Would Britain have been better served by one purpose-built tanker fleet instead of several Vulcan and Victor conversions?
Short answerYes: a common fleet of 52 purpose-built tankers would reduce the support burden and likely generate more available aircraft than the same total spread across several variants.
NotesThe decisive benefit is not simply owning purpose-built aircraft but reducing the number of maintenance, training, spares, and configuration systems. Fifty-two aircraft of one type can usually sustain more daily sorties than fifty-two divided among four or five variants. The example is a compact lesson in why fleet commonality matters to readiness.