Tag: Avro Vulcan

Avro Vulcan: part 4. The final Black Buck raids.
The Avro Vulcan

Whilst the Avro Vulcan may be well known for its missions to the Falkland Islands in 1982, its history goes back to the end of the Second World War and the very beginnings of the Cold War. On 9 August 1945, the second atomic bomb, Fat Man, was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. That very same afternoon, Prime Minister Clement Attlee decided that the United Kingdom had to have its own independent atomic bomb – ‘Blue Danube’ – and of course a means of delivering it. Enter the Avro Vulcan, together with its stable mates, the Vickers Valiant and Handley Page Victor. Their primary purpose then – and indeed until 1968 – was to drop an atomic bomb on Moscow and other Russian targets.

The Avro Vulcan first flew on 30 August 1952 and entered service with the RAF in early January 1957 with No. 83 Squadron. Together, the Vulcan, Valiant and Victor mounted the UK’s Strategic Nuclear Deterrent. Across East Anglia and further, there were always at least 20 bombers, fully fuelled with live nuclear bombs loaded – known as ‘Quick Reaction Alert (or QRA). The five-man crew were in huts, or caravans nearby, on 48-hour shifts, where they always had to be in flying kit, ready to scramble in less than 4 minutes. Why less than 4 minutes? That was the time a Soviet missile would have taken from launch in East Germany to detonating over the bombers’ bases!

From 1957 to 1969, the bombs became more powerful: from the equivalent of 40 thousand tons of TNT of Blue Danube (1957) to the one million tons of Yellow Sun II (1968). But Soviet air defences also grew stronger. And by 1968, the Vulcan would no longer have been able to reach its Soviet targets so the nuclear deterrent was transferred to the Royal Navy’s nuclear powered submarines with their Polaris missiles. The Vulcan continued to carry nuclear weapons through to the end of the 1970’s in a tactical role.

Thankfully the Vulcan only went to war once. In 1982 the Vulcan came to be used, not in its nuclear delivery role, but one of conventional bombs and missiles. Much has been written about the bombing raids on Port Stanley airport, less perhaps about the anti-radar missions that the Vulcan undertook towards the end of the war. This blog will therefore centre on those missile actions, but commence with an overview of the bombing raids, so as to be able to set the scene.

The Argentinian invasion of the Falklands

Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on the 2 April 1982. The RAF’s initial involvement included transporting personnel and freight to Ascension Island, which became a key staging post to the Islands. As can be seen from the map below, Ascension was still a long way away from the Falklands.

As Britain’s response to the invasion was being developed, centring on the formation of a Task Force, thought was being given by the RAF as to what sort of offensive action might be possible. Preventing the use by the Argentine forces of the runway at Port Stanley was a key objective, as well as demonstrating that locations in Argentina were at risk from aerial attack. The Avro Vulcan was seen as the only viable aircraft with the range and weapons able to reach the Islands. Planning started, looking at how in-flight refuelling could operate, how the attack on the runway could be delivered (height, direction, speed, deployment of bombs etc) and how to counter the Argentine missile and gun defences.

The Vulcan’s full conventional bomb load of 21 1,000lb bombs was to be used. This is illustrated by the display beneath the RAF Museum London’s Vulcan as below.

Air-to-air refuelling (AAR) was key and a complicated plan was developed, using the majority of the RAF’s Victor tanker resources.

A major issue was that the Vulcan fleet and its crews had not used AAR in any form for many years. The Vulcan’s Cold War nuclear strike role did not require AAR. Therefore, the aircraft’s equipment had to be restored and crews trained; indeed, many necessary parts for the conventional missions and AAR had to be scavenged from scrap yards and museums! This took place at great speed and by early May Operation Black Buck was ready to be launched. One particular issue, as described by Martin Withers, the pilot of the first mission, was that the pilot cannot see the end of the Vulcan’s nose refuelling probe, which needs to go into the Victor tanker’s drogue.

The first mission was successful, with at least one bomb hitting the runway and thereby disrupting the Argentines ability to use it as a supply line or to launch attacks from. There were issues with the refuelling, whereby one of the Victors had a damaged refuelling probe, as well as the Vulcan’s own fuel consumption being higher than expected, but with the skill, experience and bravery of the crews involved, a successful mission was achieved. The crews had to keep a very close eye on their fuel consumption, these dials and others in the Vulcan cockpit would have been given lots of attention.

The Vulcan’s usual crew consisted of 5:
- Two pilots, side-by-side in the upper cockpit area. The Vulcan being equipped with unique ‘fighter’ type control sticks
In the rear, on a level down from the cockpit, facing the rear of the aircraft:
- Air Electronics Officer (AEO) on the right
- Navigator Plotter in the centre
- Navigator Radar on the left
In addition, for the Falklands operations, an additional crew member was carried. For the bombing raids this was an Air-to-air Refuelling Instructor (AARI), a Victor tanker Captain – to assist with the many refuelling link-ups. For the anti-radar missions, this was another pilot.

The missions were very long in both distance (the longest ever at that time) and duration: 6,000 nautical miles roundtrip, up to 16 hours for some. The crew had sandwiches and were able to heat up soup using the rather inefficient warmers located in the cockpit and rear cabin.

Black Bucks

Further bombing missions were flown – Black Bucks 2, 3 and 7. These contributed to the Argentinians not being able to base fighter jets at Port Stanley and their Air Force keeping aircraft and other resources back to protect the mainland bases and cities. Below is a reconnaissance photo of Port Stanley runway after the Black Buck raids. The string of bomb craters can be seen between red lines.

The Vulcan exhibited in the RAF Museum Cosford in the Cold War Hangar was the reserve aircraft for a number of the Black Buck raids – RAF Museum Cosford Vulcan

Before and during the bombing raids, great thought was put into how Argentine radars could be silenced. There were two main types in operation:
- Westinghouse TPS-43, two of which were in the Port Stanley area. These were used for the early warning of Royal Navy Sea Harrier, RAF Harrier and Vulcan operations and the tactical control of their own air operations (from the mainland and from the Islands themselves)
- Skyguard and other systems used to control anti-aircraft guns and missiles
Both of these added risk to the RN and RAF air operations. In addition, the TPS-43 units could help pinpoint where the RN aircraft carriers were, by tracking the Harriers and Sea Harriers to/from Hermes and Invincible.

A plan was required to try and put these radar units out of action. One key method is to use anti-radar guided missiles, which are specifically designed to neutralise this type of threat. The Martel missile used by the UK had an anti-radar version, so this was the initial proposal. Tests were undertaken using a Vulcan aircraft, but after a series of trials it was concluded that it was not feasible. There were concerns over the Martel’s ability to differentiate between the locations of the two Argentine TPS-43 units – one being located in the area of Port Stanley town and thus there was a risk to the civilian population. Also, the Martel did not handle the gun/missile guiding radar and could not be guaranteed to operate after a prolonged exposure to cold temperatures that would be experienced during a high-level transit to the Falklands.

Attention was then focussed on the American AGM-45 Shrike missile. These missiles came in two versions that catered for the TPS-43 and gun/missile radars and were only available from the US A loan of missile was arranged from the U.S. Air Force in Germany and trials were undertaken with a Vulcan, culminating with a test using a barge moored at sea, with a radar unit position on it (ironically a ‘Red Steer’ radar that is used on the Vulcan as a rear warning system). The trials were satisfactory and two Vulcans were fitted with a pylon on each wing that could hold two Shrikes each.

Black Buck 4 was planned for 28/29 May 1982. Because no bombs were carried two bomb bay additional fuel tanks could be fitted, which reduced the need for tanker support. On this occasion, however, one of the Victor tankers had a failure of their hose refuelling equipment, so the mission was aborted.

Black Buck 5 took place on 31 May 1982 with Vulcan XM597 led by Squadron Leader McDougall and his crew. Three runs over the target were made, so that the crew could identify the correct TPS-43 radar (making sure to avoid the one near Port Stanley town). Two missiles were launched at 6-7 miles out and the radar was identified as having stopped transmitting. Some shrapnel damaged one of the radar elements, but this was repaired quite quickly.

Black Buck 6

Black Buck 6 took place on 3 June 1982 with the same aircraft and crew. McDougall flew the Vulcan over the target area for 40 minutes hoping that the TPS-43 radar would be switched on and his crew could fire the Shrike missiles. This did not happen, so with fuel reserves dropping, the Vulcan’s Air Electronics Officer (AEO) fired two of the Shrikes configured for the Skyguard radar. They hit their target, knocking out that radar and killing four soldiers.

However, the Vulcan had big problems while attempting to refuel on the way back to Ascension. The refuelling probe on the Vulcan was broken and the Vulcan had to divert to Rio de Janeiro Brazil. The crew had to dispose of the secret codes and papers carried in the cockpit and put them into two metal containers. They depressurised the cockpit/cabin and opened the main entrance/exit hatch and threw the containers from 40,000 feet out into the South Atlantic. The crew then had great problems in closing the hatch and one of them had to hang head down, with a colleague holding onto his body, to be able to successfully close the hatch. They then had to jettison the two remaining Shrike missiles. Once they had checked that there were no fishing vessels in range, one missile was fired, but the other stayed on its pylon. A Mayday was declared and contact with the air traffic controllers at Rio International airport attempted. This was difficult because the crew’s voices were high pitched because of the depressurised cabin. The controller kept asking the AEO, who was handling communications, the aircraft’s origin, but this could not be revealed. In the end, as I understood it, Huddersfield was quoted as the origin (presumably one of the crew hailed from that town!) and the controller allowed the approach to the runway. The aircraft landed safely, but only with enough fuel for one more circuit of the airport.

The Brazilian authorities held the aircraft and crew for one week and were well treated. In fact, at a reception to commemorate the Queen’s birthday on 9 June, the Brazilian Chief of the Air Staff joined in raising a glass to Her Majesty! The crew flew the Vulcan back to Ascension on the 10 June.

Three years ago, I met two people who were involved in some way with to this mission. I was showing visitors the Vulcan cockpit and my first visitor that day revealed himself to be the Argentine Assistant Air Attaché, Mario Ortiz, who had an interest in the Vulcan and its anti-radar Falklands missions. He had a friend who was on the Falklands during the war, as part of the TPS-43 operation. He wanted to get in touch with Squadron Leader McDougall the pilot. By some luck (contacting the Scottish Museum where that Vulcan is displayed) I was able to pass an email onto Mario from McDougall. Mario sent me a photo of parts of a Shrike missile, as found on the Falklands.

Sometime later I was asked to show a Vulcan AEO and his family around our Vulcan. This was Rod Trevaskus who flew on Black Buck’s 5 and 6 and fired the missiles and handled the communications. He confirmed the story of the Brazilian diversion and kindly posed for this photo.

After the last Black Buck raid (7) and the surrender of the Argentine forces on the Falkland Islands, the Vulcan’s returned to the UK and soon afterwards the remaining squadrons disbanded. Six Vulcan’s were converted for AAR and these were operated by No. 50 Squadron until 1984. Two Vulcans, XH558 and XL426, were retained by the RAF as the Vulcan Display Flight, appearing at many air displays each year. XH558 retired in 1992. This Vulcan was sold and after years of work, XH558 returned to the air in 2007 and flew until 2015. Today the RAF Museum has two Vulcans on display. XM598 at our Midlands site and XL318 at the RAF Museum London.

To learn more about the Vulcan and in particular the interior, view Inside The Cockpit – Avro Vulcan B.2 – YouTube. I facilitated access to the London Vulcan for the Military Aviation History team and answered their questions.

2022 is the 70th anniversary of the Vulcan’s first flight and the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War. The RAF Museum will be commemorating these with a number of events, as well as activities such as the regular Cold War Tours and the Vulcan and the Cold War access tours.
1 June 2022
The Avro Vulcan: Part 3

On 1 May 1982, Britain woke up with the message by the BBC World Service that the Royal Air Force has bombed Port Stanley airport on the Falklands, occupied by the Argentinians. An incredible feat knowing that the islands were thousands of miles from the nearest airfield. This blog post will explore how the Avro Vulcan, on the eve of its replacement, was tasked with a mission it was never intended for.

The V-bomber, a nuclear deterrent during the Cold War

The Avro Vulcan is one of the most iconic and loved aircraft in RAF history. Its elegant delta wing and tremendous roar made it a popular attraction on flight shows. Its origin lay in the aftermath of the Second World War when Specification B.35/46 asked for a strategic bomber which could fly fast, far and high. Well, that’s what the Vulcan delivered.

The Avro Vulcan could fly at a maximum speed of 1,039 km/h (646 mph), close to the speed of sound, and climb up to 17,000 m (55,000 ft). This made it virtually impossible to intercept. It had a range of 4,195 km (2,607 miles) but was later equipped with an inflight refuelling capability, allowing it to strike targets deep into the Soviet Union. It could be armed with a nuclear bomb or 21 conventional 1,000 pounds (454 kg) bombs.

The Vulcan had a crew of five people: two pilots, a navigator, a radar operator and an electronic warfare operator. The latter was quite a novel role, revealing another Vulcan strength. It was equipped with radar warning equipment and electronic jamming equipment which could disrupt the Soviet radar and guided anti-aircraft missiles.

Despite these electronics, during the 1960s Soviet missile defences were becoming more effective which led to the decision to pass on the nuclear deterrence role to the Royal Navy with submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles. That is still the case today.

Too young to retire, the RAF found a new role for the Vulcan. It would fly at low altitude, so low enemy radar could not pick them up, to attack military targets closer to the frontline, such as missile sites, rail facilities, bridges, runways and railway lines, whilst area targets were aircraft on airfields, airfield buildings, airfield fuel installations and bomb stores, supply dumps and armoured fighting vehicle concentrations. The weapon of choice was a brand-new weapon, the WE177 nuclear bomb. In this capacity the Vulcan remained in service throughout the 1970s while awaiting the arrival of its intended replacement, the Panavia Tornado.

The Falklands: too far for the Vulcan?

When the Falklands Conflict erupted in 1982, the Vulcans were only weeks away from being taken out of service. Realising that it was the only bomber capable of bombing the occupied Falkland Islands from the nearest British air base, the Vulcans were called upon a last time. In fact, it was also the first and only time the Vulcan were used in combat.

However, there was a problem. A big problem! The nearest RAF station to the Falklands is 6,529 km (3,889 miles) away at RAF Wideawake on Ascension Island. To get a fully armed Vulcan to the Falklands it would require several mid-air refuels. That would also require that the tankers refuelled each other so the Vulcan could be refuelled along the way. To make matters worse, the Vulcan crews had given up training for aerial refuelling after the switch to low altitude attacks a decade earlier.

Much of the refuelling equipment was no longer available. A frantic search for parts was started, combing out RAF stations, but even further away. A couple of old Vulcans had been donated to the Americans to put in their museums. It was quickly found out these still had the refuelling probes. What followed was very embarrassing. A small team of RAF technicians hurried across the Atlantic. They arrived in civilian clothes and went sneaking around USAF museums, surreptitiously removing the Vulcan probes. At the end of the war, the RAF got a signal from Castle AFB Museum congratulating the RAF on their success … and demanding the immediate return of stolen property!

Several Handley Page Victor tankers landed at Wideawake but it was hardly an ideal RAF station. Ascension had only a single runway, nestled in between extinct volcanoes and high ground. Lining the runway was gritty volcanic dust and pumice stone, which was all too happy to be ingested by the engine intakes.

Black Buck, the Vulcan sends a message

The night of 30 April / 1 May was to be a pivotal moment during the Falklands Campaign with a planned bombing raid by a single Vulcan bomber on the Argentinian-held airfield of Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands. Three sections of Victors were formed; Red, White and Blue, and five tankers for the return flight. A most complicated refuel plan was designed to ensure that all tankers in both outbound and inbound waves would have sufficient fuel to be able to return to Wideawake. Today, in all probability a computer programme would be used for the intricate calculations but in 1982, the plan was worked out with an electronic pocket calculator. With hindsight the diagram might appear to be an obvious solution but, at the time, it was a major innovation.

13 Victors and 2 Vulcans started their engines, ready for take off at night from the single runway. ‘The deafening sound of the mighty four-jets as they struggled to get airborne must have been a spectacular sight. Ascension has not seen anything like this before.’ (Bob Tuxford) White-4 soon found out their hose was jammed and Blue-3 as reserve aircraft took its place. Shortly after, the crew of the primary Vulcan aircraft XM598, now on display at the RAF Museum Midlands, reported that they had an issue with their pressurisation, and they too had to withdraw. The reserve Vulcan under Flight Lieutenant Withers took its place.

After an hour and 45 minutes the first fuel transfer took place. The Victors of Red and White sections paired up and refuelled each other. Half of the aircraft were fully loaded with around 50,000 lbs of fuel each, while the other half was left with enough fuel to return to Ascension. The tankers of Blue Section did the same and refuelled the Vulcan.

With a five-ship formation left the next refuelling took place in the early morning. All of these took place in complete radio silence, which required tremendous discipline and confidence in each other and their own skills.

During the third refuel bracket, the aircraft had to endure a violent thunderstorm. One of the Victor’s refuelling probe broke, and was unable to take on the required fuel. The only way around it would be to reverse the action, give the fuel back to the donor Victor, flown by Bob Tuxford who would then continue the mission. Although physically and mentally exhausted, he had to go through the same dire weather conditions and connect his probe with the refuelling basket. After several minutes ‘chasing the basket’, he finally made contact and the fuel started to transfer.

The actual fuel status started to deviate further from the detailed refuelling plan. By the time Box Tuxford’s crew refuelled the Vulcan for the final time, Martin Withers stated he had not received sufficient fuel. As no more fuel or tankers were available, this was a terrible disappointment as it meant the entire mission was now compromised.

Box Tuxford consulted with his crew if they should transfer more fuel to ensure the operation was a success, even if it meant it would jeopardise their own chances making it back to Ascension. They decided to do so, allowing Martin Withers’ Vulcan to push on.

The Vulcan reaches the Falklands

Withers approached the Islands at low level to avoid radar detection. He made the final approach at 10,000 feet (3,000 m) while the Vulcan’s electronic countermeasures defeated the radar systems controlling the defending Skyguard anti-aircraft cannons. Twenty-one bombs were dropped of which one hit the runway.

One bomb may seem a poor effort but it was what was expected. The decision was taken to attack across the runway in the hope that at least one would hit. If they had flown along the length of the runway, they could have hit it with most of the bombs. But if the bombs dropped just 6 feet to either side, none would have hit the runway.

After dropping the bombs, Withers immediately headed north to a planned rendezvous with a Victor some way off the Brazilian coast near Rio de Janeiro. As they passed the British Task Force, the crew signalled the code word ‘superfuse’ indicating a successful attack at 0746Z.

So it was that the RAF fired the opening salvo in the Falklands campaign by bombing Port Stanley airfield on 1 May.

For Black Buck 1 the Vulcan was airborne for 16 hours 2 minutes, the long slot tanker for 14 hours 5 minutes while the total Victor flight time was 105 hours 25 minutes. The outbound plus the inbound waves of Victors uplifted 244,000 imperial gallons, that is 1.1 million litres. The Vulcan received 7% of the total and 20% was transferred between the Victors. At the final outbound transfer, the fuel passed to the Vulcan had passed through five different tankers.

Although the airfield was only lightly damaged, the impact was tremendous, especially mentally and politically. It sent a very stark message to Argentina. If the RAF can reach the Falklands, then it can reach Buenos Aires. As a result, they moved their Mirage fighter jets to protect the capital instead, away from the Falklands. It also meant that the Argentinians did not base fast jets on the Islands, which significantly reduced their ability to conduct offensive missions against the Royal Navy Task Force.

Although the worth of the Black Buck operations had been proven , the ability to replay the Vulcan card was limited by a couple of crucial factors . Wideawake had only limited aircraft parking space. Using all tanker capacity to conduct Black Buck raids meant no other Vulcan, Nimrod and Hercules operations could be carried out.

More Black Bucks

A few days later Black Buck 2 was carried out , with the same 2 Vulcans targeting the airfield. Later in the campaign, further Black Buck sorties were flown to neutralise an Argentine surveillance radar, using Shrike missiles that had been provided at short notice from American stocks.

Scheduled for 16 May, Black Buck 3 was cancelled before take-off due to strong headwinds. Black Buck 4 was planned for 28/29 May with Vulcan XM598, now on display at our Midlands site, as the chosen aircraft. Because no bombs were carried two additional fuel tanks could be fitted, which reduced the need for tanker support. On this occasion, however, one of the Victor tankers had a failure of their hose refuelling equipment, so the mission was aborted.

Black Buck 5 took place on 31 May with Vulcan XM597 with on board Squadron Leader McDougall and his crew, while our XM598 was the reserve Vulcan. Three runs over the target were made, so that the crew could identify the correct TPS-43 radar (making sure to avoid the one near Port Stanley town). Two missiles were launched at 6-7 miles out and the radar was identified as having stopped transmitting. Some shrapnel damaged one of the radar elements, but this was repaired quite quickly.

Black Buck 6 took place on 3 June with the same two Vulcans and their crews. McDougall flew the Vulcan over the target area for 40 minutes hoping that the TPS-43 radar would be switched on and his crew could fire the Shrike missiles. This did not happen, so with fuel reserves dropping, the Vulcan’s Air Electronics Officer (AEO) fired two of the Shrikes configured for the Skyguard radar. They hit their target, knocking out that radar and killing four soldiers.

However, the Vulcan had big problems while attempting to refuel on the way back to Ascension. The refuelling probe on the Vulcan was broken and the Vulcan had to divert to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The crew had to dispose of the secret codes and papers carried in the cockpit and put them into two metal containers. They depressurised the cockpit/cabin and opened the main entrance/exit hatch and threw the containers from 40,000 feet out into the South Atlantic. The crew then had great problems in closing the hatch and one of them had to hang head down, with a colleague holding onto his body, to be able to successfully close the hatch. They then had to jettison the two remaining Shrike missiles.

Once they had checked that there were no fishing vessels in range, one missile was fired, but the other stayed on its pylon. A Mayday was declared and contact with the air traffic controllers at Rio International airport attempted. This was difficult because the crew’s voices were high pitched because of the depressurised cabin. The aircraft landed safely, but only with enough fuel for one more circuit of the airport.

The Brazilian authorities held the aircraft and crew for one week and were well treated. In fact, at a reception to commemorate the Queen’s birthday on 9 June, the Brazilian Chief of the Air Staff joined in raising a glass to Her Majesty! The crew flew the Vulcan back to Ascension on the 10 June.

An afterthought

From an RAF point of view, the Falklands Conflict and Operation Black Buck were totally unexpected. For decades it only prepared itself for a nuclear exchange with the Soviets, which meant that the Vulcan crews had led a very sheltered existence within an air force which wasn’t used to going to war. It is a testament to their skills that they, like all RAF personnel, were able to adapt so quickly.

Avro Vulcan XM598 is on display at the RAF Museum Midlands, but also the RAF Museum London has a Vulcan on display. What’s more, it’s accessible to the public via our special Cold War Experience Tours. Have a look at our website for further details.

1 May 2022
The Avro Vulcan: Part 2

In my previous blog post I went over the early career of the Avro Vulcan. Designed as a high-altitude bomber with a nuclear payload, the Vulcan B1 was a magnificent weapon. However, technology of the 1950s and 1960s advanced rapidly and the Vulcan became too vulnerable against the latest Soviet air defences. This became painfully clear on Labour Day in 1960 when an American U-2 high-altitude spy plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. The Soviets also operated the supersonic MiG-21 interceptor which would have made the Avro Vulcan an easy target.

Various ways were devised to increase the survivability of the Vulcan. The improved B2 version had already received more powerful engines, a modified wing, inflight refuelling, and electronic jamming equipment. The latter would disrupt the Soviet air defences and increase its chances in hostile airspace. It was equipped with a Blue Diver low-band jammer, a Red Shrimp high-band jammer, a Green Palm VHF voice communications jammer, a Blue Saga radar warning receiver, chaff dispensers and a Red Steer tail-warning radar, derived from the radar used on Meteor night-fighters. The Divers would deny the Soviets early warning, the Shrimps negate their antiaircraft missiles and guns and Green Palm disrupt the Soviet VHF-based air defence network.

Most importantly was the Blue Steel stand-off weapon. This missile could be launched at 100 nautical miles from a heavily defended target and it could independently fly towards it at an altitude of 70,000 feet and a speed of Mach 2.5. It carried a 2-megaton bomb, capable of obliterating several Hiroshimas in a single strike. Blue Steel became the spearhead of the RAF’s Quick Reaction Alert concept. This QRA meant that there were always Vulcan crews and nuclear-armed aircraft on standby, ready to get into the air in minutes when the alarm sounded. Together they formed Britain’s primary nuclear deterrent.

The next step was to be the adoption of a longer-range standoff weapon, again increasing the survivability of the Vulcan. The UK joined the American Skybolt program in 1960 for a ballistic missile to be carried by the Avro Vulcan bomber. Armed with Britain’s own Red Snow warhead, it could be launched 970 km (600 miles) from the target. When the Americans unilaterally cancelled the programme, the Vulcan was left without an alternative upgrade. This led to a diplomatic rift within the Special Alliance, known today as the Skybolt Crisis. An emergency meeting between parties from the US and UK was called, leading to the Nassau agreement in which Britain was offered the advanced Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Although Britain’s nuclear deterrence had its credibility restored, this role would go from the Royal Air Force to the Royal Navy. This remains the situation today as the Royal Navy has four submarines armed with Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles, each with up to 14 nuclear warheads, and able to be fired underwater. A recent political decision has been taken to continue this weapon system although this author wonders if spending £200 billion on building new nuclear-armed submarines in a post-Cold War era is a viable alternative to using this money on increasing the living standards of Britain’s population, funding the NHS and tackling global warming.

The Vulcan re-invented

While awaiting the introduction of the Polaris missile system the Vulcan flew on… at lower altitude. Soviet missile defences had become so effective that in 1966, despite the improvements of the B2, Vulcans switched from high-to-low-level penetration. Flying at low level through the European valleys would allow the Vulcan to remain undetected by Soviet radar. Although the Vulcan was capable of doing so, it was not a comfortable ride for its crews. The large wing gave the Vulcan excellent performance at high altitude but at low altitude it was a bumpy ride. Speed was also reduced to a mere 650 km/h (400 mph).

While Polaris was to be attack targets deep within the Soviet Union, the Vulcan crews of the eight operational squadrons were tasked with attacking military targets closer to the frontline. It would then attack them with a brand-new weapon, the WE177 nuclear bomb. Individual targets for WE177s were soft missile sites, rail facilities, bridges, runways and railway lines, whilst area targets were aircraft on airfields, airfield buildings, airfield fuel installations and bomb stores, supply dumps and armoured fighting vehicle concentrations.

Interestingly, the RAF considered the 10-kiloton bomb, although of a similar strength to what was dropped over Japan in 1945, insufficient to destroy such targets. It was only adequate if used against soft pinpoint targets such as unhardened missile sites. Indeed, the fatal radius of such a bomb was less than a mile in diameter. Dropping a bomb just a handful of seconds too late would mean the target would probably remain operational. If you are interested in finding out more about the WE177, I can recommend the upcoming virtual lecture by Dr Thomas Withington.

The Vulcan had found a new breath of fresh air, albeit with a slight nuclear taste. For the duration of the 1970s the Vulcan crews trained in their aircraft while new aircraft, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, were brought into service. The Blackburn Buccaneer, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and the Sepecat Jaguar were more advanced strike aircraft. And yet, the Vulcan crews were sent across the world to participate in prestigious training and competitions.

None were most prestigious than Giant Voice in which they competed with their American colleagues. Four aircraft with crews were invited to compete. In 1978 they were tasked to fly across most of the Southern States at night, find the target and bomb it as accurately as possible. Using radar navigation and bombing technology derived from that used in the Avro Lancasters of the Second World War and even using celestial sextants, they were up against the most modern fighting force in the world. The RAF has a long history of making do with what they had, and the crews rose to the occasion in these competitions.

Following their experiences in Vietnam, the Americans developed a realistic operational training programme in which air defence fighters, radars, electronic counter measures, guns and missiles simulated Soviet air defences and used their operating procedures. The concept became known as Red Flag and was conducted over the Nevada desert. The RAF was invited to participate. It selected the best crews to participate. It was then no surprise that when the Vulcan were sent to war in 1982, these were the crews sent to the Falklands.

The Falklands crisis happened at a time when the Vulcan was only weeks away from retirement, while awaiting the new Panavia Tornados. Realising that it was the only bomber capable of reaching the occupied Falkland Islands from the nearest British airfield, the Vulcans were hurried into combat. Incidentally, it was the first and last time the Vulcan was to be used operationally. But that is a story for the next blog post, which will appear as part of our online Falklands 40 campaign.

12 March 2022
The Avro Vulcan: Part 1

Today is not only the start of our Vulcan Challenge, which we invite you to be a part of, 14 January is also the anniversary of the delivery of the last Vulcan delivered to the RAF. On this day in 1965 the 134th Vulcan was taken into service. Two had been prototypes, 45 were of the earlier B1 design and 89 were improved B2 models.

The most distinctive aspect of the Vulcan is undoubtedly its large triangular ‘delta’ wing. The delta wing has been a common design feature for combat aircraft ever since but back in the 1950s this was considered revolutionary and somewhat risky. The tailless delta, that is without a horizontal tail plane, had been a theoretical model in aeronautics for a while as it promised a combination of low drag, lightweight structure and room for internal fuel.

German engineer Alexander Lippisch in Germany was the first to build such a triangular wing and in 1931 he flew the first tailless delta plane. During the Second World War, he designed several delta wing fighter and bomber aircraft although none were ever built. Beside the delta wing aircraft, he also designed the world’s first and only operational rocket fighter. The Me 163 Komet was the fastest aircraft in the world. A rare example is on display at the RAF Museum Midlands. After the war the advanced German aeronautical ideas and technology were eagerly studied by the victorious Allies. Even Lippisch himself was hastily brought to the US, where he was recruited by Convair, a major aircraft manufacturer.

Avro, together with Vickers, Short Brothers and Handley Page, was asked to design a new strategic bomber aircraft under Specification B.35/46. It had to meet the following requirements:

– a large flight range

– be able to carry a large weapon load

– a high top speed

– be able to operate at great heights

– easy to maintain

– able to be used anywhere.

Avro’s team under the leadership of the designer of the Lancaster, Roy Chadwick, realised that this would not have been possible with a conventional design. They quickly adopted the Lippisch delta wing configuration. The new aircraft would have a leading edge at an angle of 45° and the four most powerful turbojet engines available.

To help gain data for the radical new design, one-third scale model ‘mini-Vulcans’ were built. These were the Avro Type 707s. The first 707 flew in 1949 and although the first prototype crashed and killed its test pilot, they proved the validity of the Avro design. The RAF Museum has a 707C in its collection. This is WZ744, the only two-seater variant, meant to train pilots for the single-seat 707s. The RAF Museum is looking for a partner to take over WZ744 which hopefully will lead to it returning to public display soon.

The first Vulcan flew on 30 August 1952, watched by Avro employees and a small band of press. The gloss white painted VX770 was fitted with an ejection seat for the pilot, a conventional control wheel, powered by four Rolls-Royce Avon engines, but I did not yet have its wing fuel tanks installed. A temporary tank was carried in the bomb bay.

The aircraft was flown by Wing Commander Roly Falk, who had been the Chief Test pilot at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough where he flew around 300 different aircraft. In 1950, he joined Avro and in subsequent years he demonstrated the Vulcan at the annual Farnborough air show, where in 1955 he amazed the crowd by barrel-rolling the Vulcan across the airfield. He was rebuked by the organisers for this manoeuvre, but only because performing aerobatics in an aircraft weighing 69 tons and with a 99-foot wingspan was ‘not the done thing’.

At Falk’s suggestion, a fighter-style control stick replaced the control wheel. Falk was famous for flying in a pin-striped lounge suit, tie, pocket handkerchief and often sunglasses. Find out more about Falk and other test pilot in the excellent blog post by Museum Volunteer Tim Bracey.

The test flights by Falk and his fellow test pilots revealed that the Vulcan’s wing, at higher speeds, was suffering from buffeting during manoeuvres. It necessitated a partial re-design. The production B1 gained a kinked and dropped leading edge, as well as more powerful Bristol Olympus engines.

The first Vulcan B1s entered service in 1956 with No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit at RAF Waddington. The aircraft had a crew of five people: two pilots, a navigator, a radar operator and an electronic warfare operator and had a bomb bay initially intended for two atomic bombs of the Yellow Sun Mk 1 type and later for the WE177. The Vulcan started its career as a strategic bomber intended for high-altitude operations.

Four years after the Vulcan B1 work began on an improved B2 design with more powerful engines, modified wing, electronic jamming equipment and inflight refuelling capability. The increased performance offered by the Vulcan B2 made it ideal for modification to carry the Blue Steel nuclear stand-off bomb. This weapon allowed the aircraft to launch its attack from outside the immediate missile defences of a target and thereby extended the effectiveness of the Royal Air Force’s airborne deterrent.

By 1966 Soviet missile defences had become so effective that, despite the improvements of the B2, Vulcans switched from high-to-low-level penetration. In 1970 the decision was taken to withdraw them from the nuclear deterrent in 1970 in favour of the Polaris ballistic missile system which could be fired underwater by the Royal Navy.

As a result, Vulcans switched to the conventional bomber role in support of NATO ground forces in Europe. In this capacity the Vulcan remained in service throughout the 1970s while awaiting the arrival of the Panavia Tornado. When the Falkland Conflict erupted in 1982, the Vulcans were on the verge of being taken out of service. Realising that it was the only bomber capable of bombing the occupied Falkland Islands from the nearest British air base, the Vulcans were readied for combat. Later this year, we will launch a couple of more blog posts to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Falklands.

Today the entries opened for our Vulcan Challenge 2022. Choose your distance and soar your way to 100km, 250km or 500km. Standard entry starts at £20.00 and Armed Forces Entry from £15.00. And when you are next at the Museum, make sure you have a closer look at the magnificent design of the Avro Vulcan.

14 January 2022