RAF Marham: Victor jet at base entrance to be scrapped

The Victor jet has been a familiar sight at the entrance to RAF Marham

A Cold War military jet standing at the entrance to an RAF base is to be scrapped after no-one came forward to restore the aircraft.

Officials at RAF Marham in Norfolk had offered to give the Victor to anyone who wanted to take it away since it was in need of maintenance.

"Unfortunately no-one has come forward who has the capability to remove and restore her," a spokesman said.

"So the difficult decision has been made to dispose of her."

The Handley Page Victor entered service in the 1950s as a strategic bomber.

Many were later converted into aerial refuelling tankers, and were used in the operation to bomb Port Stanley Airport during the Falklands War.

The last Victor retired in October 1993.

Designed as a bomber, the Victor was later used as a tanker for mid-air refuelling

The base said that, before the plane was scrapped, it would allow a small number of people to view it for the last time on 10 October.

It said Covid-19 restrictions meant there would be allocated time slots for viewings, with priority given to people with a link to the Victor.

A spokesman added: "Whilst RAF Marham will be sad to dispose of an aircraft that played an important role in the heritage of the station, we are reassured that there is a Victor in the skilled and professional care of the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford and the Imperial War Museum collection at Duxford.

"We are reassured that the story of the Victor fleet and those who flew and supported it is preserved for perpetuity for the nation and the national collection."

More information is available on the RAF Marham website.