The Avro Vulcan V Bomber

The Avro Vulcan is a delta wing subsonic bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force from 1953 until 1984. The Vulcan was part of the RAF’s V bomber force, which fulfilled the role of nuclear deterrence against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was also used in a conventional bombing role during the Falklands conflict with Argentina. One example, XH558 was recently restored for use in display flights and commemoration of the jets’ role in the Falklands Conflict. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Vulcan

Vulcan XM612

I recently scanned some original black and white photographs of Vulcan XM612 taken at RAF Cottesmore during my father’s service as a RAFP Dog Handler at Cottesmore.

This aircraft was completed in February 1964 and entered service with 9 Squadron on the Coningsby and Cottesmore Wing the following month . In March 1968 it spent one month at the A&AEE at Boscombe Down. Next was a trip to Waddington and a move to 101 Squadron in 1975 and 44 Squadron in 1981. During the Falkland Islands War, XM612 was one of the aircraft sent to Ascension Island to fly ‘Black Buck’ missions against the Argentine forces entrenched on the Falklands. Although it didn’t actually see combat, it did help by proving the importance of the air-refuelling fleet. After the war, XM612 returned to 44 Squadron to see out its remaining service life. On 30th January 1983, XM612 flew into Norwich Airport to retire after 19 years of dedicated service. Source http://www.cnam.co.uk/html/act_vulcan.htm

The photos also appear on my flickr page.

Please contact me if you would like to use any of the photographs, just out of politeness really!

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