Britain’s three V-bombers were created as part of Britain’s nuclear deterrent in the Cold War. 2026

 

Britain’s three V-bombers were created as part of Britain’s nuclear deterrent in the Cold War.

Of these, the Vulcan is the best known. Despite the grim primary reason for the Avro Vulcan bomber - nuclear warfare - the charismatic aircraft was, and is, much loved.  Famous for its thunderous roar, massive delta wing and spritely performance, it developed a cult of devoted fans likely to last for hundreds of years.

The aircraft was a remarkable achievement, even more so considering work began as early as the 1940s.  Here are ten incredible features of the Vulcan bomber:

01: Timing

It is often noted that there were a mere ten years between the introduction of the angular Avro Lancaster bomber to the RAF in 1942, and the space-age Vulcan’s first flight on 30 August 1952. There is a reason this is often repeated, as this was an incredible achievement; in this short period, Avro had leapt from 282 mph bombers to ones capable of 646 mph!

Sir Sydney Camm, designer of the Hawker Hurricane, said of the cancelled TSR-2 bomber: "All modern aircraft have four dimensions: span, length, height, and politics. TSR-2 simply got the first three right." Camm missed out another important dimension: time. As well as getting the four dimensions Camm mentioned right, the Avro Vulcan also enjoyed excellent timing.

02: Performance

The Vulcan remains much loved, and much of this affection comes from what an impressive airshow performer it was, thanks to its dramatic cloaked appearance, thunderous car-alarm-inducing howl and sparkling performance. Whereas most bombers are rather sluggish, the Vulcan handled more like a giant fighter.

The low wing loading (the amount of wing area compared to overall weight) and relatively high-thrust-to-weight ratio imbued the Vulcan with astonishing manoeuvrability for an aircraft of its size and weight, especially at high altitudes. At higher altitudes, the Vulcan proved a frustratingly manoeuvrable target for fighter aircraft practicing intercepts. 

The Royal Air Force had a large number of Vulcans in the 1960s, offering a formidable deterrent force. Nine frontline squadrons and one training unit were equipped with the type. From 1962, The V-Force reached a heightened state of operational readiness with the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) status.

This meant one bomber from each squadron was always theoretically at ‘cockpit readiness’ (this was later increased to two). If news of an attack on the UK or the start of nuclear hostilities, the QRA aircraft would be in the air to counterattack in minutes.

The Vulcan greatly contributed to the development programme of the Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber. The Tornado’s Turbo Union RB199 turbofan engine (pictured) was flight-tested using an Avro Vulcan with the engine installed in a nacelle representative of that of the Tornado aircraft. The Vulcan first flew with the RB199 nacelle fitted in 1972.

Another Tornado technology tested on the Avro Vulcan was the Mauser 27mm automatic cannon used on the Panavia Tornado (and later Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, Saab Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon). The gun was fitted along with the RB199 nacelle to test gun gas ingestion.