Aviation Classics - Issue 7

Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 taxies towardsthe camera in impressive style witha haze of hot exhaust fumes trailing

behind it. Luigino Caliaro

6 Delta delight!

8 Vulcan – the Roman godof fire and destruction!

10 Delta Design

12 Delta Aerodynamics

20 Virtues of the Avro VulcanNos.1 and 2

22 The ‘Baby Vulcans’

26 The True Delta Ladies

32 Fifty years of ’558

40 Virtues of the Avro Vulcan No.3

42 Vulcan display



53 Skybolt

54 From wood and fabricto the V-bomber

Contents


64 RAF Scampton – The Vulcan Years

70 Delta over the Ocean

72 Rolling!

74 Inside the Vulcan

78 XM594 delivery diary

86 National Cold War Exhibition


90 The Council Skip!

94 Vulcan Furnace

98 Virtues of the Avro Vulcan No.84 aviationclassics.co.uk

Avro Vulcan 5

Independent publisher since 1885 Member of thePeriodical Publishers

Association

Having trouble finding a copyof this magazine? Why not

just ask your local newsagentto reserve you a copy

Editor: Jarrod [email protected]

Publisher: Dan SavageContributors: Gary R Brown, Rick Coney, Luigino

Caliaro, Martyn Chorlton, JuanitaFranzi, Howard Heeley, Robert Owen,François Prins, JA ‘Robby’ Robinson,Clive Rowley.

Designers: Charlotte Pearson, Justin BlackamoreReprographics: Michael BaumberProduction manager: Craig Lamb

[email protected]

Divisional advertising manager: Tracey [email protected]

Advertising sales executive: Jamie [email protected] 529465

Magazine sales manager: Paul [email protected]

Brand manager: Sarah [email protected] 529549

Operations Director: Dan SavageCommercial Director: Nigel HoleBusiness Development Director: Terry ClarkManaging Director: Brian Hill

Editorial address: Aviation ClassicsMortons Media Group LtdPO Box 99HorncastleLincs LN9 6JR

Website: www.aviationclassics.co.uk

Customer services, back issuesand subscriptions: 01507 529529 (24 hour answerphone)

[email protected]

Archive enquiries: Jane [email protected] 529423

Distribution: COMAGTavistock Road,West Drayton,Middlesex UB7 7QE01895 433800

Printed: William Gibbons and Son,Wolverhampton

© 2010 Mortons Media Group Ltd.All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in anyform or by any means, electronic or mechanical, includingphotocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval systemwithout prior permission in writing from the publisher.ISBN No 978-1-906167-38-7

99 Silver Deltas

102 Still in service


111 New memorial for the ‘Dam Busters’

112 Vulcan versus Lightning

116 Waddington’s Warrior

122 ‘Black Buck’


Left: Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 caughtin some atmospheric lighting.

Cover: XH558 banked to starboardabove the clouds. Both John MDibbs/Plane Picture Company

When the prototype VulcanVX770 first appeared atFarnborough in 1952, itrightly stole the show! Afour-engined Delta-winged

jet bomber, it represented a massive leap intechnology over its famous Lancasterpredecessor which had been a war-winningaircraft only seven years earlier – the Vulcancould fly more than twice as fast, more thantwice as high and more than twice as far.

Considering that it soldiered on inoperational service into the 1980s, the fact thatit was conceived in 1947 shows how advancedits design was for the time. SpecificationB35/46 was issued in January of that year, andcalled for a high-performance, long-range, jet-powered bomber capable of carrying anddelivering a nuclear weapon. Roy Chadwick’searly design work was submitted just fourmonths later, though sadly this great Britishdesigner never lived to see the Vulcan fly.

Once into RAF service the type certainlymade its mark, with, for such a large aircraft,performance and manoeuvrability that canstill take your breath away to this day.Vulcans formed part of the V-Force, standingon constant readiness as a nuclear deterrentduring one of the most tense and dangerous

periods in world history following the onsetof the Cold War. The fact that it succeeded inits role as a major deterrent at the sharp end,and that the Vulcan wasn’t used for offensiveoperations until 1982, is something we shouldall be grateful for. Had it been called intoaction in the 1950s or 1960s for its intendedoperational capability of that time, theoutcome would have been the self-destruction of much of the human race.

When it was used offensively during theFalklands War of 1982 it was on the verge ofbeing phased out. By then, as it was naturallyenvisaged the mighty V-bomber would nolonger ever be needed for such operations, thebomb hoists for the Vulcan’s payload of 211000lb HE bombs had been disposed of – soRAF ground crew were reportedly despatchedto scrapyards all over Lincolnshire to recoversome! Well into its twilight years, the Vulcanthen achieved the longest bombing raid everundertaken; a round trip totalling 7700 miles.

At that time there was also a requirementfor the Vulcan to briefly fulfil a shortfall in thetanker fleet, before XH558 soldiered on withthe Vulcan Display Flight until 1992 as theRAF’s last flying example of its type. Afterbeing sold into private ownership andcarrying out ‘fast taxi’ runs at Bruntingthorpe

6 aviationclassics.co.uk

XH558 overflies RAFWaddington in Lincolnshire on 7 September 1992; later that month it was retired from its status as a military displayaircraft. It was at this base that XH558 arrived on 1 July 1960 becoming the first Vulcan B2 delivered to the RAF, took off for the final RAFVulcan sortie on 23 March 1993, and carried out its first public air show display in civilian ownership on 5 July 2008.Cliff Knox

Delta delight!for several ensuing years, XH558 made itstriumphant return to flight in civilian hands in2007 – the result of one of the most complexand challenging returns to flight everundertaken in aviation preservation.

This issue of Aviation Classics looks atmany aspects of the Vulcan story, from theroots of Roy Chadwick’s early Avro designs,through the writings of Avro personnel ofthe early 1950s and the first flight ofprototype VX770, on to its militaryoperations including the Falklands, and rightup to XH558’s latest financial appeal whichwent to the wire in October 2010. I hope theselection of articles and photographs wehave assembled for this publication prove afitting tribute to the Vulcan in general, andin particular mark XH558’s 50th anniversaryin suitable fashion. How strange thingswork out sometimes; the first B2 delivered tothe RAF became the last to fly in militaryhands, and now theoldest completeVulcan in the worldis the only exampleof its breed toremain in airworthycondition. Long mayit continue! �

Jarrod CotterEditor

A True Storyof British Gritand Determination tosucceed against all the odds.The world’s only flying Vulcan is notgovernment funded or owned by theRAF, it is maintained by a registeredcharity and relies on public donations.

Individuals or Companies can makea difference by showing support.

Phot

o©

John

Dib

bs

There are many waysyou can be part of it... Sign up to our free weekly newsletters Join the supporters club TODAY! Join our monthly prize draw, with over £1,000

to be won every month! Donate a little each month by standing order E-donate at anytime online Become a Sponsor for an event Become a Vulcan Volunteer Join our Private Partnership Programme

from only £250, or Commercial PartnershipProgramme from only £500

Set up a bequest to leave a legacy

visit: www.vulcantothesky.orgor call us on 01455 637 864

UNIQUE CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES - Call: MICHAEL TROTTER on 07803 141483

Buy XH558 Merchandise at: www.vulcantotheskystore.co.ukVulcan To The Sky Trust (Charity No. 1101948)

1 & 2 Venture Court, Dodwells Road, Hinckley, Leicestershire LE10 3BT

Vulcanthe Roman god offire and destruction!

The specification for the V-bomber which wasissued in 1947 represented more than a 100%increase in speed and altitude capabilities thanAvro’s final piston-engined bomber design inservice with the RAF, the Lincoln. Time Line Images

Many people, and not onlythose connected with theaircraft industry, arespeculating on the reasonfor AV Roe and Co Limited

designing and building the 707 series ofDelta research aircraft, the first of whichappeared at the 1949 SBAC [Society ofBritish Aerospace Companies] show. Afterall, the name of Avro is closely associatedwith the very much larger aircraft, such asthe Lancaster, Lincoln and Shackleton in themilitary field and the Tudor in the civil field.

The little 707s seem to be a completedeparture from this tradition. The reason ispartly explained by the fact that the aircraftare research aeroplanes and are intended tofind out more about the flying qualities of thissort of an aeroplane which is known as aDelta, because of the close similarity betweenthe wing plan form and the Greek letter Delta.We, like other large aircraft concerns, cannotafford to stagnate and merely produce the


Delta DesignContemporary background notes on the reasoning behind the design ofthe Vulcan written by SD Davies of Avro during the type’s development.

proposition to attempt to cruise for longdistances at these speeds. However, thenearest one can get to it the better, and it isthis consideration which starts the designerthinking on radical lines.

In order to fly economically the aircraft musthave the minimum possible drag and in orderto keep the drag down at speeds approachingthat of the speed of sound it is necessary fortechnical reasons to sweep the wings back at avery pronounced angle to the fuselage. Also itis necessary to keep the thickness of the wingas low as possible in terms of the chord; that isto say, whatever the wing chord is at anyparticular point along the span, the thicknessshould be kept down to a value of 10% of thechord or even less. Furthermore, if you wantto fly at a true air speed and go as far aspossible with an economical fuel load, it is wellknown that you must go as high as possiblewhere the air is less dense.

Unfortunately, the speed of sound dropswith increasing altitude and, therefore, as youdesign to fly higher, you must not only takethe steps mentioned previously but inaddition you must keep the angle betweenthe wing and the flight path (known as theangle of incidence) low or else the drag willrise rapidly. In order to keep the angle ofincidence low it is necessary to keep thewing loading low, or in other words, for agiven gross weight of aircraft the wing areamust be larger than we have becomeaccustomed to in the last 15 years.

Another factor to be borne in mind, is thaton a commercial aircraft or long-rangebomber, if you want to fly long distances youutilise wings of high aspect ratio; that is thespan is largely relative to the chord; the ratiovarying from, say, nine up to 14. This isnecessary in order to keep down that part ofthe drag (known as the induced drag) whichis the penalty we pay for the wing lift.

same basic type with miscellaneous detailedalterations and improvements as the years goby. The advent of the jet engine has raised theperformance levels of all military aircraft andalso long-range commercial aircraft, and withthe radical change in power plant must comeequally radical changes in the airframe tomatch it. Considering that a military bomberor commercial transport is essentially anaircraft designed to carry pay loads forrelatively long distances, the basicaerodynamic problems are rather similar andjust as from a military point of view thehighest possible cruising speed is necessary,so in the case of a transport aircraft, it hasbeen proved that high cruising speed can leadto overall economy and the lowest overall costper passenger/mile. From an economicalpoint of view there is a limit to the cruisingspeed which as is well known, is set by the socalled ‘barrier’ of the speed of sound. Someaircraft have flown faster than the speed ofsound, but it is not yet an economical

Seen at the 1953 SBACFarnborough Air Show on3 September are Vulcanprototypes VX770 andVX777, joined by all foursurviving Type 707s for astunning Delta formation.Time Line Images

TRIANGULAR PLAN FORMNow you can get a broad picture of what thedesigner of a large load-carrying, long-rangeaircraft is faced with, if he wants to fly atspeeds comparable with the speed of sound.He has at one and the same time to sweep thewings back, make them thinner, increase thearea and keep up the span. This poses verygreat structural problems, and in fact to try tokeep a really high aspect ratio and do all theother things simultaneously is economicallyimpossible. One solution is to reduce theaspect ratio, in order to keep the structureweight down, and let the induced drag risewith the hope that so much saving can bemade on the rest of the drag that the total willstill not be too high. If you combine what isstructurally desirable with what is necessaryaerodynamically you soon arrive at thesolution that the best thing to do is to taperthe wings very drastically so that in the limitthe plan form becomes triangular in shape.

A little thought will show that with such awing the required sweep back is achievedand a large area can be automaticallyobtained at the lowest possible structureweight, since the area out at the tip whichcauses the big bending loads on the wingstructure is reduced to a minimum and,therefore, such a wing of large area can beobtained with the minimum possiblestructural penalty. Furthermore, our aim ofkeeping the wing at the centre portionnearest the fuselage is quite large in terms offeet and inches.

We now find that as an interesting by-product of the theme we have got a relativelylarge usable volume in the wing that can beused for packing away the engines,undercarriage, fuel, etc, so that theexcrescences hitherto so evident on the wingof an otherwise clean aeroplane havecompletely disappeared. Furthermore, thethickness of the wing at the centre issufficiently large as to absorb the fuselagealmost entirely so that it is reduced virtuallyto a streamlined projection ahead of the apexof the triangle.

Another by-product of this type of wingwith its low loading is that no special devicessuch as slots or flaps are necessary to keepthe landing speed down. The wing loading issufficiently low as to enable quite normaltake-off and landings to be done on existingaerodromes. Once we have abolished theneed for landing flaps, which produce bigchanges of trim that have to be balanced outby the tail, the very need for the tail itselfbecomes questionable. The large wing chordof the Delta type of wing enables us to fitelevators at the trailing edge of the wing andthese elevators have sufficient power toenable the aircraft to be flown through allnormal manoeuvres.

We thus, by a fairly logical process arriveat an aircraft capable of high cruising speedsfor long distances with a respectable pay loadand consisting of nothing more than asmooth wing, streamline fuselage nose andvertical fin and rudder to look afterdirectional control. If we have done ourcalculations properly we have now reducedthe drag to the absolute minimum possible,and, therefore, have achieved, whether bymilitary or commercial standard, the highestpossible cruising efficiently.

Technically, therefore, the case for theDelta on paper is proved provided that in factit flies in a respectable manner and does notsuffer from hidden vices which have beenoverlooked in thinking only of theperformance. Any aircraft companyinterested in the large type of aircraft cannotafford to ignore the possibilities of the Deltaconfiguration. It is one thing, however, toprove a theoretical case on paper and it isanother to sell it to the customer. What moreobvious step, therefore, to take than to builda small one and fly it and this the AvroCompany has done.

This, however, is only the beginning of thestory; to translate this rather hopeful lessoninto a large and intricate piece of hardwaresuch as a bomber or a transport aircraftrequires an enormous amount ofinvestigation into the engineering details and

it is here where the designer’s art is moreimportant than his science, where time isdictated by the speed with which materialscan be obtained, fabricated and assembledequipment provisioned and tested, all ofwhich adds up to a process which can runinto many years. �

The above is taken by kind permission from anoriginal typed manuscript in the collection ofRick Coney, whose father David Coney workedfor Avro during the development of the 707sand the Vulcan.

A page from the original manuscripton the background of Delta designby Avro’s SD Davies.

Below: Having been towed down theA15 from Avro’s facility atBracebridge Heath, Avro 707C WZ736is taken onto the airfield at RAFWaddington in February 1953.Via Rick Coney


AerodynamicsMore contemporary notes from the time of theVulcan’s development, this time by JR Ewans,Chief Aerodynamist at Avro, Manchester.

Delta

Rare early colour photo ofVulcan B1 XH497 as it breaksaway from the camera ship.

So far as can be ascertained, theidea of using a triangular planformfor aircraft wings, now known asthe Delta wing, was first putforward in 1943 by Professor

Lippisch, who will be remembered for hisassociation with the MesserschmittCompany. His studies had led him to thinkthat this planform was most suited for flightat speeds in the region of the speed of sound,where conventional aircraft designs werealready known to be in trouble. By the end ofthe war, he had a number of Delta wingprojects in hand, including an unpoweredwooden glider which was intended to explorethe low-speed properties of the Delta wing.This was then partly built, and was latercompleted under United States orders.

The idea of the Delta wing was studied bymany other aeronautical experts and a strongrecommendation for its use was given, forinstance, by Professor Von Karman, of theUSA, at the 1947 Anglo-AmericanAeronautical Conference in London.

At the time of writing, three British Deltaaircraft and two American are known to haveflown, and it is pretty certain that others areon the way. In the date order of their firstflight, these are:� Consolidated-Vultee XF–92� AV Roe 707� Boulton Paul P111� Douglas XF-3D� Fairey FD-1

With the exception of the last named, whichis fitted with a small fixed tailplane for the firstflights, all the above aircraft are tail-less.

The following notes are intended to givea logical explanation of why there is thisconsiderable interest in the Delta wing,and just what advantages it promises theaircraft designer. To do this, we mustconsider the type of aircraft the designer istrying to produce.

THE DESIGNER’S AIMRight at the beginning, it must be said thatthe Delta wing is of value only for very high-speed aircraft, and at the present stage ofengine development, this implies the use of jetengines. When projecting his high-speedaircraft, the designer will attempt to producean aircraft carrying the greatest payload forthe greatest distance, at the highest speed,and for the least expenditure of power (i.e.using the least amount of fuel). This appliesto all types of aircraft, whether bombers inwhich the payload is bombs, or civil aircraft,in which the payload is passengers or cargo,or fighters, in which the payload is gunsand ammunition.

PROBLEMS OF HIGH ALTITUDEAND HIGH-SPEED FLIGHTThe most fundamental factor determiningwhat is achieved is the height at which theaircraft flies. At higher altitudes, the densityof the air reduces so that the aircraft drag isless and it is possible to fly at a given speed atsay 40,000ft, for an expenditure of only onequarter of the power required at sea level. �

Avro Vulcan 13

The advent of the jet engine has enabledthe aircraft designer to get his aircraft up toconsiderable altitudes and takes advantage ofthe reduced drag; but a new factor is comingin to limit the speed of the aircraft. This is thespeed of sound.

It has been shown in theory, and found inpractice, that the speed of sound occupies afundamental position in the speed range ofaircraft. The speed of sound is actually 760miles per hour at sea level, and falls off to avalue of 660 miles per hour at heights above30,000ft. Because the speed of sound is ofsuch importance, aeronautical engineersrelate aircraft speeds to the speed of sound,using the term ‘Mach Number’ defined as theratio of the speed of an aircraft to the speedof sound at the same height. As an aircraftapproaches the speed of sound – in fact forconventional aircraft when a speed of about

70% of the speed of sound (i.e. a MachNumber of 0.7) is reached – the effectsof compressibility become important andthe characteristics of the airflow round theaircraft change fundamentally. There is avery large increase in the air resistanceor drag, and an excessive expenditure ofpower becomes necessary to increase thespeed any further.

For transport and bomber aircraftthe speed at which the drag starts toincrease (known as the ‘drag rise’ MachNumber) becomes the maximum cruisingspeed since if the aircraft is flown athigher speeds, the disproportionally higherthrust required from the engine meansexcessive fuel consumption and loss ofrange. At a rather higher Mach Numberthere will be changes in the stability of theaircraft and in its response to the pilot’s

control – leading possibly even to completeloss of control.

In order to progress along the speedrange to higher speeds it is thereforenecessary to design aircraft so as to postponeand/or overcome these effects.

We have noted that with an ‘old-fashioned’type of aircraft design, i.e. that of jet-propelled aircraft current in 1945, the limitingspeed in steady cruising flight is likely to be aMach Number of 0.7 (higher speeds have, ofcourse, already been achieved and a numberof aircraft have exceeded the speed of sound,but only for short periods, either by diving orby use of rocket power).

From the knowledge available, however, itappears possible by careful aerodynamicdesign of an aircraft, to postpone the rise indrag until a Mach Number in the region of0.9 is reached and this figure is likely to bethe practical limit of cruising speed fortransport aircraft of all types for many yearsto come. The designer of a civil aircraft, abomber, or a long-range fighter, will,therefore, bend all his energies to achieving aMach Number of this order without any dragrise. In addition he must pay attention to thechanges of stability or lack of control whichmight occur in this region, and this willoccupy his attention to the same extent as thepurely performance aspect of the drag rise.

DESIGN FORHIGHMACHNUMBERIt is quite easy to design a fuselage shapewhich is relatively immune from MachNumber effects. It is the design of wingswhich is difficult, particularly since a wingthat is suitable for high speed must also givesatisfactory flying properties at low speeds,e.g. for take-off and landing.

Superb head-on view ofprototype Vulcan VX770, showingthe sleek aerodynamic design ofthe type off to good effect.AllTime Line Images unless noted

Topside view of a Vulcanshowing the crankedwing design nicely.

As the air flows past a wing its speed isincreased over the upper surface to aconsiderable extent and over the lower surfaceto a lesser extent, so that there is greatersuction on the upper surface than on the lowersurface. This difference gives rise to the liftwhich enables the wing to sustain the weight ofthe aircraft. Thus, whatever speed an aircraft isflying, the speed of the air around the wing will,in fact, be higher. In the case of an aircraft flyingat a Mach Number of 0.8 the speed around itsupper surface will be equal to, or may easilyexceed the speed of sound. At this stage, the air-flow pattern around the wing will be constantlychanged, and it is, in fact, this change whichgives rise to the drag and stability effectsmentioned above. It is essential, therefore, tokeep the velocity above the wing as little inexcess of the speed of the aircraft as possible.

There are four ways of improving the highMach Number behaviour of the wings. They aredifferent methods, all of which can be appliedsimultaneously, of keeping down the airvelocities round the wing. They are: Sweepback;Thinness; Low wing loading; Low aspect ratio.

We will consider each of these effects in turn.

SWEEPBACKThe amount of sweepback is measured by theangle by which the tip of the wing lies behind thecentre line. The extent of the gains possible fromsweepback is very considerable, and sweeping awing back may easily lead to a postponement ofthe compressibility effects by a Mach Number of0.1. This is illustrated in Fig.1 which comparesthe drag rises of an unswept wing with that of awing swept back 45º. The drag rise of theformer occurs at 0.7 and the latter is 0.83. Fig. 2shows the way in which the drag rise MachNumber is increased by the sweepback. �

Avro Vulcan 15

Original aerodynamic graphs as referred to in the text.Avro via Rick Coney

The first prototype Vulcan VX770 seen from an impressive angle.

A Vulcan B2 fitted with a Blue Steel nuclear stand-off weapon.

THINNESSKeeping a wing thin leads to the reduction inthe amount of air that must be pushed out ofthe way by the wing. This helps the passageof the wing through the air. The thickness ofa wing is measured by the thickness/chordratio, which is the maximum depth of thewing divided by its length in the line of flight.In the past, the thickness/chord ratios of anaircraft wing have ranged from 21% down toperhaps 12%. Now values of 10% down to 7%are becoming common. An indication of theresult gained is given by Fig. 3.

LOW WING LOADINGThe wing loading is the weight of aircraftcarried by a unit area of wing, measured inpounds per square foot. Mach Numbereffects are postponed by keeping the wingloading as low as possible, i.e. by supportingthe weight of the aircraft with a large wingarea. This is particularly important for flightat high altitudes where the low air densityputs a premium on keeping the wing loadinglow. In fact, flight at high altitudes becomesvirtually impossible unless this is done. Fig. 4illustrates this.

LOW ASPECT RATIOAspect ratio is the ratio of the span of a wingto the average chord. For moderate speeds, ahigh aspect ratio, i.e. a large span relative tothe chord, gives greater efficiency. At highMach Numbers this consideration is nolonger important, in fact, some alleviation ofcompressibility effects is given by reducingaspect ratio. This is shown in Fig. 5.

There is another reason for choosing alow aspect ratio. One of the disadvantages ofsweeping a wing back is that the flyingcharacteristics at low speed become worse. Atypical symptom is that the wing tip of aswept back wing stalls, giving violentbehaviour if the speed is allowed to fall toolow. Research has, however, shown that thisbad characteristic of highly swept back wingsmay be overcome relatively easily. Fig. 6 is agraph of sweepback versus aspect ratio,


Rear view clearly showing the layout of the four jet exhausts.

The three types which made up the RAF’s V-Force: a Handley PageVictor at top, thenan Avro Vulcan, with a Vickers Valiant nearest the camera.

Vulcan B2 XM603 served with 44 and 101Squadrons and after being struck off

charge was purchased from the MoD byBAE Systems and kept at Woodford painted

in anti-flash white.Via François Prins

the consumption of fuel.Investigation shows that a control surfaceat the trailing edge of the wing, providedthat the latter has a large root chord (ashas the Delta), can cater for all but theextreme cg movements.

b) To deal with trim changes due to landingflaps etc.With the low wing loading associated withthe Delta wing, take-off and landingspeeds are moderate without the use offlaps, and this question does not,therefore, arise.

c) To provide damping of pitching oscillations.The reduction of damping of the pitchingoscillation has led to difficulty on sometail-less aircraft, but it does not arise onthe Delta since the large chord near theroot gives adequate damping.

d) To deal with loss of stability or controlpower consequent on distortion ofthe wing structure at high speed(Aerolastic Distortion).At very high speeds, all aircraft structuresdistort to a greater or lesser extent underthe high loads imposed, and thisdistortion alters the aerodynamic form. Inextreme cases this leads to a loss ofstability or control power, making theaircraft dangerous or impossible to fly athigh speeds. An aircraft with a high aspectratio sweptback wing would need atailplane to deal with this, but the shape ofthe Delta wing makes it extremely stiff,both in bending and in torsion, and atailplane does not appear necessary.

e) To provide for spin recovery.Although this point has not been proved,it is expected that the controls on a tail-less Delta wing would not be powerfulenough to ensure recovery from a fullydeveloped spin. A tailplane appears to bethe only way of dealing with this. Thisrestriction is of no significance fortransport or bomber-type aircraft forwhich spinning does not arise, but onfighter or trainer aircraft, a tailplane wouldappear to be a necessity.It is, therefore, concluded that for aDelta wing aircraft of the transport type,a tailplane is unnecessary. Its deletionleads immediately to a considerablesaving of weight and drag, and to a majorgain in performance.

REDUCTION OFMECHANICAL COMPLEXITYCompared with a conventional aircraft,the Delta wing aircraft will therefore besimpler by the omission of the followingitems: the tailplane, the rear fuselagenecessary to carry the tailplane, wing flapsand other high-lift devices such as thedrooped wing leading edge. There is aconsiderable saving of weight, of designand manufacturing effort, and ofmaintenance when the aircraft is in service.These economies will have considerablebearing on the initial cost and the manpowernecessary to produce and maintain a numberof aircraft.

VALUE OF THELARGE INTERNAL VOLUMEBecause of its shape and the large rootchord, the Delta wing provides a largeinternal volume in relation to its surfacearea, even when using the thin wingsections which, as we have seen above,are essential for high-speed aircraft.Simple calculations show that for thesame wing area, the Delta wing has 33%more internal volume than an untaperedwing, while if the inboard half of the wingonly is considered, as this represents amore practical case from the point ofview of the aircraft designer, theinternal volume of the Delta wing, ismore than twice that of the correspondinguntapered wing.

It is found that without exceeding awing thickness of as little as 8% to 10% it ispossible on a moderate-sized Delta wingaircraft to bury completely the engines,undercarriage and sufficient fuel tanksfor a very considerable range. The fuselagealso has the tendency to disappear intothe wing at the root. The result is theattainment of an aircraft consisting only of awing, a fin and a rudimentary fuselage,representing a degree of aerodynamiccleanliness which has never before beenreached. In fairness, it must be pointed outthat this is achieved at the expense of arather larger area than usual, butinvestigation shows that the drag of this isconsiderably less than that due to aconglomeration of items such as enginenacelles, tailplane, etc. �

Avro Vulcan 17

compiled from a very large number of testsof wings of various plan forms. Each of theseplan forms has been classified as giving goodor bad characteristics. It will be noted thatalthough almost any aspect ratio can beaccepted with an unswept wing, for wings of45º sweepback an aspect ratio of little over 3is the most satisfactory.

There is yet a third reason for choosing alow aspect ratio – the behaviour (as regardsstability etc) in the high Mach Numberregion. For reasons which it is not possible togo into here, compressibility effects areminimised and a transition from speedsbelow that of sound to the speed of soundand above is much more readilyaccomplished if the aspect ratio is low, say inthe order of 2 to 4.

THE DELTA PLAN FORMPut the above requirements together and theresult is an aircraft with a highly swept back,thin wing, moderately large wing area and alow aspect ratio. A little consideration ofgeometrical properties and possible planform of wings leads to the conclusion that theDelta wing is the only form which satisfiedthese requirements. It possesses highsweepback and low aspect ratio. The wingarea will, of necessity, be generous for thesize of the aircraft and for reasons which willbe detailed later, it is easy to build it with alow thickness/chord ratio.

We must see how the Delta plan form,indicated from considerations of aerodynamicperformance, lines up with practical designrequirements, and in particular the over-riding necessity for keeping weight and draglow in order to obtain a maximumperformance. A preliminary question iswhether a tailplane is necessary.

TO FIT OR NOT TOFIT A TAILPLANE?From the earliest days of flying, the questionhas been raised as to whether aircraft can beflown satisfactorily without a tailplane.Confining our attention only to the case ofhigh-speed jet aircraft, we will examine eachof the functions of a tailplane in turn, inrelation to the Delta wing aircraft. A tailplaneperforms the following functions:a) To trim out changes of centre of gravity

position according to the load carried and

January 1947 Design study beganDecember 1947 Prototype orderedJanuary 1948 707 series proposedSeptember 1949 Avro 707 first flightSeptember 1950 Avro 707B first flightJune 1951 Avro 707A first flightAugust 1952 Vulcan first flightFebruary 1953 Second Avro 707A

first flightJuly 1953 Avro 707C first flightSeptember 1953 SecondVulcan

first flight

EARLY DELTADEVELOPMENT TIME LINE

Avro Vulcan B2A XM575 of 44 Squadron. This aircraft is now preserved at the EastMidlands Airport Aeropark.Via François Prins

THE STRUCTURALDESIGN OF THE DELTA WINGFrom the design point of view, the shape of theDelta wing leads to an extremely stiffstructure without the use of thick wing skins,and strength becomes the determining featurerather than structural stiffness. This avoidsthe inefficiency of conventional sweptbackwings where the wing has to be madestronger than necessary in order that it shallbe stiff enough. It is found that the Delta winglends itself to conventional design techniques,and to conventional methods of construction.

SUMMARYSummarising the above, we have seen that inorder to meet the requirements of large loadsfor long range, at high speeds, the highperformance transport or military aircraft ofthe future will cruise at a considerablealtitude, at a speed not much below that ofsound. The Delta wing provides the onlysatisfactory solution to these requirements,for the following reasons:1) It meets the four features necessary for

avoiding the drag rise near the speed ofsound, i.e. it is highly swept back, it canbe made very thin, the wing loading islow, and the aspect ratio is low.

2) Extensive wing tunnel and flight testshave shown that the low aspect ratio Deltawing gives minimum change in stabilityand control characteristics at speeds nearthe speed of sound.

3) In spite of being thin, the internal volumeis large, so that the engines,undercarriage, fuel and all the necessaryequipment can be contained within thewing and a rudimentary fuselage.

4) Adequate control can be obtained by controlsurfaces on the wing, thus eliminating theneed for a conventional tailplane. Togetherwith item 3, this leads to considerablereduction in the drag of the aircraft, and,therefore, to high performance.

5) Auxiliary devices such as flaps, nose flaps,slots and the all-moving tailplane areunnecessary, thereby saving weight anddesign effort, and simplifying manufactureand maintenance.

6) The Delta wing is very stiff and free fromdistortion troubles. �

The above is taken with kind permission froman original typed manuscript in the collectionof Rick Coney, whose father David Coneyworked for Avro during the development of the707s and the Vulcan.


First page of the originalmanuscript by Avro’s ChiefAerodynamist JR Ewans.

Above:Amazing photo of XH558 beforeretirement from the RAF. François Prins

Avro Vulcan 19

Ever dreamed of being a pilot?

...... Join the BMFA and makeyour dreams come true!

British Model Flying AssociationChacksfield House, 31 St Andrew’s Road, Leicester LE2 8RE

0116 2440028 . [email protected] . www.bmfa.orgPhotograph kindly supplied by Peter Dunkley

Throughout this issue we present a series of 10 original AV Roe & Co Ltd advertisements from the early 1950s highlighting the‘Virtues of the Avro Vulcan’. These were compiled into a company booklet and showed in graphic form the many advantagesof the Delta planform.All Avro via Rick Coney

It was not unusual for a pre-prototypeor two to be built when a revolutionarydesign which stretched aerodynamicknowledge of the day was on the table.However, when Avro presented its

ground-breaking design for a Delta-wingedbomber of never before seen proportions,further research would definitely be needed.This research could only be carried out by aspecial test aircraft which would eventuallylead to five different airframes spread overthree different marks. This aircraft was theAvro 707, the first British-built Delta.

While the Avro Type 698 was developingrapidly on the drawing board, the ABPG(Advanced Bomber Project Group)recommended that further research wasneeded into the characteristics of the Deltawing. While a great deal of theory was alreadyunderstood, very little was known about howthe Delta wing would behave at very high andvery low speeds as well as altitudes up to60,000ft. To find this out, a one-third scale flyingmodel designated Avro Type 707 was ordered,followed by a pair of half-scale machines,designated Avro 710. The latter was dropped inSeptember 1948 in favour of increasing theamount of 707s that were needed.

Work began on the first 707 in mid-1948under the specification E.15/48. A simpledesign, the aircraft made use of a largenumber of components from other aircraft.These included the canopy and nose wheelarrangement from a Meteor and the mainundercarriage from an Avro Athena, all ofwhich saved a large amount of constructiontime. The 707 was powered by a Rolls-RoyceDerwent 5 which was unusually fed by air viaa bifurcated dorsal air intake set behind thecockpit, which upset the lines of an otherwiseattractive little aircraft.


Vulcans’Martyn Chorlton presents a brief look at the Avro 707.

The ‘Baby

Avro 707C XZ744 displaysits ‘Baby Vulcan’ looks togreat effect.All Time LineImages unless noted

Two fascinating photos of Avro 707BVX790 under construction at Woodford.

By August 1949, the 707 was finished atWoodford and, by this time displaying theserial VX784, was dismantled and sent by roadfor flight testing at Boscombe Down. Followingreassembly, the aircraft was thoroughlyground tested before the maiden flight datewas set for 3 September. A high crosscomponent postponed the first flight, but bythe early evening of the following day theconditions were good for flight. In the hands ofA&AEE’s Deputy Chief Test Pilot, SquadronLeader Eric Elser DFC, VX784 took to the airon a flight which the pilot would later report as‘handling like an ordinary aeroplane’. Over thefollowing days, further test flights of up to twoand a half hours were flown before the aircraftwas presented at Farnborough that year, forstatic display, on 11 September.

‘NOT TO BE STALLED’On return to Boscombe, VX784 was fitted withdata-measuring and recording equipment andexploration in the low speed handling of theDelta wing continued. Flight testing thenswitched to the RAE at Farnborough and asteady catalogue of criticisms began toemerge as the test programme advanced.These included ailerons and elevators whichwere far too heavy at higher speeds and arudder that was too light. Adjustments weremade, but the aircraft’s Form F1090 also borethe warning: ‘Anti-spin parachute not fitted,aircraft not to be stalled’.

Elser would have been well aware of thiswarning when he took VX784 out again on 30September 1949. Not long after, the 707stalled and spun into the ground half a milesouth of Blackbushe airport, killing Elserinstantly and destroying VX784. Theresulting enquiry revealed an electrical faultwhich had deployed the aircraft’s airbrakes tothe fully extended position, while Elser wasinvestigating a low-speed stall at low level.The design of the Delta wing was notbrought into question from the enquiry,although the construction of the second 707was delayed during the investigation.

Work began again in haste on the secondaircraft, the 707B, which incorporated several

improvements over the first example.The airbrake control system and elevatorswere upgraded and the addition of anejection seat in August 1951, gave assuranceto future test pilots. A longer nose, originallyintended for the 707A, was fitted to thenew airframe making the 707B 12ft longerthan the original. This additional fuselagewould prove very useful for housing theincreasing amount of data-gatheringequipment. To decrease construction timeand lower costs, other aircraft componentswere incorporated but, on the 707B, alengthened nose leg of a Hawker P.1052was also used as well as the Meteor andAthena parts.

707B TAKES FLIGHTBy August 1950, the 707B was ready and afterground testing was completed at Woodford,the aircraft, now serialled as VX790, wasdismantled and transported to BoscombeDown. Following reassembly, Avro’s ChiefTest Pilot, Wing Commander RJ ‘Roly’ Falk,carried out a high-speed taxi run whichincluded a pre-flight hop. On 6 September1950, VX790, in its bright blue colour scheme,took to the air with Falk at the controls for aninitial 15-minute flight. He was so impressedwith the aircraft that he immediatelycontacted his Avro superiors who gavepermission for the 707B to appear at theSBAC at Farnborough just a few days later.

Flight testing of the 707B was initiallycarried out from Dunsfold with the mainemphasis of the trials being within the 80to 350-knot speed range. It was not longbefore the 707B ran into problems, themost alarming being when the enginewould be starved of air during the higher-speed runs. This was attributed to canopyturbulence which disrupted the air flow intothe air intake not far behind it. Both thecanopy and air intake were modified inJanuary 1951 which solved the problem andall future 707s would dispense with thisunconventional design. After displaying atthe SBAC again in 1951, VX790 suffered acrash landing on 21 September whichrequired repairs at Woodford. These werenot completed until 16 May 1952, by whichtime the aircraft had been transferred toBoscombe Down for further trials. BySeptember of that year, the 707B was onloan to RAE, where it remained untiltransferring to the ETPS in January 1956. �

Avro Vulcan 23

First of the Avro 707s wasVX784 powered by a Derwent 5 and seen here in August 1949.

Seen powering down the runway at speed,VX784 first took flight on 4 September 1949.

Wearing a bright blue colour scheme,VX790 carried out its maiden flight on 6September 1950 and handled so well it appeared at the SBAC at Farnborough just afew days later. This view clearly shows the positioning of its air intake.

While the 707B continued its testing, Avroseemed to spend more time modifying theaircraft for its own benefit rather than theType 698 it was meant to be breaking groundfor. Despite this, of all the 707s produced, itwas the 707B that contributed the most andinfluenced the new bomber’s design morethan any other test aircraft. These included areduction in the Type 698’s fin and rudderand an adjustment, slightly downwards, ofthe bomber’s tail pipes which would copebetter with variations in longitudinal stabilityand trim settings throughout the entirepower range. VX790 went on to completeover 100 hours flying time in support of theType 698 programme before it was handedover, permanently, to the A&AEE.

‘MINI VULCAN’ ARRIVESThe third aircraft to be built was 707A WD280which first took to the air from BoscombeDown on 14 June 1951, following the sameprocess as its predecessors. Fitted with themore powerful Derwent 8, WD280 really wasa ‘mini Vulcan’, having been fitted with ascaled-down Type 698 wing complete withwing root intakes, cropped wing tips andhydraulically powered control surfaces. Theunflattering dorsal intake now gave way topleasant lines which allowed for the fitment ofan elegant dorsal fin. WD280 was destined forthe high-speed and high-altitude work, thelatter resulting in the aircraft having a partiallypressurised cockpit. Once again, though, likeVX790, the aircraft seemed to spend more

time having its own problems rectified, ratherthan contributing to the Type 698 programme.By March 1954, after spending more time withthe A&AEE and RAE, WD280 was fitted withpowered flying controls and wing fences. Ayear later, a modified wing with a kinkedleading edge was also fitted which, aftersuccessful testing, became a model for the‘Phase Two’ Vulcan wing. By 1956, WD280was off to Australia having been assigned tothe Australian Aeronautical Research Councilfor low-speed flight trials.

Further aircraft were ordered under anew specification, E.10/49, on 13 November1951 comprising of another 707A and two707C side-by-side conversion trainers. Thelatter order was actually for four aircraft but,as the Type 698 progressed and was laterfound easy to fly, only one training aircraftwas ever built. These final two 707s wereboth assembled at Bracebridge Heath withcomponents manufactured at Chadderton.707A WZ736 was the first to be completedand, after being carefully towed down theA15 to Waddington, first took to the air on 20February 1953. WZ736 was specifically builtfor the use of the RAE and, by June 1953, wasready for use at Farnborough. Its remit wasto investigate any possible aerodynamicproblems that could be encountered with theDelta wing. After fitment of powered flyingcontrols at Woodford in April 1954, theaircraft continued its research with theA&AEE at Martlesham Heath by which timeit had also been fitted with an auto-throttlesystem. More automatic systems weretrialled at Bedford where it continued tooperate from until April 1962.

TYPE 698 FLIESThe one and only 707C WZ744 followed thesame route down the A15 and first flew fromWaddington on 1 July 1953. After initial flighttests, WZ744 was delivered to the A&AEE forpilot familiarisation in the flying of a Delta-winged jet. By 1956, the 707C had beendelivered to the RAE at Farnborough to trial


Avro 707A WD280 was constructed with a scaled-down Type 698 wing plancomplete with air intakes at its wing roots, and was in effect a ‘mini Vulcan’.

WD280 flying over the English countryside before it was sent to Australia for low speed flight trials.

its electrical signalling system which waslater backed up by further instrumentation tomonitor this. This system was basically theforerunner to fly by wire. The aircraft endedits days at Farnborough by mid-1966 and, likeWZ736, did not contribute to the Type 698programme in any shape or form simplybecause the new Type 698 itself had alreadytaken to the air on 30 August 1952.

VX790, while serving with the A&AEE, waswrecked on 25 September 1956 by an ETPSstudent after a heavy landing at Farnborough.The airframe was assessed for repair by Avro,but the work was never carried out and theaircraft was placed in storage at 71 MU,Bicester, for several years. Struck off charge inNovember 1957, the aircraft was later moved toThurleigh, where it was slowly stripped forspares before finally being scrapped. WD280had a long and productive career in Australiauntil 12 November 1964 when flight testingcame to an end. Struck off charge on 10February 1967 and sold to a private owner, theaircraft has been in the RAAF Museum, PointCook, Victoria, since April 1999.

After WZ736 had completed its trials, itwas struck off charge at Farnborough on 19May 1962, moving to Thurleigh not long

after. The aircraft provided a few spares forWZ744, but not enough for it to be scrapped,as it survives today in the ManchesterMuseum of Science and Technology. Finally,the 707C WZ744 was retired from service on1 February 1967 and transferred toMoD(Air) as a museum exhibit. Afterspending many years at Colerne, WZ744 cannow be seen at the RAF Museum Cosford.

Overall none of the 707s contributed agreat deal to the development of the Type698, mainly because they were a

technological achievement in their own rightand because of this they created their owndevelopment problems. The loss of VX784 soearly on in the development programme andVX790’s crash landing obviously did not help,having the knock-on effect of delayingproduction of the following aircraft.Regardless though, the development of theType 698 progressed so well, and ultimatelywith successful prototypes of its own, itrendered the 707 almost obsolete before ithad a chance of fully proving itself. �

WZ736 being carefully towed down the A15from Bracebridge Heath to Waddington inFebruary 1953. via Rick Coney

By June 1953 WZ736 was ready used by the RAE at Farnborough to investigate anypossible aerodynamic problems that could be encountered with the Delta wing. Itcontinued to operate until April 1962.

Two views of WZ736 undergoingconstruction at Bracebridge Heath.

It took Avro just 28 months toconstruct one of the country’s mostadvanced bomber designs. The first oftwo prototype 698s, VX770, was rolledout at Woodford on 30 August 1952. In

a brilliant all-gloss white paint scheme, onlybroken up by its large RAF roundels and finflashes, the big Delta would have made avery impressive sight. In the capable handsof Avro’s Chief Test Pilot, Wing CommanderRJ ‘Roly’ Falk, VX770 was taxied out ontoWoodford’s main runway and carried outseveral high-speed taxi runs to get a feel forthe controls and check all the systems wereworking as they should. VX770 was fittedwith the very minimum of systems requiredfor flight and this meant that there was norequirement for a co-pilot or supporting crew.Falk was on his own, and before hecommitted to the aircraft’s historic first flight,he made a final high-speed run to test the allimportant brakes and make sure the nose-wheel steering was not shimmying.

Now convinced that the Type 698 wasready to fly, Falk had to wait patiently at theend of the runway while some reluctant birds

were moved on. Once clear, Falk opened thethrottles of the four Rolls-Royce RA.3 Avonturbojets of just 6500lb each and VX770 madea short roll down the runway before taking tothe air. The gear was retracted after a shortclimb and Falk continued upwards to10,000ft; the limit of the aircraft’s operationalceiling owing to a lack of cockpitpressurization. A series of gentle manoeuvreswere carried out before Falk began a steadydescent back down to Woodford. Once overthe airfield, Falk lowered the undercarriageat which point Air Traffic Control reportedthat they had seen something fall from theaircraft. Nothing untoward was beingindicated to Falk, but as a precaution heremained in the circuit while a Vampire and aType 707 joined him to make a visual checkof the aircraft. Both pilots spotted that each ofthe main undercarriage leg fairings weremissing. The problem was a relatively minorone and with the mystery solved, Falk linedVX770 up for landing which he carried outsafely, deploying the aircraft’s giant brakeparachute to reduce the wear on the brakes.

CHRISTENED THE VULCANThere was now a race for VX770 to completethe required amount of flying hours for it toperform at that year’s SBAC show atFarnborough. This was achieved, although theclassified nature of the aircraft meant that Falk

had to fly VX770 from Boscombe Down as itwas not cleared to land at Farnborough. Severalflypasts were made during the show includingone where the 707A WD280 and 707B VX790provided a very impressive escort.

It was now time to officially name the beast,Avro having already suggested the name‘Ottawa’ in keeping with the bomber traditionof naming them after towns and cities withinthe British Empire. However, Vickers hadalready named their Type 660 the Valiant andthe Chief of Air Staff, Sir John Slessor, statedthat he wanted the remaining two aircraft tohave names beginning with the same initial. Soin late September 1952, the Type 698 waschristened as the Vulcan and, by the end of theyear, the HP.80 was named the Victor.

After its brief public outing, VX770 spentseveral weeks in a hangar at Woodford beingbrought up to a more purposeful specification.Modifications included the fitment of anejection seat for the co-pilot, revised pilots’instrument panels, plus air-conditioning andpressurization systems. Up until now theaircraft had been flown with its fuel tankstemporally fitted in the bomb bay. Now thetanks were fitted in their appropriate positionsin the wings along with the maze of plumbingrequired. By the end of October 1952, the workwas completed and VX770 was back in the air.

By January 1953 and with 32 flying hoursunder her belt, it was apparent that the RA.3

The True

Martyn Chorlton profiles the life and times of the Type 698 prototypes, VX770 and VX777.

Delta Ladies

The second example of themighty Delta bomber,VX777,powers off of the ground in

a characteristicallyimpressive Vulcan take-off.

Avon engines were not pushing the aircraftanywhere near its full potential. The jet hadalways been designed with the more powerfulBristol Olympus in mind, but these were stillnot available. As a stop gap, VX770 wasresigned to the hangar floor again, this time tobe fitted with four Armstrong SiddeleySapphire SA.6 turbojets, each developing amore respectable 7500lb of thrust. This wasstill well short of the planned 10,000lb ofthrust that the Olympus engines were stillpromising. Several other systems were revisedbefore flight testing began again in July.

While VX770 continued its trials, thesecond prototype, VX777, was taking shape atWoodford. Several subtle, but importantchanges were incorporated into this secondexample, all of which brought it closer to thefinal production variant. These included alonger nose leg and in turn a longerundercarriage bay to accommodate it. It wasdiscovered during the Type 707 trials that byraising the angle of attack of the wing up by3.5 degrees, the length of the take-off run wassignificantly reduced. Many other systemswere changed and improved upon and thebomb aimer’s blister was also fitted under thenose. However, the most significant change ofall was the engines, which initially were fourBristol Olympus Mk.99s that had been fittedto carry out engine ground runs and themyriad of electrical system checks. Thesewere replaced by four Olympus Mk.100engines, each developing 9750lb of thrust asthe aircraft was prepared for its first flight.This came on 3 September 1953, and the nowtraditional rush to make that year’s SBAC wasonce again achieved. As well as performingflypasts of its own during the Farnborough

Air Show, VX777 was also joined by VX770and, during one particularly memorableflypast, was also accompanied by all foursurviving Type 707s.

TEETHING TROUBLESBack to work, VX777 continued its own testflying programme with Avro and later theAeroplane and Armament ExperimentalEstablishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down.Further testing began to reveal severalengine problems, one of which was rpm creepat altitude which could lead to an alarmingincrease in the jet pipe temperatures (JPT).

This problem was partially attributed to theflexing of the airframe which upset the longthrottle control runs. This problem wassolved by fitting a cruise governor whichallowed full power on take-off, but onceairborne the throttle was restricted below themaximum. Tests at the A&AEE revealed atendency for the port inner engine to surgewhich, after a lot of investigation work, wasfound to be caused by how the air wasentering the intake. After several methodswere tried, a detent system was applied toboth inboard engines which improved thehandling of the aircraft ten fold. �

Avro Vulcan 27

Superb photo of the first Vulcan prototype VX770.All Time Line Images

VX770 attracts much interest on the ground.

The A&AEE also had at its disposal aground rig, supplied by Avro, whichconsisted of a port intake, a section of thewing and a 10ft piece of the forward fuselage.Continuous ground runs could now be madeat leisure, initially concentrating on the waythe intake behaved in conjunction with thefuel system. After reaching a successfulconclusion, the test rig was then used fortrials on the siting of the various engineaccessories and their cooling. One problemthat was encountered in the air, but not thetest rig, was when the engine intake’s anti-icing system would overheat the oil tankhoused in the intake’s main partition, orbullet. A redesign of the oil cooling systemsoon rectified this. The test rig did reveal thatthe pitot head, in contrast, had a tendency toice up and this was also moved into the bulletand another problem was logically solved.

On 14 July 1954, VX777 was transferred tothe RAE to be prepared for the Vulcan’s mainrole of dropping bombs. Unfortunately, thislatest trial would have to be postponedbecause, on 27 July, VX777 was Cat 3damaged following the loss of rudder control.With Falk at the controls, a very hard ruddermanoeuvre was carried out which caused thecontrol surface to stay locked in that position.Unable to see what was going on, the crewpresumed that, at best, it and a section of thefin had been torn off but a low pass of theFarnborough control tower confirmed that allwas still intact. A very delicate landingfollowed, using asymmetric power to counterthe effect of the jammed rudder.

Once on the ground, there was littlechance of stopping the bomber fromovershooting the end of the runway and


VX777 slows down with the aid of its brake’ chute.

The Vulcan’s earlier wingplan form with a straightleading edge is clearly

shown in this view.

VX770’s all-whitepaintwork stands it out inthe sky above the cloudsduring an early trials flight.

VX777 banks away and displays the later cranked wing.

sinking into the soft ground causing a partialundercarriage collapse. Unable to exit via thecrew door, Falk had to release the canopymanually as it had not yet been fitted with thestandard explosive bolts. While holding thecanopy up the crew evacuated the aircraftbefore Falk left the stricken bomber. Torecover the Vulcan, deep trenches had to bedug to help the lifting equipment getunderneath. Once free, the undercarriagewas locked down and fixed so that theaircraft could be flown back to Woodford forrepairs. The engineers quickly found theproblem with the rudder was a failedPowered Flying Control Unit (PFCU). Eventhough this was backed up by a secondaryPFCU, the rudder had jammed so far it hadgone beyond the operating limit of both units.This system was modified so it would notoccur again. While at Woodford, Avro tookthe opportunity to fit another set of engines,this time it was the Olympus 101 producing11,000lbs of thrust which would become thestandard engine for the future Vulcan B1, thefirst of which, XA899, had already made itsmaiden flight on 4 February 1955.

Avro’s own flight development trials wereresumed on 23 March 1955, although thiswas destined to be a brief exercise. VX777was transferred to the A&AEE for previewtrials on 30 March, although all maintenancefor the aircraft was still the responsibility ofAvro back at Woodford. This was a busyperiod for the second prototype which wascertainly put through its paces at BoscombeDown. In all 17 flights, totalling 72 flyinghours, were achieved before the aircraft wasreturned to Avro in late May 1955. TheA&AEE flights had been flown at weights

Photographers gathered on the edge of the runway to capture Avro’s new jet bomber.

between 119,000lb and 130,000lb, althoughthe actual operational weight of the Vulcanwas going to be in the region of 165,000lb.

The trials were also flown at just Mach 0.87while the production B1s were planned to fly atMach 0.95. Alarmingly, test pilots discoveredthat when the aircraft reached Mach 0.86 theVulcan had a tendency to pitch down and thisincreased as speed was gained. This obviouslymade the aircraft very difficult to fly accuratelyand keep within the speed limitations set byAvro. Additionally, the ailerons causedproblems of their own because of a loosenessin the hinges, which caused an oscillationeffect at higher speeds which in turn restrictedmanoeuvrability. Avro was well aware of all ofthese problems and was already developing anauto Mach trimmer and pitch dampener torectify the higher speed effects. More

significantly, a completely new wing was beingdesigned which would solve all of the earlyVulcan’s problems in virtually one go.

MOREPOWERANDTHEMK.2WINGFollowing this latest trial by the A&AEE, theconclusion was reached that VX777, in itscurrent form, was not acceptable as a highaltitude bomber. Not including all of the speedand flight problems encountered, the aircraftcould only carry a 10,000lb bomb load up to43,000ft. This was far too low for a modernbomber, even at night. The aircraft was praisedby the A&AEE for having many outstandingfeatures but they had to conclude that theVulcan, in this form, would not be consideredfor RAF service. Thankfully the prototypes,like the Avro 707s before them, were beingovertaken by more advanced versions. �

Meanwhile, VX770 had continued to carryout valuable trials throughout 1955 workingwith both Avro and the A&AEE. On 8 June1956, the aircraft was back at Woodford tobegin a special trial to fly with a set of Rolls-Royce Conways. VX770 was fitted with fourRCO.7 engines of which a later version wasdestined to power the Handley Page Victor.By 9 August 1957, VX770 was transferred toRolls-Royce so it could carry out its own trialson the new powerful engine installation. Withall this surplus power compared to the earlierAvons, new flight envelopes could bepursued allowing the Vulcan to fly higher andfaster than before. Like the A&AEE testpilots, the Avro crews experienced the sameproblems with buffet and pitching betweenMach 0.80 and 0.85 which could only besolved in the short term by flying lower andslower than the aircraft was designed for.

The aerodynamicists discovered that theproblem lay with the airflow across the upper

surfaces, which split, causing a compressibilitystall. The Type 707 was brought in to helpresolve the problem with wing fences andvortex generators being fitted. While this didnot solve the problem it did highlight how toresolve it which could only be achieved byredesigning the entire leading edge of thewing. The original straight-edged Delta had asweep of 52 degrees, but after extensive windtunnel testing at Farnborough it wasdiscovered that the solution was to be found byintroducing a cranked inner section. This innersection was angled at 42 degrees while theouter section retained the 52 degree sweep. Aslight droop was also introduced to the outersection which in turn increased the chord ofthe wing, raised the lift coefficient andtherefore lifted the compressibility buffet waybeyond the speed of the aircraft.

This new Phase Two C or Mk.2 wing wasfirst fitted to VX777 which took to the air inthis new form on 5 October 1955. Initial flight

trials were successful and the new shape ofthe Vulcan was first seen by the public atFarnborough in 1957. VX770 was also in theplanning for the Phase Two wing, but a tragicaccident would occur before the work couldbe carried out.

TRAGEDY STRIKESDuring the morning of 20 September 1958,VX770 was being prepared at Hucknall foranother test flight relating to its Conwayengines. If all of the trials set for the sortiethat day were carried out with time to spare,the plan was to make a low flypast at thenearby RAF Syerston Battle of Britain AirDisplay. The crew on this flight were all Rolls-Royce employees, with the exception of thenavigator, Flight Lieutenant RM Parrot. Theremainder of the crew consisted of the pilot,KR Sturt, co-pilot RW Ford and FlightEngineer WE Howkins. With their taskingcompleted, Sturt approached Syerston for abrief display at approximately 13:00 GMT. Itis known that Sturt intended on flying at 250ftat a speed between 200 and 300 knots downrunway 07 before completing his display andmaking a safe return to Hucknall. Witnessesclaim the aircraft was flying nearer to 350knots or Mach 0.61 when it approached theairfield from the west, which would be stillwell within the aircraft’s safe operating speed.

During the pass, Sturt made a rate oneturn to starboard, at which point thestarboard wing’s leading edge began to fail atthe point where it joins the centre section. Itrapidly peeled back, destroying the entirewing within seconds. As the bombercontinued onwards, it pitchedtowards the ground, before risingto an almost vertical attitude. Atthis point the bomber slippedearthwards, engulfed inflames, before scatteringitself along the end ofrunway 07 in a trail of

Topside view clearlyshowing the crankedwing plan form.

destruction measuring over 1400 yards.The four crew sadly perished along withthree other RAF servicemen, Sgt C Hanson,Sgt ED Simpson and SAC JJ Tonks, whowere on the ground manning the airfieldcontroller’s caravan. There is muchconjecture that continues today about theexact cause of this accident, although the

popular and official viewpoint is that theaircraft exceeded the limits imposed onit. This may have been the case, but the

amount of punishing trials work thatVX770 had been put through since

its first flight must have taken itstoll on the airframe and could

possibly have contributed tosuch a catastrophic failure

of the airframe. VX777 was allocated to the RAE again on17 April 1960, this time to carry out groundvibration trials of various equipment, includingthe armament installation. 10 days later,further trials continued at Farnborough but

The once high profile VX777 standsderelict at Farnborough, strippedof useful components includingmost noticeably its rudder.

Disaster strikes as VX770 breaks up at Syerston on 20 September 1958.

this was destined to be the last act for VX777.It was withdrawn from use on 7 February 1962and was struck off charge on 18 October thatyear. Quickly falling into a semi-derelict state,the second prototype was stripped of anyuseful spares and, with no ceremony, wasscrapped at Farnborough in July 1963. �

The sheer size of the Delta bomber ishighlighted in this view from August1952, with a man stood under itsstarboard wing tip to give some scale.

Vulcan B2 XH558 was built atAvro’s Woodford plant nearManchester and first took to theair on 21 May 1960. On 1 July1960, painted in all-over ‘anti-flash’

white which was standard at the time, XH558carried out its delivery flight to RAFWaddington in Lincolnshire and became thefirst Vulcan B2 to enter service with the RAF.It went on to the strength of 230 OperationalConversion Unit for use in the training role.

In June the following year the OCU movedto RAF Finningley in Yorkshire, taking XH558with it. XH558 remained based at Finningleyfor almost seven years, before making a moveback to Waddington in early 1968.

By this time the Waddington Wingcomprised 44, 50 and 101 Squadrons. Initiallypooled, XH558 later went onto the strength of101. In 1973 it was one of the Vulcansselected for conversion to B2(MRR)standard, finding its way to RAF Scampton,Lincs, as such in 1974. In late March 1982XH558 made a return to Waddington, but wassoon on its way to its birthplace at Woodfordfor conversion to a tanker. That October itwas delivered back to its base and joined 50Squadron. The Vulcan tanker role was brief,and 50 Squadron disbanded in March 1984leaving XH558’s future in the balance.

VULCAN DISPLAY FLIGHTFortunately for this aircraft, while many of itsbrethren were being scrapped XH558 wasselected to join XL426 on the Vulcan DisplayFlight (VDF) and once more made a welcomereturn to Waddington later that year. Overthat winter it was restored to its originalbomber configuration and in 1985 was given aglossy coat of paint, which also included the 1Group black panther head emblem, plus aUnion Jack and City of Lincoln coat of armson its tail fin. XH558 then replaced XL426 onthe display circuit and, with its sister shipretiring into civilian hands at Southend,Essex, became the last operational Vulcanwith the RAF.

It soldiered on with the VDF until 1992,which was to be its last display season.September of that year would see its lastpublic display in Service hands, so thatmonth the RAF organised a press flight torecord its last Vulcan in the air. Its final public

appearance was made at the Dreamflight airshow at Cranfield in Bedfordshire on Sunday20 September 1992, making the journeyhome the following day where crowds hadgathered to witness it arrive.

In January the following year XH558 wasput up for tender which was won by C WaltonLtd, a family business led by David Waltonwho would base the Vulcan at Bruntingthorpeairfield in Leicestershire, where a collectionof former RAF Cold War jets was assembling.So, on 23 March 1993 XH558 carried out its,and indeed the type’s, last flight with the RAFwhen it took off from its base at RAFWaddington to fly to its new home bringing toa close a military career of some 33 years.


Fifty years ofJarrod Cotter reviews the 50th anniversaryof the first B2 delivered to the Royal AirForce, which was also the last Vulcan tocontinue flying with the RAF and is now theworld’s only airworthy example of themighty V-bomber. ’558

XH558 climbs out from Woodfordairfield in 1990 while flying with theRAF’s Vulcan Display Flight.Cliff Knox

PRESERVATIONOver the following years XH558 wasmaintained in ground-running condition,carrying out regular ‘fast-taxi’ runs duringvarious open days at the airfield. In 1997 ateam headed by Dr Robert Pleming startedto put together an ambitious plan to returnXH558, by then civilian registered G-VLCN,to airworthy status. Obviously such a projectwould be hugely complex and challenging, aswell as requiring a vast amount of money.

Over the next two years formal support ofthe necessary manufacturers was gained –had just one of these not given their approvalit could have put a stop to the entire project.Marshall Aerospace of Cambridge becameXH558’s engineering authority. Moneyremained a major factor of course, but this wassignificantly helped when a successful bid wasmade to the Heritage Lottery Fund, whichthen announced a grant of some £2.7milliontowards the Vulcan’s restoration in December2003. In March 2005, XH558 was purchasedfor the nation by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, aRegistered Charity. Work began that August.

A major milestone was reached on 31August 2006, when XH558 was rolled out ofthe hangar with much ceremony for the firsttime in seven years. As this day approached itwas coinciding with a critical funding crisis,but the determined team managed to raiseover £1.3million to save the project which wasthen focused on the hope that XH558 wouldbe ready in time to fly over London in June2007 as part of the Falklands 25th anniversaryflypast. However, the complex engineeringproject just could not be completed in time,though it was making great strides towardshaving XH558 in the air that year.

The ‘dream’ began to turn to reality, as theV-bomber’s four Olympus engines werestarted up on 16 August 2007. Aftercompleting all the necessary testssuccessfully, full power runs were carried outon the 20th. With plenty of ‘midnight oil’ beingburned by the engineering team, a further twomonths of test and rectification work followed,making sure that XH558 was completely readyfor the big day when it would take to sky forthe first time in over 14 years. �

Avro Vulcan 33

Close-up of XH558 showing its ‘the Spiritof Great Britain 1960-2010’ legend onthe forward fuselage. Luigino Caliaro

XH558 in its early ‘anti-flash’white paint scheme on a test flight cMay 1960 withthe Ram Air Turbine visible extended on its underside. This was the first Vulcan B2to enter service with the RAF on 1 July 1960. BAE Systems/Avro Heritage Centre

XH558 flies over the ‘piano keys’ on the threshold of RAF Waddington’s runway on3 July 2010 – almost 50 years to the day that it arrived at the Lincolnshire air baseas the RAF’s first B2. Jarrod Cotter

RETURNING TO THE SKYWith over £7 million having been spent to makeit happen, at just before 12:30 XH558 roareddown Bruntingthorpe’s 3000m long runwayand lifted into the air again on Thursday 18October 2007. Guests, supporters, sponsors,press and TV crews had gathered at the airfieldto witness the end result of one of the mostamazing aviation restoration projects in recentyears. After a trouble free flight test lasting justover 30 minutes, the Delta-winged Vulcanarrived back at Bruntingthorpe to a rage offervour from those on the ground.

The focus then turned from restoration tocontinuing the flight test programme andgetting XH558 ready for its debut display incivilian hands. As the 2008 air show seasonapproached the Vulcan was flown to variouslocations on air tests and for compass swings.These included RAF Cottesmore inLeicestershire and RAF Coningsby inLincolnshire. At the latter base theopportunity was taken to roll out Lancaster IPA474 and have the two iconic Avro bombersparked up together.

It was the RAF Waddington InternationalAir Show that July which was scheduled for


VulcanOperating Company ground crew await XH558’s imminent arrival.Luigino Caliaro

the Vulcan to make its debut – which waswholly appropriate as the Lincolnshire baserepresents its spiritual home. On the earlyevening of the Thursday before the event, thesound of a Vulcan flying over Waddingtonwas heard again as it carried out a series ofdisplays and the V-bomber was duly given itsdisplay authorisation. It went on to appear atnumerous air shows and events for theremainder of that year, as it did in 2009.

SPIRIT OF GREAT BRITAINTo mark its 50th anniversary year in 2010,the legend ‘the Spirit of Great Britain 1960-2010’ was inscribed on its forward fuselage.Its airshow debut in 2010 came atWaddington on 3 July – just two days laterthan it had arrived there 50 years ago!

It appeared at many more events throughoutthis landmark year, being seen by an estimatedtwo million spectators in total. Venues includedRNAS Yeovilton, the Royal International AirTattoo at RAF Fairford, Farnborough, RNASCuldrose, Lowestoft, Dunsfold, Jersey and RAFLeuchars. Its final appearance was at theCoventry Fly-in on 26 September, then financial‘storm clouds’ appeared again… �

Wherever the Vulcan goes the crowds will gather to see it! Luigino Caliaro

One of several highlightsduring 2010 was the Vulcan information with the RAF’s RedArrows opening Farnboroughon 19 July. Terry Wade

With plumes of smoke radiatingout from its four exhausts, XH558is caught on short finals to land.Luigino Caliaro

An announcement was made that if£400,000 could not be raised before the endof October XH558 may not be seen at an airshow in the UK again, and might have to besold. In a press release, Trust CEO DrRobert Pleming commented: “If we don’tmake it, a heritage icon as popular as TheTower of London may never be seen by theBritish public again. We have a greatbusiness plan for 2011 that will substantiallyimprove our commercial funding, but thestark reality is that we look unlikely tosurvive beyond October.”

Through the continuing generosity of theVulcan’s many supporters, and via asuccessful campaign by Vulcan to the Sky,the money came in at an impressive rate; at

one point £30,000 a day was arriving, then on27 October more than £15,000 came inovernight! The campaign went to the wirebut was eventually successful, and Dr RobertPleming said of its success to those who hadsupported it: “This is obviously really goodnews, and is very much down to you, ourcore supporters, and the desires of the widerpublic, who have dug deep into their pocketsto move us forward once again. We havereceived tremendous support fromthousands of people, and from literally allfour corners of the world! On behalf ofXH558, thank you so very much!”

John Sharman, Chairman of Trustees,Vulcan to the Sky Trust, added: “What ismost significant is the sheer number of

people who donated – many thousands – thewelcome result of active promotion by ourcore team of supporters and valuablecoverage of the appeal by the media. The factthat the appeal has been such a successdespite the current economic conditions onceagain proves without doubt the magnitude ofthe public’s affection and support for XH558.”

The aim now is to keep XH558 flyingthrough the 2011 season and then into theQueen’s Diamond Jubilee year in 2012. Thatyear will also mark the 30th anniversary ofthe Falklands, so let’s see what happens… �

With many thanks to Press Officer RichardClarke and Megan Hill of the Vulcan to the SkyTrust. www.vulcantothesky.org

Squadron Leader Martin Withers DFCwas captain of Vulcan XL607 whichbombed the airfield at Port Stanleyfollowing a 4000 mile marathon flightfrom Ascension Island supported by 11Victor tankers during Black Buck 1 on 30April/1 May 1982. He is now Chief Pilot ofXH558 and a passionate supporter of itsrole in education and training.

A USAF Boeing B-52 Stratofortress flies over Vulcan XH558 on the runway at RAFFairford on 19 July 2010 – two Cold War era bombers together. Bernie Condon

Nice study of XH558 on a transit flight in July 2010. Luigino Caliaro

For the 2010 season XH558 was based atRAF Lyneham in Wiltshire. Luigino Caliaro

“THE FACT THAT THE APPEAL HAS BEEN SUCH A SUCCESSDESPITE THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ONCE

AGAIN PROVES WITHOUT DOUBT THE MAGNITUDE OF THEPUBLIC’S AFFECTION AND SUPPORT FOR XH558.”

Avro Vulcan B2 XL321 of 617Squadron, RAF Scampton,carrying a Blue Steelnuclear stand-off weapon.Time Line Images

Avro Vulcan 41

��

�� restored to flight.

��

��

The fourth and final DVD follows the last push to get Vulcan XH558permanently back into the skies. The highs and lows of the final phaseof flight tests are captured and the last few problems overcome. Thebuild-up to the aircraft’s first public appearance at RAF Waddingtonairshow is seen along with XH558’s full display plus a stunningformation flypast with the UK’s only flying Lancaster bomber. The DVDalso includes interactive bonus features including a cockpit tour withselectable video features, the history of XH558 prior to restoration, andother interesting facts about the restoration of this amazing aircraft.

Approx 2 hours �� !" �#!! !��!#$

��

� ��

�� !"#$�� %&��$�" ��&'

�� roll out, first flight, air testing��

Primetime ��

�� !�"# $� �� %��%��

��


Vulcandisplay

A representativedescription of an airdisplay routine by XH558.

Avro Vulcan 43

XH558 caught at an impressive moment,with smoke bellowing out of its exhaustsand wingtip vortices trailing behind as it

pulls out of a descent.Nathan Daws

climb. The aircraft’s pitch is progressivelyincreased, from an initial 35 degrees toaround 45 degrees. The angle of pitch iscarefully controlled by the pilot to keep thespeed at around 160 knots.

Soon after getting airborne the brakes arebriefly applied to stop the wheels fromrotating, then the undercarriage is retracted.The 160 knot speed is maintained until theVulcan’s pilot levels the aircraft out at 1500ft,having demonstrated the type’s performance.Power is reduced to 75%, then the V-bomberis put into a descent as it heads to a positionready to enter its display and accelerates upto 250 knots.

‘BOMB RUN’ ARRIVALThe first flypast is carried out at an entryspeed of 250 knots at a minimum height of300ft, and is referred to as the ‘bombing run’due to its nature. As the jet flies along therunway, power is increased and XH558accelerates up to 300 knots by the time itreaches the end of the display linewhereupon it will have also climbed to 500ft.

Power is then cut to almost to idle and theairbrakes are extended as the Vulcan breaksaway from the crowd and climbs to 800ft. Itsspeed will by then have eased back to 160knots, power will be re-applied, the airbrakeswill be retracted at the 270 degree point andit will drop back down to 500ft as it comesaround to return head-on at crowd centre. �

Few aircraft have had such animpact on air shows in recentyears. Vulcan to the Sky’s XH558has certainly been a majorattraction since its return to flight

in October 2007, and then its subsequentappearances at many events. Its debut displayunder civilian operation as G-VLCN came atthe 2008 RAF Waddington International AirShow. The Vulcan arrived at the Lincolnshireair base during the early evening of Thursday3 July, then carried out its DisplayAuthorisation in beautiful blue summer skies.After a series of display routines, itsuccessfully gained permission to display atthe air show that weekend. Massive crowdswere drawn to the event and such were thenumbers that the organisers had to close thegates relatively early on the Saturdaymorning, as even this large base quicklyreached capacity as a result of the Vulcan’sappeal – its first public air show appearancefor 15 years.

XH558’s size and shape make itunmistakable – and its sound as the four Rolls-Royce Olympus engines are set to full throttlecertainly leaves no doubt that it has arrived!

TAKE-OFFFull power is selected for take-off and XH558quickly accelerates to its rotation speed of150 knots. Once off the ground the Vulcan’spower allows it to be quickly put into a steep

Avro Vulcan 45

Nice topside pass, as the sun lights XH558 with a stormy backdrop. Pitch and rollmovements of the Delta-wingedVulcan are controlled by four large elevons oneach trailing edge, noticeable in this view.Mark Meades

Just after take-off the Vulcan’sundercarriage begins to

retract. Jarrod Cotter

“FULL POWER ISSELECTED FOR TAKE-OFF AND XH558

QUICKLY ACCELERATESTO ITS ROTATION SPEED

OF 150 KNOTS.”

Power is applied to theVulcanwhile it turns away from thedisplay line.Mark Meades

Caught in a turn awayfrom the crowd, XH558’smanoeuvrability is put togood effect.Mark Meades


Once in the correct position the pilot willbegin a steep turn back on to the display lineand the throttles will be pushed forward tofull power. He then puts the Vulcan into asteep climb to 1200ft. At that point he willcommence a turn away from the display lineand begin a descent with the airbrakesdeployed. Power is eased back to 70% and thespeed kept at 160 knots, partially using theairbrakes to control it when necessary.

BOMB DOORS OPENThe Vulcan again levels out at 500ft, turning tocrowd centre once more. It is then turned backon to the display line for a pass with the bomb-doors open by the time the jet reaches crowdcentre with its underside facing the audience.Speed must not drop below 150 knots duringthe full 360 degree turn with 45 degrees ofbank which is then carried out, and by the timethe Vulcan returns to crowd centre the bombbay doors will have been closed.

This turn is continued until the jet isfacing away from the crowd line and then theaircraft carries out a wing-over back towardsto the display line, climbing to 700ft duringthe initial part of the turn. It then descends to500ft, with the pilot controlling its speed withthe application of airbrakes. �

Following its bomb doors open pass,XH558 completes a 360 degree turnand arrives back at crowd centre withits doors by then closed.HowardHeeley/Down To Earth Promotions

XH558 turns towards the crowdfor a pass with its bomb baydoors open. Jarrod Cotter

Avro Vulcan 47

Series of photos catching XH558 landing at RAFWaddington following its display authorisation on 3 July2008.All Howard Heeley/Down To Earth Promotions

XH558 caught in an atmosphericskyscape during a spiral climb out toaltitude after a display.Mark Meades

“AFTER TOUCHDOWNON A LENGTHY RUNWAYTHE NOSE WHEELS CANBE HELD IN THE AIRUNTIL THE VULCANSLOWS DOWN TOABOUT 70 KNOTS.”

XH558 then returns along the display lineuntil it reaches crowd centre, where it banksaway and makes another turn again with aminimum speed of 150 knots. As it returns topoint at crowd centre, power is applied andthe V-bomber gains altitude with a steep 60-degree angle of bank in a spiral climbgenerally through 540 degrees reaching aheight of 2500ft – so concluding animpressive display of the mighty Vulcan’sincredible flight capabilities.

LANDINGThe Vulcan will then either depart, or if it is toland back at the same venue, theundercarriage will be lowered once the speedhas been reduced below 200 knots. It returnsin a glide-approach for landing, the downwindleg being flown with power set just below 70%.

The approach speed is 160 knots until theVulcan descends to 600ft with airbrakesdeployed to their ‘medium’ setting. Thethrottles are then eased back slightly and thefinal approach will be made at 140 knots, withthe airbrakes then being fully deployed.

After touchdown on a lengthy runway thenose wheels can be held in the air until theVulcan slows down to about 70 knots. As well aslooking impressive and offering the spectatorssome great photo opportunities, this slows theaircraft down with little use of the brakes,saving a lot of wear and tear. XH558’s aircrewdo not routinely use the brake ’chute, which isreserved in case of an emergency only.

Those who have seen XH558 display can’tfail to have been impressed. For such a bigaircraft the main aspect of its capability whichstands out is its impressive and almostfighter-like manoeuvrability. The noise fromthe four Rolls-Royce Olympus engines alsoleaves no doubt as to its immense power. �


As well as its highly popular solo displays, XH558 has flown with numerous aircraft to create thrilling photo opportunities. One ofthe best happened on the Saturday of the 2008 RAF Waddington International Air Show, when the Vulcan carried out a flypastled by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Lancaster I PA474 which was a major highlight of the weekend. The two Avrobombers are caught here from a fantastic viewpoint.Mick Bajcar

During the Vulcan’s display it carries out several impressive climbs, one of which isjust beginning here as its nose heads skywards.Mark Meades

XH558 departs its former home at RAFWaddington via a steep climb out.Jarrod Cotter

Vulcan to the Sky’s XH558caught from a most unusualtopside viewpoint during anair-to-air sortie in July 2010.Luigino Caliaro

T he Douglas AGM-87A Skyboltwas an air-launched ballisticmissile of the early 1960s, whichthe RAF planned to order fromthe US as a replacement for its

Blue Steel nuclear stand-off weapon.Weighing in at 11,000lb and measuring over38ft long, Skybolt was powered by a two-stage solid-fuelled rocket, carried athermonuclear warhead and was navigatedby internal equipment.

Once it had been air launched, the missilewould climb to an altitude of around 300nautical miles and then follow a ballistictrajectory to its target. It had a range ofapproximately 1000 nautical miles.

The RAF joined the Skybolt programme in1960 and chose Vulcan B2 XH537 to be testfitted with two of the missiles under its wings.However, the weapon didn’t perform well intests and following a troubled developmentphase was cancelled in 1962. Photos: Avro

SkyboltThe cancelled US weapon which was intended to replace Blue Steel.

Avro Vulcan 53

service and served throughout World WarOne. After the war it continued in Royal AirForce service – in one form or another – until1932. Surplus aircraft were sold for £60 andseveral found their way on to the civilianregister and many ordinary people gainedtheir first experience of flight in an Avro 504.Qantas – celebrating 90 years in 2010 –started operations with a converted 504 in1920 in the Northern Territories of Australia.

Roy Chadwick believed in simple, strongaircraft and was never really satisfied with hisdesigns which he would always try to better.During World War One he produced severaldesigns for Avro but none entered RFCservice, however, he was gaining valuableexperience during these years. Avro emergedafter the war as one of the main aircraftmanufacturers, but the lean post-war yearssaw little in the way of challenge for Chadwickand the firm. He learned to fly during 1919,taking lessons from Captain Hammersley whowas one of the pilots operating 504Ks onpleasure flights for the Avro TransportCompany. Chadwick qualified as a pilot, but on13 January 1920 he crashed into the garden ofthe Reverend Everad Verdon-Roe. Chadwickwas badly hurt but survived; though rarelypiloted himself after that. He did, however, flya great deal as a passenger and observer onthe aircraft he designed. �

From wood and fabricto the V-bomberFrançois Prins profiles Avro’s chief designer, Roy Chadwick, who was responsible for many famousdesigns including the war-winning Lancaster. The Avro Type 698, later becoming the Vulcan, wasthe last project on which he was intimately involved.

Marshal of the Royal Air ForceSir Arthur Harris oncewrote about aircraftdesigners: ‘Working behindthe scenes, away from the

limelight, their names seldom hit theheadlines. Yet the work they did isexceptionally complex, often profoundlyinspired and always of prime importance tothe advance of aviation.’ Harris knew manydesigners during his years in command andheld Roy Chadwick in high regard.

Chadwick was born on 30 April 1893 atFarnworth near Bolton in Lancashire. Hisfather, Charles, was a mechanical engineerand his work influenced the young Roy agreat deal. From his earliest days Roy wasfascinated by aviation and was determined totake an active part in its development. Togain practical knowledge Chadwick builtseveral model gliders and aircraft. It was in1911 that he gained entry into the real worldof aircraft construction when he joined AVRoe & Company as a draughtsman. At thetime Avro was producing the Type E500trainer which was shortly to enter servicewith the Royal Flying Corps (RFC).

While the E500 was a good trainer,something better was required and designs fora successor were soon in hand. Work on thenew aircraft began at the Avro plant atBrownfield Mills in November 1912. CR Taylorand Chadwick produced the fuselage andundercarriage, while HE Broadsmith designedthe wings for the new Avro 504. Roy Chadwickthus began his long association with everyAvro design that left the factory from thefamous 504 through to the Vulcan, although hedid not live to see the latter materialise.

The Avro 504 made its first flight on18 September 1913 and two days latertook part in the 1913 Aerial Derbywhere it gained fourth place. Fromthe very start, the 504 was singledout as a winner and entered RFC

A young Roy Chadwick photographedin 1907/8 with a model aeroplane.All via author unless noted

Roy Chadwick’s first successful project for thecompany was the Avro 504, which served withthe military from 1913 to 1932. Jarrod Cotter

Vulcan prototype VX770 with a straightleading edge – while the Avro Type 698

was the last project on which Roy Chawickwas intimately involved, unfortunately hedidn’t live to see it fly. Time Line Images

“ROY CHADWICK THUS BEGAN HIS LONG ASSOCIATIONWITH EVERY AVRO DESIGN THAT LEFT THE FACTORY FROMTHE FAMOUS 504 THROUGH TO THE VULCAN, ALTHOUGH

HE DID NOT LIVE TO SEE THE LATTER MATERIALISE.”

Avro’s first new post-war design to enterRAF service was the Type 549 Aldershot,designed by Chadwick to Air MinistrySpecification 2/20 (D of R Type 4B).Powered by a single Rolls-Royce Condor IIIengine, the 15 Aldershot bombers built sawservice with 99 Squadron. The type was thefirst Avro design with a metal fuselage; itscentral cabin – on two decks – was coveredwith plywood. Avro designs varied frombombers to ultra-light aircraft withChadwick’s 558 biplane being entered for the1923 Lympne trials. It did not win first prizebut Captain Hammersley took it to 13,850ft towin the Duke of Sutherland’s prize of £100.

Designs from Chadwick and his teamcame out on a regular basis and one of thebest was the Avian, which Bert Hinklerflew into the record books with a solo flightto Australia in 1928. In 1927, Roy Chadwickwas appointed Chief Designer at Avro andset about producing a replacement for theageing 504 model variants. His answer camewith the equally long-lived Avro 621 Tutortrainer which entered RAF service in 1932.However, in 1929 Roe sold his shares to SirJohn Siddeley and left the company. In timethe Siddeley group, which includedArmstrong Whitworth, would become part ofHawker-Siddeley under the chairmanship ofThomas Sopwith.

AIRLINER AND BOMBERDuring the 1920s and 1930s Avro hadmanufactured Fokker civilian aircraft underlicence and using this knowledge began todesign their own airliners. On 18 May 1933Imperial Airways issued a specification toAvro for a small passenger aircraft. Chadwickand his team responded quickly and by

August they were ready to show drawings tothe Imperial board. Given the go-ahead theprototype was built and made its first flighton 7 January 1937 as the Avro 652. While theaircraft was in-build the Air Ministryexpressed an interest in a military variant;this was flown on 11 March. Known as theAnson the aircraft entered RAF service inMarch 1936 and served in a variety of rolesuntil retired in 1966. It was an Anson that, on5 September 1939, made the first aerial attackof World War Two on a German submarine.

Roy Chadwick, like many others, wasaware of the threat from Nazi Germany longbefore the politicians took note.Consequently, he set his thoughts down for a

new heavy bomber and when Air MinistrySpecification P13/36 was issued he wasready. Chadwick married his monoplanebomber design with two of the latest Rolls-Royce Vulture engines and on 25 July 1939,the prototype Avro Manchester (L7246) tookoff from Ringway. As a design it was superiorand more capable than either the HandleyPage Hampden or the Armstrong WhitworthWhitley, but the engines proved troublesome.So while the other two bombers were in RAFservice by the outbreak of World War Two,the Manchester was delayed in reachingsquadron service until November 1940.Manchesters made their first raid – on Brest– on 24 February 1941.


On board Nene-powered Lancastrian III VH742.Chadwick is at the right with CaptainShepherd of Rolls-Royce in the pilot’s seat, during the record flight on 18 November 1946.

HM King George VI and Queen Elizabethduring a visit to Avro at Yeadon on 26March 1941. Chadwick is at the right withthe Queen and Ted Fielding. The Kingstands with Roy Dobson, Sam Brown andHartley Shawcross.

LANCASTER AND LINCOLNBefore the Manchester had flown Chadwickhad already designed a four-engined versionand this first flew on 9 January 1941 as theManchester III (BT308) – later renamedLancaster. Much has been written about theLancaster and details are not required here,except to note that AOC RAF BomberCommand ACM Arthur Harris singled outthe Lancaster as a major contribution towinning the war. He wrote: ‘Roy Chadwick’sLancaster was indeed a shining sword placedthrough his genius in the hands of ourLancaster aircrews; a sword wielded withsuch effect as to become a major contributionto the final success of our arms.’

It was Chadwick’s ability and skill indesign that made the Lancaster an easyaeroplane to manufacture in quantity. Pilotsliked it and found it easy to fly; the late LordCheshire VC told this writer that his favouriteaircraft next to the Mosquito was theLancaster. “It was delightful and highlyresponsive for a large heavy bomber. It wastough and could carry an enormous bombload in that undivided bomb bay. We droppedthe mighty 10-tonner from a Lanc with thebomb bay cut away to accommodate thebomb. I remember when I took over six-one-seven I thought I knew all about low-flying ina Lancaster and took them on a trainingflight. I then saw ‘Mick’ Martin [later ACMSir Harold Martin] flying beneath me andbelow the tree line in a Lancaster. I turnedover low-flying training to ‘Mick’ after that!”Cheshire’s admiration for the Lancaster isechoed by all that flew the type. �

Above: The Avro Manchester enteredservice with 207 Squadron (depicted) inNovember 1940. It was plagued withengine problems and the type waswithdrawn from service after a raid onBremen on the night of 25/26 June 1942.

After themaiden flight of the Tudor on 1May 1946 atWoodford. Left to right: Roy Chadwick,MrWilmot, Sir Roy Dobson,Sir Thomas Sopwith,ArthurWoodburnMP and unidentified.

Roy Chadwick’s four-engined Avro Lancaster proved to be a war-winning design, becoming the mainstay of Bomber Command from1942 and seeing action right through to VE Day. This is the Battle ofBritain Memorial Flight’s Mk.I PA474 which is still maintained inairworthy condition at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. Jarrod Cotter

Chadwick continued to improve theLancaster and to gain first-hand knowledge ofits operational performance he visitedsquadrons using the type and talked with pilotson how the aircraft could be bettered. This wassomething that Chadwick did through his life –talking to people who used the products andalways trying to improve on them.

Another method of gauging his designs wasto fly them or fly in them. After his crash herarely piloted solo, but he spent much timeaboard Avro aircraft on test flights, many withtest pilots Sidney ‘Bill’ Thorn and ‘Sam’ Brown.Once the Lancaster was in production andservice, Chadwick turned his attention to atransport variant that would have the range ofthe bomber. He took the Lancaster mainplanes,tail unit, engines and undercarriage andmarried them to a new fuselage. The result wasthe Avro 685 York, which first flew just fivemonths after the drawings were completed. On5 July 1942 the prototype York took off fromRingway. As the Lancaster had priority, theYork was not immediately put into quantityproduction and only a few entered RAF service– mainly as VIP transports – during the war. Itwas in the years after 1945 that they carved outtheir place in history with RAF TransportCommand, especially during the Berlin Air Liftof 1948-1949.

While the Lancaster was ideal for long-range bombing missions to Germany, it wasnot suitable for a similar task in the Far East.

To address this the Air Ministry begandiscussions with Chadwick late in 1942. InDecember that year Chadwick and his designstaff began work on the 694 Lancaster IV andproposed using some 80% of the existingLancaster structure. This would include thefront and middle fuselage sections and thewing centre-section. The outer wing-sectionswere enlarged and the rear fuselagelengthened. Three prototypes were orderedbut work was held up due to increasedLancaster production; the prototype LancasterIV – now called Lincoln – flew for the firsttime on 9 June 1944. However, the type didnot enter RAF service until August 1945 andsaw no action during the war, although theywere used as bombers in Malaya and Kenyaduring the conflicts of the 1950s.

Roy Chadwick had not ceased workingthroughout the war years; he modified theLancaster into the passenger-carryingLancastrian and started work on the AvroTudor airliner for post-war operations. Thiswas to be the first Avro aircraft with apressurised passenger cabin, so there weremany quite different problems to beaddressed. Chadwick, in typical style, madeseveral flights on the prototype Tudorgathering data for the production version andalso the proposed larger model to be knownas the Tudor II, which used some designdetails from the Lincoln. Also, work was inhand with a maritime aircraft that made use of


Roy Chadwick explains the Lancasterdesign to a young cadet. Chadwickencouraged young people with aninterest in aeronautics, just as AV Roehad encouraged him.

Roy Chadwick was awarded the CBEand Guy Gibson (right) the VC atBuckingham Palace after the famousDams Raid of May 1943.

Avro Lincoln – designed by Chadwick as along-range bomber for the war in the Far East.

Lincoln technology; this would later appear asthe Avro Shackleton.

JET POWERNot neglected by Chadwick and Avro were thegas-turbine engines which were being testedon several aircraft including the Lancaster.Chadwick was on board Lancastrian III VH742which had two Rolls-Royce Nene jet engines inplace of the outboard Merlins. In a letter to hisdaughter, Rosemary, dated Sunday 24November 1946, Chadwick wrote: ‘I flew toParis last Monday in the Lancastrian Nene jetpropelled airliner and was proud to be thedesigner for the first jet propelled airliner to flybetween the two countries.’ What Chadwickmodestly left out was the fact that VH742 set anew record for the flight from London to LeBourget on 18 November of 50 minutes at263mph using the Nenes alone. When theyflew back on the 22nd a minute was shaved offto set another record.

Testing continued with the Tudor II duringearly 1947 and Chadwick followed progresswhile he busied himself with designs for aDelta bomber to be powered by four gas-turbine engines to Air Ministry SpecificationB35/46 that had been issued on 7 January. RoyChadwick’s elder daughter, Margaret Dove,told the writer that her father was createdTechnical Director while Stuart Davies wasmade Chief Designer when Avro closed Yeadonand concentrated work at Chadderton. �

Avro Vulcan 59

Avro Lancastrian III VH742 with its Rolls-Royce Merlins shut down and flying onRolls-Royce Nene turbojet power alone. This aircraft set a speed record betweenLondon and Paris in November 1946.

Prototype Avro Tudor II G-AGSU getting airborne from Woodford on a test flight.

The wrecked Tudor II as it ended up with its nose broken off and submerged in alarge pond. The break may be seen clearly.

She remembered that the Delta wing bomberdesigns were submitted to the Air Ministry inMay 1947, just four months after the originalrequest. Stuart Davies, who took over theAvro Type 698 (later Vulcan) designs wrote:‘It was the last project with which RoyChadwick was intimately concerned. It had apeculiar fascination for him, because he hadan enthusiasm for the all-wing transport asthe ultimate in aerodynamic and structuralefficiency.’ Chadwick also designed a Delta-winged airliner, decades before Concorde.

FINAL FLIGHTHowever, the prototype Tudor II (G-AGSU)was giving trouble at cruising speed, soChadwick decided to investigate for himself.The main complaint was that the airframevibrated slightly and it was thought to besomething simple that could be solvedquickly. On Saturday 23 August 1947, RoyChadwick, together with Chief Test Pilot, BillThorn, Chief of Flight Test Section, DavidWilson, Radio Operator, Joseph Webster,Flight Engineer, Edward Talbot and StuartDavies climbed aboard the Tudor atWoodford airfield for a routine test flight.Thorn started the engines and prepared fortake-off; he taxied out and at 11.58am theTudor lifted off the runway.

The undercarriage was still down and theaircraft had gone about 200 yards whensuddenly it was seen, by those on the ground,to bank to starboard. There was no heightand the starboard wing touched the ground.It remained in contact and rubbed alongtaking the tip off, then when the wing passedthrough a hedge the starboard aileron wasripped off. Eye-witnesses to the incidentremember that the engines increased inpower as Thorn tried to pull the aircraft up,there was nothing he could do and then hecut the engines. The Tudor hit the ground,ploughed through two fields, struck sometrees and finally came to rest with the frontsection submerged in a pond. Later it wasdiscovered that the aileron controls had beenreversed the night before when they hadbeen disconnected to gain access to thefuselage for a small modification. There wasnothing Thorn could have done to save theTudor. Chadwick, Thorn, Wilson andWebster were killed; Davies and Talbot werebadly injured but survived.

At the inquest held at Stockport on 26August, Stuart Davies told of the last momentof the Tudor. He was in the rear of thefuselage and when it had finally stopped hewas thrown to the floor and although hurtand dazed he was able to climb out of a holeon the starboard side of the aircraft. What hesaw was that the front section of the Tudorhad broken off. A Mr Hughes, who lived nearthe airfield, saw the incident and told theinquest that the aircraft behaved like a crabas it lost height with the port wing lifting allthe time almost to the vertical. Dr MacGillgave the medical report and stated thatChadwick had suffered a fractured skull andpelvis and that death would have beeninstantaneous. Thorn and Wilson weredrowned; they were badly injured but would


Chadwick developed the Delta-wing bomber further and thislater sketch shows detail of the landing gear and the bomb.

Roy Chadwick’s initial sketch for the Delta-winged aircraft that would lead to the Vulcan.

have survived if the nose had not beensubmerged in the pond.

Margaret Dove wrote to me: ‘My fatherwas making his way back from the flight deckwhen the break occurred. So I have alwaysthought that he may have received themassive fracture to his skull at that momentas the nose of the Tudor broke off and sankinto the pond. Mr Webster was found on theground immediately below the point of thebreak and taken to Stockport Infirmary.’

A verdict of ‘death by misadventure’ wasreturned and that the crash was ‘no fault ofthe crew.’ Chadwick was just 54 years old andleft behind a widow and two daughters. Hisname may not be familiar today, but hisdesigns are still in evidence. The late SirGeorge Edwards, who worked with Chadwicktold the writer: “Chadwick was always able tosee and understand that the way you win warsis to have a hell of a lot of something that is abit better than a handful of somethingspectacularly clever. I was always impressedby the way he designed the Lancaster so thatsmall sections of it could be built easily andquickly. To my mind, Roy Chadwick has neverbeen given the credit he deserved.”

Roy Dobson, who was Managing Directorof Avro and had known Chadwick for manyyears, and indeed was due to join the crew onthe Tudor that fateful day, said on hearing ofhis old friend’s death: “He had no hobbiesexcept that of aircraft, and they filled hiswaking thoughts. From a personal point ofview I have lost an old and trusted friend andcolleague, who stuck with me through thickand thin in the building up of the company[Avro], for which we both lived. Had he beenspared a few more years, his name wouldhave been blazoned forth as a man who hadagain jumped ahead of modern thought in hisline. The country, as well as the company, haslost, in my view, someone quiteirreplaceable.” �

The author would like to express his gratitudeto the late Mrs Margaret Dove for informationand for the use of some family photographs.

Avro Vulcan 61

Avro’s mighty Delta-wingedV-bomber in its earliest form; Vulcanprototype VX770. Time Line Images

Long before Concorde, Chadwick had designed a Delta-wing airliner based on the sketches of the proposed bomber.

Avro Vulcan 63

Aviation Classics

FREEUK & EIREPOSTAGE

Calendar 2011

To order call 01507 529529or visitwww.theheritagestore.com

£7.99Aviation Classics 2011

*Please note that additional postage prices apply to Europe and ROW orders. For more information,visit our website or call the customer services team via the contact details specified.

Aviation Classics12 specially selected images have been beautifully collated in this 2011calendar from Aviation Classics, focusing on some of the world’s greatestaircraft, including The P-51 Mustang and Avro Lancaster.

GREATGIFTIDEA


RAF ScamptonThe Vulcan YearsMartyn Chorlton highlights the mighty V-bomber’s time at the famous Lincolnshire base.

By the early 1950s, RAFScampton was an all jet bomberstation with only the remnantsof the Avro Lincoln ReserveHolding Unit revealing the

Bomber Command of the past.By January 1953, the first of four English

Electric Canberra B2 squadrons had re-formed at the airfield. This was in keepingwith the widespread expansion of the typethroughout the RAF. By September 1953, 10,18, 21 and 27 Squadrons operatedharmoniously as the Scampton Wing untilthe station was designated for re-development into one of 10 new V-bomberairfields. Three of the Canberra squadronsleft in May 1955, while 21 Squadron made the

short journey to Waddington on 1 June 1955.The same day Scampton was closed andreduced to Care and Maintenance status.

Scampton was about to enter its fourthincarnation since it was established in 1917. Ithad been developed into a pre-war expansionairfield in 1936 and further work followed in1943/44, when three concrete runways werelaid. The main runway, at 2000 yards, was morethan adequate for the Canberra, butaccommodating an Avro Vulcan would entail anextension of just under 3000 yards. This workwould radically change the local landscape,most significantly at the north-eastern end ofthe main runway which originally butted up tothe Roman road of Ermine Street. The solutionwas simple; divert the A15 around the end of

the runway in a graceful curve, which is exactlywhat was done. Two other minor roads wereclosed and a third was diverted towards thenew section of the A15.

Also added were 22 V-bomber dispersals,the wartime pan-handle being inadequate for amodern bomber. Several of the new dispersalswere positioned on the north-western side ofthe airfield and this resulted in one of thesubsidiary runways being virtually deleted. Tothe south, additional technical buildings wereconstructed and the domestic site was enlargedto accommodate a large married quarterspatch which was distinctly lacking during theCanberra years. The airfield now occupied920 acres of Lincolnshire compared to a mere287 during its World War One days. �

Line-up of anti-flash whiteVulcan B2s of 83 Squadron at

Scampton.All via author

‘DAM BUSTERS’ RETURNIn April 1958, the airfield was once againdeclared operational and, on 1 May, 617Squadron was re-formed at its birthplace,equipped with the Avro Vulcan B1A. The firstVulcan to arrive at Scampton was XH482,which was delivered only days before the re-formation of its squadron. The B1A was to bea short-lived mark for the ‘Dam Buster’squadron which began to re-equip with themore powerful Vulcan B2 in September 1961.They were joined, on 10 October 1960, by 83Squadron which had been reduced to a cadreat Waddington and was in the process of re-equipping with the Vulcan B2. Re-establishedat Scampton, the squadron began to receiveits new Vulcans from December onwards.The new Scampton Wing was completed on1 April 1961 when 27 Squadron returned toScampton to re-form with the Vulcan B2.

No.617 Squadron made RAF history whenit became involved in the first non-stop flightfrom Great Britain to Australia. BorrowingVulcan B1A XH481 from 101 Squadron,because of its superb reliability, the flightbegan from Scampton at 11:36 on 20 June1961, flown by Squadron Leader M Beavis.The trip would need three air-to-air refuellings,all by Vickers Valiant tankers, the first takingplace over Cyprus. Taking just 12 minutes, theVulcan took on 5000 gallons a time, repeatingthe process over Karachi and finally overSingapore. At 04:39, the clock was stopped asthe Vulcan passed over the control tower atRAAF Richmond. The 11,500 mile journey hadtaken just 20 hours and 3 minutes, achievingan average speed of 574mph. While this wasnot a world record of any description, it was arecord for the Vulcan that would never bebroken. Even the ‘Black Buck’ operation wasapproximately 3000 miles shorter.

The first of only a handful of incidentsinvolving the Vulcan at Scampton took placeon 3 July 1958. Vulcan B1 XH497, with Flight


The first Vulcan to arriveat Scampton was XH482in April 1958, seen here

on its arrival touchdown.

Her Majesty the Queen’s visit on 10 June 1963 included an impressive Vulcanscramble on the itinerary.

ImpressiveV-Force line-up at Scampton during the visit of General P Stehlin on 31 July1961,withVulcans B2s from 617 Squadron nearest the camera andVictors at the far end.

Lieutenant G Smeaton at the controls, begana normal take-off but as the bomber rotated,the nose wheels fell away back towards therunway. Smeaton continued to climb out asnormal and after burning off sufficient fuelfor landing, ordered the rear aircrew to baleout. Sadly, the navigator plotter, FlightLieutenant DG Blackwell’s parachute failed toopen and he fell to his death. Meanwhile,Smeaton and his co-pilot, Flying Officer RHWood brought the bomber back down safelyon Scampton’s main runway, with littlefurther damage caused.

An equally dramatic incident occurredseveral years later when Vulcan B2 XM576 of27 Squadron got into difficulties during anasymmetric overshoot on 25 May 1965.Control was lost by Flight Lieutenant DVernon, and the bomber was sent across theairfield directly towards the control tower.The giant bomber came to an abrupt haltwith its nose buried in the building andseveral cars in the car park being reduced toscrap. All on board escaped injury.

BLUE STEELScampton was also chosen to introduce theAvro/Hawker Siddeley Dynamics Blue Steelto the RAF and this involved further technicalbuildings, including a Type T2 hangar, beingbuilt north of the hangar line on the easternside of the airfield. The new 1.1 mega tonweapon not only needed special handling, butalso a new unit to conduct the trials. On 31October 1961, No.4 Joint Services Trials Unit(JSTU) (UK Element) arrived, only to beredesignated as 18 JSTU from 1 December.Under the command of Wing CommanderTAJ Stocker, the first Blue Steel training rounddid not arrive until 6 February 1961, followeda few months later by the real thing. �

Avro Vulcan 67

A rare selection of three photos showingBlue Steel servicing at Scampton.

By this time, a parallel programme wastaking place to convert a batch of Vulcan B2sto Blue Steel standard which mainly involvedthe modification of the main spar and bombbay to carry the weapon. No.18 JSTU waslater disbanded in August 1964 by which timethe responsibility for the nuclear weapon hadpassed to a new Missile Squadron under thecontrol of Scampton’s Technical Wing. On 31December 1970, Blue Steel was retired andall responsibility for the country’s nucleardeterrent passed to the Royal Navy under thename of Trident.

The 1960s saw Scampton’s Vulcansinvolved in a whole host of NATO exercisescombined with detachments all over theworld. High-level visits from the Queen toMPs with various senior officers in betweenwere regular and, on each occasion, theVulcans were presented and displayedimmaculately for the distinguished guests.However, it was only a matter of time beforethese days of V-bombers flexing theirmuscles would come to an end and the firststage was to be held at Scampton.

BOMBER COMMAND DISBANDSHaving been formed on 14 July 1936, BomberCommand was being disbanded to beincorporated in Strike Command and thefocal point of this event was to be Scampton.A large parade took place and an impressiveflypast was performed by several Vulcans,closely escorted by English ElectricLightnings representing Fighter Commandwhich was also being disbanded into Strike.

The flypast took place on 29 April 1968 as theflag was lowered.

Life continued as it had before forScampton; the only immediate changefollowing the Strike Command takeoverwas the disbandment of 83 Squadron on31 August 1968. This gap was filled thefollowing year when 230 OCU returned toScampton from Finningley, Yorkshire, on 8December 1969. It was originally at Scamptonin 1949 when it helped to introduce theLincoln to the RAF, but this time it wasequipped with the Vulcan B2.

The OCU was tasked with providingflying and ground training for Vulcancrews, both for Strike Command and theNear East Air Force. By 1972, the OCUexpanded further when the StrikeCommand Bombing School brought itsHandley Page Hastings from Lindholme toprovide radar training for the Vulcannavigators. Later known as the HastingsRadar Flight, it was absorbed into 230 OCUon 1 January 1974, becoming the last RAFunit to operate the big piston engine tail-dragger until they were withdrawn on 30June 1977, once again leaving Scampton as anall-Vulcan station.

Around the same time as the arrival of theOCU, the Bombing and Navigation SystemsDevelopment Squadron moved in fromWittering. They may have operated theVulcan by drawing an aircraft from one of theoperational squadrons as they needed it; butby 1 December 1971, their job was obviouslydone as the unit was disbanded.

It was all change for 27 Squadron as wellwhen, on 29 March 1972, the unit wasdisbanded only to be re-formed at Scamptonwith a different mark of Vulcan in a new roleon 1 November 1973. Their new mounts werethe Vulcan B2(MRR) [Maritime RadarReconnaissance] which was fitted withdifferent avionics and sensors compared to astandard B2.

Following the Turkish invasion ofNorthern Cyprus in 1974, it was decided thatAkrotiri was not the place to keep a VulcanWing. So, on 16 January 1975, Scamptongained another Vulcan unit in the shape of 35Squadron which had been flying the B2 sinceDecember 1962.

VULCAN DRAWDOWN BEGINSWhen the station entered the 1980s and withthe forthcoming introduction of the newPanavia Tornado, the days of the Vulcanappeared to have been numbered. Thedrawdown of the force began at Scamptonwith the disbandment of 230 OCU, which hadalready been gradually running down for


On 29 April 1968, Scampton witnessed a flypast by twoVulcans and four Lightningsto mark the stand down of Bomber Command.

The rundown of the Vulcan fleet had beenin the planning stages since 1979 and, at thesame time, Scampton’s future was beingshaped. The forthcoming Tornado strikesquadrons were being planned for severalairfields in East Anglia, including Marham. Atthe time, the Victor tanker fleet was still alarge organisation and it was thought thatMarham could not cope with the new bomberand two squadrons of tankers. The originalplan was for the Victors to move to Scampton,but in 1981 there was a rethink because of thespiralling costs involved in moving two largetanker squadrons. This put the idea on theback burner, leaving Scampton with anuncertain future. With closure looming, theairfield was transferred from Strike to RAFSupport Command, becoming the home ofthe Central Flying School from 1983.

The story of Scampton and the Vulcan wasnot completely over though, as a pair of K2sof 50 Squadron spent a couple of weeks onthe airfield while the runway at Waddingtonwas resurfaced. It was a brief glimpse of thepast, witnessed by very few. �

Avro Vulcan 69

many months, on 31 August 1981. No.617Squadron was next, when following a paradeon 22 December 1981, the unit wasdisbanded on 1 January 1982. Exactly oneyear later, the squadron was re-formed withthe Tornado GR1 at Marham, Norfolk.

No.35 Squadron’s disbandment followedon 1 March 1982, with 27 Squadron on the31st of that month bringing an end to theVulcan era at RAF Scampton.

On the other side of Lincoln, theWaddington Wing had been going throughthe same process but thanks to the Falklandsconflict, their withdrawal was temporarilypostponed until the end of the year.

Some of Scampton’s Vulcans lived on for afew more months with the Waddington Wing,but the vast majority were scrapped. Somewere chopped on site while others wereflown to St Athan or other airfields for battledamage repair training. One aircraft, B2XL318 of 617 Squadron, was dismantled andtaken by road to the RAF Museum atHendon, where it is still on display within theBomber Command Hall today.

Cover of the commemorative bookletproduced for the stand down ofBomber Command at RAF Scampton.

Aerial view showing Vulcan B2sparked at their dispersals in frontof Scampton’s hangars 3 and 4.

Naturally the Vulcan will alwaysbe associated with being abomber, but there were twoother roles that the aircraftalso performed, one of which

was in long range maritime reconnaissance.It was a combination of decisions,disbandments and general RAF manoeuvringthat resulted in a handful of these Cold Warbombers being reincarnated into a morepassive, but equally important task.

No.543 Squadron, which had been in thephotographic reconnaissance role since itsformation at RAF Benson in 1942, had beenoperating the Handley Page Victor B2(SR)since January 1966. By the early 1970s, theiraircraft were being seen as more useful in thetanker role and this, combined with the arrivalof Polaris, also reduced the need for the long-range Vulcan bomber. A natural void was nowcreated where several surplus Vulcans couldbe modified to continue the role of the VictorSR2 without disrupting the RAF’s long-rangestrategic reconnaissance role.

The first of just nine airframes arrived atHawker Siddeley Aviation, Bitteswell, inLeicestershire on 20 October 1971, forconversion to the new B2(MRR) (MaritimeRadar Reconnaissance) standard. XH560, aB2 which first entered service with 230 OCUin October 1960, was to be the first aircraft tobe subtly converted.

At first, there was only one main externaldifference between the MRR and thestandard B2. The ARI 5959 TFR (TerrainFollowing Radar) was removed from the noseleaving it without the familiar ‘thimble’ fairingwhich had been introduced into the B2 fleetfrom 1966. Internally, the main modificationsrevolved around the Navigator Radar’sposition although his standard H2S Mk.9Aradar was retained. However, a LORAN Clong-range radio navigation system was alsofitted which could operate up to a range of1200 miles and was perfect for picking upmaritime targets. The standard R88 strikecamera was modified for aerialreconnaissance and a ‘high street’ SLR wasalso carried for any additional photographyas and when it was needed.

Delta overthe OceanThe Vulcan B2(MRR)Martyn Chorlton describes the oftenoverlooked role of the mighty V-bomber.

To help protect the airframes againstthe corrosive sea spray, the smallB2(MRR) fleet was finished in gloss

paint as noticeable here shining onXH560. Time Line Images

XH534 of 27 Squadron flying at lowlevel over the sea while on maritimepatrol duties. Time Line Images

XH558 was one of the fewVulcans converted to B2(MRR)configuration. Luigino Caliaro

As the MRR evolved in service, furthermodifications included the fitting of the ARI18228 RWR in a rectangular box fairing ontop of the fin. The new RWR wasincorporated as part of a refit programme forthe whole Vulcan fleet, which ran from 1975to 1981, once again carried out by HAS atBitteswell. Five MRR aircraft were also giventhe additional capability of air sampling,which was colloquially known as ‘sniffing’.New hardpoints were manufactured outsidethe Skybolt pylons under each wing to carrya converted Sea Vixen drop-tank. These wereused whenever the Chinese, French or theUSSR carried out an above-ground nucleartest, which were still common during themid-1970s. After using the under-wing pod totake air samples, the particles were thenpassed on to the men in white coats atAldermaston for analysis to determine theyield of the explosion.

XH560 was joined by XH563 at Bitteswellin the same month, while XH537 and XH534followed in February and April 1972respectively. By this time 27 Squadron atScampton had disbanded on 29 March 1972,but on 1 November 1973 had reformed for itsnew role under the control of SACLANT(Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic).No.543 Squadron was already winding down,but continued its role until it finallysuccumbed on 24 May 1974. On the day of itsformation 27 Squadron only had XH534 onstrength, which had been at Scampton sinceAugust 1972. The lone Vulcan was joined by

XH563 on 31 December 1973 followed byXH560 on 19 March 1974. The squadron’sinitial aircraft strength was completed whenXH537 joined the unit on 17 June followed byXH558 on 18 September 1974.

MARITIME FLYINGThe keen eyed would also have spottedanother external tell-tale sign that set theMRR apart from the B2. The underside ofthe small MRR fleet was painted in light seagrey and the whole aircraft was finished ingloss paint to help protect the airframeagainst corrosive sea spray. The very natureof the squadron’s tasking meant that theaircraft would spend anything up to fivehours over the sea on its search forinteresting maritime targets.

One of these tasks was OperationTapestry which began in February 1977. Theremit for this operation was the protectionand monitoring of all of the UnitedKingdom’s offshore oil rig and pipelineinstallations and while this mainly involvedthe RAF’s Nimrod units, 27 Squadron playedits part in Tapestry until it was disbanded.

However, it was the continuous Sovietnaval threat that occupied the majority of thesquadron’s time. In just two high-level sortiesof five hours each, the Vulcan MRR NavigatorPlotter could identify every single vessel inthe Norwegian Sea using his H2S screen.Each vessel was then identified as small,medium or large; the latter category wouldinclude the even larger Soviet capital ships

which always received special attention fromthe RAF. This would normally be carried outby a Nimrod which had received theinformation via the Vulcan’s AEO as to wherethe large target was.

The Norwegian Sea was only a smallportion of the MRR’s operating territory whichstretched from the North Cape to theMediterranean on the hunt for Soviet shipping.

From November 1976 to April 1977, 27Squadron gained a further four VulcanMRRs, all intriguingly via 9, 35 and 44Squadrons which is where they weredelivered to after conversion by HSA. Thesquadron’s peak strength of nine aircraft wasto be shortlived, with XH534 being the first tobe withdrawn to St Athan on 8 April 1978. Aperiod of stability followed, but by 1979 it wasclear that the future of the Vulcan as a wholewas not good.

In April 1981, as if pre-empting their owndisbandment, two aircraft, XJ823 and XJ825,were transferred to 35 Squadron and XH534was withdrawn to St Athan. The squadron waseventually disbanded on 31 March 1982 andthe same day, XH563 and XJ780 werewithdrawn from service. This still left threeaircraft at Scampton, the first, XJ782, leavingfor 101 Squadron on 22 May. XH560 left forWoodford on 5 July for conversion to K2standard, leaving XH558 to languish on itsown. It was not until 13 October 1982 thatXH558 made the short hop to Waddington tojoin 44 Squadron, bringing to an end the RAF’sassociation with the Vulcan B2(MRR). �

Avro Vulcan 71

AVulcan B2(MRR) from 27Squadron on patrol over theNorth Sea passes an oil rig.

Rolling! Gary R Brown’s photographscapture two Vulcans that mayno longer fly, but which havebeen maintained in operationalcondition and so been capableof carrying out fast taxi runsfor some years.

Above: XM655 is based at WellesbourneMountford,Warwickshire, and cared forby the 655 Maintenance and PreservationSociety. It arrived at the site in February1984 and was soon placed on the civilregister as G-VULC,with hopes high tokeep it airworthy under an organisationcalled theVulcan Memorial Flight.However, its owner subsequently boughtXL426 which offered a better potentialbasis for returning aVulcan to flight incivilian hands, so XM655 sat at the airfieldexposed to the elements for many years.

After having passed into newownership, noticing that theV-bomberwas likely going to be scrapped ifsomething wasn’t done, a group ofenthusiasts including former V-Forceground crew personnel (MaPS)approached the owners during the late1990s and offered to care for the aircrafton a voluntary basis. This was accepted

and XM655 was brought back intoserviceable order to such a highstandard that the jet began to carry outan annual fast taxi run. During 2007, thisaircraft’s operational status was alsoused to give XH558’s aircrew currencytraining prior to their first flight on 18October that year.

Wellesbourne’s runway is relatively shortso theVulcan is limited to 80 knots, andbeing run light and with four powerfulOlympus 301s, that speed is reached in amatter of seconds – and is sufficient forthe nose wheel to be briefly lifted!

Below: XL426 now resides at SouthendAirport in Essex, and is a particularlywell-known example of its breed havingbeen the founder member of the RAF’sVulcan Display Flight (prior to XH558).This aircraft arrived at Southend inDecember 1986 and was placed on the

British civil register as G-VJET, with hopesagain high to get a Vulcan flying incivilian ownership under the VulcanMemorial Flight banner. Again this didn’thappen and XL426 languished on theairfield in similar vein to XM655.

Fortunately a deal was struckbetween its owner and the airportmanagement and in 1993 the VulcanRestoration Trust was formed from theVMF to look after the V-bomber. It wasreturned to operational status and itsfirst fast taxi run at Southend occurred in1997. XL426 then carried out regular fasttaxi runs during the following years, butafter its appearance at the open day inAugust 2006 the VRT withdrew it fromservice to carry out a programme of in-depth and essential restoration workover several years. The VRT also helpedwith the return to flight of XH558, this timeby donating items from its stores.

Avro Vulcan 73

• Regular open cockpit opportunities • Ground runs of the Rover APU

• Can you help research XM594’s history? – Log Book entries featuringthe aircraft are urgently needed

NEWARKAIRMUSEUM

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FORTHE LATEST INFORMATION

Homeof XM594

www.newarkairmuseum.orgNewark Air Museum, Drove Lane, Winthorpe, Newark, Notts, NG24 2NYTelephone: 01636 707170 Email: [email protected]

Registered Charity No. 256434.

ORDERS / ENQUIRIESHERITAGE AVIATION MODELS LTD.107 Highgate, Cleethorpes, N.E. Lincs. DN35 8PA UK.

Tel. 01472 321890

E-MAIL. [email protected]

KIT & DIE-CAST COLLECTIONS LARGE AND SMALLALWAYS WANTED, GIVE US A CALL 01472 321890

LIMITED EDITION OFLIMITED EDITION OF25 VULCAN KTS25 VULCAN KTS

1:48 S.A.1:48 S.A.BULLDOG &BULLDOG &

1:48 JET1:48 JETPROVOST T3PROVOST T3

NOWNOWAVAILABLEAVAILABLE

Producing both complete and conversion resin kits for the modeller ina variety of scales. Heritage Aviation produces quality kits at

affordable prices.

Made by enthusiasts for enthusiasts our kits need not put off the lessexperienced modeller, resin parts are easily fixed using superglue or

araldite type adhesives, they’re easily sanded and very robustwhen completed.

We try to model the oddball, weird and downrightwonderful aircraft often overlooked by the larger

manufacturers, aiming to fill in the missing gaps in themarket. We’re constantly looking at and for new

ventures, so if you’ve made a conversion / kit andwould like to see it produced or just have a wish list of

kits you’d like to see made, then drop us a line.

SECONDHAND KITS ALSO SOLD -COLLECTIONS BOUGHT

www.heritageaviationmodelsltd.com

Online shopwww.picturethisgallery.co.uk

FREE P&P IN UK

Avro Vulcan B2 XH558‘The Delta Lady’by Brian FareONLY £11.75 FREE P&P

‘The Battle ofBritain’by Robert TaylorLimited EditionPrint£200 FREE P&P

� Gallery & Bespoke Framing� Family run business, est. 2001� Fine Art Trade Guild Members

�Wide range of prints by leading Aviation Artists available to suit all price ranges�Authorised Military Gallery dealer selling Limited Edition Prints signed by WWII

veterans. Some sold out editions still available�Online Shop also offers many other picture styles – Figurative, Countryside,

Wildlife, Contemporary, Sporting etc. Visit our online shop to see full range.�Picture Framing locally – Derby, Leicester, Nottingham areas.

ORDER ONLINE OR BY TELEPHONE: 01509 550550 –CONTACT CAROL OR GEOFF SEWELL - ‘We Are Here To Help’Gallery situated at: 3A Dragwell, Kegworth, Derby DE74 2EL

10% OFF COUPON CAN BE USED ON ALL PRINTS ORDERED INDECEMBER & JANUARY QUOTE: – AVC55012


Inside the VulcanAlthough a huge jet bomber some 100ft long and with a wingspan of 111ft, for the Vulcan’s five-mancrew there was relatively little room within the confines of the dark cavern provided for them! Thislook around the various positions shows its layout.

MAIN INSTRUMENT PANEL (XM594)1 System warning indicators2 Mach meter3 Control surface indicator

(showing the positions of the eightelevons and the rudder)

4 Air speed indicator5 Director horizon6 Rate of climb/descent indicator

7 Auto pilot trim indicator8 Altimeter9 Beam compass10 Artificial horizon11 Engine RPM gauges (%)12 Compass13 Undercarriage selector

(covered)

14 Control column(fighter style, operates elevons)

15 Rudder pedals adjuster16 Throttle quadrant17 Air brake emergency switch18 Air brake selector switch19 Rudder pedals20 Ejection seat lower pull handle

1

2 23

4

45 56

6

7

88

9 9

1011 11

12

1314 14

15 15

16 17

18

19

19

1919

20

20

Avro Vulcan 75

Captain’s port side panel (XM594). Jarrod Cotter

Fuel panel, located centrallybetween pilots’ ejection seats(XM594). Jarrod Cotter

Co-pilot’s starboard side panel (XM594). Jarrod Cotter

Close-up of director horizon (XM594).Jarrod Cotter

Close-up of altimeter (XM594).Jarrod CotterLocated behind the throttle levers facing up are the fuel gauges (XM612).Chris Pearson


Ejection seat straps and harnesses (XM594). Jarrod Cotter Martin-Baker ejection seat top pull handle (XM594).Jarrod Cotter

Comparison photo of XH558’s military cockpit layout.François Prins

Compared to an in-service military Vulcan’s cockpit, that of the restored XH558 has been simplified and modernised. Newinstruments include a Bendix-King artificial horizon, LCD compasses and a Garmin GPS. Note that its civilian registration G-VLCNis also displayed. Luigino Caliaro

View of the layout of instruments on the higher part of the rearcrew positions (XM594). Jarrod Cotter

Avro Vulcan 77

Wide angle view of the rear crew operating compartment of XM612, with the threeseats visible. These are not ejection seats, and in an emergency the three crewwould have to escape via the entrance door.Chris Pearson

To gain access to theVulcan,crewshad to firstly climb a folding ladderattached to the access door. The rearcrew would then turn and step up totheir compartment,while the two pilotshad to climb all the way up the secondcentral ladder to reach the flight deck,then squeeze sideways onto theirejection seats (XM612).Chris Pearson

With many thanks to Howard Heeley foraccess to XM594 at the Newark AirMuseum, and to the City of NorwichAviation Museum for access to XM612.

When theVulcan B1 was designedthere was a requirement for traditionalbomb aiming, lying prone in a lowercompartment below the flight deckusing a bomb sight. For the later B2 thisposition wasn’t equipped as such, butdid offer crews with a superb vantagepoint (XM612).Chris Pearson

General view of the two navigatorstations, the Nav Radar at far left and theNav Plotter in the middle of the three rearcrew positions (XM594). Jarrod Cotter

While the Nav Plotter’s central seat faces rearwards only, the Nav Radar’s (left) andAEO’s (right) seats can be swivelled around (XM612).Chris Pearson

General view of the Air ElectronicsOfficer’s station at far right, with the NavPlotter’s position to his left (XM594).Jarrod Cotter

XM594delivery diary

Howard Heeley documents step-by-step the eventsthat led to Vulcan B2 XM594 landing at Winthorpeairfield on 7 February 1983, ready for delivery tothe Newark Air Museum. When it safely toucheddown, XM594 became the only Vulcan to be flowninto a non-licensed airfield in the UK.

XM594 caught in an atmospheric sceneat the Newark Air Museum during a

night photo shoot.All Howard Heeley–Down to Earth Promotions

In early 1982 there was much talkabout a Vulcan being acquired by theNewark Air Museum and everythinglooked settled; but the conflict in theSouth Atlantic meant that the aircraft

were kept in service and indeed some sawaction in the Falklands. After a fairly busyautumn, things looked set for an interesting1983, but on 17 December everyone’s hopestook a severe tumble with the receipt of aletter from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The main point of the letter was that theMinistry did not consider the facilities onWinthorpe airfield suitable to allow a Vulcanto land safely. In short, Newark would not beadding a Vulcan to its collection. A letter wasimmediately sent to the Ministry outliningour case, and asking why, when we hadalready received the go-ahead early in 1982,had things suddenly changed; after all, therunway hadn’t altered significantly. OverChristmas, virtually everyone seemedresigned to the inevitable, ‘No Vulcan forNewark Air Museum’, despite StuartStephenson indicating that he was willing topurchase an airframe to display there. �

1983The New Year brought new hope, when thefirst light was glimpsed at the end of whatsoon became a rapidly shortening tunnel.The national press was detailing impendingdeliveries of Vulcans to a number of otherpreservation groups, when we received atelephone call which set a new train of eventsin motion.

The RAF crew responsible for deliveringthe eight Vulcans earmarked for preservationarranged to visit Winthorpe to make aninspection of the runway. They walked therunway to review the situation and thisidentified some minor problems:• A few holes in the Tarmac surface at the

western threshold.• A set of fence posts to be removed.• Removal of the loose grit and stones that

covered most of the runway surface.• There was also the need for a 10-knot

easterly headwind for the aircraft to landinto, but if not, a 10- to 15-knot north-easterly or even a south-easterly would do,but under no circumstances would awesterly wind be acceptable.

• The problem of getting the aircraft acrossto its new home was also identified as amajor concern; so much so that the RAFeven suggested delaying the delivery untilthe summer to wait for harder ground.That having been said, they indicated that

they intended to inform MoD that they wereprepared to deliver a Vulcan to Winthorpe.From subsequent conversations with theaircrew, one of the key reasons why themuseum should get a Vulcan was their wishto keep a Vulcan in the local area for thepublic to have easy access to.

Even then we had not actually been offereda Vulcan, so everyone was still uncertain ofthe position and we only dared hope that anoffer would be received. This came in a brieftelephone call on Wednesday 12 January atabout 5pm, when the MoD indicated that theyhad changed their view and asked Stuart


Stephenson if he was still interested in buyinga Vulcan. He kindly agreed and the chequewas in the post the same evening.

This is where the fun started! Theproblems identified by the RAF were stillthere and a considerable amount of work hadto be completed. However, there was a bigunknown with the delivery date, which couldhave been any time and with minimal notice.The only thing that seemed fairly certain wasthat it would be before the end of January.

The RAF advised that once the conditionswere right, delivery would happen and whilethey hoped to give us at least a day’s notice,this could diminish to a couple of hours ifnecessary. Everyone was kept on a relativestate of alert, but all that could be done onthis aspect of the project was wait.

THURSDAY 13 JANUARYA compressor and pneumatic drill weredelivered to the airfield and members of theCOMMAC job creation scheme who wereoperating from the museum started to work atfilling in the numerous holes in the runwaywith concrete. The Agricultural Society wascontacted for formal permission to remove thefences and to undertake repairs to the runway.This was obtained and post removal at thewestern end of the runway commenced.

A surveyor from Eve Constructionarrived at 11am to assess the problem ofgetting the Vulcan to its new home. Despitethe Vulcan having a wingspan of 111ft, beingover 105ft long and weighing approximately60 tons, the surveyor advised that they couldhelp us. The distance to travel was 68 metres

An area of the Winthorpe runway withholes needed to be cemented beforethe arrival of the mighty V-bomber to thisnon-licensed airfield.

Volunteers of all ages turned out to help prepare the runway for the arrival of XM594!

A road sweeper was hired to clear the loose grit and stones that covered most ofthe runway surface after years of not being in use.

over a fairly soft-grassed field, so EveConstruction decided to lay five roads (onefor each set of wheels), each 11ft wide. Aftera lot of calculation it was found that a total ofseven rolls of their Trakway product wouldbe required.

Trakway is a specially constructedaluminium roadway and in 1983 each roll cost£10,000 to buy new. The hire charge includingdelivery and laying was quoted as £2495. Atthat time, this represented a lot of money forthe museum, but it was the only way to get aVulcan onto the dispersal pad safely. Thedecision to go ahead was given with thedelivery date set for Monday 17 January.

Details of our impending acquisition wereissued to various TV/radio stations and alsoall of the newspapers covering our area. Theambulance and fire services were bothcontacted and they agreed to assist us. Alsothe police were approached and discussionswere held with several high-ranking officersbefore they consented to close the A46during the delivery phase. The Ministry ofTransport, who also had to be contacted fortheir consent to the intended road closure,later ratified this decision. A phone call onThursday evening from Eve Constructioninformed us that they would now be startingwork the following morning.

FRIDAY 14 JANUARYThe Eve Construction team arrived with alorry containing five rolls of Trakwayaccompanied by their track-laying lorrycarrying a further two rolls. A tractor wasborrowed from the showground and this wasused to clear a large amount of soil that wasin the way of the roadway. The COMMACteam also started to take down the fencing inthe area of the eastern end of the runway.

Great care was taken in positioning theTrakway so as to give the Vulcan maximumclearance from the fences and the incinerator

building to the north of the dispersal pad,while making the angles of turns involved asshallow as possible. With only five men and atrack-laying lorry, the roads themselvesweighing over 25 tons were laid and picketedby 3.30pm.

During the late afternoon, the MoDtelephoned to inform us that they hadreceived the cheque and despite all thedoubts over the potential acquisition, theVulcan for Newark had been the first of thebatch to be paid for! Following a visit toWaddington by Stuart Stephenson, hewas advised that the serial number of theaircraft was XM594 and that the MoD hadalso sent a signal releasing the aircraft fordelivery to Winthorpe.

Throughout Thursday and Friday, muchhard work had also been undertaken tryingto contact companies for assistance withlocating a road sweeper for the runway.Several possibilities were looked into with nosuccess. One sweeper was found at a cost of£17 per hour, but this was thought to be tooexpensive. After further searching, acompany in Grantham offered a sweeper for£10 per hour (this was finally negotiated at6.30pm on the Friday evening).

SATURDAY 15 JANUARYAt 8am the sweeper started work on thewestern end of the runway. By midday it wasobvious that only half of the runway would becleared; the sweeper was only available forSaturday so more desperate measures had tobe thought up.

How about asking for volunteers? Thelocal radio stations were contacted again andasked to issue an appeal on our behalf. Inaddition, some frantic phone calls were madeto try and locate another sweeper. Eventuallythe Hemelite Block-producing companyoffered us the free use of a towed roadsweeper brush.

Avro Vulcan 81

Rolls of Trakway – a speciallyconstructed aluminium roadway –was required for the heavy Vulcan tomake the journey over the grass toreach its final destination.

SUNDAY 16 JANUARYThe sweeper was collected by tractor andbrought to the airfield in the morning. Theradio appeals for help had been a greatsuccess with over 100 volunteers andmembers turning out with brushes to helpsweep the runway.

On Saturday the road sweeper haduncovered several holes in important parts ofthe runway, so a team of members andvolunteers started mixing concrete and fillingin these critical positions. Various newspapersand radio stations covered the ‘sweep-in’ andthe whole day was a great success with anestimated 20 tons of gravel being moved offthe runway. At the end of the day it wasthought that the Vulcan could now land safelyand everyone headed for home, many withaching backs and covered in dust.

SUNDAY 23 JANUARYSquadron Leader Neil McDougall, the pilotwho was delivering the Vulcan, visited themuseum. He had come to inspect the workwe had been doing on the runway androadway to the dispersal. Much to everyone’srelief, he was completely satisfied with all ofthe work and arrangements that had beenundertaken. Now all that remained was theright weather conditions.

Waiting! Despite the fact that the requiredeasterly wind was the normal prevailing windat Winthorpe, during the winter throughoutthe rest of January we were waiting forfavourable wind and weather conditions.Long-range reports from the Met Officesuggested a suitable change in conditions byFriday 4 February.

The 4th duly arrived, but with a freshwesterly blowing, so definitely a no go!Saturday 5 February became a possibility, asthe wind was expected to veer to the north-east, but as usual the weather forecast waswrong and we still had a westerly wind. �

SUNDAY 6 FEBRUARYThis became the strong favourite as the ‘MetMen’ were convinced the wind would moveto the north-east. Such was their conviction,many museum members were notified andthey came along. The wind did veer to aheading of 020, but it unfortunately grew instrength to near gale force. This wasunacceptable, so once again the arrival waspostponed for at least 24 hours.

MONDAY 7 FEBRUARYThe wind had died down somewhat andstayed in the north-east; could this be theday? Outside it was snowing but thankfullynot settling.8.30am A call was made to Waddington tocheck on the situation. XM594 had beenscheduled to depart from Waddington at10.30am, but Waddington was completelysnowed in and the snowploughs wereworking to clear the runways. However,Squadron Leader McDougall was not atWaddington but possibly at his new postingat RAF Bawtry.9.00am Another call to Waddington Opsconfirmed the earlier information. Themuseum volunteers were now also receivingconstant enquiries about the Vulcan delivery.9.50am Heavy snow had started falling andsettling at Newark. Fortunately this onlylasted for five minutes, after which it startedto melt – still no change at Waddington!10.00am Another call to Waddington Opsconfirmed that their runway was now clearand the base had become operational. XM594was still scheduled for a 10.30am departure,albeit that there was still no crew!10.15am Squadron Leader McDougall hadarrived at Waddington and had decided tocome to Newark by road to check the runway,thus delaying the delivery. All the press, TVand radio informed of the delay. Those people

already at the airfield (over 50 cars full) weretold that if the Vulcan was coming it would beat least 12.50pm before it would arrive. Manypeople left the airfield to try and get warmand some to return to work.11.00am Squadron Leader McDougallarrived at Winthorpe and inspected therunway. A large puddle of rainwater near therunway intersection was noted as being in acritical position, which had to be removed.Other than this, everything was satisfactoryfor a landing to be attempted.11.15am Squadron Leader McDougall saidthat he was prepared to bring XM594 toWinthorpe, but because the wind was notwithin the limits set by the RAF, the decisionwas left to the Station Commander atWaddington. The only problem was that hewas visiting BAE Bitteswell by road andcould not be contacted until his arrival therewhich was not expected until 12.15pm.

Squadron Leader McDougall advised thathe would return to Waddington to prepareXM594 for flight and wait for the StationCommander’s decision. If everything wentaccording to plan and he was happy with theweather conditions, then XM594 woulddepart for Newark at 12.30pm. We were stillleft in the position of not knowing whetherthe Vulcan was coming and if it was we wouldmaybe only have 25 minutes notification.

The museum trustees talked through theoptions and decided to set everything inmotion again and apologise later if it turnedout to be a false alarm. A team of volunteerswas organised to sweep away the water onthe runway. Once this was under way,notification was made to the emergencyservices etc. A message from Waddingtonsoon confirmed that the Station Commanderhad approved the conditions at Newark andthat the Vulcan would be arriving atapproximately 12.40pm.

Once the water had been successfullyremoved, the COMMAC supervisors andworkers were gathered together and briefedon their positions for securing the entrancesto the airfield and the main show ring areanext to the runway. Other members werepositioned at the entrance to the airfield andon the taxiways to guide people to safevantage points.

The various members of the press werebriefed as to the best and safest vantagepoints to watch the landing from. A messagewas received from the Waddington OpsRoom that the arrival time would now be1.30pm. Excitement started to grow when welearnt that both the police and fire serviceshad also been independently notified of thistime change.12.50pm The ground crew arrived fromWaddington and they were briefed as to therouting and positioning of the Vulcan once onthe ground. The delay in the arrival allowedmore time for the security of the runway tobe checked. By now several hundred carshad arrived and it was decided to stop furthervehicles from entering the live section of theairfield. New arrivals were directed to theshowground. Yet another message arrivedadvising that the Vulcan would now beoverhead the field at 1.15pm, the arrivalbeing brought forward because of worseningweather conditions at Waddington.1.10pm Just enough time for another checkof the arrangements around the airfield.

Everything was OK!1.15pm The noise of jet engines could beheard and hundreds of eyes scanned the sky.There was considerable cloud cover with thebase around 1300ft. Suddenly XM594appeared to the south of the airfield in asmall gap in the clouds at around 2330ft andimmediately disappeared behind the clouds.A descending turn to the right brought her

XM594 arrives overheadWinthorpe airfield.

into view again. Continuing the descent andturn, Neil McDougall positioned XM594 for asurveillance approach across the runway.

Levelling out at approximately 200ft, heperformed a wheels-up pass over the airfield.Halfway down the runway he opened thethrottles and instigated a left turn climbing to1000ft – the roar of the engines completelydrowned out the clicking of hundreds ofcameras. A left turn, over Winthorpe villageand the aircraft was downwind. Theundercarriage was lowered as she turned onto finals; everyone watched spellbound, downto 100ft and then the throttles were openedagain for an overshoot. This was not due toany problems, but was just for the crowd toenjoy the last few flying minutes of XM594. �

Wheels fully downready to land. The ‘ops’ board for XM594’s final flight for

delivery to the Newark Air Museum wasalso donated and quickly went on display.

Safely down, the brake chute wasdeployed to bring the hugeVulcan to asafe speed in good time on therelatively short runway.

While the Vulcan carefully made its way over the Trakway sections, a snowstormhowled around the airfield.

Nearly full power was needed to start theVulcan moving again, but she quicklytransited the Trakway section with theground crew having to run to keep up withthe aircraft. At the end of the Trakway,XM594 turned right and was skilfully parkedin her final resting place. The engines wereclosed down for the last time and the snowquickly covered her tracks on the taxiway.

In the end, the whole event was over in just30 minutes – the runway had stood up to thelanding better than anyone expected, no onewas injured and no damage was done toproperty or the aircraft. Squadron LeaderMcDougall had successfully landed the firstjet and heaviest aircraft to arrive at Winthorpe,on a runway that had not been used officiallyfor over 30 years. In so doing, XM594 becamethe only Vulcan to be delivered into a non-


TOUCH DOWNAs the aircraft once again turned downwind,many people could see the cloud thickeningfrom the north-east. Turning finals way outover the Newark Sugar Beet Factory,everyone could see the Delta wingconfiguration against the scurrying clouds.Lower and lower she dropped as everyoneheld their breath, then the V-bomber toucheddown onto the runway right at its threshold.The drogue chute was deployed andblossomed into a beautiful white halo behindthe aircraft. The Vulcan steadily pulled upand stopped after only 2300ft of runway hadbeen used.

The crowd went wild cheering andapplauding. The drogue chute was releasedand XM594 taxied slowly to the end of therunway. Almost immediately the aircraft andspectators were engulfed by snow. SquadronLeader McDougall had just beaten a blizzardto the field. He later said the snow hadstarted as he departed from Waddington andhe had literally raced it to Newark. This wasthe reason for not displaying the aircraft overthe field for longer. His timing and judgmenthad been impeccable and we had a lot tothank him for.

The ground crew soon connected theircommunication systems to the aircraft anddirected the steering from under the aircraft.Everything was proceeding correctly whenthe Vulcan stopped as it turned on to theTrakway. A very slight misjudgment had putthe port main wheel bogie on track for a heapof soil, just to the edge of the taxiway.

Five shovels were quickly found and abouteight volunteers took turns to shovel the soilaway. The noise from the engines above wasbeyond description and it was with greatrelief when the volunteers finally cleared thepath for the wheels.

licensed airfield in the UK. Around 7000 to8000ft is the normal runway length for aVulcan to land on, with 6000ft beingconsidered short. Pilots also normallyrequired special instruction on short fieldlandings before being allowed to makesuch arrivals.

The aircraft was officially handed to StuartStephenson with dozens of photographersand autograph hunters in attendance torecord and mark the handover. To honourthe occasion, a special ‘thank you’ party washeld at the Lord Nelson public house inWinthorpe village on Friday 11 February. Tothis, the crew and their wives were invitedalong with many of the people andorganisations that had contributed equipmentand assistance in the preparations for theVulcan to arrive at Newark Air Museum. �

The aircrew who flew theVulcan toWinthorpe pose with its new owners. Stuart Stephenson is standing in front of the crew access door.

After a great deal of effort,Newark Air Museum’s new exhibit for 1983 was finally in place.

Avro Vulcan 85

TRIBUTE TO THE V-FORCE

Newark Air Museum’s first ‘Tribute to theV-Force’ event was staged in 2004 inconjunction with a team of former RAFofficers. A similar event was organisedagain in April 2010 with the stated aim ofbringing together as many former aircrewand ground support staff as possible thatflew or serviced Valiants,Victors andVulcans. The aim was achievedmagnificently with nearly 1000 peopleattending over the two days.

The two-day event was open to thepublic and it featured a lot of visitingdisplays. These included aircraft parts,equipment, clothing and photographsrelating to these iconic V-Force aircraftand the crews that operated them, plus adaily lecture on Air-to-Air Refuelling in theSouth Atlantic during Black Buck 1.

Several individual crews used the eventfor ‘mini-reunions’, including the ex-50Squadron crew who were based at RAFWaddington 30 years ago and whoformed the Vulcan Display Team; theywere photographed in front of XM594,which is displayed at Newark. The eventdrew a lot of positive feedback andpreliminary plans were quickly formulatedfor a third ‘Tribute to the V-Force’ event,which will hopefully take place in thecoming years.

As a result of being displayed at theevent, a selection of airframe panelsrecovered from a variety of V-bomberaircraft will form a central part of a newdisplay at the museum. These panels arepart of a significant private collection thathas been loaned to the museum. The mostsignificant items will be carefully weighedbefore being mounted on the hangarwalls and interpretation displays will beprepared to record the individual historiesof the panels and the aircraft theyoriginated from.

Newark Air Museum, Drove Lane,Winthorpe, Newark, Notts, NG24 2NYTel: 01636 707170Email: [email protected]: www.newarkairmuseum.org

Two Avro bombers ofdifferent generations,as the Battle of Britain

Memorial Flight’sLancaster I PA474 flies

over the NewarkAir Museum.

F ollowing almost six years ofdevastating conflict, World WarTwo was ended in August 1945when mankind demonstratedthat it had the ability to obliterate

itself when the first atomic bombs weredropped on Japan by Boeing B-29Superfortresses. However, a new conflict wasabout to begin centred around suchdevastating weapons, and one which wouldlast for more than four decades.

In his famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech of5 March 1946, Winston Churchill commented:“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in theAdriatic an iron curtain has descended acrossthe Continent. Behind that line lie all thecapitals of the ancient states of Central andEastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague,Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest andSofia; all these famous cities and thepopulations around them lie in what I mustcall the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, inone form or another, not only to Soviet

influence but to a very high and in some casesincreasing measure of control from Moscow.

“The safety of the world, ladies andgentlemen, requires a unity in Europe, fromwhich no nation should be permanentlyoutcast. It is from the quarrels of the strongparent races in Europe that the world warswe have witnessed, or which occurred informer times, have sprung.”

There then followed over 40 years wherethe East and West stood either side of anideological divide. Throughout this incrediblytense period in history there was thepotential prospect of a nuclear holocaustwhere both sides had the capability todestroy each other with mass devastation in ashort period of time.

That was the Cold War, and throughout itmilitary personnel and equipment were stoodat constant readiness. A significant part ofthat readiness capability on the British sideduring the early years of the Cold War wasthe Royal Air Force’s V-Force and ‘Thor’


National ColdWar ExhibitionA glimpse inside the superb collection at the RAF Museum Cosford, which is theonly place in the world where all three types of the V-Force can be seen together.

missiles, acting as a potent nuclear deterrent.Opened in February 2007, the RAF

Museum Cosford’s National Cold WarExhibition highlights the military strength ofboth sides, and because the story of the ColdWar is so much wider than aviation alone, italso includes information and displays on thesocial history of the era, technologicalachievements and the dissolution of theWarsaw Pact.

This recently constructed exhibition aimsto educate present and future generationsabout the immense threat posed to worldpeace. It includes 19 aircraft exhibits plusmissiles and, as an example showing the socialand industrial aspect, vehicles of the era. Partof the educational features of the exhibitionincludes interactive kiosks which give visitorsa chance to see what life was like behind therestrictions of the ‘Iron Curtain’. �

With many thanks to Royal Air Force MuseumCosford Marketing Manager Karen Crick.

Two classic Cold War RAF jets, asLightning XG337 forms a greatbackdrop to the nose of XM598 intypical Lightning pose – going vertical!Clive Rowley

Cosford’s National Cold War Exhibition is housed in a stunning piece of modernarchitecture, seen here with Lockheed SP-2H Neptune 204 in the foreground.

RAF MUSEUMLONDON’S VULCANThe RAF Museum has another Vulcanon display at its London, Hendon, site.Located in the Bomber Hall is B2 XL318,seen on display with 21 1000lb bombsarranged under its forward fuselage.Jarrod Cotter

RAF MUSEUMCOSFORD INFORMATIONAdmission to the RAF Museum Cosfordin the West Midlands is free, though asmall car parking charge is now made.On display are 70 aircraft located inthe War Planes,Missiles, Transport &Training, Research & Developmentcollections and the National Cold WarExhibition depending on theirrelevance to each theme.RAF Museum Cosford, Shifnal,Shropshire TF11 8UP.Tel: 01902 376 200 (General Enquiries)Email: [email protected]

For full opening times and furtherinformation visit the museum’s website:www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford

One of the three former V-Force types ondisplay in the National Cold WarExhibition at Cosford is Vulcan B2 XM598.All RAF Museum Cosford unless noted

First of the V-Force aircraft was theVickers Valiant B1, represented hereby XD818.

The Handley PageVictor was initially part of the V-Force bomber fleet, and althoughwithdrawn from the bombing role in 1968, later conversion to tanker configurationsaw it remain in RAF service right up until 1993 having served in the Falklands andthe first Gulf War. Cosford’s example is K2 XH672.

Representing the West German motorvehicle industry is an example of theiconic VW Beetle.

Avro Vulcan 87

www.air-britain.co.uk

01394 450767 [email protected] Haven, Blacklands Lane,Sudbourne, Woodbridge IP12 2AX, UK

Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. Cheque or credit/debit card payments (not AMEX)

*** ALL RATES SHOWN INCLUDE POSTAGE ****** ALL RATES SHOWN INCLUDE POSTAGE ***

Membershipfrom£20pa

JOIN NOWFREEFREE Winter/Dec’10

magazines when you

join for 2011

Membership incl.

Aviation World

52 pages quarterlyPacked with fascinating

features on aviation topics,

both historical and contem-

porary. News of Air-Britain

activities. Illustrated

throughout by great photos

PHOTO NEWS SECTION

Air-Britain News

160 pages monthlyA must for the dedicated

enthusiast - crammed with

information, including details

on the latest registrations

worldwide and news of air-

lines, bizjets, airshows, and

military aviation

INCREASED TEXT

Aeromilitaria

48 pages quarterlyMeticulously researched

articles on world military

aviation history,

edited by the acclaimed

authors of numerous military

monographs.

Many colour and black +

white photos

Archive

48 pages quarterlySpecialist journal of civil

aviation history. Detailed

research by Air-Britain spe-

cialists into types, registers

and airlines, with previously

unpublished facts about the

rich past of civil aviation

worldwide. Colour and b+w

£20pa UK £38pa UK £25pa UK £25pa UK

All membership subscriptions include* Up to 1/3rd off Air-Britain book prices - see website for full details

of around 70 Air-Britain published military & civil titles

* Members’ only e-mail information exchange group

* 8 category options to include up to all 4 magazines

Category

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

L

Magazines

News

Aeromilitaria

Archive

Aeromilitaria + Archive

News + Aeromilitaria

News + Archive

News + Aeromilitaria +Archive

Membership only

1 yr

£38

£25

£25

£33

£48

£48

£57

£20

2 yrs

£71

£45

£45

£61

£91

£91

£109

£38

All rates includeAll rates include MEMBERSHIP & AVIATION WORLD

UK Subscription RatesUK Subscription Rates

(for outside UK, please see website)

2011 2011

+2012

APPLY ON-LINE or by post:Name & Address:

Category:

1yr or 2yrs:

Amount due:

Credit/Debit card details:

Contact e-mail or tel no:

(AC)

when you apply by 24 December

www.air-britain.com/

sampleavworld.pdf


sampleabn.pdf


sampleaeromil.pdf


samplearchive.pdf

BOOKS and MEMBERSHIP online

T he Falklands conflict made greatdemands on the tanker force. Atypical Nimrod sortie requiredsix Victor tankers and attackssuch as the ‘Black Buck’ Vulcan

raid needed even more. The whole of theVictor force was in Ascension and was beingaugmented by C-130 Hercules that had beenconverted to the tanker role by Marshalls ofCambridge. Marshalls had done a superb jobin a very short time, but the Hercules wasonly suitable as a tanker for the sloweraircraft. Of course, back at home, the RAFstill had to fulfil its NATO commitmentswhich required tankers to support theTornado squadrons.

The VC-10 tankers had yet to enterservice and there was no way to bring thisforward. However, the Hose Drum Units(HDUs) for the VC-10s were in store awaitingfitment and were thus available for use. Whatthe RAF did have was a surplus of Vulcansthat were due to be phased out in 1983. Thefamous telephone went again and we wereasked if it was feasible to make these aircraftinto tankers. Another crash programme ontop of that of the Nimrod was instituted. Thisone would take two and a half months.

The first phase of the programme was tosurvey a Vulcan to see what areas of theairframe we could use to house the HDU.Luckily, we had a static Vulcan of our own atWoodford, which enabled us to carry out athorough survey and it was concluded thatthe ECM (Electronic Counter Measures)bulge on the fuselage tail was just largeenough to house an HDU. This bulge was

empty as the ECM gear that used to be in ithad been superceded by smaller equipmentfitted elsewhere, but the wiring for powersupplies for the equipment was still in place.

It would be necessary to pipe fuel to theHDU but this was relatively simple, using thealready standard bomb bay overload tank as acollector tank for the whole fuel system. Themain difficulty was to design and fit a housingfor the drogue. The drogue on the end of thehose is the receptacle into which the pilot ofthe receiver aircraft pushes his probe toobtain his fuel. This needs to be housed in thetanker aircraft in such a way as to control theairflow around it to let the drogue be blownout of the housing when required. Once clearof the housing, the airflow would continue todrag the hose out against a brake to controlthe speed of its extension. There was also aneed to provide traffic lights to signal to thereceiver when he is clear to prod and when hemust withdraw. I am sorry to have to explainthe procedure in such sexy terms, but thetruth is that it is all rather sexy.

Alan Clegg, our Chief Designer Military,was given the task of designing the housingand quickly sketched an inelegant piece of kitthat immediately became known as the‘Council Skip’. Alan was a charming butforceful northern man who bullied andpushed all around him. He was ideal for thetask. His council skip was made of angle ironand sheet aluminium. It had a moveable flapat the front to control the airflow and thetraffic lights, red, amber and green, werepositioned either side of the rear aperture.

The size of the throat in the skip wascritical and was arrived at empirically bycarving large blocks of expanded foam intosuitable shapes and sticking them to thesides by double-sided tape. After each testflight these blocks would be modified, oftenwith Alan’s penknife, and we would try again.I have an abiding memory of Alan in themiddle of the night taking his ties off,measuring the throat with it and thenrunning round the hangar calling for a tapemeasure to check the size.

The Council Skip!Wing Commander JA ‘Robby’ Robinson RAF (Ret’d) describes the Vulcan in its final role, the K2 tanker.

Vulcan B2(K)XH560 with ‘skip’prominent at therear of its fuselage.All Time Line Images

AVulcan tanker with Hercules XV201 as ‘trade’ on 31 July 1982.

REACQUAINTEDWITH THE VULCANI had not flown a Vulcan since 1963 and thenonly two or three times at Boscombe Down. Wewere lucky to have Al McDicken and HarryNelson on the staff who were both ex-VulcanCaptains. However, I was determined not tomiss this chance of renewing myacquaintanceship with this great aircraft. On 17May, I flew the company Pup to RAFWaddington and underwent Vulcan simulatortraining, just four hours in the box and lucky toget it. I had to wait until 15 June before I wasallowed to get my hands on an aircraft whenHarry Nelson and I collected Vulcan B2 XH560from Waddington and flew it to Woodford formodification. On 18 June, Al and I flew XH561on the first flight of a Vulcan tanker.

The flight was not completely successfulas we had a power control failure due to myfinger trouble, and Al had to land it with onlypartial control. He did this with great skilland we only suffered a scrape of the skip thatwas soon repaired. The aircraft was turnedround and after repairs we flew it again thatafternoon. On 22 June, I sat beside JohnnyCruse in Nimrod XV229 as he carried out thefirst flight-refuelling sortie against a Vulcantanker. It was a complete success. It wasagreed by all that the Vulcan made a superbtanker. The airflow behind it was smooth andthe hose completely steady. On 13 July, I flew229 with Wing Commander Ian Strachan, theboss of B Squadron Boscombe Down and anold student of mine, as he assessed theVulcan’s suitability for service as a tanker.The first sortie was by day and we flew againto assess the night suitability some time nearmidnight on the same day. The aircraftpassed with flying colours. �

Avro Vulcan 91

Close-up of the ‘skip’of a Vulcan K2.

The refuelling equipment being installed on aVulcan.

LINING UPThe markings under the Vulcan and the nightlighting threw up some interesting aspects. Iwas asked to suggest what was necessary toprovide markings to guide the receiver pilots.All tankers have such markings that indicateto a pilot when he is lined up with the drogueand to show the correct angle of approach. Iquickly sketched how this could be done; astraight red line outlined in white ran up thecentre of the skip and continued along therear of the aircraft’s fuselage, and thisprovided line-up. Another similar line wasdrawn across the skip and when the receiverwas approaching at the correct angle, thisline joined up with two similar lines, one oneach wing trailing edge.

This all proved to be excellent in practicebut the design process had its ridiculousside. Passers-by were highly amused by thesight of a group of middle-aged men in theirbusiness suits lying on the ground under theaircraft arguing about the correct placementof the lines.

Night lighting involved a similar scenario.Floodlights were set into either side of the

XH560 with its hose deployedready to accept ‘trade’.

Good close-up of the Vulcan K2’s ‘skip’.

K2 XH560 about to refuelanother Vulcan, XL426.

Avro Vulcan 93

VULCAN TANKER FLEET

The Avro Vulcan B2(K), also known as theK2, only served with 50 Squadron at RAFWaddington from June 1982. Six airframeswere converted to tanker status, namelyXH558, XH560, XH561, XJ825, XL445 andXM575. Their main task was to ease thestrain on the Victor tanker fleet followingthe liberation of the Falkland Islands inJune 1982.

A continuous air bridge had beenoperating carrying supplies via AscensionIsland and any additional tanker wouldmake this task slightly easier for the busyVictor crews. The plannedVC-10 tankerswere still a couple of years away, so thearrival of these six Vulcans made a smallbut important contribution.

By the time the RAF’s final Vulcan unitwas disbanded on 31 March 1984, 50Squadron had achieved over 3000 flyinghours, mainly flying the South Atlantic runs.

skip and these illuminated a white paintedarea under the trailing edge of each wing. Itwas necessary to see how effective this wason the ground before we involved a receiveraircraft in an airborne trial.

One must remember that all this wasbeing done in high summer and it was onlytruly dark after midnight. Also the lighting onthe surrounding roads lit up the sky andmade true blackness impossible. A telephonecall was made to the local council andwartime necessity was quoted to ask them toturn off the street lights in the district. Theyco-operated readily and so the same group ofmiddle-aged men was seen to be lying underthe aircraft again as the floodlights and trafficlights were tried out and adjusted.

The verdict of the RAF pilots whoeventually flew behind the Vulcan tanker wasthat the markings and the lighting were thebest of all the tankers. �

Reproduced with kind permission from thebook Avro One, published in 2005 by OldForge Publishing.

XH560 refuelling anRAF SEPECAT Jaguarof 54 Squadron.

XH561 with its hose and droguedeployed on the ground.

In April 1967 RAF Scampton inLincolnshire was home to some 2000RAF personnel, with a flying force ofthree Vulcan squadrons – Nos.27, 83and 617. The station had introduced

the Blue Steel missile into service in 1963,and by this time was well versed in operatingthis sophisticated, if somewhattemperamental, weapon.

During the previous month, command of617 Squadron had transferred to WingCommander Robert Allen and the unit’s crewswere settling down to the new regime. Amongthem was 31-year-old Flight Lieutenant BillTaylor who had previously served as a ratingin the Royal Navy (with a period on board theHM Yacht Britannia in 1955/56) before beingcommissioned in the Fleet Air Arm. Afterleaving the Senior Service in 1958, he hadspent a brief period with the North RhodesianPolice Force before joining the RAF in 1961.

His first acquaintance with the Vulcan waswith 230 Operational Conversion Unit at RAFFinningley, Yorkshire, in May 1963 and wasfollowed five months laterby a posting to Scampton.After two and a half yearsas a co-pilot with 27Squadron, passing theIntermediate CaptaincyCourse in July 1965, hehad returned toFinningley in May 1966 for full captaincytraining on No.70 Vulcan Mk.2 Course. Hisfirst flight as a solo captain took place on 27July, piloting the famous XH558.

Conversion complete, on 1 September 1966Bill and his crew, co-pilot Flying Officer DickFenn, Nav Plotter Flight Lieutenant BrianLewis, Nav Radar Flying Officer RodneyRichards and AEO Flying Officer Keith Carr-Glynn, were posted to 617 Squadron, almostimmediately being attached on the four-dayBlue Steel course at Lindholme, Yorks. Fullybriefed on their new weapon they returned tothe squadron. Six months later Bill had earneda ‘White’ rating and his ‘Combat’ classifiedcrew were well established and respected,being one of four selected to represent thesquadron in the annual Bomber Commandbombing and navigation competition.

ROUTINE TRAININGWITH A CADET PASSENGERDuring the morning of Thursday 6 April 1967,Bill and his crew began preparations for aroutine Blue Steel training sortie scheduledfor late that evening. On this occasion they

were to be carrying an additional passenger,17-year-old Cadet Sergeant ChristopherWoodman, of the Combined Cadet Force fromTrinity College, Glenalmond, Perthshire, whowas currently undertaking a Star Camp atScampton. For Cadet Woodman, who hadalready won an RAF scholarship and waswaiting to enter the RAF College Cranwell,Lincolnshire, for pilot training that comingOctober, this would be his first experience offlying in a Service jet. Bill ensured that CadetWoodman carried out full escape training inScampton’s crew trainer and checked that hisfather had signed the necessary certificate ofindemnity, permitting his son to fly in aService aircraft. No.617’s Flight Commander,navigator Squadron Leader Paul Newsome,also confirmed these actions and authorisedthe flight to take place.

The Scampton Wing comprised anestablishment of 24 Vulcan B2s, 13 fitted withOlympus 201 series engines and 11 with themore powerful 301 series. One of the latterwas XL385. Originally built with Olympus

201s it had been delivered toIX Squadron at RAFConingsby, Lincs, in April1962. On 1 October 1963, ithad returned to Woodford forconversion to the Blue Steelrole. This involvedmodifications to the wing

spars passing through the bomb bay,swapping the bomb doors for a fairing toaccommodate the upper surface of the missileand replacement of the engines with Olympus301s, together with the installation of ECMplates between both pairs of engines, in flightrefuelling probe and other ancillaryequipment. After a year’s major surgery, andits former overall white ‘anti-flash’ schemenow replaced by grey-green upper surfacecamouflage, XL385 was returned to serviceand delivered to Scampton on 9 October 1964.

Scampton had 28 operational Blue Steelrounds and nine training rounds. The formerwere ‘wet’ rounds containing the Stentorpropulsion system fuelled by High TestPeroxide (HTP) and Kerosene. The trainingrounds, Avro designation W103A, wereconstructed of light alloy rather than thestainless steel of operational weapons, withno engine, propulsion system or controls.Weighing 16,000lb, they contained ahydraulically driven electrical power unit(EPU), inertial navigator plus a simulator togive the aircraft the same functionalindicators as the complete Blue Steel and

permitting pre-flight programming ofapparent faults. They were also fitted with hotair control elements and a fire warning andextinguishing system.

While a number of training sorties wereundertaken flying ‘wet’ operational rounds(with a dummy rather than nuclear warheadpod), to simplify preparation for trainingsorties and also preserve the operationalmissiles’ fatigue life, most of the flying wasundertaken using training rounds. For FlightLieutenant Taylor’s planned routine highlevel Blue Steel training sortie XL385 hadbeen prepared and loaded with Blue SteelW103A training round No.T8.

RETURNED FROM MAINTENANCETo date XL385 had flown 1529 hours, 73 ofthese since its last check. It was relatively freshfrom significant maintenance, having beendeclared Cat 3R on 1 March 1967, returning tothe Scampton Wing strength on 31 March afterremedial work by 60 Maintenance Unit,including a No.4 engine replacement. On 3April, during a training flight flown by FlightLieutenant Keith Walters and crew, the jet pipetemperature of No.1 engine had been indicating50 degrees Centigrade higher than theremainder at 95% power. A reduction of powerstill resulted in relatively higher temperature


Vulcan FurnaceNo doubt those who selected the name for Avro’s Delta-wing bomber were thinkingin terms of it dispensing flaming destruction elsewhere, but on 6 April 1967 the

Roman god of fire struck rather too close to home for comfort. Robert Owen,official historian of the 617 Squadron Aircrew Association, tells the story.

Close-up of one of XL385’sdestroyed engines.

“SCAMPTON 8-5 ONFIRE. ALL BUTTONS

PRESSED. ABANDONINGAIRCRAFT.”

readings. The engine had been reduced toidling power and the aircraft returned to base.Once in the circuit the engine was shut down,and the aircraft landed safely, despite the addedcomplication of an apparent failure of therudder-powered flying control unit, suggestedby a faulty warning light.

On examination no fault could be foundwith the No.1 engine, and further investigationuncovered that a fault had caused a spuriousJPT reading. Accordingly the aircraft wasagain declared serviceable and on 5 AprilFlight Lieutenant Ian Junor had flown it on atrouble-free five and a half hour training sortie.

‘FOXTROT 8-5’In the late dusk of 6 April, under a leaden skyand with slight rain falling, Bill Taylor and hiscrew went out to ‘F’ dispersal to board XL385,callsign ‘Foxtrot November Whisky 8-5’. At20:20 a Palouste air starter was used to startNo.1 engine that would supply air to the BlueSteel for Flight Lieutenant Lewis to align themissile’s guidance system. By 20% indicatedrpm the engine start light had not extinguishedand this was cancelled by switching off theengine master switch, thereby proving thesystem fit for flight. Twenty minutes later thePalouste was used to start the other threeengines and the crew ran through theremainder of their pre-taxi checks. All systemsindicated normal with JPTs at 475 degrees C.

The dispersal was cleared of groundequipment and after a short delay permissionwas given for ‘Foxtrot 8-5’ to taxi to themarshalling point for Runway 05. The brakeswere released and with engines idling XL385began to move slowly forward from itsdispersal. With a strong northerly windgusting to 30 knots, take-off was to be towardsthe A15, the old Roman Ermine Street whosecourse had been diverted to permit the

runway’s extension when Scampton had beenremodelled to accommodate the Vulcan some12 years earlier – the old and the new roadplans providing the inspiration for Scampton’sstation badge.

It was now dark as XL385 reached thesouth-western section of the perimeter trackand halted ready for final checks before,“Foxtrot 8-5, you’re clear to line up. Surfacewind 020 magnetic at 14 knots.” XL385 turnedonto the end of the runway. With clearanceobtained for take-off with normal climb out, thethrottles were opened to 80% against thebrakes. All instruments reading normal, JPTsshowing 500 degrees, the brakes werereleased and the throttles advanced to full rpm.

At 21:00hrs Dick Fenn called “Rolling”, butbarely had they begun to move when, after onlyabout two seconds, a loud double explosionshook the aircraft. A scan of the instrumentationshowed the rpm of Nos.1 and 2 enginesunwinding in unison and the alternators of bothengines came off line, though there was no firewarning. Taking immediate action Bill Taylorcut the failing port engines and operated theirfire extinguishers, then called “Aborting” ashe brought the aircraft to a rapid halt usingthe foot brakes. Realising that the port wingwas on fire he warned the crew and orderedthem to abandon aircraft. Nos.3 and 4 engineswere closed down and their fire extinguishersoperated as a precaution, while Dick Fenninformed Local Air Traffic Control of thesituation: “Scampton 8-5 on fire. All buttonspressed. Abandoning aircraft.”

As the aircraft began to roll, the navigators,Flying Officer Richards and Flight LieutenantLewis, both heard muffled bangs, “as if a tyrehad burst” – a view reinforced by a lurch toport. They heard Bill Taylor’s immediate callthat two engines had gone, confirmed by theAEO. “Any fire warning lights?” asked Bill. “No

there aren’t,” replied the co-pilot followedimmediately by the captain’s announcementthat the aircraft was on fire and the co-pilot’sR/T call to this effect.

RAPID EXITFlying Officer Richards immediately left hisseat. Passing Cadet Woodman and telling himto follow, he opened the cabin door and madehim exit the aircraft while trying to undo hisoxygen connection. He failed to do so and thelead swung him onto his back across the door.Taking his weight off the oxygen tube hedisconnected it and found himself on his feetbeneath the aircraft. Looking around he sawthe underside of the port wing a mass offlames and told Cadet Woodman to run upwindaway from the fire. Unfortunately the latter hadomitted to disconnect his parachute static lineand his chute partially deployed as he ran fromthe aircraft. Richards caught up with himtelling him to pick it up and continue running.This he did: “All I wanted to do was get as faraway as possible from the aeroplane as fast as Icould.” Flying Officer Richards then waited forthe four other crew members to exit beforecontinuing upwind for a safe distance. �

Avro Vulcan 95

XL385’s burnt remains highlighting theintensity of the inferno.All via Bill Taylorunless noted

Vulcan B2 with Blue Steel nuclear stand-off missile fitted. Time Line Images

Dick Fenn had notified ATC that they wereon fire, but after receiving no reply, called againand replaced the safety pin in the face blindhandle of his ejection seat. Releasing hisharness, dinghy lanyard and personalequipment connector, he got up, squeezingbetween the pilot’s seats. As he did so, henoticed either a wing or bomb bay fuel firewarning light ignite. Finding that the ladderproviding access to the cockpit had been slid toport ready for take-off, he got one foot onto arung and jumped down into the well. Movingthe ladder to its correct position he then sliddown the open exit door (its ladder also havingbeen stowed for take-off). Landing on therunway he found a fierce fire blazing near theport undercarriage leg, burning fuel on therunway and flames licking along the undersideof the port wing. It looked as though theunderside of the wing had been torn, allowingfuel to escape. Seeing other crew membersrunning upwind, he followed in hot pursuit.

Keith Carr-Glynn had been watching theelectrical control panel as full power wasapplied. There were two muffled explosionsand immediately No.1 alternator ‘A’ breakerlight illuminated, followed instantly by No.2.Switching off both failed alternators as thecaptain confirmed “Fire” he continued toswitch off Nos.3 and 4 alternators,simultaneously transferring all electrical loadsto the Auxiliary Air Power Pack (AAPP),which was already running, thus permittingthe co-pilot to make his emergency calls. Thenclosing down the AAPP he kept the batteryswitched on to provide lighting for the rearcrew to leave. After shouting “Has everybodygone?” and receiving no reply he switched thebattery off and left the aircraft. The three rearcrew, cadet passenger and co-pilot, had all leftthe burning aircraft within 30 seconds.

Last to leave was Bill Taylor, pausing toswitch off all systems and ensuring all HP andLP cocks were closed, again operating the fireextinguishers before making good his exit,leaving the parking brake off. It was not amoment too soon. The entire port wing wasnow ablaze, burning fuel from ruptured tankslying on the ground and spreading under thenose of the aircraft, singeing his helmet andflying boots as he vacated the entrance hatch.

Immediately making contact with theemergency services he used their R/T toinform Air Traffic Control that the entire crewhad evacuated the aircraft safely and withoutinjury (although in the confusion it was notnoted that the aircraft had been carrying a sixman crew). He also informed Sergeant SidneyHadaway of the RAF fire crew that the ejection

seats were still ‘live’. The crew made theirway some 50 yards upwind of the burningaircraft and sat on the grass, watching eventsunfold. Meanwhile another 617 Squadroncrew captained by Flight Lieutenant DonExley airborne on a Blue Steel high-levelsortie in XL425 was diverted and instructed toreturn to Waddington.

CIVILIAN HELPAfter take-off approval, the RunwayController, Corporal James Carnegie, in thecontrol caravan to the north of the runwaythreshold, had heard two loud bangs andseen a sheet of flame appear from beneath theport wing outboard of the undercarriage,followed by what appeared to be fuel pouringout of a burst tank or pipe. Receipt of DickFenn’s message and visual observation by theairfield controller triggered crash action;Scampton’s emergency services sprang intoaction and the Lincoln Fire Brigade was alsoalerted. The station’s fire and ambulancecrews were at the scene within three minutes,but already the aircraft was well ablaze.

Two hundred pounds of dry powderextinguisher was immediately discharged ontothe source of the fire. Fed by water from dualpurpose tenders, Scampton’s Mark 5 and 6foam tenders attacked the fire burning in thelower port wing and port undercarriage, butthe foam tenders only carried sufficientfoaming agent for two and a half minutes’operation and a delay in collecting additionalsupplies allowed the fire to take an evengreater hold. Further assistance was requestedfrom neighbouring civilian fire services.

The first of these to arrive at 21:20 were awater tender and an emergency tender fromLincoln City Fire Brigade, under thecommand of Sub-Officer Thomas Draper,along with a water tender with its crew of sixbelonging to a unit of the Auxiliary FireService who fortuitously had been training atLincoln Fire Station. On reaching the aircraftthey found it an inferno with debris andburning fuel being scattered about by minorexplosions and blazing fuel all over theground beneath it. The heat was so intense it

burned the hair off the back of Sub-OfficerDraper’s hands as he approached.

After a short while, Station Officer JohnRussell from Lincoln took over control ofoperations until the arrival of the DeputyChief Fire Officer of Lindsey, Eric Whittaker,who was assisted by Divisional Officer Clarkand Station Officer Russell of Lincoln.Eventually eight civilian appliances were inattendance as well as water tenders fromSaxilby, Market Rasen and Kirton-in-Lindsey,together with a pump escape and watertender from Gainsborough, which joinedScampton’s fire crews. At 21:33 Waddingtonwas asked to send all available foam trucks.

All told, 100 firemen were fighting theblazing aircraft. Despite their efforts, theblaze could not be contained. Each time theyappeared to be winning the battle, the firewould flare up again as fresh fuel ignited.

The port undercarriage had collapsed andthe aircraft canted onto its port wing. Theaircraft had been fuelled with AVTUR to 98%main tankage and after about an hour the firereached the 1430 gallons of fuel contained inthe additional A and E tanks in the bomb bay,which exploded. The wing root gave way andthe Blue Steel fell onto the runway in ashower of sparks. Now nothing could bedone to save the main section of the aircraft.

At 21:50 crash crews were again advised byradio that the ejection seats were ‘live’ and thatnobody was to enter the cabin. Efforts werethen concentrated on cooling the cockpit areato prevent the detonation of the seat cartridges.As the conflagration spread rapidly to thestarboard wing, the starboard undercarriagecollapsed and the nose compartment brokeaway near the rear bulkhead.

Despite the arrival of a further tender fromWaddington, two more from Binbrook and afoam vehicle from Finningley, it would takenearly two and a half hours to bring the firesatisfactorily under control. At 22:44 WarrantOfficer Woods of Scampton Fire Sectionreported that the fire was nearly out, althoughsome parts of the wreckage would continue toburn until dawn. By 23:03 Scampton’s firevehicles were back at Quick Reaction Alert.


The crew of XL385 formed part of No.51 Blue Steel Course.

A scene from the night of 6 April 1967 asa firefighter approached the nose ofXL385, by then covered in foam.

CIGARETTE AND A COFFEEThe Vulcan’s crew had retired after about 40minutes, going to operations to give a reportof events. After a cigarette and a cup ofcoffee, they changed before adjourning tothe Mess bar which had been re-opened forthem. Chris Woodman was allowed a briefphone call to his mother. His guardedmessage to her, tempered byunderstatement, was that there had been a“slight accident”, but that he was safe andeverything was all right. The following dayhe would depart from Scampton to attendRAF Arbroath for a three-day gliding course.The incident had by no means dampened hisenthusiasm for flying and he would go on toenjoy a successful career in both military andcivil aviation.

Also breathing a sigh of relief were twoservice policemen, SAC Keith Leedell, ondetachment from RAF Digby, and doghandler LAC Derek Huckvale, who had beensitting in their Land Rover at the northtaxiway traffic lights, waiting for the Vulcanto depart. They had seen a shower of whitesparks come from the port side of the aircraftand felt an impact behind them. Althoughthey saw nothing at the time, half an hourlater they discovered that some large object,presumably debris from the aircraft, hadsliced through the rear of their Land Rovermissing them both by only a foot or so. Evenmore fortuitous was the fact that LACHuckvale and ‘Airdog’ Rex had not been intheir usual positions in the rear of the vehicle.

The followingmorning, the full extentof the incident could beseen. Of XL385 only thecrew compartment andnose remained. Rollingdrunkenly to port onthe runway, its exithatch agape was aheadof the mass of ash andmolten metal thatformed a perfect deltaoutline on the concrete. Though seeminglylittle damaged, the cockpit area had sufferedbadly from smoke and the intense heat.Among the smouldering remains only theengines and the two bomb bay fuel tankswere readily identifiable.

With its single runway blocked,Scampton’s flying status was declared ‘black’pending removal of the Vulcan’s remains, while aBoard of Inquiry was convened and the No.1Group Senior Engineering Officer along with ateam from the Accidents Investigation Branchbegan their painstaking sift of the wreckage.Months of further analysis and a strip inspectionof the Olympus by Bristol Siddeley Enginesunder AIB supervision would enable the Branchto piece together in minute detail the sequence ofevents as the throttles were opened for take-off.

REASONSSpinning up to 100% power, the initial failurehad occurred with No.1 engine HP turbinedisc which disintegrated, bursting through thecasing, the inner portion of the disc and itsretaining bolts remaining attached to the HP

turbine shaft. Fragments of the disc hadpunched through both the port wing fuel tanksand No.2 engine HP turbine casing. Oneturbine blade was found in a field outside theairfield boundary beyond a crash gate. Fuelleaking onto the ground beneath the aircraft

had been ignited by a hotpiece of turbine disc andescaping engine exhaustgases. The damage toNo.2 engine set up asevere imbalancecausing it to shed someof its turbine blades,shearing the HP turbineshaft and discattachment bolts as it tooexploded. The freed

No.2 engine disc, acting as if a circular saw,had cut its way through the top of the wingand travelled some 500 yards, passingthrough the RAF Police Land Rover, to embeditself in a field to the left of the runway. TheNo.2 engine LP disc was found some 20 yardsbehind the Vulcan, having sliced its waythrough the underside of the aircraft.

Such had been the heat that 1000 squareyards of the runway had been damaged to adepth of two inches. Some 1500ft at the 05 endhad to be made sterile while repair work,estimated to cost between £5-10,000 and whichwould take from one to two months tocomplete, was put in hand. In the meantimeaircraft were permitted only to take off fromScampton at a restricted all up weight. As aresult aircraft tasked for longer sorties, suchas Ranger Flights, would have to re-position tostations such as Waddington, Finningley andWittering, in order to take on sufficient fuel.

The engine failure was the first of its kind,and was described as a ‘one in a million’occurrence. Nos.1, 2 and 3 engines had onlybeen run for 73 hours since their last check.

No.1 engine had been run for a total of 700hours at the time of failure, but this was notexcessive, with some 100 engines having disclives of between 600-1800 hours. In seekingfurther cause for the failure it was discoveredthat ‘swirler’ vanes in one of the engine’scombustion chambers had become detachedand that clamps at the rear of the flame tubehad cracked, permitting part of the tube tobreak away. This had obstructed the gas flowand set up a resonance on the HP turbinethat in turn had led to the disc failure.

As a result a non-destructive testingprogramme using gamma radiography,already in place for the combustionchambers, was accelerated pending the refitof modified chambers. Following these initialchecks engines were to be inspected atintervals of 100 flying hours and instructionswere issued that attention be paid to the jetefflux at take-off point and engine shut downfor any sign of sparks which might beindicative of internal break-up. The incidentalso served as a catalyst to intensify efforts todevelop an effective containment shield toprevent any future case of engine explosionhaving such a catastrophic effect.

Today, in retirement, Bill Taylor retains hisscorched bone dome and XL385’s controlcolumn as mementos of the incident. Hecontinued to serve with 617 Squadron untilMay 1969, and finally left the service in 1975,to pursue a successful career in civil aviation,initially joining Dan Air. After transferring toKuwait Airways, he was approached on behalfof the Kuwaiti Royal household, and for 12years captained their luxuriously appointedaircraft – a far cry from the cramped confinesof the Vulcan with its thermos flask and soupwarmer. Even so he retains endearingmemories of the Vulcan: “I loved it. TheVulcan was the most exciting aeroplane I haveever flown. It was a four-engined fighter.” �

Avro Vulcan 97

“DESPITE THEIR EFFORTS,THE BLAZE COULD NOT BE

CONTAINED. EACH TIME THEYAPPEARED TO BE WINNINGTHE BATTLE THE FIRE WOULDFLARE UP AGAIN AS FRESH

FUEL IGNITED.”

Bill Taylor in the cockpit of a Boeing 727 in January 1984.

Avro Vulcan 99

Above:Vulcan B1 XA895 – in overallsilver finish – photographed on atest flight soon after build in 1955.Via François Prins

Right: XA897 was the first Vulcan toundertake a flight from the UK toAustralia and New Zealand, leavingBoscombe Down,Wiltshire, for Adenon 9 September 1956. Stagingthrough Singapore, once in Australiait stopped at Melbourne, Sydney andAdelaide. From Adelaide it travelledto Christchurch on New Zealand’sSouth Island on 18 September,making the short trip to RNZAFOhakea the following day.On the22nd it headed back to Australiatravelling first to Brisbane, then Darwin.On the return leg it again stopped inSingapore, then Negombo and Aden.Unfortunately, after what had been asuccessful proving flight for the type,on its return to the UK XA897 crashedon landing in poor weather atHeathrow Airport on 1 October 1956.The two pilots escaped by ejecting,though sadly the four other crewmembers, including an Avrorepresentative in addition to the threeRAF aircrew,were all killed. JuanitaFranzi/Aero Illustrations © 2010

Bottom:Vulcan B1s in-build at Avro’sWoodford factory in 1955. The secondproduction aircraft,XA890, is nearest thecamera.This bomberwasdemonstratedat the SBAC show at Farnborough thatSeptember.Via François Prins

Silver DeltasEarly Vulcan B1s had a ‘silver’ finish, as illustrated here.

XH558 breaks from the camera shipduring an air-to-air sortie in July 2010.On its nose the Vulcan wears theinscription ‘the Spirit of Great Britain1960 – 2010’marking XH558’s 50thanniversary. Luigino Caliaro

Still inA selection of photographs showing the five formerVulcan squadrons which are still operational RAF units.

service

No.617 Squadron based at RAFLossiemouth in Scotland is one of theRAF’s most famous units as a result of thewide knowledge of it carrying out the‘Dams’ raid of 16/17 May 1943. This unitnow flies the Panavia Tornado GR4, atype which is currently on operations inAfghanistan.Geoffrey Lee/Planefocus

Avro Vulcan 103

Above & below left: Tailmarkingof a 617 SquadronVulcan B2.Note that it is comprisedof awhite diamondwith blueoutline,yellow‘damwalls’, red flashes signifying the strike andblue‘waves’representing the gush of water released by the breached dam.Time Line Images

Line up of 617 Squadron Vulcan B2s atRAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, circa mid-1970s. This base was the home of the‘Dam Busters’ when the unit was formedin 1943 for the famous OperationChastise. Time Line Images

No.617 Vulcan B2 XL320 taxying in at RAF Scampton after a sortie inAugust 1962. During the early era of the Vulcans, when they werepainted in anti-flash white, the unit’s aircraft had three pale pink‘lightning flashes’ denoting their 617 ownership. Time Line Images

B2 XL425 of 617 Squadron wearingthe Vulcan’s darker grey camouflage

paintwork. Time Line Images

Nowadays 12 Squadron is another of thethree former Vulcan units flying theTornado GR4, and along with 617 isbased at Lossiemouth. Here a Tornadotakes off from the former Vulcan base atRAF Waddington during the base’s 2010International Air Show. Jarrod Cotter

An earlier form of the IX Squadron batbadge is applied to tail of Vulcan B2XM646 in this view. Time Line Images

Avro Vulcan 105

IX(B) Squadron is now based at RAF Marham in Norfolk and also flies the Tornado GR4.The unit’s bat emblem is applied to the tail of one of its Tornados here.Matt Jamieson

Formed on 14 February 1915, in 2005 12 Squadron celebrated its 90th anniversary,denoted here by a special fuselage flash wearing the years either side of the foxhead.Matt Jamieson

Vulcan B2 XM606 of 12 Squadron, RAF Coningsby, Lincs, c1963. Note the unit’s fox head insignia applied to the tail.Juanita Franzi/Aero Illustrations © 2010


Vulcan B2 XH534 wearing 27Squadron’s elephant badge, thisversion in the form Disney’s flying

Dumbo! Time line Images

No.27 Squadron’s current mount is the Boeing Chinook HC2, with which it is based atRAF Odiham, Hampshire. Chinooks are a major part of the RAF’s current operationsin Afghanistan. Jarrod Cotter

Avro Vulcan 107

The latest form of 101 Squadron’s badge on the tail of one ofits VC-10s, taking the form of the Roman numerals ‘CI’ for 101surrounding the lion in the castle tower.Matt Jamieson

Vulcan B2 XM605 wearing 101 Squadron’s badge on its tail.Inside the red ‘101’ is the unit’s lion atop a castle tower emblem.Time Line Images

No.101 Squadron is the last operationalRAF unit to fly the stalwart Vickers VC-10.The type is appropriately seen here information with Vulcan B2 XH558 flyingover 101’s base at RAF Brize Norton in

Oxfordshire during June 2009.Neil Jones

Vulcan to the Sky’s XH558caught in a beautifulsetting above the clouds.John M Dibbs/PlanePicture Company

In the centre of Woodhall Spa,Lincolnshire, wartime home of 617Squadron Royal Air Force, the ‘DamBusters’, stands an impressivememorial in the form of a breached

dam. This commemorates the names of thosemembers of the squadron who gave theirlives during World War Two.

Since the end of that conflict more than 30former members of 617 Squadron have diedserving their country. To commemoratethese post-World War Two servicemen, theNo.617 Squadron Aircrew Association hasdecided to erect a second memorial adjacentto their wartime one.

This will be a three-metre high blackgranite pyramid, its form echoing the shape ofthe wings of two of the aircraft types flownpost-war by the unit – the Vulcan and Tornado.A projecting triangular pediment will carry the617 Squadron badge and the inscription ‘Inmemory of all members of No.617 Sqn RAFwho gave their lives since 1945 in the serviceof their country. We will remember them’.

The polished side faces of the pyramid willcontain inset red glass lightning flashes, thesymbol still carried today on the unit’sTornados. Additionally it will be inscribedwith the squadron’s more recent BattleHonours of ‘Gulf 1991’ and ‘Iraq 2003’.

The memorial’s proposed form has beencreated by Sylvia Waugh, a local Lincolnshiredesigner who was the winner of a competitionorganised for final year students by theUniversity of Lincoln. It will be constructed bya Lincolnshire-based monumental mason.

Planning permission has been obtainedand the No.617 Squadron AircrewAssociation launched a public appeal on 5November 2010 to raise the £25,000 requiredto bring this project to completion. Donationsmay be made to ‘No.617 Squadron AircrewAssociation’ and sent to:

Group Captain DG Robertson,Chairman,617 Squadron Aircrew Association,8 Thorold Way,Harmston,Lincoln LN5 9GJ

for post-war ‘Dam Busters’Plans to honour those 617 Squadron personnel who have died serving their country since 1945.

New memorial

Two artists’ impressions of how the 617 Squadron Post-War Memorialwill look when it is constructed adjacent to the present structure in thecentre of Woodhall Spa.CAD Visual Imaging/Donnas H Peterson

The existing 617 Squadron memorialin Woodhall Spa is situated in thecentre of the Lincolnshire village.No.617 Squadron operated out ofRAF Woodhall Spa from January 1944to May 1945 and the village’s famousPetwood Hotel was requisitioned toact as the Officer’s Mess. The existing617 memorial structure takes on theform of the breached Möhne Dam.At the top are the words: ‘They diedfor your freedom’, with the names of‘Dam Busters’ personnel who werekilled in World War Two listed on thewalls. Centrally there is arepresentation of water pouringthrough the breach and on that isengraved the squadron’s badge andwartime Battle Honours. The post-warmemorial will complement thistribute perfectly. Jarrod Cotter

No.617 Squadron Vulcan B2 XL317 withBlue Steel nuclear stand-off missile fitted.The ‘Dam Busters’ became the RAF’s firstVulcan unit to get operationalcapability with Blue Steel in September1962, forming a major part of theV-Force and so the UK’s nucleardeterrent. Time Line Images

At high altitude the Vulcan, with its lowwing loading, could out-turn all the currentUK fighters if the crew could determinewhen to turn by using the on-board radarthreat receivers. Luigino Caliaro

Avro Vulcan 113

In my Pilot’s Flying Log Book there isan entry for 13 April 1976 whichshows that I flew Lightning F2AXN731 (a 19 Squadron aircraft coded‘Z’ for ‘Zulu’ on the fin) on a sortie

detailed only as “Exercise Cold Cape versusVulcan”, a flight which lasted 55 minutes.That is all the detail my logbook gives but, asis often the case, there is much more of astory behind that brief record. This was asortie that still lives in my memory today, theonly time I ‘fought’ against a Vulcan at highaltitude on what was actually a 2v1; twoLightnings versus a single Avro Vulcan. I tookoff from RAF Gütersloh, in Germany, that daythinking it was going to be easy – it wasn’t!

I don’t remember my wingman and Ispending much time briefing the sortie, orconsidering the capabilities of the opposition orour own tactics. Air Defenders routinely flewsorties that were not planned, tacklingwhatever opposition came along using ‘SOPs’(Standard Operating Procedures). We gavesome brief thought, perhaps ratheroverconfidently in retrospect, as to how wewere going to visually range the gun sightagainst such a large target (the Vulcan B2 hada wingspan of 111ft). We decided that wewould set the distance between the Vulcan’soutboard jet pipes on the wingspan setting ofthe sight and match the stadiametric diamondsto that rather than to the entire wingspan.

We launched, climbed to our typicalLightning cruising altitude of 36,000ft in a mere3½ minutes and cruised out towards our ‘target’at nine miles per minute. We received vectors(headings to steer) and information on thetarget from a German GCI fighter controller.

We were grateful that we had his assistance andthat the Vulcan crew were not allowed to ‘jam’the R/T frequency on this exercise, as theirElectronic Counter Measures (ECM)equipment potentially enabled them to do.

We easily gained radar contact on theVulcan even with our puny AI 21 radar sets; itwas, after all, a pretty large radar cross-sectiontarget and it appeared at the maximum rangeof the radar display – 28 miles. The Vulcan washeading towards us at quite a decent speed,somewhere around M0.9, the same speed wewere cruising at, giving a closing speed of 18miles per minute. Of slightly more concern, itwas flying at 40,000ft. The Lightning wasfamed for its high level capability and had aceiling similar to the Vulcan. (Both aircraftwere officially limited to a service ceiling of56,000ft, because the aircrew equipmentassemblies and oxygen systems would notkeep the crews alive at heights above that inthe event of a cabin depressurisation).

The problem for us was that in order tomanoeuvre hard at high levels the Lightningreally needed to be supersonic (it could pull+5G in a hard turn at M1.3 above 36,000ft),but the turn radius was, inevitably, very largeat these speeds and it would be very difficultto get a shot against a hard-turning Vulcan. Inany case, we were not allowed to gosupersonic on this sortie in this overlandlocation. The Vulcan, with its huge 3964ft² ofwing and a wing loading less than half that ofthe Lightning, would be able to turn well andat much lower speeds than us at these sortsof altitudes, giving it a significant turn rateand radius advantage over our Lightnings. Itappeared that this Vulcan crew knew theirbusiness and were not planning to be the‘sitting duck’ we had expected.

Radar jamming wasn’t part of this exerciseso the Vulcan crew was not able to hamper ourradar intercept as I’m sure they would haveattempted to do ‘for real’. Not that thisparticularly mattered, as we gained visual ‘tally’on him not long after getting radar contact.

The Vulcan’s low-level grey/greencamouflage scheme employed at this timewas not ideal for high levels and its Olympus

engines were smoky. I called “Judy” on theradio, to inform the GCI controller that I wastaking over control of the intercept andrequired no further assistance from him,aware that the Vulcan was on the samefrequency and would be using thecontroller’s commentary to work out wherewe were coming from. We turned in behind,in wide ‘battle’ formation planning to takesimulated Firestreak air-to-air missile shotsand that’s when the fun started!

‘FREE AND ENGAGED’The Vulcan rolled on an apparent 90 degreesof bank and turned like the proverbial‘dingbat’, presenting a plan view in no time atall and creating an angle-off-the-tail wellbeyond the limited 30 degree capability ofour Firestreak missiles before we could takethe shots. We both engaged full reheat andattempted to turn with him, hoping to lag histurn (in truth there was no alternative!) andfly a wider, faster turn, to reduce the angleoff. Pulling as hard as we could, we both flewthrough his turn to the outside of his turncircle and just as it began to look as if I mightsolve the angle-off problem he reversed histurn back toward us and as we merged wewere head-on. This wasn’t going well!

Calling my wingman on the radio, I said,“I’ll stay engaged. You go free”. ‘Free andEngaged’ tactics were something that wepractised regularly and routinely employedagainst fighter opposition. I had not expectedit to be necessary against a single bomber! �

Vulcanversus

LightningSquadron Leader Clive RowleyMBE RAF Ret’d recounts thestory of one occasion when twoicons of the jet age – the Vulcanand the Lightning – met insimulated aerial combat withan unexpected outcome for thefighter pilots.

“At its operational height the Vulcan can outfly and outmanoeuvre anyfighter in squadron service today.” Air Ministry Press Release (1958)

Vulcan Air Electronics Officer using RedSteer fighter intercept warning radar.Via author

The concept was that the engaged fighterwould keep the ‘bandit’ tied up and keep itpredictable – turning in a constant direction –while the free fighter disengaged, gainedenergy and re-committed to the fight in anadvantageous position, ideally unseen andwith low angle-off for a missile shot.

My turn rate was considerably worse thanthe Vulcan’s and my turn radius was larger asI tried to maintain my speed at M0.9. Startingfrom opposite sides of the circle, the Vulcanwas actually gaining on me. I think he wasbeginning to enjoy this! At least I waskeeping him predictable in a left hand turnwhile my wingman re-positioned, but it wasbecoming increasingly embarrassing and itwas just as well that the Vulcan was notequipped with any forward-firing armament,as he was now almost in gun range behindme! In my mind I can still see that hugeshape closing behind me in a left hand turn.

As my wingman re-engaged from outsidethe turn, the Vulcan suddenly broke off hispursuit of me, reversed his turn towards thenew threat and negated my wingman’smissile shot with angle-off. This ‘cat andmouse’ game continued for several iterationsas we switched ‘free and engaged’ roles. Withno rearwards view from the Vulcan cockpitand limited visibility across the circle in asteeply-banked turn, how did he know wherewe were coming from and when to reversehis turn? Perhaps some more detailed targetstudy may have been a good idea.

FULL USE OF ECMThe Vulcan B2 had a sophisticated self-defence and ECM suite and this crew wasworking incredibly well together andapparently making full use of it. The ARI18105 Blue Saga radar warning receiver(RWR), fitted in the Vulcan B2’s square-

topped tail fin, was giving the Air ElectronicsOfficer (AEO), who was also in effect theaircraft’s Electronic Warfare Officer,indications of where the fighters werecoming in from. We worked this out fairlyquickly, and ‘strangled’ our radars by turningthe transmitters off so that there would be noRWR indications in the Vulcan for them towork with. We did not need our radars in anycase, as we could take visually-ranged shots ifonly one of us could get into a firing position.

What I had not appreciated at the time wasthat the Vulcan AEO also had the benefit of arearwards looking radar, codenamed ‘RedSteer’, mounted along with other componentsof the Vulcan’s ECM suite in the B2’s enlargedtail cone with its prominent radome. Red Steerwas a fighter intercept warning radar, actuallyderived from a Meteor night-fighter radar. TheAEO was the operator and had the display andcontrol in front of him. The Red Steer 2 wasable to scan the sky behind the Vulcan to +/-70 degrees horizontally and +/- 20 degreesvertically. It could actually detect and remainlocked to a target at least as well as ourLightning F2A’s AI 21 radar. When it wasanticipated that the fighter was in the launchbracket the radar could be switched to narrowscan +/- 5 degrees. In this mode it couldtheoretically detect an air-to-air missileseparation from the launch aircraft, promptingthe firing of the appropriate decoys – infra-redflares and/or chaff – to break the fighter’sradar lock. Remembering that this was 40years ago, this was pretty advancedtechnology. Finally, the AEO had a periscopethat gave a view to the rear, mainly so that thebomb bay and the underside could bechecked, but I suspect that he was making useof this against us too. The lack of a rearwardsview from the Vulcan did not seem to beinconveniencing this crew at all as theyutilised all the equipment at their disposal and,no doubt, some excellent crew co-operation tonegate every attack we attempted.

SWITCHING TO GUNSThe overall result was that, even 2v1 andusing our best co-ordinated tactics, it took usan inordinately long time to achieve adubious ‘kill’ against this squirming, well-flown Vulcan. In fact, we were never able toachieve low enough angles-off for aFirestreak missile shot. In the end, justbefore we became ‘Bingo’ for fuel, I finallygot into a position for a simulated guns shot,which took some doing as the sheer size ofthe target was daunting and pressing in toguns range at 500 yards took somedetermination. Inevitably, in order tomaintain my best possible subsonic turn rate,my speed was significantly higher than thatof my target, and I had considerable overtakewhen I briefly managed to match my turncircle to that of the Vulcan for a few seconds,enough for a quick snap shot. Then we wereout of fuel and it was time to go home.

When we later ran my gun film in the ‘cineroom’ back at the squadron to assess myguns kill claim, it was very short (definitelynot a feature length film!) but still impressiveas the target practically filled the screen! It is

Lightning F2A XN789 climbsfor height.Via author

a matter of conjecture as to whether myquick burst of cannon fire would have beensufficient to prove fatal to such a largeaircraft even with the hitting power of 30mmhigh-explosive shells.

Two young Lightning pilots (both first-tourists) learned some lessons that day. TheVulcan had turned out to be a much tougheropponent than either of us had ever expected.Its turning capability and sheer performanceat 40,000ft were extraordinary. Flown as wellas this one was, with the AEO utilising theaircraft’s self-defence equipment as far as hewas allowed to within the limitations of theexercise, this Vulcan survived well over 30minutes of persistent attacks by twoLightnings. There is no reason to expect that itwould have fared any worse against theWarsaw Pact fighters of the era ‘for real’ and inmost cases attacking fighters probably wouldnot have had the same persistence as we didhaving taken off full of fuel specifically for thisexercise. I don’t know who that Vulcan crewwere, as I was not able to debrief with themafter the sortie, even by telephone, but I takemy hat off to them! I was most impressed; theVulcan went up in my estimation no end afterthat fight and I have never forgotten it.

The last word should perhaps go to JohnReeve, a Vulcan pilot with many hours ontype who said: “At high altitude, the Vulcanwas a delight to fly. She needed strangehandling techniques – lots of rudder and verylittle aileron – but with a low wing loadingshe could out-turn all the current UK fightersif you could determine when to turn by usingour radar threat receivers.”

I can’t argue with that! �

Avro Vulcan 115

At its operational height the Vulcan was claimed to be able to outmanoeuvre anyfighter in squadron service of its day. Luigino Caliaro

“…THIS VULCAN SURVIVEDWELL OVER 30 MINUTES OFPERSISTENT ATTACKS BY TWO

LIGHTNINGS.”

“In my mind I can still see that hugeshape closing behind me in a lefthand turn.”Mark Meades

WarriorWaddington’s

T ravellers going up and down theA15 just south of Lincoln eachday can’t help but notice RAFWaddington’s ‘gate guardian’aircraft, Vulcan B2 XM607. This

preserved V-bomber has found a mostappropriate home at the Lincolnshire airbase, which was home to Vulcans for manyyears and it was there that XM607 was basedwhen it was prepared for its participation inthe Falklands War.

XM607 was first flown in November 1963,then delivered to the RAF by year’s end andfirst went into service with 35 Squadron atRAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, in January1964. A few years later the V-bomber movedto RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, before arrivingat Waddington in early 1968. RAF Waddingtonhas been its home base ever since.

At the time of XM607’s arrival theWaddington Wing comprised 44, 50 and 101Squadrons, and was later joined by IX

Displayed alongside the A15is Vulcan B2 XM607, whichgained its place in history byparticipating in three of theRAF’s Black Buck raidsduring the Falklands War.

Squadron. XM607 went onto the strength ofthe latter unit, before later joining 44Squadron. It was with 44 that the aircraftparticipated in the Falklands conflict.

XM607 was the reserve aircraft for BlackBuck 1 which took place on the night of 30April/1 May 1982. En route to Port Stanleyprimary aircraft XM598 developed a fault soXM607 took over. Going with the Vulcan onthe last outward leg before the bomb run wasVictor K2 XL189. The Vulcan succeeded indropping its 21 1000lb bombs on the airfield– and thus achieving the farthest reachingbombing raid ever carried out.

For Black Buck 2 on 3/4 May 1982,XM607 was the primary aircraft and againdropped 21 bombs on Stanley. It wasallocated as primary again for Black Buck 3,though the mission was cancelled due to foulweather. It was next in action for Black Buck7 on 11/12 June 1982. On this final Vulcanattack of the war it was tasked to bomb troop

concentrations around Port Stanley duringthe final stages of the hostilities.

No.44 Squadron was disbanded on 21December 1982, and the three-raid veteranVulcan was allocated for gate guard duties atits Lincolnshire base the following year. Itwas displayed within the station grounds, andinitially joined by Victor XL189 to representthe historic Black Buck raids. Unfortunatelythe tanker was scrapped in September 1989.

In later years XM607 was moved from itsdisplay position and moved around the basefor various appearances at the annualInternational Air Show. Then, in 2007, apermanent hard-standing for the Vulcan to bedisplayed on was constructed onWaddington’s far side adjacent to the A15.There it is seen by passers-by every day andacts as a reminder of the type’s participationin the complex Black Buck raids, whichproved to the Argentine forces that they werenot out of the reach of the RAF. �

Left: XM607 as seen from the A15 ondisplay at RAF Waddington. The Vulcanproudly wears the badge of 44Squadron and the City of Lincoln creston its tail. Jarrod Cotter

Main Picture: On Thursday 3 July 2008,XH558 arrived at Waddington to carryout its display authorisation ready for itsappearance at the WaddingtonInternational Air Show the followingweekend. It is seen here in the skiesabove XM607.Howard Heeley/DownTo Earth Promotions

Avro Vulcan 117

The Vulcan that took part in Black Bucks 1, 2 and 7, XM607, was allocated for ‘gate guard’ duties at RAF Waddington with itssupporting Victor XL189. This picture shows both aircraft; the Victor was scrapped in September 1989. François Prins

XM607 seen soon after being placed on permanent display within the grounds of RAFWaddington alongside theA15,where it would beeasily visible to the countless travellers going upanddown this busy road just south of Lincoln.Howard Heeley/Down To Earth Promotions

Superbly caught in the skies aboveEngland during July 2010,Vulcan B2XH558 ‘the Spirit of Great Britain 1960 –2010’ is the most powerful symbol of atense period in British history when thisaircraft and its sister ships stood atconstant readiness as a deterrent to all-out nuclear war. Luigino Caliaro

Ph

oto

co

pie

so

fth

isfo

rma

rea

lsoa

cc

ep

tab

le.

SUBSCRIPTION FORM ISSUE 7

To subscribe to Aviation Classics simply complete the form below and return to:

AC Subscriptions, Mortons Media Group Ltd, Freepost DC113,Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6BRI wish to subscribe to Aviation Classics, starting with issue 8:

� £30 (UK) � £38 (EU) � £44 (Rest of World)

I wish to subscribe by: � Direct Debit � Credit Card � Cheque

Payer’s details (must be completed)

Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms (please delete)

Initials Surname

Address

Postcode

Telephone

Mobile

Email

Delivery details (if different to above)

Mr / Mrs / Miss / Ms (please delete)

Initials Surname

Address

Postcode

On occasion Mortons Media Group Ltd may decide to contact you by post/ phone regarding information relating tocurrent offers of products or services (including discounted subscription offers) which we believe may be of interest to ourreaders. If you do not wish to receive such offers please tick this box �On occasion Mortons Media Group Ltd may decide to email/fax you regarding information relating to current offers ofproducts or services(including discounted subscription offers) which we believe may be of interest to our readers. If youwish to receive such offers, please tick this box �On occasion Mortons Media Group Ltd may permit 3rd parties, that we deem to be reputable, to contact you by post/phone/ fax/emailregarding information relating to current offers of products or services which we believe may be of interestto our readers. If you wish to receive such offers please tick this box �

Reference number (office use only)

Payment method

1.� DIRECT DEBIT

Instruction to Bank/Building Society to pay by Direct Debit:

I would like to change/take out a subscription for £30.00 per annum (UK/ROI only)

Account in the name of

Account number Sort code

Name of Bank/Building Society

Address

Postcode

Please pay Mortons Media Group Ltd direct debits from the account detailed in the instructions,

subject to the safeguards of the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may

remain with Mortons Media Group and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my

Bank/Building Society. Originator’s ID number: 830390

Signature Date

2. � CREDIT CARD

Please debit my: � Visa � Mastercard � Switch/Maestro

Card number:

Start date / / Expiry date / /

3 digit verification code Switch issue number

Signature Date

3. � CHEQUE I enclose a cheque made payable to Mortons Media Group

SUBSCRIBE TODAY ANDSTARTWITH ISSUE 8 – BOEING B-17 FLYING FORTRESSIn the next issue of Aviation Classicswe focus on one of the USAAF’srenowned daylight bombers, theBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress! Comprisingour usual popular mix of features andphotographs, numerous aspects of theB-17 story will be featured includingwartime 8th Air Force and RAFoperations as well as a look at someof the still airworthy warbirds.

� Photo: Luigino Caliaro

For the Falklands War of 1982, fiveVulcans were converted back to theconventional bombing role.VulcanB2 XM599 is seen here dropping itspayload of 21 1000lb bombs (one isout of shot), representing exactlywhat was carried out on Black Buck1 and 2. Time Line Images

A lthough the three V-bombers –Valiant, Vulcan and Victor –were intended to counter thethreat by the former SovietUnion, two of the trio found

fame a long way from Europe when they tookpart in operations to retake the FalklandIslands in 1982. One as a conventionalbomber, the other as an aerial tanker.

Argentine armed forces invaded BritishSovereign territory in March 1982 when theydecided that the Falkland Islands in theSouth Atlantic were theirs for the taking.However, the Prime Minister of the day,Margaret Thatcher, thought otherwise andbacked by the government and most of theHouse of Commons, a task force wasassembled to retake the British dependency.Operation Corporate was fought 8000 milesfrom the UK by land, sea and air elements.

What concerns us here is the use of twoformer RAF nuclear V-bombers – the AvroVulcan, operating as a conventional bomber,and the Handley Page Victor, supplying thetanker element. By March 1982, only threesquadrons of Vulcans remained operationaland they were scheduled to be withdrawn byJune 1982. Already most of the Vulcan forcehad been declared surplus and sold off orrelegated to museums and scrap or fire dumps.

On 5 April, all this changed when RAFWaddington personnel were instructed to

reinstate the in-flight refuelling system, whichhad been discontinued some years previously,to 10 Vulcans. Although the refuelling probesand plumbing were still in place on mostaircraft, the years of inactivity had caused thesystem fixtures to deteriorate and theyneeded to be renewed. Added to this, probeshad been removed from many Vulcans andbeen fitted to Nimrods and Hercules for long-range operations in the South Atlantic.

PREPARATIONSTen aircraft drawn from 44 and 50 Squadronswere surveyed at RAF Waddington andrestored to full operational status. Of these,five – XL391, XM597, XM598, XM607 andXM612 – were selected for conversion backto the conventional bombing role. They werethe only Vulcans that remained in servicewhich had complete Skybolt attachmentpoints and the associated ducts for routingcables to underwing hardpoints.

Given the operation codename ‘BlackBuck’, the aircraft were made ready to carry21 1000lb HE bombs. They were also fittedwith a Carousel INS inertial navigation systemand underwing pylons to carry WestinghouseAN/ALQ-101 ECM pods. These were usuallyto be found on Buccaneers and had to bequickly adapted for the Vulcan.

Five crews were selected for Black Buckand training for aerial refuelling commencedon 14 April. Normally such training is carriedout over several months, but now the crewswere given just 13 days to master the skill.Although the refuelling probes had beenserviced, they had suffered through lack ofuse and when initial link-ups were made, theprobe did not lock in correctly, with the resultthat fuel spilled and washed over the Vulcan’swindscreen, obscuring the pilot’s vision – notto be recommended at this crucial stage. Aquick modification was made by fitting tworows of flat plates directly ahead of thecockpit which directed the fuel spill from thewindscreen. Not ideal, but it worked. �

Avro Vulcan 123

‘Black Buck’Built as a Cold War nuclear bomber, the Vulcan saw action only at the very

end of its service life. François Prins has the story of its use in the Falklands.

XM607 and XM598 at Wideawake airfield on Ascension Island before Black Buck 1.David Oliver

Detail of the hastily fitted Shrikemissile rails under the wing ofVulcan XM598.David Oliver

Night refuelling practice was started on15/16 April, which was important for the Victortanker crews too, as they had not carried outthis operation at night either. Training sortiescontinued by now down to 200ft with the crewsgrowing in experience and confidence.

It had been hoped that a political solution,rather than a military option, could be foundfor the Falklands crisis, but the Argentinemartial government showed no interest inthe discussions. On 29 April, Vulcans XM607and XM598 took off from RAF Waddingtonen route for Wideawake Air Base onAscension Island; XM597 also departed as areserve aircraft but later returned toWaddington. The two Vulcans weresupported by Victor tankers and made the4100 mile journey to Ascension with notechnical problems. When the crews arrivedat Ascension, they had taken part in only onenight-refuelling exercise.

BLACK BUCK OPERATIONSShortly before midnight on 30 April 1982, thetwo Vulcans, XM598 as the primary aircraftwith XM607 as reserve, taxied out to therunway at Wideawake on Black Buck 1,accompanied by four Victor tankers. Aheadlay their target, Stanley airfield on theFalkland Islands some 3400 miles away. EachVulcan carried a full bomb and fuel load takingthe maximum all-up weight to 210,000lb.

At one-minute intervals with navigationlights off and in total radio silence, the aircrafttook off; they were followed by a second waveof seven Victor tankers. Once airborne, the V-bomber fleet climbed to 27,000ft and turnedsouth. Unfortunately, XM598 reportedproblems with cabin pressurisation andXM607, captained by Flight LieutenantMartin Withers, took over as the primaryaircraft. On board with Withers were FlyingOfficer Peter Taylor (co-pilot), FlightLieutenant Gordon Graham (navigator),Flight Lieutenant Bob Wright (radar plotter),Flight Lieutenant Hugh Prior (air electronicsofficer) and Flight Lieutenant Richard Russell(air-to-air refuelling instructor).


The bomb bay of the Vulcan was restored to carry 21 1000lb HE bombs – this showsthe bombs in place on XM607 before the first raid.David Oliver

A sketch made by artist Tim O’Brien of Martin Withers and XM607to commemorate the Black Buck operations. Tim O’Brien

Avro Vulcan 125

The formation climbed to 33,000ft andsettled on a speed and altitude that was suitablefor both types of aircraft. It had been estimatedthat the Vulcans would have to refuel five timeson the way to Stanley, but in the event theyneeded six transfers from the Victors.

As they flew south, the weatherdeteriorated but the formation continuedtowards their objective. After each refuelling,the Victors turned for home and eventually justtwo tankers (XH669 and XL189) remained withXM607. As they neared the Falklands, theweather got worse with gusting winds;Squadron Leader Bob Tuxford in Victor XL189refuelled the Vulcan for the last time and thengot ready to refuel the other Victor (XH669)flown by Flight Lieutenant Steve Biglandsbefore turning for home leaving XH669 tomake the final refuelling before the attack.

In appalling weather, Tuxford readied torefuel the second Victor, but the basket wasweaving all over the sky making it difficult forBiglands to lock on; he did so but the probebroke and the fuel transfer was not completed.There was only one alternative; the aircraft

Two Shrikes in place on one of the BlackBuck Vulcans. Time Line Images

Black Buck 5 was carried out on the night of 30/31 May 1982,when XM597, armed with Shrikes, was tasked to take out Stanleyairfield’s radar. Juanita Franzi/Aero Illustrations © 2010

Rather modestly painted on the noseof XM607 were three mission symbolsdenoting Black Buck 1, 2 and 7.David Oliver

would have to reverse roles, with XH669refuelling XL189 and for Tuxford to supportthe Vulcan. It was an awkward moment and themission could have been called off, butTuxford made the decision to proceed.Biglands transferred what fuel he could spareand retained sufficient to get back toWideawake, as with the broken probe he couldnot be refuelled. Tuxford refuelled XM607,enabling Black Buck 1 to continue, but this lefthim with insufficient fuel to reach Ascensionwithout a further in-flight refuelling.

By now the other Victors had landed atWideawake and one of them was quicklyrefuelled and launched to get to XL189 before itwas too late. Tuxford continued his flight backto Ascension and was 600 miles away – withjust 30 minutes of fuel remaining – when hesaw the welcome sight of a Victor tanker out ofWideawake ready to refuel his aircraft. Theylocked on and a successful transfer of fuel wascompleted to allow XL189 to make a safelanding at Ascension. That was not the end ofthe mission as the Victor tankers were nowready to launch to bring the Vulcan back. �

It must be stressed that all the air-to-airrefuelling was carried out in total radio silenceand transfers were made using three sets oflights: red – not ready or emergency; amber –tanker ready; and green – fuel flow. Had BobTuxford not made the decision when he didthen the mission would have been aborted.

STANLEY BOMBEDFlight Lieutenant Martin Withers continuedon the sortie to drop the 21 1000lb ‘iron’bombs on Stanley’s runway from 8000ft at04:38hrs local. As the Vulcan neared theislands, Withers descended to 300ft to evaderadar before using the established ‘pop-up’manoeuvre to climb to height for thebombing run. Although the aircraft waspicked up by Argentine radar, the on-boardECM units were switched on and contact waslost. Withers took the Vulcan diagonallyacross the runway to ensure that at least onebomb would hit the concrete; five secondswas all it took to drop the 21 bombs.

At 07:46 Zulu the codeword ‘Superfuze’ wassent to RAF Strike Command at HighWycombe. It meant the Black Buck 1 hadbeen successful and that the Vulcan was onits way back. It also signalled to theArgentine government that Britain was notabout to let the Falkland Islands go. It furtherdemonstrated that if the Vulcan could reachthe Falkland Islands, it could easily reachArgentina itself.

Due to the weather conditions and the fuelburn, the Vulcan had used more thanplanned, but Victor tankers were standing byand a transfer took place off the coast ofBrazil. In all, XM607 was air-refuelled 17times by Victor K2 tankers and was airbornefor 15 hours 45 minutes to complete the(then) longest bombing mission on record.Vulcan XM607 touched down at Wideawakeat 14:52 Zulu. This attack was followed atdawn by a low-level attack on the airfield byRoyal Navy Sea Harriers operating fromHMS Hermes. Withers was awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross and Tuxford theAir Force Cross.

The intention of the raid had been to denythe use of the runway to halt ArgentineDassault Mirage, Dassault Super Etendardand Douglas Skyhawks being deployed. Inthe event, reconnaissance photographsrevealed that one bomb had struck therunway cutting it in half making it unusableby fast jets.

On the night of 3/4 May, a second Vulcanraid on Stanley, again using ‘iron’ bombs, wasmounted with the same aircraft nowcaptained by Squadron Leader R Reeve (withcrew: Flight Lieutenant DT Dibbins, FlightLieutenant MA Cooper, Flight Lieutenant JVinales, Flight Lieutenant P Standing andFlight Lieutenant Barry Masefield) whichmade a safe return to Ascension to completeBlack Buck 2. The bombs did not hit therunway but caused extensive damage toother parts of the airfield and to theArgentine forces stationed there.

Bad weather and strong headwinds enroute led to the cancellation of Black Buck

3 on 16 May, planned as anotherbombing mission.

During the next few weeks, Royal Navy SeaHarriers fought the Argentine Air Force andArmada (Navy) in the air while British troopsgained a foothold on the Islands supported byRAF Harrier GR3s, some of which used ‘smart’laser-guided bombs (LGB) for the first time.

Black Buck 4 was planned as the first anti-radar attack to be flown by Vulcan XM597armed with AGM-45A Shrike anti-radiationmissiles, carried on underwing hardpoints.Squadron Leader Neil McDougall’s crew wasbriefed to attack Argentine air defenceradars, but the mission was aborted followingtanker problems.

It was not until the night of 30/31 Maythat a third Vulcan sortie, codenamed BlackBuck 5, was successfully launched fromAscension when Vulcan XM597 armed withtwo Shrikes attempted to take out Stanleyairfield’s radar. Squadron Leader McDougallhad to orbit the Falkland Islands for almost


Pilot’s eye view of a Victor withrefuelling line extended – on BlackBuck raids the refuelling was donein the dark and with radio silence.François Prins

Vulcan XH558 and aVictor K2 re-enact a Black Buck sortie for the cameras.Cliff Knox

an hour before the Shrikes locked on to aTPS-43 surveillance radar aerial. The raidproved only a partial success with theArgentine radar back in operation within 36hours of the attack.

One advantage of the anti-radar missionswas that due to the reduced weaponspayload, XM597 could carry extra fuel in thebomb bay tanks and would only require fourair-refuelling sectors en route to the target.

A WEEK IN RIOA second Vulcan anti-radar attack, BlackBuck 6, was mounted on the night of 2/3June, but was frustrated by the Argentinesshutting down their radars before themissiles could lock on to any emissions. Thecrew had to tempt the Argentines to turntheir gun-laying control radar back on byflying directly over Stanley airfield. The ployworked and two Shrikes were launched,destroying a Skyguard radar.

Due to its low fuel state, XM597 egressedthe target area and headed for the tankerrendezvous. However, the crew were to havemore problems on the return flight followingdamage to the Vulcan’s refuelling probe, andwere forced to divert to Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, after firing one of the two remainingShrikes, the other failed to launch. Here theaircraft was impounded, the remainingmissile confiscated, and the crew held for aweek before being released to fly XM597back to Ascension on 10 May. � Vulcan fitted with four Shrike missiles. Time Line Images

Vulcan XM607, which took part in three Black Buck missions, seen on take-off.Cliff Knox

The complicated refuelling plan that was devised to support Black Buck1 – it worked exactly as planned and made the mission a success.

Avro Vulcan 127

Bad weather during early June slowed theBritish advance to Stanley and anotherVulcan raid was called for. The last heavybomber raid of Operation Corporate,codenamed Black Buck 7, was also the lastever RAF heavy bomber sortie. The raid onthe night of 12/13 June with XM607 and thesame crew as Black Buck 1, with XM612 asreserve, saw anti-personnel air-burst bombsdropped on Stanley airfield. In XM607’sbomb bay were 1000-pounders and fused anti-personnel weapons to be used in support ofthe British troops now making their wayacross the island for a final showdown.

The following day, some 11,000 Argentinetroops surrendered to British forces. Duringthe eight-week conflict, Royal Navy SeaHarriers had borne the brunt of the airoffensive, shooting down 20 enemy aircraftplus a number of probables, while RAFHarriers flew more than 120 close air supportsorties, losing four aircraft to ground fire.

While only five Black Buck raids weresuccessfully carried out, the record of its sisterV-bomber, the Victor, must be acknowledged.Following the Argentine invasion of theFalklands and nearby South Georgia on 2April, an RAF Victor was the first RAF aircraft

to be committed to Operation Corporate. On 20April, a Victor K2 flew from Ascension to makea radar search over 150,000 square miles of theSouthern Atlantic around South Georgia. Theflight lasted 14 hours 45 minutes, then thelongest operational reconnaissance mission inhistory. The Victor tankers were to fly a total of600 sorties, operating from the first day of theconflict to the last.

Although the Vulcan raids, carried out inalmost total radio silence, had done littlepermanent damage to the airfield and airdefence radars, it must be remembered thatthey were carried out at extreme range by onlya single aircraft. Nevertheless, it should also berecognised that the Black Buck raids had aprofound psychological effect on the Argentinetroops occupying the Falklands, who for thefirst time were made to realise that theywould have to fight if they hoped to retainthe Malvinas, as they called the Islands.

Six months later, 44 Squadron, thelast to operate the Vulcan bomber,disbanded, although a few Vulcans thathad been converted to tankers remained inservice until March 1984. The Victor tankerwould survive another decade of service, andanother conflict – the first Gulf War. �


Excellent study of a Handley PageVictor K2 taken in 1990. Cliff Knox

A busy scene showing 13 Victors at Wideawake in support of the Black Buck operations,plus three Nimrods and two Harrier GR3s.RAF Cottesmore via David Oliver

For his part in Black Buck 1, Flt LtMartin Withers was awarded the DFC.

“IT FURTHER DEMONSTRATEDTHAT IF THE VULCAN COULD

REACH THE FALKLANDISLANDS, IT COULD EASILYREACH ARGENTINA ITSELF.”

Coming next from Aviation Classics…We focus on one of the USAAF’s renowned daylight bombers, theBoeing B-17 Flying Fortress! Comprising our usual popular mix offeatures and photographs, numerous aspects of the B-17 story will befeatured including wartime 8th Air Force and RAF operations as wellas a look at some of the still airworthy warbirds.

For pre-ordering andsubscription details call 01507 529529or go online at www.aviationclassics.co.uk

On the Aviation Classics website you’llfind historic aircraft and aviation heritagenews highlights.There are also onlinearticles and videos.

www.aviationclassics.co.uk

NEXTISSUE

ISSUE 8will be on salein early 2011,priced just£6.99

Boeing B-17Flying Fortress

Photo: Luigino Caliaro

MID-LIFE CRISIS AVERTED!

Stal l ion 51 Corporat ion • 3951 Merl in Dr. • K iss immee, FL 34741Phone 001-407-846-4400 • Fax 001-407-846-0414 • www.sta l l ion51 .com

www.STALLION51.com

ORIENTATION FLIGHTS. CHECKOUT TRAINING.

Buying a sports car is so cliché. Climb into the cockpit and take controlof the legendary P-51 Mustang. Log flight time with a highly skilledinstructor pilot and experience the outstanding maneuverability andperformance of this incredible fighter aircraft. Regardless of your flightexperience, the first-class team at Stallion 51 makes flying a Mustangthe adventure of a lifetime

Our world-class Mustang facility is located at the Kissimmee MunicipalAirport, Kissimmee, Florida – just minutes from Disney World Resort.

A11001VICKERS VALIANTThe Vickers-Armstrongs Valiant was aBritish four-jet bomber, once part ofthe Royal Air Force’s V bomber force.As the Valiant was an entirely newclass of aircraft for the RAF. It was thefirst RAF aircraft to drop a Britishoperational atomic bomb in October1956.

A50097AVRO VULCAN B MK2 ‘VULCAN TO THE SKY’XH558 was the last Vulcan to leave RAF service,flying on from 1986 to 1993 as the single RAFDisplay Vulcan, a career of 33 years. Her final flightwas on 23rd March 1993 to BruntingthorpeAerodrome in Leicestershire, having been sold offby the Ministry of Defence.

www.facebook.com/officialairfix

Join the AIRFIX Club

www.youtube.com/officialairfix

www.airfix.comwww.airfix.com

A50

097AvroVulcan

FOR SCHOOLS AND ALLYOUTH ORGANISATIONS

V FORCEV FORCE

BRAND NEWMODEL FLYINGONTO THE SHELVESEARLY 2011

£1 from the sale of thisproduct will be donated tothe ‘Vulcan To The Sky Trust’

Aviation Classics - Issue 7

Documents

Transcript of Aviation Classics - Issue 7