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Victor Boys
- True Stories from Forty Memorable Years of the Last V Bomber
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
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Victor Boys
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Summary
The Handley Page Victor was the third of the three V Bombers and the longest lasting, serving in the RAF until 1993, and still doing invaluable service in the first Iraq war. Moreover, in 1982, it was the only Victor tanker fleet based on Ascension Island that made possible the Vulcan Black Buck bombing of Port Stanley airfield and the long-range reconnaissance of Argentina by Nimrods. Victor Boys tells the story of all the great things that were achieved, recounted firsthand by the operators themselves, aircrew, and ground crew.
Starting with accounts by test pilot Johnny Allam, who undertook the major development of the aircraft, through its work as a nuclear bomber during the Cold War, testing Blue Steel in Australia, to its superb work during the Falklands war and later as a first class air-to-air refueling tanker and vital support tool for fighters and other aircraft.
Published to coincide with the Victor's 60th anniversary, the stories are collated and set in context by Tony Blackman, ex-chief test pilot of Avros who helped develop the Vulcan and initiated the development of the Victor K2 tanker. For him, initially, the Victor seemed a competitor but he now readily admits what a wonderful aircraft the Victor became.
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What listeners say about Victor Boys
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
- richard beddow
- 30-11-22
50s phenomenon
spectacular book. superb stories told from a different perspective, from the design to it's creation, different variations, the Falklands to the Iraqi wars.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gerain't Ellis
- 13-07-17
A book of pride to all involved with aircraft boys
I've now listened to 5 of the Boys books and can see how they were and are unsung hero's to get these iconic machines in the air and defend our rights
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David Edwards
- 08-01-24
Very detailed
Excellent history of the victor aircraft operation, very well narrated and bought back good memories of my career at RAF Marham
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bob Upndown
- 15-01-17
A V-good listen, first hand anecdotal accounts.
Would you consider the audio edition of Victor Boys to be better than the print version?
Not seen the print edition but at least there is emphasis in the audio narration which is probably accurate.
What did you like best about this story?
It brought the aircraft to life, I want to build a model of it now...
Which character – as performed by Roger Davis – was your favourite?
Roger Davis' narration is not in character as such, (daft question really), but his narration is an easy listen.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
You feel great empathy for the crews, especially the one's who didn't make it home.
Any additional comments?
It really made me appreciate the value of the tanker fleet and how valuable they were, especially in the Falklands and first Gulf War.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Blue Streak
- 29-01-20
A history of the mighty HP Victor.
An interesting tale all round. Test flying of the Victor,explaining some of its quirks,the leap in performance to the Conway engined K2, it was an awesome aeroplane, as well as being stunningly beautiful.The mental gymnastics required in the tanker force when plans went awry taking the Vulcan to bomb Port Stanley. A fascinating tale,highly recommended.
I've discovered any book with Tony Blackman as author will be worth a read if you are an aviation buff.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- phil rice
- 05-11-23
Very very interesting indeed
Well, this is the second in the series of 3 books written about the V force aircraft operators. This one so far has hit the spot along with the Vulcan Boys audiobook too. I didn't know much about the technical side of the Victor whether that be as a bomber aircraft which it was originally designed for or the tanker version that came into force. The Victor had always infused me and as a young schoolchild seeing them go in and out of the former RAF St Athan in South Wales for paint jobs and deep engineering jobs of which i had the pleasure of having a sneaky look around some of them after my father finished paint sprays on them. Sadly the last time i saw one of these crescent-winged beauties was in the early 90s after it flew out of the former RAF Lyneham where it was grounded for a few days after taking part in the static display for Lyneham Families Day and this would have been at the end of The Gulf War 1 where it did sterling work in refuelling other jets that were operated during this conflict
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Drew Lawrence
- 06-11-19
I thoroughly enjoyed it....
The author walks us through the life and significant moments throughout the HP80' existence.
Narration was on the whole good also.
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