1 Design and prototypes

Design work began at A. V. Roe in 1947 under Roy Chadwick, the Ministry of Defence specification required a bomber with a top speed of 500 knots (930 km/h), an operating ceiling of 50,000 ft (15,000 m), a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,500 km) and a bomb load of 10,000 lb (4,500 kg). It also held the distinction as the first fly-by-wire aircraft to enter service. Design work also began at Vickers and Handley Page, all three designs were approved - the Valiant, the Victor and the Vulcan.

Avro began scale prototype testing in 1948 with the single-seater Type 707, and despite the crash of the first prototype on September 30, 1949 work continued. The first full-scale prototype aircraft, the Type 698, was completed in August 1952 and made its maiden flight on August 31. The Vulcan name was not chosen until 1953.

2 Operational aircraft

In September 1956, the RAF received its first Vulcan B.1, XA897, which immediately went on a fly-the-flag mission to New Zealand. On October 1, while approaching London Airport to complete the tour, XA897 crashed short of the runway in bad weather conditions. The second Vulcan was not delivered until 1957, and the delivery rate picked up from then. The B.2 variant was first tested in 1957 and entered service in 1960. It had a larger wing and better performance than the B1 and had a distinctive kink in its delta wing to reduce turbulence. In all, 134 Vulcans were produced (45 B.1 and 89 B.2), the last being delivered to the RAF in January 1965. The last operational Vulcan squadron was disbanded in March 1984.

3 Nuclear deterrent

As part of Britain's independent nuclear deterrent the Vulcan initially carried Britain's first nuclear weapon, the Blue Danube gravity bomb. The bomb load was gradually updated to Yellow Sun and then Red Beard and from 1962Events January January 1 Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand January 3 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro January 4 New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board January 8 Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is e 26 Vulcan B.2A were armed with the Blue Steel missileBlue Steel was a British air-launched, rocket-propelled nuclear stand-off missile, built to arm the V bomber force. Development Blue Steel was the result of a Ministry of Supply memorandum from 5 November 1954 that predicted that by 1960 Soviet air defens. When Blue Steel was decommissioned and the replacement program for the Skybolt ALBM was cancelled the bombers reverted to gravity bomb loads, despite the lack of credible deterrent value in this delivery method.

4 Conventional role

Vulcans were converted to a conventional bombing role in 1966Events January January 1 In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. January 2 Strike of public transportation workers in New York City ends January 13 January 3 First Acid Test at the Fil, carrying 21 1000-lbs (454 kg) bombs. The only combat missions involving the Vulcan took place in the 1982Events January January 6 William Bonin is convicted of being the "freeway killer". January 8 AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions January 11 Mark Thatcher, son of the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, disappears in the Sahara du Falklands WarThe Falklands War or the Malvinas War ( Spanish: Guerra de las Malvinas , was an armed conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas between March and June 1982. Though surprised by an Argentine attac with ArgentinaArgentina is a Spanish-speaking country in southern South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast and Chile in th, when a number of Vulcans flew the 3,380 nautical miles (6,300 km) from Ascension IslandAscension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, a dependency of Saint Helena. The capital is Georgetown. The island became a dependency of Saint Helena in 1922 atter it transferred from the control of the Admiralty. It is home to Wideawake Fiel to Port Stanley to bomb the occupied airfield there with conventional bombs as Operation Black Buck. By this date the number of Victors available for air-to-air refueling was extremely limited, so some Vulcan aircraft were adapted in just fifty days to fulfill that role during the conflict. Five Vulcans were chosen for the operation, their bomb bays were modified, the fuel systems replaced and the electronics updated. The first bombing mission was on April 30- May 1 and there were five further bombing missions. At the time these missions held the record for the World's longest distance raids.

5 Miscellaneous

• The Vulcan was the first jet powered bomber to use delta wings.

• The Vulcan was used as test-beds for the Concorde engine, the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus and the Rolls-Royce Conway turbofan.

• A Vulcan featured in the James Bond film Thunderball. There are 21 Vulcans still relatively intact at air museums around the world.

5.1 Vulcan B1 specification

• Speed: Mach 0.92 (cruise)
• Ceiling:
• Range 2,607 nautical miles (4,800 km)
• Power: 4 Bristol Siddeley Olympus 101 turbojets at 195,700 N each
• Crew: 5 Pilot, Co-Pilot, Navigator Plotter, Navigator Radar and Air Electronics Officer

6 See also

• V-Bomber Force
• V-Bomber Dispersal Bases
• UK topics

7 External links

• Vulcans in Camera
• Vulcan on display at Castle Air Museum, California
• Vulcan history
• Vulcan Restoration Trust

List of Aircraft | Aircraft Manufacturers | Aircraft Engines | Aircraft Engine Manufacturers Airlines | Air Forces | Aircraft Weapons | Missiles | Timeline of aviation

British bomber aircraft 1950-1959

<Hide>