Vulcan flies again! Pics inside...

[68Wooley]

...The Victor and Valiant were retired after relatively short service lives, leaving the Vulcan, relegated to conventional bombing and tanker duties, to soldier on...

The Valiant was indeed retired early - primarily because of wing fatigue. But the Victor went on to become the RAF's in-flight refueling tankers and actually remained in service in that role after the Vulcan was retired - Victor K2 tankers actually server during Desert Storm. The Victor, IMO, was another mean looking aircraft. It was capable of going supersonic in a shallow dive.

The Vulcan, as far as I'm aware, was never used as a tanker. It managed to remain in service as a front line bomber because the strong delta wing made it suitable for the switch to NOE attacks after it became apparent it would have little chance of getting through in a conventional high level attack. The Victor just wouldn't stand up to the stresses involved in NOE flying hence its relegation to the tanker role.

[expat]

The Vulan's last role in the RAF was in fact as a tanker , XH558 was a  K2 tanker  for a while .

[Furball]

Doolittle's raid was important because the USA had been on the receiving end for some time and some action was needed to help the morale of the nation (and to show the Japanese that they weren't untouchable).

The British had their islands invaded - sending bombers from mainland UK to bomb the Falklands sends out a powerful message.  It also shows the Argies that mainland Argentina can be hit by RAF bombers.

The Vulcan raids:
- didn't destroy the runway. All bombs but two missed the target. I should say 1.5 bombs hit the runway since the second only clipped it.

(Image removed from quote.)

Damage was repaired in 24 hours. IIC, Sharkey Ward didn't agree with the evaluation that the runway was not usable by fast jets after the attack. According to him, the argentines knew that their jets were totally CAPped by the Sea Harriers and didn't want to lose them for nothing.

The Argies admitted that the reason they moved the Mirage III's was initially because of the raid.

Damage to the radars were also quickly repaired.

- they used up a lot of tanker resources for this poor results (11 tankers for 2 Vulcans!) while the runway could have been attacked by the Harriers and Sea Harriers of the Task Force (probably with much better results).

So?  Shows the RAF have the power to conduct such long range operations.  Harriers/Sea Harriers would put more British lives at risk for the same operation.  They could also not hit Argentina which was the message sent by the Vulcan.

- were described as a PR move by the RAF, afraid to be left out of the conflict and facing budget cuts.

The RAF were operating Harrier GR.3's and a Chinook (Bravo November - the rest went to the bottom of the sea) off of the carriers, PR maybe - to show the long range hitting power they can do.

Wikipedia info here.

Other Wikipedia info here.

I am not saying that it was the most succesful bombing mission ever, but to use the terms that the raid was one of the most 'retarded' 'useless' and 'expensive' operations in history, is frankly roadkill.

[Cthulhu]

It managed to remain in service as a front line bomber because the strong delta wing made it suitable for the switch to NOE attacks after it became apparent it would have little chance of getting through in a conventional high level attack.

No doubt the Vulcan's relatively thick delta wing made the airframe plenty strong for the rigors of NOE flying, but I bet the low wing loading must have made the ride completely miserable for the crew when flying at high speed down low.

[Jester]

Nice pics Dowding.   

Always liked the VICTOR better myself. Just had a better look about it.   

[deSelys]

I am not saying that it was the most succesful bombing mission ever, but to use the terms that the raid was one of the most 'retarded' 'useless' and 'expensive' operations in history, is frankly bullpoop.

To begin with, Black Buck Vulcans didn't took off from mainland UK but from Ascension Islands. You should read the links I've posted. 2nd, sending bombers from far away is a projection of power indeed, but it was dwarfed by the Task Force (with carrier) sent to the Falklands. I don't think that it was really necessary IMHO.

In fact, it is not my opinion but Sharkey Ward's... Agreed, he didn't use the same terms, but it is well possible that he used even harsher ones (I need to re-read the book)! As the CO of one of the two FAA Sea Harrier squadrons, the political decisions all along the war really hampered the efficiency of his unit and did cause him serious frustration. The lack of trust from the TF CO in the Sea Harrier radar was one of the main causes of the loss of the Sheffield and the troop transport Galahad.

Anyway, Ward was there, he fought over there (shot 3 planes down) and I'll value his opinion above whatever armchair analysts have written (this is
not aimed at you...).

Try to find the book, it is a really good read.

[68Wooley]

To begin with, Black Buck Vulcans didn't took off from mainland UK but from Ascension Islands. You should read the links I've posted. 2nd, sending bombers from far away is a projection of power indeed, but it was dwarfed by the Task Force (with carrier) sent to the Falklands. I don't think that it was really necessary IMHO.

In fact, it is not my opinion but Sharkey Ward's... Agreed, he didn't use the same terms, but it is well possible that he used even harsher ones (I need to re-read the book)! As the CO of one of the two FAA Sea Harrier squadrons, the political decisions all along the war really hampered the efficiency of his unit and did cause him serious frustration. The lack of trust from the TF CO in the Sea Harrier radar was one of the main causes of the loss of the Sheffield and the troop transport Galahad.

Anyway, Ward was there, he fought over there (shot 3 planes down) and I'll value his opinion above whatever armchair analysts have written (this is
not aimed at you...).

Try to find the book, it is a really good read.

On the other hand, the fact the Vulcans could project power that far made the Argies pull some of their front line (Mirage III) aircraft back to defend the mainland and Buenos Aires in particular. If those planes had instead been deployed against the task force's Harriers, its conceivable we could have lost enough to let a Super Etandard through the screen and get an Exocet in on one of the carriers. Thatwould have been game over. The fact the Black Buck raids helped reduce the risk to the task group should not be overlooked. 

[Mr No Name]

<in imitation New Jersey accent> That's Vulcan Awesome!