Vulcan was designed to drop britain s nuclear bombs on russia. Iconic vulcan bomber which formed backbone of britain s cold war nuclear deterrent begins goodbye tour before being grounded forever. Unlike tactical bombers penetrators fighter bombers and attack aircraft which are used in air interdiction operations to attack enemy combatants and military equipment.
A strategic bomber is a medium to long range penetration bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of air to ground weaponry onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating the enemy s capacity to wage war. The last remaining flying vulcan bomber xh558 comes in to land at doncaster sheffield robin hood international airport vulcan bomber and apollo. The spirit of great britain is the only airworthy example of the 134 avro vulcan jet powered delta winged strategic nuclear bomber aircraft vulcan bomber xh558.
The 57 year old vulcan nuclear bomber xh558 flew for the last time in october 2015 after a summer delighting millions of people at air shows and fly pasts around the uk. Pictures by james hardisty. The vulcan bomber played a crucial role during the cold war and the last one to take to the skies is keeping the story alive for future generations.
Having been re equipped with the. In early 1960 the crews of the vulcan bomber force a key element of britain s nuclear deterrent began to train in the air to air refuelling procedures. Powered by four bristol olympus engines embedded in its enormous wings and flown by elite five strong crews the vulcan was fast and nimble with the range and brawn of a bomber but a level of manoeuvrability more associated with a fighter plane.
The avro aircraft quickly becoming the darling of the three v bombers. The vulcan in the raf. Avro vulcan xh558 military serial xh558 civil aircraft registration g vlcn the spirit of great britain was the last remaining airworthy example of the 134 avro vulcan jet powered delta winged strategic nuclear bomber aircraft operated by the royal air force during the cold war it was the last vulcan in military service and the last to fly at all after 1986.
The avro vulcan which first. The v bombers were the royal air force raf aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the united kingdom s strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the v force or bomber command main force the three models of strategic bomber known collectively as the v class were the vickers valiant which first flew in 1951 and entered service in 1955. Roe and company designed the vulcan in response to specification b 35 46 of the three v bombers produced the vulcan was considered the most technically advanced and.
The avro vulcan later hawker siddeley vulcan from july 1963 is a jet powered tailless delta wing high altitude strategic bomber which was operated by the royal air force raf from 1956 until 1984.
