Reginald Stafford

Reginald Spencer Stafford CBE FRAeS (21 April 1903 - September 1980) was an aeronautical engineer, and the designer of the Handley Page Victor.

Reggie Stafford attended Kilburn Grammar School (became Queens Park Community School).

He worked for Handley Page, joining in 1926. In 1934 he became chief aerodynamicist, and chief designer in 1945, in charge of the design team. He became Technical Director in 1953. He retired from the company in 1968, after 42 years.

He designed the HP.80 aircraft with Godfrey Henry Lee. The Victor was known for its crescent wing.

The first HP Victor, WB771, was first flown by Sqn Ldr Hedley Hazelden on 24 December 1952 at Radlett. On 2 January 1953, the aircraft was named Victor by the Air Ministry. The first production Victor XA917 first flew on 1 February 1956.

He died in Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire in 1980 aged 77. In the 1956 New Year Honours he received the CBE.

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