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.
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. Victor aircraft were used for air-to-air refueling in a complex scheme described here.
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 III 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". Text source - internet.
On a personnel note, this was an aircraft we would all stop to watch take off, just the power of the jet engines as it thundered down the runway was out of this world. And the night that that the news got back to the UK about the attack on the Falklands will I think, be one of the turning points of my service career.
Hopefully one will be flying over London on the 27 June this year and at the Waddington airshow.
