Britain's most famous V bomber

The Avro Vulcan Bomber, the most famous of the British V bombers, is known for its distinctive howl and delta wing. Initially one of the delivery agents of Britain's independent nuclear deterrent during the Cold War, the Vulcan later fulfilled another role, undertaking the longest bombing raid in history for Operation Black Buck in Falklands Campaign of 1982. One of the first operational RAF aircraft with a delta wing, this impressive Cold War jet has never lost its appeal. In this video, events and experiences coordinator Liam Shaw takes us through the extraordinary history and technological achievements of the Avro Vulcan. We go into the cockpit and hear first-hand from the people who flew this unique machine throughout its long and remarkable history.

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-- Video contents --
00:00 Intro
00:37 The birth of the Vulcan and the V bombers
02:07 In the cockpit
05:47 Hear from a pilot
06:18 Ejecting from a Vulcan
07:57 Engines, wing design and bomb capacity
11:38 History of Duxford's Vulcan and the Falklands Campaign, inc refueling
13:29 Conclusion

Credits:
Vulcan taking off at Duxford, cockpit footage © Vulcan to the Sky

Horten Ho 229 flying image: "Aircraft - Vue en vol de l'avion expérimental Horten Ho-IX (Gotha Go 229, Ho 229 ou Ho 2-29)" by ww2gallery, licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

[kevin-parratt-artist]

The four most memorable aircraft events in my life:
1. 1st flight in anything ever, was as a cadet in the RAAF ATC, in an RAAF DC3.
2. Seeing an Avro Vulcan cook a tunnel in the clouds, as it flew in low over the airfield then just went straight up and out of sight. Un-be-bloody-lievable!
3. Low flyover of a Spitfire at an airshow in Norway
4. Harrier, doing it's stuff, then stopping and hovering perhaps 40ft above the ground, barely 50m away, facing me dead on, and tips his nose, taking a bow.
That's all folks. I'm satisfied. 😀

[Neon]

My great grandfather was an air electrics officer in this plane. Sadly, he passed roughly a year before I was born. I am twelve now and the plane is so significant to me. My great grandfather was actually on TV for a meeting with the rest of his crew. I saw it recently and I really wish I could've met him. 😔

[squeaksvids]

It’s hard to believe that there’s only 10 years between the first flight of the Lancaster and the Vulcan.

[DreddJudgeJoe]

The Vulcan was so effective. 1974, I’m walking down Whitburn High street and it’s dark. A V wing comes over us about 100 to 250 feet above the road, it’s engine roar is unmistakeable. It’s only light is it’s flashing anti collision light on the underside. Impressive. With its 360 radar, it was flying night low-level before Terrain Following radar was invented. That night ended up with a UFO Society wanting to send an investigator to our town. He was very disappointed when I told him it was, unmistakeably, a Vulcan bomber.

[stinkfeet]

In 1979, as a U.S. tourist, I was standing outside the St. Andrews clubhouse when a Vulcan bomber flew over at a fairly low altitude -- probably 500 feet or less. I was shocked at how large and extremely loud the aircraft was(he only made one pass and headed out to sea.) The green camouflage gave it a surreal appearance I'll never forget.

[spreadeagled]

I first saw this plane in the James Bond movie, “Thunderball” in 1965 when I was a kid. Since that first viewing, I became fascinated with it to this day. A very cool and unique aircraft.

[jons]

As a former American Airman (USAF) I truly appreciate and admire all that the RAF has done and the aircraft that they flew, especially the Avro Vulcan. What an amazing and beautiful aircraft is it!

[russchadwell]

Getting through America's stepped up, cold war, defenses, ... twice.

It's a good system

[MessyTimes]

Whenever I am in the United Kingdom and have the time, I go to Duxford. It is such an amazing collection and military museum. I am delighted they are sharing so much material online.

[winstonlive]

The Vulcan had something very few aircrafts possess: charisma. Many planes are bigger. Many planes are faster. But very few have such an impact on you when you see them

[larrysfarris]

Took my wife and her sister to an airshow at the Airforce base (at the time) in Fort Worth, Texas. We took a picnic lunch and set up under a shade tree when one of these Vulcan bombers took off. Have to admit, quite a thundering sound as full throttles were fed in. Kinda shook the ground too, as I recall. My SIL made some comment about it causing “the big O”… took a second or two for that meaning to register with me. So yeah, you Brits had an impressive aircraft as far as my SIL was concerned! 😉😂

[thecraigster]

Fifty years ago I was stationed at SAC Hq in Omaha. There was an RAF detachment assigned to the Underground Command Post. Vulcans flew into Offutt AFB on a regular basis. They sure looked a lot sexier than the RC-135s we had. Today, there is a Vulcan on display at the SAC Museum located just outside of Omaha.

[markhelfer]

A few Vulcans were stationed at Offutt AFB Omaha in the late 70s, impressive aircraft among the RC-135s, EC-135s, B-52s & AWACs stationed there at the time... I was an RC-135 airborne recon tech.... but the strongest memory retained is of a British airman who must've been part of this outpost assignment at Offutt, on one spring day, alone, in full Kilt playing the pipes on a distant taxiway at the southern end of the main runways. I wish I had gone up to him & introduced myself. Love the pipes.

[ziggurat-builder]

These aircraft documentaries are fabulous!! Archive footage, cockpit talk-through, history and anecdotes from crew. Brilliant. MORE

[rockstarJDP]

I remember walking my dog in the fields by my old house a few years back and spotting a bizarre outline on the horizon coming in low level directly at me and thinking to myself that can't be what I think it is surely... I didn't think at the time any were still airworthy but sure enough, a Vulcan flying low level screamed right over my head. It was an incredible sight, to think if I'd taken my dog out just 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later I would have missed it. Turns out it was the final flight tour, they must have been on their way to St Athens. Beautiful sight!

[fairlyvague]

I remember my Dad taking me to an air show and the THUNDER through the ground from the Vulcan was really quite terrifying! Fabulous!

[adrianrosenlund-hudson]

When my dad's regiment returned from BAOR to the UK in mid 70's, we flew VC10 to RAF Scampton, arriving late at night, and I remember well the silhouettes of Vulcans as we walked from our aircraft

[rhysmctighe]

Absolutely beautiful plane, and I’m proud to say my grandfather was an electronic engineer on them who helped develop the landing software

[andrewchirgwin]

I was born 1954 so as a child I would see these fly over occasionally, it wasn't until however I was in my teens that I realised what a magnificent aircraft this was. Ever since then I have been to many airshows in the hopes that the Vulcan would be there. Beautiful design, powerful and at the same time so graceful, she was meant to be in her element, in the air. I saw the last display flight of XH558 before she retired and I will admit I had to keep wiping my eyes. Iconic lady I certainly will never forget.

[Klostream]

I went to an airshow at Boscombe Down, must have been 1987 or thereabouts, and the thing I still remember from that was the Vulcan. The noise was not merely loud, it was physical - I could feel my ribs being shaken, and the (then fairly new) car alarms were going off all over.
It might be nice to see one in a museum, but it's a poor substitute for witnessing one fly - I went to see the spitfires and lancaster fly, but, more than three decades later, the Vulcan is the thing that I remember the most clearly because it literally shook me to the core.