Avro Vulcan

From Free net encyclopedia

For other uses, see Vulcan (disambiguation).

Image:Vulcan.planview.640pix.jpg 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.

1 Design and prototypes
2 Operational aircraft
3 Nuclear deterrent
4 Conventional role
5 Aerial refueling role
6 Miscellaneous
7 Specifications (Vulcan B.1)
8 Specifications (Vulcan B.2)
9 See also
10 External links

[edit]

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, 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 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.

[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 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 operational Vulcan squadron was disbanded in March 1984.

[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. The bomb load was gradually updated to Yellow Sun and then Red Beard and from 1962 26 Vulcan B.2A were armed with the Blue Steel missile. 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.

[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 (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 Victors available for air-to-air refueling was extremely limited, so some Vulcan aircraft were adapted in just 50 days to fulfil 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.

[edit]

Aerial refueling 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]

Miscellaneous

The Vulcan was the first jet-powered bomber to use delta wings.
A Vulcan was used as a test-bed for the Concorde engine, the Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus and the Rolls-Royce Conway turbofan.
A Vulcan was featured in the James Bond film Thunderball.
There are 21 Vulcans still relatively intact at air museums around the world.
Testing the brakes of the Vulcan included strapping the company photographer Paul Culerne to the front landing gear and doing an emergency stop.
According to The Beast Within: The Making of 'Alien' documentary, the set of the Nostromo spaceship was in large part made up of scrapped Vulcan parts.
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 exploded in mid-air over Zabbar village, 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 death by using their ejector seats (provided only for them).
The Vulcan is featured in the Videogame Ace Combat 5.
The Vulcan makes an appearance in the Anime OVA Najica Blitz Tactics.