Vulcan 607

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A simply beautiful, yet awesome, sinister looking plane. Those who have not done so must read Rowland White's "Vulcan 607", the amazing story behind the raid on the Stanley airfield at the beginning of the Falklands War. I have read it twice - and I am a former Royal Marine! After Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April 1982, [6] the British Government resolved to recapture them. [9] Victor tankers [ edit ] Brice, Norman (12 May 2022). "Air-to-air refuelling in the Falklands War". RAF Museum . Retrieved 29 August 2023. XM598" (PDF). RAF Museum Cosford. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2009 . Retrieved 5 February 2009. It was to be one of the most ambitious operations since 617 Squadron bounced their revolutionary bombs into the dams of the Ruhr Valley in 1943 . . .

Initial long-range operations by the RAF involved the use of Victor aircraft for reconnaissance of the region surrounding South Georgia Island in support of Operation Paraquet, the recapture of South Georgia. At 0400Z on 20 April, a Victor piloted by Squadron Leader J. G. Elliott, took off from Ascension, accompanied by four supporting tankers to supply fuel for the outbound journey. Another flight of four tankers supplied fuel for the return journey. Two more reconnaissance missions to the South Georgia area were carried out on 22–23 April and on 24–25 April. [14] These missions demonstrated the capability of the Victor tanker fleet, flying out of Ascension, to support operations in the South Atlantic. [13] Vulcan bombers [ edit ] The bomb bay of Vulcan XM598

B.2 XM607 - RAF Waddington (under restoration), Lincolnshire

As the commander of the Vulcan, it fell to Withers to decide how the operation should proceed. An extract from the bookVulcan 607, by Rowland White: The aircrews of the Vulcan and the last Victor heard the news of their success on the BBC World Service, limping towards a hoped-for rendezvous with airborne tankers somewhere off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

I joined the RAF in February 1990 and after 6 marvellous weeks at RAF Swinderby we were to pass out, we were told originally that we were getting a 617Sqdn Tornado but on the morning of the parade we were told it was to be a Vulcan from the RAF VDS. It was fantastic normally the fly by passes 2000ft above the parade from south to North but the Vulcan came Nirth to south from behind the camp CO and VIPs, she also came in low and and screamed past with that Vulcan howl making the parents jump and shout in fri... read more » read more » Just over 20 years later, its last three squadrons were about to be disbanded, the aircraft sent to flight museums and scrapyards. But the Vulcan was to find one last role, one as unexpected as its appearance over the Big Apple more than two decades earlier. In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands and the United Kingdom found itself fighting a war on the other side of the world. Brookes, Andrew (2009). Vulcan Units of the Cold War. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-818-1. OCLC 154800055. The first five Victors deployed to Ascension on 18 April. They were followed by four more the following day. Another six more deployed by the end of the month, bringing the Victor tanker force to fourteen, since one had returned to Marham on 26 April. Each was refuelled by another Victor before leaving UK airspace. While the Victors deployed to Ascension, their normal refuelling mission in the air was undertaken by United States Air Force Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers. The station commander at Marham, Group Captain J. S. B. Price, became the senior RAF officer at Ascension. Wing Commander D. W. Maurice-Jones assumed command of the Victor detachment at Ascension until 22 April, when he was relieved by Wing Commander A. W. Bowman, the commander of No. 57 Squadron. [14] The aircraft was an Avro Vulcan bomber, capable of carrying a 21,000lb nuclear payload. It looked like a scary version of Concorde. The New York stunt was part of an Anglo-American military exercise which proved the plane's ability to deliver nuclear bombs wherever they might be needed, whoever the enemy. The RAF called it "the tin triangle".The first two Vulcans, commanded by Squadron Leader John Reeve, and Flight Lieutenant Martin Withers, left Waddington at 0900Z on 29 April and arrived at Wideawake at 1800Z after a non-stop nine-hour flight during which they were twice refuelled by Victor tankers. [25] [15] Two other Vulcans subsequently deployed to Wideawake: one commanded by Squadron Leader Alastair Montgomery arrived on 14 May, and another, commanded by Squadron Leader Neil McDougall, on 27 May. It carried out trials with the Martel anti-radar missile before being equipped with the Shrike missile. [26] [27] Missions [ edit ] Summary [ edit ] Mission

Ward, Sharkey (2000). Sea Harrier over the Falklands. London: Cassell and Co. ISBN 0-304-35542-9. OCLC 606040010. Burden, Rodney A.; Draper, Michael I.; Rough, Douglas A.; Smith, Colin R.; Wilton, David L. (1986). Falklands: The Air War. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-842-7. OCLC 159813718. Miller, Greg (11 February 2020). "How the CIA used Crypto AG encryption devices to spy on countries for decades". Washington Post . Retrieved 26 March 2020. Argentine codes had been broken, and in March 1982 intelligence warnings about possible Argentine activity in the South Atlantic accumulated. [5] [6] The RAF began examining whether it was possible to carry out long-range operations with Avro Vulcan bombers using aerial refuelling. [1] [4] In 1961, a Vulcan had flown non-stop from the UK to RAAF Base Richmond near Sydney in Australia, a much greater distance, [7] but that was with pre-positioned aerial tankers along the route, which would not be possible flying from Ascension. All consideration at this point was about how it could be done; no targets were identified in the Falklands or Argentina. [8] Lebow, Richard Ned (August 2007). "Revisiting the Falklands Intelligence Failures". RUSI Journal. 152 (4): 68–73. doi: 10.1080/03071840701574755. ISSN 0307-1847. S2CID 219629077.However, more challenges lay ahead. An electrical storm interfered with the last refuelling stop, an issue that almost jeopardised the entire operation.

XM607, in common with several other Vulcans, donated many parts towards the restoration of XH558. She has been immortalised in an excellent book titled 'Vulcan 607' - well worth a read! Shields, John (2021). Air Power in the Falklands Conflict: An Operational Level Insight Into Air Warfare in the South Atlantic. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Air World. ISBN 978-1-3990-0752-8. OCLC 1310247587. There is an excellent video in Youtube titled" XM 607 Falklands Most Daring Raid" featuring this aircraft. I hear that it went a bit quiet on his aircraft for a while, but being the professionals they were Martin just said ‘it looks like we’ve got a job of work to do’ and they proceeded southwards to complete their mission.”

After over 20 minutes of intensive flying through the storm, the jets had burned more fuel than planned. Martin and his Vulcan crew flew in formation with the tankers during the storm, but as air-to-air refuelling was carried out in radio silence they were unaware of the full detail of the Victors’ problems. When they received a little over half the fuel they expected and the Victor signalled they had given all they could spare, the Vulcan crew were surprised. They had much lower levels than needed to complete the mission and return to Ascension. In reality XL189 had given morethan they could spare. There is no evidence that Mirage IIIs were withdrawn from southern Argentina to protect Buenos Aires. On 29 April, Argentine radars at Puerto San Julián detected a suspected British air strike and aircraft from there were moved to Comodoro Rivadavia, but they still remained in southern Argentina. [78]