Handley Page Victor - Survivor XM717
K.2 XM717 - RAF Museum London, Hendon, Greater London
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Victor K.2 XM717 at RAF Museum London, 15th April 2023; Jake Wallace
The RAF Museum London completed their trio of V-Bombers in 1997 with the addition of this Victor nose, XM717, 'Lucky Lou'. However, the museums Valiant, XD818 has since moved on to their Cosford site to complete the trio lineup there.
XM717 carried out her first flight on the 27th of February 1963, being delivered to 100 Sqn at RAF Wittering a couple of weeks later. At the end of 1990, XM717 was one of a handful of Victors to join 55 Sqn for the Gulf War. 'Lucky Lou' carried out 299 sorties across the 42-day deployment to Bahrein, adding up to 838 hours of flight time. She returned back to RAF Marham before heading back out to Bahrein again.
The airframe made her last flight into RAF Marham in October 1993, with the nose section earmarked for preservation with the RAF Museum. In December, the nose was removed from the fuselage and was transported to Hendon in March of the following year, where she was placed into storage. In 1997, the nose section was put on display in the Bomber Command Hall for the public to enjoy.
Recently, the cockpit was repositioned within the Hall, and can now be seen next to their Vulcan B.2 XL318, as pictured in the image above.
XM717 carried out her first flight on the 27th of February 1963, being delivered to 100 Sqn at RAF Wittering a couple of weeks later. At the end of 1990, XM717 was one of a handful of Victors to join 55 Sqn for the Gulf War. 'Lucky Lou' carried out 299 sorties across the 42-day deployment to Bahrein, adding up to 838 hours of flight time. She returned back to RAF Marham before heading back out to Bahrein again.
The airframe made her last flight into RAF Marham in October 1993, with the nose section earmarked for preservation with the RAF Museum. In December, the nose was removed from the fuselage and was transported to Hendon in March of the following year, where she was placed into storage. In 1997, the nose section was put on display in the Bomber Command Hall for the public to enjoy.
Recently, the cockpit was repositioned within the Hall, and can now be seen next to their Vulcan B.2 XL318, as pictured in the image above.
Information on this page current as of 20/05/2023, last updated by Jake |
Find other photos of XM717 on the following sites:
Air-Britain - Airliners.net - Airplane-Pictures.net - flickr.com - WorldAirPics.com - JetPhotos.net - PlanePictures.net