Vulcan bomber info
Discussion
srob said:
Tony1963 said:
srob said:
I remember seeing them at Marham when I was a kid, they always towered over the old wooden fencing where the Victors usually stood I remember. I used to go on the base in the school holidays with my dad who was a contractor on there and I used to merrily drive his old Escort van all around the airbase. It's where I learned to drive when I was about 10.
The joys of 1980s parenting, "just don't drive into any aeroplanes"
Vulcans at Marham? Maybe on a short detachment while runway repairs were carried out at Scampton/Waddington? I was there 1982 to 1987, and don’t remember having more than one on the airfield, usually 558 doing display practice. The joys of 1980s parenting, "just don't drive into any aeroplanes"
Used to love it
Its possible some of the half dozen Vulcan tankers that were a stop gap post Falklands War, and operated by 50 Sqn at Waddo, made frequent visits to the Victor tanker units at Marham, during training exercises perhaps....?
This would have been specifically summer of 1982 to retirement in March 1984 period.
aeropilot said:
The Vulcan's were all retired by March 1984, so if you did see some at Marham, it had to be before March 1984.
Its possible some of the half dozen Vulcan tankers that were a stop gap post Falklands War, and operated by 50 Sqn at Waddo, made frequent visits to the Victor tanker units at Marham, during training exercises perhaps....?
This would have been specifically summer of 1982 to retirement in March 1984 period.
Apart from 558, for a while, obviously. Its possible some of the half dozen Vulcan tankers that were a stop gap post Falklands War, and operated by 50 Sqn at Waddo, made frequent visits to the Victor tanker units at Marham, during training exercises perhaps....?
This would have been specifically summer of 1982 to retirement in March 1984 period.
As I’ve said, I was at Marham 1982 to 1987, and I can’t recall more than one Vulcan visiting at any one time.
Even the Valiant had been taken away by the time I arrived. Canberras had also left, so it was Tornado GR1s of 27 and 617 squadrons, and Victors of 55, 57 and the OCU. Busy enough without some Vulcans to cope with!
Tam_Mullen said:
davidexige said:
I didn't know about this, seeing as I'm not far from there I'll make a trip up to see if I can find it this summer.
This is a great informative write up on a route and some historic pictures added in.http://www.wtdwhd.co.uk/Vulcan%20XH477.html
One of his last visits to the South included me taking him and my nephew to the museum at Hendon where we had a good look over the Vulcan there.
Maybe it wasn't something he wanted to think about. The list of accidents does make for incredibly sobering reading.
I think if I ever go back up I'll go for a walk and take a look.
Tony1963 said:
davidexige said:
But the aircraft doesn’t?
Well, maybe in a vertical dive at max thrust?
Tony1963 said:
aeropilot said:
The Vulcan's were all retired by March 1984, so if you did see some at Marham, it had to be before March 1984.
Its possible some of the half dozen Vulcan tankers that were a stop gap post Falklands War, and operated by 50 Sqn at Waddo, made frequent visits to the Victor tanker units at Marham, during training exercises perhaps....?
This would have been specifically summer of 1982 to retirement in March 1984 period.
Apart from 558, for a while, obviously. Its possible some of the half dozen Vulcan tankers that were a stop gap post Falklands War, and operated by 50 Sqn at Waddo, made frequent visits to the Victor tanker units at Marham, during training exercises perhaps....?
This would have been specifically summer of 1982 to retirement in March 1984 period.
aeropilot said:
And 426, which was the Vulcan used by the VDF displays from 1984 through to end of 1986, before retirement when 558 took over the VDF display duties from 1987 season until end of the 92 display season.
Yes, and I don’t recall both being at Marham at the same time. It’s funny how our minds play tricks on us. I was at RSPB Minsmere yesterday, and a guy there kept telling me that his late brother was at Marham in the 80s for a few years working on Vulcans. He just wouldn’t accept that they weren’t based there. When I said “Victor” his eyes just glazed over! I thought it was better in the end to just say “Yeah”.
Tony1963 said:
aeropilot said:
And 426, which was the Vulcan used by the VDF displays from 1984 through to end of 1986, before retirement when 558 took over the VDF display duties from 1987 season until end of the 92 display season.
Yes, and I don’t recall both being at Marham at the same time. 426 flew until retired at the end of the 86 season, and was delivered to Southend after being bought by Roy Jacobson at end of year.
558 was taken from store at Waddo in late 86 and prepared over that winter for the start of the 87 display season, so I'm pretty sure there was a 2/3 month gap between 426's last flight to Southend and 558's first flight as a VDF aircraft in maybe March 87?
aeropilot said:
They wouldn't have been.
426 flew until retired at the end of the 86 season, and was delivered to Southend after being bought by Roy Jacobson at end of year.
558 was taken from store at Waddo in late 86 and prepared over that winter for the start of the 87 display season, so I'm pretty sure there was a 2/3 month gap between 426's last flight to Southend and 558's first flight as a VDF aircraft in maybe March 87?
XH558 was at Marham before being returned to Waddington426 flew until retired at the end of the 86 season, and was delivered to Southend after being bought by Roy Jacobson at end of year.
558 was taken from store at Waddo in late 86 and prepared over that winter for the start of the 87 display season, so I'm pretty sure there was a 2/3 month gap between 426's last flight to Southend and 558's first flight as a VDF aircraft in maybe March 87?
https://vulcantothesky.org/articles/14-november-19...
Article said:
The following day, on Monday 1st April 1984, XH558 was then allocated to the Waddington Station Flight pending disposal. The aircraft remained at Waddington until 17th September 1984 when she was then flown to RAF Marham, with the prospect of being stripped down for spares before taking up position on the station’s fire dump! Meanwhile at RAF Waddington, XH560 had initially been selected as the reserve aircraft for the Vulcan Display Flight, until an examination of paperwork showed only 160 hours remained before a Major service was due. XH558 had 600 hours remaining, so the decision was taken to make her airworthy and return her to Waddington to substitute XH560 and eventually become the main Vulcan Display Flight aircraft. Therefore on Wednesday 14th November 1984 XH558 made the return flight to RAF Waddington, with further maintenance and servicing work being undertaken over the coming weeks.
I’ve a video somewhere, digital copy of Super 8, of our section welly throwing competition. It took place on the grass on the opposite side of what was the visiting aircraft pan, around 1987. In the background you can see 558 taxying out to do a display practice, and there’s constant GR1 traffic. Guess what? We were all more interested in the welly throwing! Hardly anyone even glanced over to those aircraft.
Perhaps the post-competition beer had us preoccupied
Perhaps the post-competition beer had us preoccupied
Random Vulcan story.
I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
RustyMX5 said:
Random Vulcan story.
I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
You can't access the bomb bay in a Vulcan from the cockpit, even if the film Thunderball says you can.I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
RustyMX5 said:
Random Vulcan story.
I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
He was on a wind-up.I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
There is no way to get from the crew area to the bomb bay, there's a pressure bulkhead in the way. Bomb bay is only accessible from below via the bomb bay doors.
aeropilot said:
RustyMX5 said:
Random Vulcan story.
I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
He was on a wind-up.I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
There is no way to get from the crew area to the bomb bay, there's a pressure bulkhead in the way. Bomb bay is only accessible from below via the bomb bay doors.
RustyMX5 said:
aeropilot said:
RustyMX5 said:
Random Vulcan story.
I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
He was on a wind-up.I know a chap who used to fly them and one of the instructions was that after takeoff he had to check on the bombs to make sure they were ok. He'd squeeze himself out of the cockpit and down to the bomb bay where he'd proceed to pat the bombs and talk to them nicely.
There is no way to get from the crew area to the bomb bay, there's a pressure bulkhead in the way. Bomb bay is only accessible from below via the bomb bay doors.
A sadly departed family friend was a test pilot for the Vulcan.
He was involved in an accident during a flight, he ejected but 3 crew couldn’t eject and were lost. He never got over it and couldn’t talk about it even decades later.
It was quite something to witness 558’s last flight with that story in mind.
He was involved in an accident during a flight, he ejected but 3 crew couldn’t eject and were lost. He never got over it and couldn’t talk about it even decades later.
It was quite something to witness 558’s last flight with that story in mind.
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