Yorkshire Air Museum: Former RAF nuclear bomber turned airborne refuelling station ‘Lusty Linda’ to return to the Yorkshire aviation museum 30 years since its arrival

They are all housed on the site of a former Second World War RAF bomber base in Elvington, used for hundreds of missions over Nazi occupied Europe.

There are exhibition rooms dedicated to Bomber Command, air gunners and airships, as well as an original 1942 RAF Control Tower and a replica of a French officers’ mess, illustrating the period when RAF Elvington was home to French bomber crews during the Second World War.

To mark 30 years since its arrival at the Yorkshire Air Museum, the former RAF nuclear bomber will be firing up its engines on Saturday, November 25, 2023.

The Handley Page Victor, named ‘Lusty Linda’, flew into the museum on November 25, 1993 at 2.12pm.

At that exact time, the aircraft, which saw action as a tanker in the Falklands conflict, will carry out an engine run for the public.

The futuristic-looking jet, which was designed as a nuclear bomber in the 1950s, is a classic favourite among visitors to the Yorkshire Air Museum, one of the largest independent aviation museums in the country.

Victors were intended to be part of the UK’s nuclear deterrent but were restructured as tankers, refuelling aircraft in-flight. They were used in this role in various conflicts including the Falklands and the first Gulf War.

On Saturday (November 25) there will also be a display of memorabilia related to Victor. There will be no extra charge to watch the engine run - the Museum is open as normal.