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< p>the Handley-Page Victor is a British strategic jet bomber. Designed and produced by Handley Page Aircraft Company. The third and last of the "V-series" bombers ("Vickers Valiant", "Avro Vulcan" and "Handley Page Victor"). Created as part of the British air nuclear deterrent system. A total of 86 aircraft were built.< / p>Made its maiden flight on 24 December 1952. Entered service with the Royal air force in 1958. "Victor" was briefly used as a bomber — in 1968, "Victor" was excluded from the nuclear deterrence program, then many aircraft were found fatigue cracks, besides to avoid interception, the British air force began to use the flight profile at low altitudes.< / p> < p class="MsoNormal">Part of the "Victor" were converted for operational and strategic intelligence, they were installed radars, cameras and other intelligence equipment. In 1969, when the task of nuclear deterrence began to perform missiles "Polaris", launched from submarines of the British Navy, a huge fleet of V-bombers was superfluous. As a result, some of the surviving "Victor" were turned into air tankers for refueling in the air. During the Falklands war, Victor tankers became an important part of air supply operations; for example, they constantly refueled Avro Vulcan bombers EN route to Port Stanley (Operation Black Buck).< / p>