

2. In September–October sent a team, to Germany to find out about the German work on tailless and swept wing aircraft.

In June 1945 Sir Frederick Handley Page was confident that a replacement for the Avro Lincoln would be needed and as the specification for the twin engine jet bomber had been issued it seemed logical to Sir Frederick that the 4 engine aircraft would be next. On the 14th June 1945 he issued a private and confidential memorandum address to R.S. Stafford, Frank Ratcliffe and Godfrey Lee in this he requested an immediate investigation of two classes of bomber one of 100,000lb all up weight with four turbojets of the size of the AJ65 (Avon) or two of twice that size the other a 60,000lb aircraft with two AJ65 engines and he suggested that they should have wings incorporating a 40 degree sweep.

The late Sir Frederick Handley Page. Author’s collection

The real start of the Victor design was in the course of the next few months actually undertaken in September–October when a visit to the German aeronautical research establishments at Gottingham and Volkenrode with a MAP fact finding team was undertaken by Godfrey Lee as the representative of Handley Page. It was, as part of this visit that the concept of the swept wing as a means of enabling an aircraft with reasonably thick wings to fly at high subsonic speeds without drag rise first became understood. From this there stemmed the realisation that by combining a swept wing with a jet engine one could have an efficient high subsonic speed aeroplane capable of carrying a good payload over a long range. Work on this concept began at Handley Page in about November 1945

In January 1946 after work on the HP72 heavy transport had been abandoned, the designations HP72A and HP75A were used as a cover for Godfrey Lee’s investigations into the possible jet propelled high-speed bomber of 90,000lb all up weight. The HP 75A with a front rider plane was quickly ruled out in favour of the 72A with 45 degree swept wings and wing tip rudders having a small swept tail plane and elevators to balance nose down pitching moments caused by either flap lowering at low speed or compressibility at high speed. With no operational requirement yet promulgated by the Air Staff to guide him, Godfrey Lee put forward an inspired proposal on the 25th February 1946, for a design of 2100sq ft, 122ft span, aspect ratio 7, wing loading 43lb/sq.ft to carry a 10,000lb bomb at 520 knots true air speed over a still air range of 5,000 statute miles; the wing root thickness /chord ratio was to be 16%, with a 9 ft diameter body accommodating a crew of four in a pressurised nose compartment. Avon (AJ65) engines were larger than the ideal size for this aircraft and Godfrey Lee suggested scaling them down to 5,600lb. Two days later Reginald Stafford approved this proposal and instructed C.F. Joy the Chief Draughtsman to prepare a brochure for submission to the Principal Director of Technical Development (Stuart Scott-Hall) by the end of March 1946; this brochure was to demonstrate the projects effectiveness as a bomber. At this stage the number HP 80 was allocated and so started the HP80/Victor project way back in March 1946.

The late Godfrey Lee, ‘Father of the Victor’. Heather Brooks

The brochure was issued to the Director of Operational Requirements Group Captain Silyn-Roberts and with his deputy Group Captain Cooper they visited HP Cricklewood on the 19th July 1946 to discuss the third draft which had been issued in June 1946 of the Air Staffs requirements for a long range bomber mainly derived from the Handley Page proposal, but containing several operational innovations. These included the visual bombing facility as a back up to the possible delay and or failure of the radar bomb sight, a Flight Engineer’s station, unless the engine controls could be simplified, Electronic Counter Measures operator in a separate cabin near the tail, reached by a tunnel from the main cabin and if possible a jettisonable main pressure cabin. A bomb bay load of 30,000lb was to be carried with normal tanks full, but bomb bay tanks were to be allowed to achieve maximum range with a 10,000lb bomb.

Members of the Telecomunication Research Establishment (TRE) visited HP Cricklewood on the 2nd November 1946 to discuss radar equipment, the main feature being the H2S Mk 9 Scanner 6ft long and rotating on a vertical axis within a large radome below the flight deck floor, in addition were Gee and Rebecca Mk4 for short-range navigation, IFF and ECM, the latter requiring a tail parabolic scanner of 18inch diameter facing aft, the estimated total weight of the radar equipment was 1,500lbs and all aerials would be suppressed. The TRE wanted the H2S scanner to be pressurised but this was virtually impossible and the idea was abandoned. It later came to the notice of C.F.Joy that the DOR insisted that the crew cabin being as small as possible to reduce the vulnerability, even if it were at the expense of crew comfort and that the whole pressure cabin should be jettisionable because the use of ejection seats at 50,000ft and 500mph was considered likely to be fatal. The whole cabin would be let down on large parachutes with the crew strapped in 25g seats falling nose first and relying on the nose structure to absorb the shock of impact

Two pilots were required and it was agreed that locating the ECM operator in the tail was impracticable because of the large size of the proposed nuclear weapon, which might be 6 ft in diameter and up to 30 ft long. The Air Staff intentions were made known by Stuart Scott-Hall when he visited HP Cricklewood on the 25th November 1946; they wished to replace the AVRO Lincoln in 5 years time by a four jet bomber capable of delivering a 10,000lb nuclear weapon at 500mph from a height of 45,000ft the still air range being 3,500miles; as a later development the range would have to be increased to 5,000 miles and the operational ceiling to 50,000ft these data being formally promulgated in the Air Staff Operational Requirement No. 230. Godfrey Lee estimated all up weight to be 90,000lb for 3,500 miles using a swept wing and 121,000lb for a conventional straight wing. A further meeting was held with the Principal Director of Technical Development on 14th January 1947. After Handley Page had submitted their proposal to meet OR230, the official view was that both the structure weights and drag estimates were optimistic, so that the design cruising speed would not be released. The DOR now wanted the cruising speed to be raised to 575mph which meant that the all up weight also would have to rise to 100,000lb in order to attain the 3,500 miles still air range or 120,000lb for 4,000miles. Therefore tenders would be called for to meet the revised specification B35/46 which had been finalised on 1/1/47 and approved by the Director of Aircraft Research and Development on the 24/1/47 and issued with OR 230 on 24/3/47. In view of the large wind tunnel test programme involved, the prototype HP80 could not be expected to fly until 1951. Apart from the exploration of the new problems of tip stall, high lift sections, stability and various methods of boundary layer control, a firm choice between tailed and tailless types still had to be made. Charles Joy proposed to begin the drawing office programme on the 1/10/47 allowing 21 months until June 1949 for the basic layout and 30 months to March 1950 for the completion of the powered flying control system. All drawings for the first prototype would be completed by June 1951 and the extra drawings for the fully equipped prototype by March 1952. The target date for the first flight of the flying shell was March 1952 and for the fully equipped aircraft September 1952. It was a tremendous programme for the small design team but not impossible, so the HP80 tender was submitted.

On the 28th July 1947 Sir Fredrick Handley Page received a telephone call from Stuart Scott-Hall stating that the HP80 was to be ordered along with the AVRO 698 subject to the confirmation of the high-speed wind tunnel test results to approve the theoretical basis of the design.

We were started on the ‘Victor’

The Basic Design Concept

Specification B35/46 called for an aircraft capable of carrying a considerable bomb load (10,000lb) over a range of 1,500 miles from a base that might be anywhere in the world. The aircraft will be required to attack targets at great distance inside enemy territory. And it must be assumed that it will be tracked by radar and other methods for a large part of its flight. It must therefore be capable of avoiding destruction by making the inevitable attack from ground and air launched weapons difficult.

To achieve this the aircraft must have the following:

1. A high cruising speed which should be such that the attacking fighters will have to fly at a speed at which they might become unmanoeuvrable.

2. The design must be such that the aircraft can turn rapidly and without loss of height or much loss of speed when at maximum cruising height. The height being 35,000 to 50,000ft.

3. The carrying of adequate warning devices to detect the approach of ground launched weapons and the proximity of approaching aircraft.

4. The carrying of defensive equipment such as jamming devices for guided missiles.

5. The size of the pressure cabin must be as small as possible.

6. Visual and electronic bomb-aiming positions are required.

7. Maximum performance is the ultimate aim and must not be sacrificed for ease of maintenance.

8. It must be possible to operate from existing Heavy Bomber airfields at the maximum loaded weight which must, therefore, not exceed 100,000lb.

9. The aircraft must be suitable for large-scale production. It is stated in the Specification that the economic production of 500 aircraft at a maximum of 10 per month was proposed.

HP 80/Victor Specification and Design Concept

The combination of sweep and range seemed to us to lead to the need to have both high sweep (or fairly high sweep) and moderately high aspect ratio. For us combining high sweep and high aspect ratio gave rise to the tip stall problem. Therefore the Crescent wing was evolved. We came to the crescent wing by arguing that the high sweep was essential at the root for structural reasons and to provide adequate stowage for engines and undercarriage. It was then argued that if we reduced the sweep over the outer parts of the wing we would reduce at the tip where it mattered, the adverse effects from sweep that gave rise to tip stall. In particular it was expected that this would reduce the trouble from the outwardly drifting boundary layer over the rear of the wing, it being assumed that the boundary layer from the highly swept parts of the wing would stream off the wing before reaching the wing tip. We had to accept a weight penalty from the thin outer wing of about 22 degrees sweep and 6% t/c at the tip but felt that since this part of the wing is the least highly loaded the extra weight was acceptable; stowage problems did not arise in the outer wing. We decided that to