Thankfully, the Victor was never used in the role it was originally designed for, but it played an important supporting role in the Falklands conflict (1982) and Gulf War One (1991). Chris Pierce reports
On April 2, 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands followed, the next day, by South Georgia. The British government was very quick to respond and on April 5 a large naval task force, comprising 127 ships, set sail to recover the islands.
The vast distances involved would mean that there was no doubt that the RAF’s small but efficient Victor tanker force, would play a major role in what was to be known as Operation Corporate. By now, there were only 24 Victor K.2s on strength between 55 and 57 Squadrons based at Marham and it would literally be every man to the pumps if their contribution was to be a success.
