Roger Brooks’ involvement with the Victor started in 1966, three years after Cary Powers in his high flying U2 spyplane was downed by a Sovjet rocket. That resulted in “sudden death” for high flying bombers. The Victor was then converted to a tanker for in-flight refuelling. He writes on this aircraft in his book ‘The Handley Page Victor’.
Roger is, in my opinion, the archetype of an engine fitter whose career culminated in becoming the crew chief whith the responsability
to declare an aircraft airworthy. In 128 pages that is what you get dished out in this book. Its a day to day report of his active RAF-years until 1980 and another 16 years in the aviation museum world up and around the Victor.
For aircraft adepts who are interested in the day to day operation of the Victor this is a very readable book. Also those whose focus is
primarily the technicalities of this, beyond doubt iconical plane, are well served. The operational utilisation of the Victor tankers spans virtually the globe, so Roger gives the reader lots of facts about the air bases and places he frequented during his tour d’horizon with the Victor.
The book contains a nice collection of photographs of the Victor and the many planes it served as a fuel tanker. In a nutshell: nice reading for people who like to get into the details of operations with, and the technical details of, this plane. To my regret, Roger left the RAF two years before the Falkland conflict. This by far most intensive wartime deployment of the Victor is therefore not included in this book.
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