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Avro Vulcan

Avro Vulcan
Avro Vulcan:Vulcan.planview.640pix
A Royal Air Force Vulcan B.2(MRR)in flight.
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

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 (5500 km) and a bomb load of 10,000 lb (4500 kg). Design work also began at Vickers and Handley Page, and all three designs were approved — the Valiant, the Victor, and the Vulcan.

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

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 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 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 RAF Waddington lost its right undercarriage when it attempted to land 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]

Nuclear deterrent

Avro Vulcan:Royal Air Force Avro 698 Vulcan B.1
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Royal Air Force Avro 698 Vulcan B.1

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, and Yellow Sun Mk.2 was the first British thermonuclear weapon to be deployed, 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 26 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, WE.177B. This weapon WE.177 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.

Maritime Radar Reconnaissance (MMR)

On the 1st November 1973 the first of 9 B.2 (MRR) aircraft was delivered to the reforming 27 Sqn at RAF Scampton for it’s 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 was 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 1970’s 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 31st March 1982, some of the aircraft going on to be converted for use as Tankers.

Conventional role

Avro Vulcan:Avro Vulcan from Operation Black Buck at the Museum of Flight (Scotland), showing mission markings.
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Avro Vulcan from Operation Black Buck at the Museum of Flight (Scotland), showing mission markings.

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 (6300 km) from Ascension Island to Stanley to bomb the occupied airfield there with conventional bombs in Operation Black Buck. By this date the number of Victor aircraft available for air-to-air refueling was extremely limited, so some Vulcan aircraft were adapted in 50 days to fulfil that role. Five Vulcans were selected 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 1982 and there were five further bombing missions. At the time these missions held the record for the world's longest distance raids. While only one 1000 lb bomb hit Stanley's runway, the raid demonstrated the willingness and ability of the British to attack the Argentine defences.

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.

Restoration to flight

A team of volunteers and specialists called the "Vulcan 558 Club" (formerly "Vulcan To The Sky Club") are working 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. Time had almost run out for XH558 when Sir Jack Hayward, a British philanthropist, donated £500,000. It is now hoped that the aircraft will be ready in time for the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict in 2007. [3]

Trivia

Operators

Specifications (Vulcan B.2)

Avro Vulcan:Ventral view of Avro Vulcan B.2 (XH558)
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Ventral view of Avro Vulcan B.2 (XH558)

General characteristics<h3>
  • Crew: 5: 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)
  • Length: 99 ft 11 in (30.45 m)
  • Wingspan: 111 ft 0 in (33.83 m)
  • Height: 27 ft 2 in (8.28 m)
  • Wing area: 3,965 ft² (368.4 m²)
  • Empty weight: 80,000 lb (36 000 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 199,585 lb (90 530 kg)
  • Useful load: 21,000 lb (9550 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 204,000 lb (92 500 kg)
  • Powerplant: 4× Bristol-Siddeley Olympus 201/301 turbojets, 20,000 lbf (89 kN) each
<h3>Performance<h3><h3>Armament<h3>


References

  1. ^ http://john-dillon.co.uk/V-Force/xm645_malta.html
  2. ^ http://www.vulcan558club.com
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/leicestershire/5300748.stm
  4. ^ http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/vulcan/history.html

Related content

<h3>Comparable aircraft<h3>

<h3>Designation sequence<h3>

<h3>Related lists<h3>

<h3>See also<h3>

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