Handley Page Victor

[Colonel]

Back when pilots could fly



I came for the aerobatics, but stayed for the wonderful accent

[Colonel]

He actually takes off and does a wingover to gain energy, then executes a 1/2 cuban-8 at show center from the surface, which was considered a normal way to deliver a nuke back in the day - often by a very large aircraft.

This tactic was first made public on 7 May 1957 at Eglin AFB, when a B-47 entered its bombing run at low altitude, pulled up sharply (3.5 g) into a half loop, releasing its bomb under automatic control at a predetermined point in its climb, then executed a half roll, completing a maneuver similar to an Immelmann turn or Half Cuban Eight. The bomb continued upward for some time in a high arc before falling on a target which was a considerable distance from its point of release. In the meantime, the maneuver had allowed the bomber to change direction and distance itself from the target

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toss_bombing

While deployed in Europe with NATO, RCAF CF-104 fighter-bombers carried a Toss Bomb Computer until their nuclear role was eliminated by the Canadian government effective 1 January 1972.

But as I said, that was back when pilots could fly. You know, the 20th century.

[Squaretail]

While the Vulcan is often the most romanticized of the V-Bombers, I always liked the look of the Victor more. I think the Victor actually stayed in service longer. Kind of brave doing acro in one given that they were retired from service due to fatigue cracks.

[Colonel]

Kind of brave doing acro in one given that they were retired from service due to fatigue cracks.

You may recall the extremely short career of the F-105 (which saw lots of action over North Vietnam) by
the USAF Thunderbirds who cut their season short after one broke into pieces during a routine overhead
break to landing.

The F-18 has been plagued with cracking during it's career.

And then there was the time that the USN tried to fly the F-16N at Miramar. Yup. Cracks.

Back in the civilian world, Beechcraft seem to pride themselves on cracked spars.