Victor XH 673 At RAF Marham

I also seem to remember one hell of a lot of 2BA nuts & bolts needed to be removed to get to anything!

XL189- Are you sure it was unbolted ? I spoke to a person involved in the move recently and was informed that the outboard wing sections were cut off and then
fixed back on with a strap repair over the cut.

The Outer wings are bolted to the inner wing which in turn is bolted to the fuselage. Victor XL164 was dismantled at RAF St Athan and taken by road to HSA Woodford for Conversion in 1972

Contacts / information might be sought via the group helping to organise this event in 2014! 😉

XH673 is also briefly mentioned in here http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/hangar/2002/victor/survivors/survivors.htm

Sounds like a curious question but what was the damage to the fuse from it’s drop from the trestles? The reason I ask is that I have one of 673’s access panels from just aft of the line of the nose gear which is crumpled and has been sawn off at the hinges which I’ve been trying to track down the story of for a while.

Cheers,

Mike

It certainly was!
The “crash & smash” team did the job with help from some willing “volunteers”!
There may be a few straps in place but basically it came apart at the production breaks.

baloffski is right in saying the outer wings could be taken off for servicing but in this case, but for the move, I seem to remember the “mid” section just outboard of the intakes also came off.

The whole lot was then “roaded” into place on low loaders.
(Anyone remember the guy who ignored the road closed signs making the truck carrying the fuselage to brake suddenly causing damage when the fuse slipped off the trestles?)

She was unbolted, I’ve seen photos somewhere on the net recently, will have a dig. As for her being sold, not a rumour I’ve heard.

*Edit

Bottom of this page here shows her being dismantled.

XL189- Are you sure it was unbolted ?

It certainly was!
The “crash & smash” team did the job with help from some willing “volunteers”!
There may be a few straps in place but basically it came apart at the production breaks.

baloffski is right in saying the outer wings could be taken off for servicing but in this case, but for the move, I seem to remember the “mid” section just outboard of the intakes also came off.

The whole lot was then “roaded” into place on low loaders.
(Anyone remember the guy who ignored the road closed signs making the truck carrying the fuselage to brake suddenly causing damage when the fuse slipped off the trestles?)

I had a squadron visit to see the Canberra PR9 the week before they left for Kemble, we had a look at the Victor and were told it was privately owned and on loan back to the base. This was told to us by one of the Officers on PR.

Thanks to all for the advice, as to taking it apart but without the special slings etc it would be a very expensive job to move it but who might own it if the MOD Don’t

Trenchard Brat 86th ex Victor Crew Chief

I am pretty sure that the outer wings unbolted as we used to have to get the riggers to do the job in VSF if we needed to get access to the fuel tanks. The split line was outboard of the underwing slipper tank and was covered with a long strip which could be mistaken for a strap repair if my dodgy memory can be relied upon nearly 30 years on!

XL189- Are you sure it was unbolted ? I spoke to a person involved in the move recently and was informed that the outboard wing sections were cut off and then
fixed back on with a strap repair over the cut.

Wonder where she will move to?

It was unbolted and moved to it’s current location so it shouldn’t be too hard a job to unbolt and move again!
As HP111 has mentioned, it will need someone who can handle big lumps!

As an aside, having seen Victors taken apart and re-assembled (to varying extents) at Radlett, I can say that there does not seem to be any technical obstacle. It is probably “just” a large task needing the ability to deal with large heavy components. Sorry, I can’t help you on the story itself.