The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963)"Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd." Flight, 29 August 1963, p. 342. is a jet-powered, delta-wing, high-altitude strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe and Company (Avro) designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced, the Vulcan was considered the most technically advanced, and therefore the riskiest option. Several reduced-scale aircraft, designated Avro 707s, were produced to test and refine the delta-wing design principles.
The Vulcan B.1 was first delivered to the RAF in 1956; deliveries of the improved Vulcan B.2 started in 1960. The B.2 featured more powerful engines, a larger wing, an improved electrical system, and electronic countermeasures, and many were modified to accept the Blue Steel missile. As a part of the V-force, the Vulcan was the backbone of the United Kingdom's airborne nuclear deterrent during much of the Cold War. Although the Vulcan was typically armed with nuclear weapons, it could also carry out conventional bombing missions, which it did in Operation Black Buck during the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982.
The Vulcan had no defensive weaponry, initially relying upon high-speed, high-altitude flight to evade interception. Electronic countermeasures were employed by the B.1 (designated B.1A) and B.2 from around 1960. A change to low-level tactics was made in the mid-1960s. In the mid-1970s, nine Vulcans were adapted for maritime radar reconnaissance operations, redesignated as B.2 (MRR). In the final years of service, six Vulcans were converted to the K.2 tanker configuration for aerial refuelling.
After retirement by the RAF, one example, B.2 XH558, named The Spirit of Great Britain, was restored for use in display flights and air shows, whilst two other B.2s, XL426 and XM655, have been kept in taxiable condition for ground runs and demonstrations. B.2 XH558 flew for the last time in October 2015 and is also being kept in taxiable condition. XM612 is on display at Norwich Aviation Museum.
Development
Origins
The origin of the Vulcan and the other V bombers is linked with early British atomic weapon programme and nuclear deterrent policies. Britain's atom bomb programme began with Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.1001 issued in August 1946. This anticipated a government decision in January 1947 to authorise research and development work on atomic weapons, the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) having prohibited exporting atomic knowledge, even to countries that had collaborated on the Manhattan Project.Wynn 1997, pp. 7, 16. OR.1001 envisaged a weapon not to exceed in length, in diameter and in weight. The weapon had to be suitable for release from .Wynn 1997, p. 18.
In January 1947, the Ministry of Supply distributed Specification B.35/46 to UK aviation companies to satisfy Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.229 for "a medium range bomber landplane capable of carrying one bomb to a target from a base which may be anywhere in the world." A cruising speed of at altitudes between was specified. The maximum weight when fully loaded should not exceed . Alternatively, the aircraft was to be capable of carrying a conventional bomb load of . The similar OR.230 required a "long-range bomber" with a radius of action with a maximum weight of when fully loaded; this requirement was considered too exacting.Wynn 1997, pp. 44–46. Six companies submitted technical brochures to this specification, including Avro.Wynn 1997, p. 47.
Required to tender by the end of April 1947, work began on receipt of Specification B.35/46 at Avro, led by technical director Roy Chadwick and chief designer Stuart Davies; the type designation was Avro 698. As was obvious to the design team, conventional aircraft could not satisfy the specification. No worthwhile information about high-speed flight was available from the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) or the US.The Vulcan Story by the Technical Editor, Flight, 31 January 1958, p.143 Avro were aware that Alexander Lippisch had designed a delta-wing fighter and considered the same delta configuration would be suitable for their bomber.The Avro Type 698 Vulcan The Secrets Behind Its Design And Development, David W. Fildes 2012, , Bob Lindley recollections p.18 The team estimated that an otherwise conventional aircraft, with a swept wing of 45°, would have doubled the weight requirement. Realising that swept wings increase longitudinal stability, the team deleted the tail (empennage) and the supporting fuselage, it thus became a swept-back flying wing with only a rudimentary forward fuselage and a fin (vertical stabilizer) at each wingtip. The estimated weight was now only 50% over the requirement; a delta shape resulted from reducing the wingspan and maintaining the wing area by filling in the space between the wingtips, which enabled the specification to be met.Gunston, W.T. "The Vulcan Story." Flight, 31 January 1958, p. 143. Although Alexander Lippisch is generally credited as the pioneer of the delta wing, Chadwick's team had followed its own logical design process.Laming 2002, pp. 23, 24. The initial design submission had four large turbojets stacked in pairs buried in the wings on either side of the centreline. Outboard of the engines were two bomb bays.
In August 1947, Chadwick was killed in the crash of the Avro Tudor 2 prototype, and was succeeded by Sir William Farren.Laming 2002, p. 26. Reductions in wing thickness made incorporating the split bomb bays and stacked engines impossible, thus the engines were placed side by side in pairs on either side of a single bomb bay, with the fuselage growing somewhat. The wingtip fins gave way to a single fin on the aircraft's centreline. Rival manufacturer Handley Page received a prototype contract for its crescent-winged HP.80 B.35/46 tender in November 1947. Although considered the best option, the contract award for Avro's design was delayed while its technical strength was established.Buttler 2003, p. 31. Instructions to proceed with the construction of two Avro 698 prototypes were received in January 1948. As an insurance measure against both radical designs failing, Short Brothers received a contract for the prototype SA.4 to the less-stringent Specification B.14/46. The SA.4, later named Sperrin, was not required. In April 1948, Vickers also received authority to proceed with their Type 660, which, although falling short of the B.35/46 Specification, but being of a more conventional design, would be available sooner. This plane entered service as the Valiant.Wynn 1997, pp. 52–54.
Avro 707 and Avro 710
As Avro had no flight experience of the delta wing, the company planned two smaller experimental aircraft based on the 698, the one-third scale model 707 for low-speed handling and the one-half scale model 710 for high-speed handling. Two of each were ordered. The 710 was cancelled when it was considered too time-consuming to develop; a high-speed variant of the 707 was designed in its place, the 707A.Laming 2002, p. 27. The first 707, VX784, flew in September 1949, but crashed later that month, killing the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment's chief test pilot Squadron Leader Samuel Eric Esler, DFC, AE.Hewitt 2003, Ireland's Aviator Heroes of World War II, p. 168. The second low-speed 707, VX790, built with the still uncompleted 707A's nose section (containing an ejection seat)Laming 2002, p. 29. and redesignated 707B, flew in September 1950 piloted by Avro test pilot Wg Cdr Roland "Roly" Falk. The high-speed 707A, WD280, followed in July 1951.Blackman 2007, p. 21.
Due to the delay of the 707 programme, the contribution of the 707B and 707A towards the basic design of the 698 was not considered significant,Laming 2002, p. 32. though it did highlight a need to increase the length of the nosewheel to give a ground incidence of 3.5°, the optimum take-off attitude.Blackman 2007, p. 33. The 707B and 707A proved the design's validity and gave confidence in the delta planform. A second 707A, WZ736, and a two-seat 707C, WZ744, were also constructed, but they played no part in the 698's development.
Prototypes and type certification
First prototype VX770 and name
More influential than the Avro 707 in the 698's design was the wind-tunnel testing performed at RAE Farnborough. This necessitated a wing redesign incorporating a cranked and drooped leading edge and vortex generators to avoid the onset of compressibility drag, which would have restricted the maximum speed.Laming 2002, p. 43. This wing modification resulted in the "phase 2" wing which was first investigated on Avro 707A WD480. This modification was too late to be incorporated on the two prototype 698s and the first three B.1 aircraft before their first flights. (The B.1s were quickly retrofitted).
Painted gloss white, the 698 prototype VX770, with its pure delta wing, flew for the first time on 30 August 1952 piloted by Roly Falk flying solo.Darling 2007, p. 13 VX770, fitted with only the first pilot's ejection seat and a conventional control wheel, was powered by four Rolls-Royce RA.3 Avon engines of thrust, its intended Bristol Olympus engines not being available. The prototype had fuselage fuel tanks but no wing tanks, so temporary additional tankage was carried in the bomb bay.Blackman 2007, pp. 38, 40. VX770 made an appearance at the 1952 Society of British Aircraft Constructors' (SBAC) Farnborough Air Show the next month when Falk demonstrated an almost vertical bank.Hamilton-Paterson 2010, pp. 18–19.
After its Farnborough appearance, the future name of the Avro 698 was a subject of speculation. Avro had strongly recommended the name Ottawa, in honour of the company's connection with Avro Canada. The weekly magazine Flight suggested Albion after rejecting Avenger, Apollo, and Assegai. The chief of the air staff preferred a V-class of bombers, and the Air Council announced the following month that the 698 would be called Vulcan after the Roman god of fire and destruction.Brookes and Davey 2009, p. 8.
In January 1953, VX770 was grounded for the installation of wing fuel tanks, Armstrong Siddeley ASSa.6 Sapphire engines of thrust and other systems; it flew again in July 1953.Blackman 2007, p. 41.
From 1957, VX770 was used as the flying testbed for the Rolls-Royce Conway by-pass engine. It crashed at a flying display at RAF Syerston in September 1958.Darling 2007, p. 15.
Second prototype VX777 The second prototype, VX777, first flew on 3 September 1953. More representative of production aircraft, it was lengthened to accommodate a longer nose undercarriage leg to increase the angle of attack of the wing, shortening the take-off run. It featured a visual bomb-aiming blister under the cabin and was fitted with Bristol Olympus 100 engines of thrust. At Falk's suggestion, a fighter-style control stick had replaced the control wheel. Like VX770, VX777 had the original wing with straight leading edges. VX777 was joined in formation by the first prototype VX770 and four Avro 707s at the 1953 Farnborough Air Show. During trials in July 1954, VX777 was substantially damaged in a heavy landing at Farnborough. It was repaired, fitted with Olympus 101 engines of thrust before resuming trials with Avro and the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down.
Testing and type certification