The Avro Vulcan Bomber XH558 Flies Again
Awesome Delta Winged Nuclear Bomber Back in the Air
Aug 20, 2009
Built to be part of Britain and NATO’s nuclear deterrent strategy, the delta winged Avro Vulcan bomber took to the skies for its maiden flight in 1951 and was a regular at air shows in the 1950s and 1960s. The last bomber to be retired has now been restored to airworthiness and is proving to be a firm favourite with the watching crowds at air shows.
The Avro Vulcan’s Military Role
The Vulcan was designed and built to carry Britain’s nuclear bombs during the tense days of the Cold War era. Powered by four Olympus turbo jet engines and capable of flying just below the speed of sound, it also had terrific long range capabilities. 134 were manufactured for the RAF over time and most saw operational service. But not one of them ever flew with a live nuclear weapon.
When the Polaris Submarine came into operation, it replaced the Vulcan in the UK’s nuclear strategy so the bomber’s role changed to that of being a test bed for new engines, in flight re-fuelling work, reconnaissance and low level non-nuclear bombing. The distinctive Vulcan saw active service in the Falklands War of the 1980s and carried out bombing raids on the airfield at Port Stanley.
Vulcan Plane Crashes were a Feature of the 50s and 60s
The Vulcan long range jet regularly hit the headlines in the years of the Cold War because of accidents. The following list gives a summary of just five of them:
- 1956 – Vulcan crashes at London Airport in poor weather conditions on its return from a trip to Australia and New Zealand. The pilot and co-pilot escape because they had ejector seats, but the remaining four crewmen were killed.
- 1958 – A Vulcan bomber flying at an air display staged to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Britain in Nottinghamshire crashed killing seven crewmen and three civilian workers on the ground. None of the 20,000 spectators were injured.
- 1958 – Another Vulcan airplane came down into a residential area of Detroit, USA because of an electrical failure. All six crewmen were killed. In its last moments of flight, it dived steeply and so avoided crashing into houses on the ground.
- 1959 – Five civilian crew of a Vulcan on a test flight escaped by parachute when the plane they were flying developed problems in the East Riding area of Yorkshire. The crewless aircraft exploded on landing, narrowly missing some houses.
- 1966 – An extensive air and sea search was launched when a Vulcan on a test flight failed to report into base. It was found crashed on a mountain in Breconshire, Wales. Five RAF Officers were killed.
Vulcan XH558 is Restored and Gains its Permit to Fly
According to the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, XH558 was the last to retire from RAF service in 1993 and was bought by C Walton Ltd with preservation in mind. Thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund grant in 2003, restoration began and ownership passed to the Trust in 2005. In July 2008 the last Avro Vulcan bomber succeeded in getting a permit to fly and is now a welcome regular on the air display circuit.
Other Sources:
The Times Digital Archive
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