Vickers VC10 variant
Vickers VC10 VC10 K.4
Tanker converted from five Super VC10 Type 1151s stored since 1981, without extra cabin tanks. It entered service in the 1990s.
- 5
- Units built
- 17
- Passengers
History
The VC10s that waited twelve years
In 1981 the RAF bought fourteen ex-British Airways Super VC10s and stored them as a source of spares. In the early 1990s, to fill the gap left by the retirement of the Handley Page Victors, five of them were converted into K.4 tankers.
Corrosion and compromise
Shortly after entering service, extensive corrosion was found on the lower surfaces of the wing tanks, attributed to the storage method: the tanks had been defuelled and filled with water as ballast. Rectification, often involving tank replacement, was carried out during major servicing. Like the K.2, the K.4 lacked forward freight doors, so it was decided not to fit internal cabin tanks: it kept the Super VC10's fuel capacity with the same refuelling equipment as the K.2 and K.3.
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