The Avro Vulcan: Beauty, Power, and a Touch of Menace

Saw 558 in its last season several times but it was flanked by the B of B Lancaster and a visiting Canadian Lancaster at Great Gransden. Probably the finest display I ever watched and definitely never to be repeated.

Yes. This was the time when we realised that America could not be trusted. Even today we realise that America has become a rogue state

I miss the days when the UK designed and built such wonderful aircraft.

damn,
that plane really have intimidating look,
its creepy.
sadly the england doesnt have any majestic bomber like this anymore.

We need British Aircraft industry back in business

It wasn't the low level sorties of the Valiant that caused the wing spars too crack though it did exacerbate the problem, it was the unstable aluminium alloy, DTD683 used to make the spars, as even the Valiant's that flew calmer high altitude refuelling suffered from spar cracks. There was a spare brand new wing spar in the Vickers factory that had never been fitted and it even exhibited fractures when inspected. I think Vickers even had problems with the Viscount spars as this alloy was also used in their production.

Just a touch of menace? In July 1979 I spent 3 hours sat in Scampton control tower, watching vulcan after vulcan land and take off after refuelling and re crewing...
Menace WRIT LARGE!

along with b52, PROVIDE FANTASTIC CRASH SHOWS !!!

I vividly recall being in my pram, on the Bailey bridge at Rhosneigr end of RAF Valley when a Vulcan came in to land very low above us and made me piss myself. 😂😂

My dads cousin was a vulcan pilot at RAF Gaydon through the cold war and long after it was 'over' we found out they had specific targets already planned and his was a naval base in i think Poland, glad he retired without going there!

Impossible to escape from if you are not the pilots, and long retired while THE AMAZING BOEING B-52 SOLDIERS ON ON ON AND ON…. AND KEEPS GOING AND GOING AND…… continues to run like a Timex watch.

My dad said he flew in one, I never knew anything about them. He was a mosquito pilot during WW2.

Chatterton?

Remember the crazy weekend when the Vulcan and Concorde flew over the Biggin Hill air show

made my chest cavitate as flew only 100 metres above the crowd and with those huge Olympus engines same ones used in the Corcorde

The Arrow was too much menace.

beauty?

It’s the volatol from gta 5!

Love that brevity speak at the start. Just sounds soo calm and dangerous when checking everything. Brrrrrrr!😳

Had them fly over me twice. Once at a fly by with two Lightenings ( Mountbattens funeral, I think) in West London & the last flight before retirement came in over my street in Selby; a shadow, then an outrageous howl. Fabulous aircraft.

Vulcan my friend 😩.

As a child I used to lie on my back in a field of long grass and watch Vulcans flying over. Very distinctive shape and sound. This was the English Midlands in the 1970s.

‘An air show isn’t an air show without a Vulcan’. He’s so right. It’s a very unique and a perfect display aircraft. I was lucky to see one and hearing that creepy howl and the vibrations as it flew overhead, there’s nothing else like it.

Very good at setting off dozens of car alarms

For An Aircraft So Large, It Was Very Nimble! 👍

I was lucky enough to be married to a pilot of one of these beautiful planes,a dream,helped being deaf on one side. I could get to sleep with ease. Much more difficult for my friends o n
the crew. Scampton was a home we will never forget.❤😂

A stunningly beautiful aircraft belying its destructive purpose.

Iconic

I used to fly with an old Vulcan driver, he would describe the feeling of going off on what became a training flight with a “bucket of sunshine” in the bomb bay.

So this was over what? Lets see could the Argentinians attack the britts from half way across the globe? No. Was there key resources that Brittan was cut off from? No.
It came down to thatcher being an 17th century imperialist. She was just being a total Britch, Causing many innocent people to die over nothing. Kind of like the gulf war but at least Exxon, Mobil, BP, and Shell profited. Oh and they never had to pay back the war debt.Its a get rich quick scheme: accuse a small oil rich country of terrorism, topple their leaders and let the oil companies rule.

A bit of a dog.

Pity this video didn’t mention Operation Skyshield.

I am proud to have served as ground crew on the Vulcan B2 at Coningsby in the '60s . We had 9, 12 & 35 Squadrons.

They should start a new production line of these, just to annoy Putin

The Vulcan at air shows was always the star... the menacing sight and that awesome howl!!!

Opening is wrong. McMahon Act was in 1946, not 1956. And Truman, not Eisenhower, was the President signing it.

I saw one Blackpool air show I was 2 made me cry I also sat in ones Cockpit

Saw the Vulcan at the Abbotsford International Airshow a number of times. Always a crowd favourite and the sound was awesome.

I saw THREE active-duty Vulcans perform here in the states, back in the day. I witnessed XL-390's last flight in August '78; then came XL443 in 1980. XM-575 was the last RAF bomber to come to Chicago in 1981(via NAS Glenview) and here I was lucky enough to score an inside outside tour by the ground crew, as well as the accompanying Nimrod that was with.

What an aircraft! I miss it at air shows , along with the Lightening.

Strictly speaking, a nuclear payload is fractionally more than 'a touch of menace'.
Not the sort of thing you'd want in your neighbourhood at all. 🙂

Great aircraft made back in the day when Britain actually had an aircraft industry

About six years ago, a few friends and I visited Scotland's National Museum of Flight at East Fortune. On static display they have XM597. A Vulcan B2 which participated in "Operation Black Buck (5)". One notable thing about the aircraft, is that the crew painted a small Brazilian flag and two little silhouettes of missiles. This is to mark the deployment of "Shrike" Anti-Radar Missiles, and the aircraft and crew's unplanned detour to Rio. You can't help being awed by the terrifying beauty of the machine and the dedication and sacrifice of the crew and all support staff. East Fortune is well worth the visit btw.

The first Black Buck raid was successfully completed by Martin Withers and crew. John Reeve and crew were lead aircraft but had to turn back unserviceable. I knew John in the Service and a nicer guy you could not meet.

What a gorgeous air frame . 😳😳

The sound of that Vulcan taking off almost sounded like a tormented demon escaping from Hell, what an unnerving sound if the actual day to launch a N strike was called and all those Vulcans were taking off together.

There is an elderly lady that is a regular at my local pub here in Toronto. Her name is Gervaise. She worked for BEA and the later British Airways. She was able to fly free anywhere the airline went as long as she returned the same day. Returning from France one day she was told the flight was fully booked. The clerk at the British desk pointed out some RAF guys and suggested that she ask them for a ride. Sure enough they could help. She got a ride back to England in a Vulcan!

When the Brits got it right. How long ago...