Aircrafttotal Encyclopedia


Avro Vulcan XH558 over Farnborough, 2015
Role	Strategic bomber
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Avro Hawker Siddeley Aviation
First flight	30 August 1952
Introduction	September 1956
Retired	March 1984 (Royal Air Force)October 2015 (XH558)
Status	Retired
Primary user	Royal Air Force
Produced	1956–1965
Number built	136 (including prototypes)
Developed into	Avro Atlantic (proposed)

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. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe and Company (Avro) designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced, the Vulcan was considered the most technically advanced, hence the riskiest option. Several reduced-scale aircraft, designated Avro 707s, were produced to test and refine the delta-wing design principles.

The Vulcan B.1 was first delivered to the RAF in 1956; deliveries of the improved Vulcan B.2 started in 1960. The B.2 featured more powerful engines, a larger wing, an improved electrical system, and electronic countermeasures, and many were modified to accept the Blue Steel missile. As a part of the V-force, the Vulcan was the backbone of the United Kingdom's airborne nuclear deterrent during much of the Cold War. Although the Vulcan was typically armed with nuclear weapons, it could also carry out conventional bombing missions, which it did in Operation Black Buck during the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982.

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Development

Further information: V bombers

The origin of the Vulcan and the other V bombers is linked with early British atomic weapon programme and nuclear deterrent policies. Britain's atom bomb programme began with Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.1001 issued in August 1946. This anticipated a government decision in January 1947 to authorise research and development work on atomic weapons, the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) having prohibited exporting atomic knowledge, even to countries that had collaborated on the Manhattan Project. OR.1001 envisaged a weapon not to exceed 24 ft 2 in (7.37 m) in length, 5 ft (1.5 m) in diameter and 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) in weight. The weapon had to be suitable for release from 20,000 to 50,000 ft (6,100 to 15,200 m).

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AVRO B.1,B.2 Vulcan

General Info

Crew: 5 (pilot, co-pilot, AEO, navigator radar, navigator plotter) Length: 97 ft 1 in (29.59 m) Wingspan: 99 ft 5 in (30.30 m) Height: 26 ft 6 in (8.08 m) Wing area: 3,554 sq ft (330.2 m²)

Powerplant

Engines	4 × Bristol SiddeleyOlympus 200-series, 301
Fuel capacity(main)	9,280 imp gal (11,140 US gal; 42,200 L) / 74,240 lb (33,675 kg) avtur)

Performance

Maximum speed: 561 kn (646 mph, 1,039 km/h) at altitude Maximum speed: Mach 0.96 Cruise speed: 493 kn (567 mph, 913 km/h) / M0.86 at 45,000 feet (14,000 m) Range: 2,265 nmi (2,607 mi, 4,195 km) Service ceiling:(17,000 m)

Related development

Armament	1 × free-fall nuclear bomb or 21 × 1,000 lb (450 kg)conventional bombs

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Although in operational use, the Vulcan typically carried various nuclear armaments, the type also had a secondary conventional role. While performing conventional combat missions, the Vulcan could carry up to 21 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs inside its bomb bay.

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Avro B.2 Vulcan

The Vulcan's only combat missions took place towards the end of the type's service in 1982. During the Falklands War.

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The missions performed by the Vulcan became known as the Black Buck raids, each aircraft had to fly 3,889 mi (6,259 km) from Ascension Island to reach Stanley on the Falklands. Victor tankers conducted the necessary air-to-air refuelling.

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AVRO B.1 Vulcan

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AVRO B.1,B.2 Vulcan

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AVRO B.1,B.2 Vulcan