RAF Victors

Victors of 543 Squadron

RAF Wyton entered four competitors, two from No 543 Squadron, Flying Officers Stu Stevenson and Bill Fuller, from 51 Flight Lieutenant Eric Hemson and from 58 Squadrons Flight Lieutenant Derek Aldous. Fuller & Hemson were due to race east/west, with Stevenson and Aldous undertaking the west east route. The squadron provided the four crews to fly the competitors.

In April a series of practice flights with clean aircraft were carried out. Handling, performance, and endurance of aircraft with no drop tanks, had to be understood. This provided an opportunity to hand-pick the best airframes for the job, which saw Victor SR.2s XL161 and XM717 selected.

On the 4th May, XL161, piloted by Wing Commander John Worrall flew the Atlantic, east/west, with a flight time of 6hrs dead, and Bill Fuller achieving a race time of 6hrs 28m 19s. Two days later, Flt Lt Pete ‘Nobby’ Clark flew XM717 westward with a flight time of 5hr 49m, and a total time of 6hr 16m 55s. Eric Hemson achieved the same time on the ground but the flight had been 11 minutes quicker.

The first eastward flight was scheduled for 8^th May with John Marman in XL161 as primary and Terry Bradley in XM717 as backup. Both aircraft and crews had been prepared as though both were racing. The primary aircraft was positioned on the end of the main runway and the secondary on a side entrance. With Derek Aldous inbound by helicopter, Marman declared a compass failure. XM717 became the primary, picked up the runner and powered down the runway. Supported by New York Air Traffic Control, they were cleared directly to their cruising altitude.

Vic Pheasant (AEO) recorded that Bradley managed to get the aircraft to Mach 0.98 at 45,000 feet until co-pilot, Mike O'Donovan, warned that they would struggle to make Ireland with the current fuel consumption. The necessary adjustments were made, but it was not long before Wisley was in sight. To retain race speed, Bradley delayed the descent until the Wisley disappeared under the nose of the aircraft. He then cut the throttles, not touching them again and XM717 rapidly fell out of the sky. Flaps and undercarriage were lowered on the limits, followed by a perfect landing. As they had crossed the threshold the Navy Wessex formatted on the port wing, ready to pick up the runner with no delay.

The back-seat crew opened the door and Derek sat on the sill, with one of the crew holding onto his Mae West. Bradley streamed the brake parachute, and both pilots hit the brakes as hard as they could. They had determined that as they stopped, the nose would drop sufficiently for Aldous to drop to the ground without the need for a ladder.

HM Customs and Immigration insisted that their normal checks had to be completed. They agreed to be on the helicopter and to complete their work as the competitor climbed aboard. Each competitor had their documentation held in a clear pouch on their chests, which allowed a very swift approval before departure for St Pancras.