The Vulcan ArchiveAvro Vulcan · Radar · Missions

1952 · first flight of VX770

History of the Avro Vulcan

A British strategic bomber born of Specification B.35/46, flown as a pure delta, then recast for low level, stand-off missiles and — once — a conventional war in the South Atlantic.

Avro Vulcan B.2 photographed near Edwards Air Force Base, California, 10 July 1961

Vulcan B.2 near Edwards AFB, 10 July 1961. U.S. Air Force photograph, public domain.

The Vulcan was never only a shape. It was a production programme at Woodford, a deterrent posture in Lincolnshire, and a set of radar and bombing equipment that had to keep working as Soviet defences improved. The essays in this section follow that arc.

  • 1947Avro takes on a jet bomber to Specification B.35/46. Roy Chadwick is killed in the Tudor crash; Stuart Davies leads the Type 698 forward.
  • 1952Prototype VX770 flies on 30 August from Woodford, Roly Falk at the controls.
  • 1956Vulcan B.1 enters RAF service. The V-Force — Valiant, Victor, Vulcan — becomes Britain’s airborne nuclear deterrent.
  • 1960B.2 with more powerful Olympus engines, larger wing and a fuller electronics fit reaches squadrons.
  • 1963–66Skybolt cancelled; Blue Steel in service; the force drops to low level as SAMs mature. Terrain-following radar appears on the nose.
  • 1969Royal Navy Polaris takes the strategic-deterrent lead. Vulcans remain in the tactical nuclear and conventional roles.
  • 1982Operation Black Buck: Vulcans flying from Ascension Island attack Port Stanley and Argentine radars.
  • 1984Last bomber and tanker squadrons disband. The type leaves front-line RAF service.
  • 2008–15XH558, restored to flight by a civilian trust, displays; last flight 28 October 2015.

Essays in this section