Avro Vulcan

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Avro Vulcan
Type	Strategic bomber
Manufacturer	Avro
Designed by	Roy Chadwick
Maiden flight	1952-08-31
Introduced	1956
Retired	March 1984
Status	21 on display in museums
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Produced	1956-1965
Number built	134

The Avro Vulcan was a British delta-wing subsonic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. The Vulcan was part of the RAF's V bomber force, which fulfilled the role of nuclear deterrence against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Contents 1 Design and prototypes 2 Operational aircraft 3 Nuclear deterrent 4 Conventional role 5 Maritime Radar Reconnaissance (MRR) 6 Aerial refuelling role 7 Restoration to flight 8 Trivia 9 Operators 10 Specification 11 Differences from B.2 Specification (Early 1970s finish) 12 In popular culture 13 References 14 External links 15 Related content

[edit] Design and prototypes

Design work began at A. V. Roe in 1947 under Roy Chadwick. The Air Ministry specification B.35/46 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 (5500 km) and a bomb load of 10,000 lb (approx 4,550 kg). Design work also began at Vickers and Handley Page. All three designs were approved — aircraft that would become the Valiant, the Victor, and the Vulcan.

The Type 698 as first envisaged was a delta wing tailess, almost flying wing design, as Avro felt this would be able to give the required combination of large wing area, sweepback to offset the transonic effects and a thick wing root to embed the engines; these were staggered in the wing with two forward and below and two back and above. Wingtip rudders gave the control. There were two bombbays one in each wing. This design was reworked in light of Ministry comments and became more conventional adopting a centre fusalage with side by side engines and a tail.

As the delta wing was an unknown quantity Avro began scale prototype testing in 1948 with the single-seater Type 707 aircraft, and despite the crash of the first prototype on 30 September 1949 work continued. The first full-scale prototype Type 698 made its maiden flight (after its designer had died) on 31 August 1952. The Vulcan name was not chosen until 1953. The first prototype had a straight leading edge this was subsequently modified to have a kink further out towards the wingtip.

Despite its large size, it had a remarkably small appearance on radar, and occasionally disappeared from radar screens entirely. It is now known that it had a fortuitously stealthy shape apart from the tail fin.

[edit] 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 1 October, while approaching Heathrow 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 B.1 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 military-operational Vulcan squadron was disbanded in March 1984.

On 14 October 1975 Vulcan B.2 XM645 of No.9 Squadron out of RAF Waddington lost its right undercarriage and damaged the airframe when it undershot the runway at Luqa airport in Malta. The pilot decided to do a circuit to crash land on runway 24 after it was covered with fire prevention foam. As the aircraft was turning inbound for the landing, it broke up in mid-air over the village of Zabbar, killing 5 of its 7 crew members. Large pieces of the aircraft fell on the village, but with very low casualties — one woman (Vincenza Zammit, 48), who was shopping in a street was hit by an electric cable and was killed instantly, and some 20 others were injured slightly. Only the pilot and co-pilot escaped, using their ejector seats.^[1]

[edit] Nuclear deterrent

As part of Britain's independent nuclear deterrent the Vulcan initially carried Britain's first nuclear weapon, the Blue Danube gravity bomb. Blue Danube was a low-kiloton yield fission bomb designed before the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb. The British then embarked on their own hydrogen bomb programme, and to bridge the gap until these were ready the V-bombers were equipped with an Interim Megaton Weapon based on the Blue Danube casing and Green Grass, a large pure-fission warhead of 400 kT yield. This bomb was known as Violet Club. Only five were deployed before a better weapon was introduced as Yellow Sun Mk.1.

A later model, Yellow Sun Mk.2 was fitted with Red Snow, a British-built variant of the U.S. Mk-28 warhead. Yellow Sun Mk.2 was the first British thermonuclear weapon to be deployed, and was carried on both the Vulcan and Victor. All three V-bombers also carried U.S. thermonuclear bombs assigned to NATO under the dual-key arrangements. Red Beard (a smaller, lighter low-kiloton yield) bomb was pre-positioned in Cyprus and Singapore for use by Vulcan and Victor bombers, and from 1962 twenty-six Vulcan B.2As and the Victor bombers were armed with the Blue Steel missile, a rocket-powered stand-off bomb, which was also armed with the 1.1 megaton yield Red Snow warhead. When the Skybolt ALBM was cancelled and Blue Steel retired, the Vulcan bombers adopted a high-low-high mission profile using a rapidly introduced parachute-retarded laydown bomb. This weapon WE.177B extended the life of the Vulcan in a strategic role until the British Polaris submarines were operational. WE.177B continued in use on the Vulcan in a low-level tactical strike role in support of European NATO ground forces, and outlived the Vulcan bombers, being used also on Tornado and other low-level strike aircraft until retirement in 1998.

[edit] Conventional role

Although the primary weapon for the Vulcan was nuclear, Vulcans could carry up to 21 x 1000 lb (454 kg) bombs in a secondary role. The only combat missions involving the Vulcan took place in the 1982 Falklands War with Argentina, when a number of Vulcans flew the 3,380 nautical miles (6,300 km) from Ascension Island to Stanley to attack Argentine radar installations with missiles and bomb the occupied airfield there with conventional bombs in Operation Black Buck [1] [2]. Victor aircraft were used for air-to-air refueling in a complex scheme described here: [3].

Five Vulcans were selected for the operation: their bomb bays were modified; the flight refuelling system that had long been out-of-use re-instated; the electronics updated; and wing pylons designed, manufactured, and fitted to carry an ECM pod and Shrike anti-radar missiles. The engineering work began on April 9 with the first mission on April 30–May 1, 1982. While only one 1000 lb bomb hit Stanley's runway, this first raid demonstrated the willingness and ability of the British to attack targets in the South Atlantic.

There were seven raids planned, but only five went ahead, with two scoring hits on radar installations. At the time these missions held the record for the world's longest distance raids. One effect was to force the Argentines to withdraw their Mirage II fighters from what had become their vulnerable position on the Falkland Islands to stand defence over the similarly at-risk Argentine mainland. The planning and execution of the "Black Buck One" raid has recently been described in Rowland White's book "Vulcan 607" [4].

[edit] Maritime Radar Reconnaissance (MRR)

On 1 November 1973 the first of 9 B.2 (MRR) aircraft was delivered to the reforming 27 Sqn at RAF Scampton for its main role of Maritime Radar Reconnaissance. The main external visual difference was the gloss paint finish and the lack of the Terrain Following Radar (TFR) ‘thimble’ from the nose below the air-to-air refuelling probe. The gloss paint finish, which was always with the light grey undersurface, was due to the secondary role of Air Sampling . As both roles were high altitude the TFR system was removed. Only 5 of the B.2(MRR)s were capable of the Air Sampling role, those that were included XH 558 & XH560. These aircraft could be distinguished by the additional hard points outside of the Skybolt points. These additional points would sometimes carry redundant Sea Vixen drop tanks that had had the nose section replaced by a newer section of a larger diameter. Another external, but much smaller, piece of equipment was carried just outboard of the port undercarriage main door. During the late 1970s some of the non-Air Sampling aircraft were exchanged with other Squadrons whose aircraft had a high fatigue usage. All B.2(MRR) aircraft were equipped with Olympus 201 ECUs. Three of the aircraft, XH534, XH537 and XH538 had the small Mk. 1 style of engine air intake. The B.2(MRR) was withdrawn from service on 31 March 1982, some of the aircraft going on to be converted for use as tankers.

[edit] Aerial refuelling role

After the end of the Falklands War, the Vulcan was due to be withdrawn from RAF service. However, the disbandment of 57 Squadron and delays in the operational availability of the Tristar left a gap in the RAF's air to air refuelling capability. As an interim measure six Vulcan B.2s were converted into AAR tankers and commissioned into service with 50 Squadron from 1982 to 1984.

[edit] Restoration to flight

The engineering staff of a professional company called the ""Vulcan To The Sky Trust " are working very hard to return Vulcan XH558 to flight; they are hoping to have the plane ready for a test flight in early 2007. Though the website carried an announcement on 1 August 2006 that the project was in imminent danger of being abandoned due to lack of finance,^[2] the target of raising the remaining £1.2m was achieved on 31 August, thanks to a high-profile publicity campaign orchestrated by the supporters club, Vulcan to the Sky Club(formerly Club Vulcan 558 Club). Time had almost run out for XH558 when Sir Jack Hayward, a British philanthropist, donated £500,000, which topped off the £860,000 already raised by VTSClub and the VTST Friends. It is now hoped that the aircraft will be ready in time for a fly past down the Mall in London for the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict on 17 June 2007, other public appearances for it in 2007 include the RAF Waddington Airshow and the Royal International Air Tattoo ( RIAT).^[3]

[edit] Trivia

• The Vulcan was the first jet-powered bomber to use delta wings.
• Wing Commander Roly Falk demonstrated the aircraft's high performance in the second production Vulcan, XA890, by performing a barrel-roll immediately after takeoff at the 1955 Farnborough Air Show.
• A Vulcan was used as a test-bed for the Concorde engine, the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus and the Rolls-Royce Conway turbofan.
• Although the Vulcan had a crew of up to seven, only the pilot and co-pilot were provided with ejector seats. This feature of the Vulcan has been the basis of significant criticism; there were instances of the pilot and co-pilot ejecting in an emergency leaving their colleagues to face death. The navigator plotter, navigator radar and electronics operator could only escape by leaving their seats and escaping out of the cockpit via the entrance door before the pilots had ejected. Their parachutes were opened automatically by static line. This door was situated underneath immediately forward of the front undercarriage and would have been a very tricky exercise if the latter was down at the time. The method of escape was practised regularly, and successfully put into action on more than one occasion, with all crew members surviving, but relied on the absence of g-forces which in other cases made it impossible.
• The wing tip of a Vulcan made contact with the runway during a New Zealand airshow. It landed safely, but with severe damage to one main undercarriage. There was a long delay while it was decided whether to scrap it, ship it back by sea, or repair it in situ. In the end, the aircraft was repaired by the RNZAF - who helpfully applied kiwi roundels. A display at the Ohakea branch of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Museum includes honeycombed skin from the damaged aircraft.
• Testing the brakes of the Vulcan included strapping the company photographer Paul Culerne to the front landing gear with the aircraft moving at full landing speed and photographing the brakes in operation.^[4]

[edit] Operators

• United Kingdom
  • Royal Air Force
    • No. 9 Squadron RAF
    • No. 12 Squadron RAF
    • No. 27 Squadron RAF
    • No. 35 Squadron RAF
    • No. 44 Squadron RAF
    • No. 50 Squadron RAF
    • No. 83 Squadron RAF
    • No. 101 Squadron RAF
    • No. 617 Squadron RAF
    • No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit

[edit] Specification

	Mk. B.1	Mk. B1A	Mk. B.2	Mk. B.2A	Mk. B.2(MRR) or (K)
Wingspan	99 ft	99 ft	111 ft	111 ft	111 ft
Length	92 ft 9 in	99 ft 11 in (105 ft 6 in with refuelling probe)	99 ft 11 in (105 ft 6 in with refuelling probe)	99 ft 11 in (105 ft 6 in with refuelling probe)	99 ft 11 in (105 ft 6 in with refuelling probe)
Height	26 ft 6 in	26 ft 6 in	27 ft 1 in	27 ft 1 in	27 ft 1 in
Wing Area	3,554 sq ft	3,554 sq ft	3,964 sq ft	3,964 sq ft	3,964 sq ft
Max. Take-Off Wt.	190,000 lb	190,000 lb	204,000 lb	204,000 lb	204,000 lb
Cruising Speed	Mach 0.86 (610 mph)	Mach 0.86 (610 mph)	Mach 0.86 (610 mph)	Mach 0.86 (610 mph)	Mach 0.86 (610 mph)
Maximum Speed	Mach 0.93 (632 mph)	Mach 0.93 (632 mph)	Mach 0.92 (625 mph)	Mach 0.92 (625 mph)	Mach 0.92 (625 mph)
Range	3,910 miles (3,395 nm, 6,293 km)	3,910 miles (3,395 nm, 6,293 km)	4,600 miles (3,995 nm, 7,402 km)	4,600 miles (3,995 nm, 7,402 km)	4,600 miles (3,995 nm, 7,402 km)
Service Ceiling	55,000 ft	55,000 ft	60,000 ft	60,000 ft	60,000 ft
Engines	4x Bristol Siddeley Olympus 101, 102 or 104	4x Bristol Siddeley Olympus 101, 102 or 104	4x Bristol Siddeley Olympus 201,202, 203 or 301	4x Bristol Siddeley Olympus 201,202, 203	4x Bristol Siddeley Olympus 201,202, 203
Fuel Capacity (Avtur/Mains only)	9,250 Imp. Gal.	9,250 Imp. Gal.	9,260 Imp. Gal.	9,260 Imp. Gal.	9,260 Imp. Gal.
Armament	nuclear bomb armed with a thermonuclear warhead or 21 x 1,000 lb bombs	nuclear bomb armed with a thermonuclear warhead or 21 x 1,000 lb bombs	nuclear bomb armed with a thermonuclear warhead or 21 x 1,000 lb bombs	1x Blue Steel nuclear missile or 21 x 1,000 lb bombs	None

Crew (All Mks):
Pilot, Co-Pilot, Navigator Plotter, Navigator Radar and Air Electronics Officer
(two extra seats could be fitted for Crew Chiefs if required, for a total of 7 crew).

Note: Fuel Capacity and Range is for main tanks only. Various combinations of extra bomb bay tankage (A, E or Drum) could be fitted dependent on the aircraft sortie requirements.

[edit] Differences from B.2 Specification (Early 1970s finish)

Avro 698 Prototype: --- 2 built

• 1 Crew initially (VX770), then 2 as per specification.
• No bomb aimer's blister (VX770).
• No armament.
• Avon, then Conway, finally Olympus engines.
• No Electronic Counter Measures (ECM).
• White finish.
• Straight wing leading edge.
• Smaller nose (No H2S radar fitted).
• No Flight Refuelling Probe (FRP).
• Longer nose undercarriage leg (both aircraft different).
• Wider undercarriage track.
• Four underwing airbrakes.
• No Airborne Auxiliary Power Unit (AAPU) – developed from Rover Gas Turbine car engine)

B.1 (early production): --- (included in build total below)

• Straight wing leading edge.
• Silver finish.
• No FRP
• No ECM
• Wider undercarriage track.
• Four underwing airbrakes.
• No AAPU.

B.1 (later production) --- 45 built

• White finish.
• No FRP
• No ECM
• Wider undercarriage track.
• No AAPU.

B.2 --- 89 built

• Originally white "anti-flash" finish
• Square top to fin from mid-1970s (Passive Warning Radar – PWR)
• Late 1970’s dark all over camouflage finish.

B.1a (B.1 converted to B.2 Spec internally.) 28 converted from B.1

• Wider undercarriage track.

(B.1 converted to B.2 Spec internally.)

B.2a --- B.2 conversions

• Bristol Siddeley Blue Steel
• Bomb doors recessed for Blue Steel.
• A & E bomb bay tanks only

B.2 (MRR)/SR.2 --- 11 converted (only 9 in existence at any one time.)

• No Terrain Following Radar (TFR)
• Fitted with LORAN navigation aid.
• 5 aircraft further modified for Air Sampling Role (ex- 543 Sqn. Victor SR.2 role).
• Retained gloss finish with light grey underside when B.2 given matte all surface camouflage

B.2 K --- 6 converted – from 3 B.2 & 3 B.2(MRR)

• Refuelling ‘box’ under tail cone
• Could be fitted with 3 bomb bay drum tanks (for self-use or tanking)

Total build 136

[edit] In popular culture

• The Vulcan bomber was featured in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball. Agents of SPECTRE hijacked a Vulcan bomber in order to use its two nuclear bombs for a ransom plot against the US and Britain. However, in the original novel, the bomber is known as the (fictional) Villiers Vindicator.
• The spaceship HMS Camden Lock in the BBC2 comedy series Hyperdrive bears the serial number XH558.
• Parts from two scrapped Vulcan bombers were used to make the set of the spaceship Nostromo from Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien (film)
• The Vulcun is featured in the Ace Combat computer game series.

[edit] References

• Wynn, Humphrey (1994). RAF Strategic Nuclear Deterrent Forces: Origins, Roles and Deployment 1946 - 1969. The Stationery Office. ISBN 0-11-772778-4. 
• Arnold, Lorna (2001). Britain and the H-Bomb. Palgrave. ISBN 0-333-94742-8 outside North America, ISBN 0-312-23518-6 North America only. 
• Holmes, Harry (2004) Avro - The History of an Aircraft Company Crowood Press, Wiltshire, UK. ISBN 1-86126-651-0.
• White, Rowland (2006) Vulcan 607 Bantam Press ISBN 0-593-05391-5 (cased) ISBN 0-593-05392-3 (tpb) Note: Fascinating account of Vulcan action in the Falklands War 1982
• Vulcan B.Mk.2 Aircrew Manual (AP101B-1902-15)

1. ^ http://john-dillon.co.uk/V-Force/xm645_malta.html
2. ^ http://www.vulcantotheskyclub.com
3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/5300748.stm
4. ^ http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/vulcan/history.html

[edit] External links

• Avro Vulcan Information
• Vulcan to the Skyand [5] Company heading restoration to flight of Vulcan XH558 at Bruntingthorpe UK.
• Vulcans in Camera
• Vulcan on display at Castle Air Museum, California
• Vulcan history
• Vulcan Restoration Trust
• Aircraft.co.za - Avro Vulcan
• Aerospaceweb.org - Information regarding the Avro Vulcan
• V-Bomber History

[edit] Related content

 

Comparable aircraft

• Vickers Valiant
• Handley Page Victor

Designation sequence

• 693 - 694 - 696 - 698 - 706 - 707 - 710

Related lists

• List of aircraft of the RAF
• List of bomber aircraft

See also

• V bomber
• V-Bomber Dispersal Bases