Avro Vulcan
As iconic for its time as the Spitfire was little more than a decade earlier, Avro's Vulcan was the most radical of the V-Bombers, and remains a distinctive design some six decades after the prototype flew.
Avro's entry to meet the B/14/46 specification was quite radical for the day, using a delta wing planform, the characteristics of which could not be entirely foreseen at the time.
Prototype VX770 flew for the first time in August 1952 - the aircraft's initial powerplants were Avons, but it was later fitted with Sapphires, and ultimately Conways.
Vulcan B.1: Initial production aircraft, with Rolls-Royce Olympus 101/102/104s, first flown in February 1955. The early aircraft had the original straight leading edged wing, but this was found to be susceptible to fatigue damage from buffeting, but was replaced on later examples with a kinked planform - the "Phase 2 wing" - that was later retrofitted to the early production B.1s.
No.230 Squadron OCU began taking delivery of its first Vulcans in February 1957, with No.83 Squadron becoming the initial front line user unit later that year. A total of 45 B.1s were built, with some examples receiving ECM in extended tail cones, these being redesignated as B.1As.
No complete B.1s remain today, although XA900 survived well into the 1980s before corrosion forced it to be broken up at RAF Cosford. However, several B.1 cockpit sections have survived.
Vulcan B.2: The definitive production Vulcan, the B.2 introduced a much revised, larger wing design and the substantially more powerful Olympus 200 engines (Olympus 300 in late aircraft) with the type's improved performance making it more useful as a platform for standoff weapons.
The Vulcan's tenure as part of the UK's strategic deterrent was to be a short one, as Skybolt's cancellation led to the supply of Polaris SLBMs, and thus the eventual withdrawal of the V-force from the strategic mission as the Resolution-class missile submarines came into service. However, while the Valiants were retired and the Victors converted to tankers, the Vulcans remained as bombers, although shifted to theater nuclear and conventional missions.
Vulcan Bibliography
Chris Bishop The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Air Warfare ISBN 0-7607-2770-8 p.283: color 3-view of XM600/No 617 Squadron
Gerry Manning 1000 Preserved Aircraft in Colour p.35 photos XM605 at Castle, XM573 at Omaha
Bill Gunston Encyclopedia of World Airpower Aerospace Publishing, 1980 B.2 cutaway drawing and 3-view, color profile of XH557
Kenneth Munson Pageant of the Air p.146: photo - underside view of Vulcan prototype VX770
Michael J.H. Taylor Warbirds Illustrated No. 30 Strategic Bombers 1945-1985 p.45: Two color photos of Vulcans in the all-white scheme
David A. Anderton "Avro Vulcan: evolution of a Delta Bomber" Aviation Week May 4, 1953 Includes several views of VX770
Photo: in-flight shot of the initial production Vulcan Flight 25 February 1955 p.225
Photo: VX777 after conversion to B.2 configuration, in flight Aviation Week October 14, 1957 front cover
Bristol Siddeley ad, showing Vulcan VX777 Aviation Week November 24, 1958 p.47 Note: VX777 was the second Vulcan, and the first to fly with the Olympus engines. It was scrapped at Farnborough in 1963.
Photo: close-up front view of a Blue Steel under a Vulcan Aviation Week & Space Technology February 1, 1960 p.24
"Australia - Non-Stop!" RAF Flying Review August 1961 617 Squadron Vulcan flight between RAF Scampton and Australia.
Photo: close-up inflight view, from aft, of the Concorde Olympus testbed Vulcan Aviation Week & Space Technology August 20, 1962 p.46
Photos (2): Vulcan with Olympus 503 underneath Aviation Week & Space Technology October 21, 1968 front cover
"British Modify Bomber for Tanker Use" Aviation Week & Space Technology December 6, 1982 p.109 Overall view from overhead of XH560 and a closeup of the drogue fitted under the tail
"The Five Black Bucks: The Story of Vulcan Operations in the South Atlantic" Air International December 1982 Includes several color photos from Wideawake, close-up of the K.2 HDU installation
Photos (2): Vulcan XM597 with Shrikes. Air International April 1983 p.203
RAF Yearbook 1983 p.17 color profile of B.2 XM607; p.33 photo of XM571 in tanker configuration
Color profiles, including: B. Mk1 XA897, B. Mk2 XL321 with Blue Steel, XM600, XM601 in all-white scheme, XM605 of No. 101 Squadron, XM607 in Falklands colors. Air International November 1984 p.260
Ken Ellis "On the Roll" FlyPast April 1998 Maintaining Vulcan XL426 at Southend. Includes a cockpit photo.
Ken Ellis "Viable Vulcans?" FlyPast October 1998 A survey of preserved Vulcans.
"Vulcan project on knife-edge" Aeroplane October 2006 p.5 Includes an overhead shot of XH558 in hangar
Bill Clark “Flying Petrol Station” Airfix Model World #18 Building a Vulcan K.2 tanker from the Airfix 1/72 scale bomber version kit. This issue also has a 4-view of B.2 XH607, the aircraft that received a one-off desert camo underside for Red Flag.
"Delta Downtime" FlyPast February 2012 XH558 undergoing maintenance; includes cockpit and bomb bay interior photos.