page_title: Operation Black Buck
section_title: Victor tankers
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Black Buck / Background / Victor tankers
caption_attribution_description: An RAF Handley Page Victor V-Bomber XM717, converted to the air-refuelling tanker role, refuels itself at the Civil Air Terminal, NAS Bermuda, circa 1985. XM717 took part in the first mission of Operation Black Buck during the 1982 Falklands War, and later took part in the first Gulf War.
context_page_description: During the 1982 Falklands War, Operations Black Buck 1 to Black Buck 7 were a series of seven extremely long-range ground attack missions by Royal Air Force Vulcan bombers of the RAF Waddington Wing, comprising aircraft from Nos. 44, 50 and 101 Squadrons against Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands, of which five missions completed attacks. The objective of the missions was to attack Port Stanley Airport and its associated defences. The raids, at almost 6,600 nautical miles and 16 hours for the return journey, were the longest-ranged bombing raids in history at that time.
  The Operation Black Buck raids were staged from RAF Ascension Island, close to the Equator. The Vulcan was designed for medium-range missions in Europe and lacked the range to fly to the Falklands without refuelling several times. The RAF's tanker planes were mostly converted Handley Page Victor bombers with similar range, so they too had to be refuelled in the air. A total of eleven tankers were required for two Vulcans, a daunting logistical effort as all aircraft had to use the same runway.
context_section_description: Long-range operations were entirely dependent upon the RAF's fleet of Handley Page Victor K2 tankers. Originally 34 Victors had been built as bombers; 24 had subsequently been converted to tankers. One had been lost in an accident at Marham on 28 September 1976, leaving the RAF with a force of just 23. These were the only tankers in British service in April 1982; nine VC10s were in the process of being converted to tankers, but conversion of the first was not completed until 22 June. Of these,  twelve were assigned to No. 55 Squadron and eleven to No. 57 Squadron.
  The tanker crews were well-trained for their wartime role, as their peacetime role involved refuelling fighters scrambled in response to incursions into British airspace, usually by bombers from the Soviet Union at a rate of five per week. However, long-range flights over the unfamiliar South Atlantic Ocean necessitated upgrades to the Victors' navigational equipment, notably the installation of the Delco Carousel inertial navigation system and the Omega navigation system. The tankers were themselves capable of being refuelled in flight, which meant that it was possible to set up relays of aircraft.
  The first five Victors deployed to Ascension on 18 April. They were followed by four more the following day. Another six more deployed by the end of the month, bringing the Victor tanker force to fourteen, since one had returned to Marham on 26 April. Each was refuelled by another Victor before leaving UK airspace. While the Victors deployed to Ascension, their normal refuelling mission in the air was undertaken by United States Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The station commander at Marham, Group Captain J. S. B. Price, became the senior RAF officer at Ascension. Wing Commander D. W. Maurice-Jones assumed command of the Victor detachment at Ascension until 22 April, when he was relieved by Wing Commander A. W. Bowman, the commander of No. 57 Squadron.
  Initial long-range operations by the RAF involved the use of Victor aircraft for reconnaissance of the region surrounding South Georgia Island in support of Operation Paraquet, the recapture of South Georgia. At 0400Z on 20 April, a Victor piloted by Squadron Leader J. G. Elliott, took off from Ascension, accompanied by four supporting tankers to supply fuel for the outbound journey. Another flight of four tankers supplied fuel for the return journey. Two more reconnaissance missions to the South Georgia area were carried out on 22/23 April and on 24/25 April. These missions demonstrated the capability of the Victor tanker fleet, flying out of Ascension, to support operations in the South Atlantic.
caption: Victor XM717 (in Bermuda in 1984)
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