Cockpit section of Handley Page Victor K 2 XM717
One of 16 Victors deployed to Ascension Island
The air-to-air refuelling capability of the Victor tanker force was crucial in air operations during the Falklands Conflict. Operating from Ascension Island in the middle of the Atlantic, approximately halfway between the UK and the Falklands.
The ability to refuel aircraft in flight enabled, prolonged maritime patrols by Nimrod aircraft, aerial resupply of the fleet by Hercules, the ferrying of Harriers to Ascension and most famously enabled the bombing of the Falklands by a Vulcan.