The Vulcan Story 1952 to 2002

Vulcan bombers were instantly recognisable, with their colossal size, immediately identifiable delta wing shape and deafening engine roar. Yet this outstanding aircraft very nearly ended its life prematurely – on the drawing board – because of the uncertainties surrounding delta wing aerodynamics.
Air Ministry Specification B.35/46 was issued in January 1947 and called for a jet aircraft capable of carrying a 10,000-pound weapon over 3,000 miles at 500 knots and an altitude of 50,000 feet, with a 20,000-pound payload over shorter distances. Avro's Roy Chadwick, already famous for pioneering the Lancaster, was convinced that the revolutionary all-wing design would be the ultimate in aerodynamic and structural efficiency. After much work on engine and cockpit positions, the Type 707 emerged, a design that proved the validity of a delta-winged, large bomber and encouraged the development of a simultaneous design, the Type 698 – which was eventually named Vulcan.
The history of the Vulcan is a dramatic one, since it was the backbone of Britain's nuclear deterrent, forming, with the Victor and Valiant, the famous V-Force. The development of the weapon the Vulcan was designed to deploy paralleled that of the aircraft and emerged as Blue Steel, a 100-mile-range Mach 2.5 missile; together they became the vanguard of the Quick Reaction Alert concept until 1969, when the nuclear deterrent role passed to the Royal Navy's Polaris submarines.
Instead of ending the Vulcan's service, however, the RAF continued its development as a tactical bomber in place of the Canberra, and the Vulcans were only retired with the introduction of the Panavia Tornado. However, there was to be a spectacular epilogue: in 1982, the Vulcan was pressed back into operational service to make the longest bombing raid ever flown – to the Falkland Islands. In retirement, the aircraft became one of the most popular displays at air shows world-wide.



by Tim Laming
Published by Silverdale Books 2002 231pp profusely illustrated with b&w photos drawings, diagrams etc. index. 23 x 29 pictorial laminated boards mint, including d/j.



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Note:
"Long" descriptions, where shown, may have been taken from the book's dust jacket notes, and as such are relevant to the date of publication (e.g. any references to "new edition" "previously unpublished photographs" etc.) and not the present.