We will freely admit that finding a video on Black Buck was not easy. All were to long or too short! So we went with who we know, Simon. We found this video highly interesting and also heavy. However, could we have watched a better video with more informative details, yes. While we feel there were more details than we learned in this video, it was still a good foundation to start. We take all conflicts/wars very seriously and our deepest, most sincerest condolences to anyone that lost anyone during this time and to ALL veterans of the Falklands. Let us know if you want to see us react to the Vulcan. Thank you SO much for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button. Thank you for your support!
I think it was great, yes Simon was off the mark in some regards especially at the end but cool to see you two react to what is an iconic feat in aviation, it can't be understated.
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow Cheers to both of you really enjoyed that treat of a video, can't wait to see more from you! Edit - like I've said I haven't served, I just fly airliners for a low cost carrier dreaming of the day when I can move into flying cargo.
Had the Falkland Islanders WANTED to be a part of Argentina and no longer considered British there would have been no war. But the people living on that distant island DID want to remain British - so we protected and honoured their wishes. No 'colonial' power struggle; just aiding our friends.
Of course. Imperialists like us would ONLY invade or help another country if they wanted us there, just like India, Iraq, Iran, the Congo, banana republics and Africa.
Exactly. I'm not exactly happy it had to come to war, but I'd have been deeply ashamed of my country if she had turned her back on her people abroad. I think to say territory wasn't part of the equation at all, would be untrue. But it wasn't the main reason we fought.
exactly so. the Argentinians only bang the "Malvinas drum" when their economy is on its ass. they think the islands are sat in an oil field offshore. the answer to their economic woes! ... Iff Margaret Thatcher had not sent a force to retake the islands from the fascist junta, then UK would have been finished. thank God we had Thatcher and not the dreadful Labour party of the 1980's...
I was at RAF Henlow, the RAFs Radio Engineering Unit at the time of the conflict and remember getting recalled from leave to help prepare and pack equipment and spares to be shipped to the Falklands and ascension Islands. The supporting logistics were massive. We showed the world what happens when you mess with Britain.
I was then serving at 30 MU RAF Sealand (as you will know) the RAF's third line* avionics maintenance unit. The spares you were packing were from our stores. We were also working long hours, not only assembling the spares to be shipped but also to catch up and fill the hole that left in our stores. The RAF normally worked on a system of 'Direct Exchange' whereby replacement units were shipped to flying stations as soon as a faulty part was reported. The serviceable and unserviceable units would, in theory, cross paths en route with the good unit being installed while the faulty one joined the queue for repair by me or one of the other 500 or so technicians (both service and civilian) slaving over hot soldering irons! Shipping large amounts of spare units diminished our reserves meaning we needed to push through the faulty queue to keep an adequate supply for all the other flying operations that still continued in the rest of the RAF. Every aircraft has an amazingly long and complex support tail even in normal circumstances and these were far from normal! * For the benefit of those not familiar with the terminology, aircraft maintenance is split into three levels. Using avionics as an example since that was my field, first line is the work on the aircraft themselves--a faulty radio is simply swapped out as a complete unit and passed to second line. Second line is typically carried out in workshops on the flying unit. These are fairly basic and, in the case of radios, worked to module level. Having diagnosed the fault the defective module would be swapped, the faulty module being passed on to third line maintenance where the final component level repair would be carried out by me or one of the legion of other technicians. Similar principles apply to other fields such as propulsion (engines) or weapons. Each level employs personnel with more and more specialist equipment and experience. For example, I spent the best part of four years working on a single module so I literally knew every component and the symptoms of every failure and had the special-to-type test equipment and spares to repair them.
I was at RAF Benson - i'd been in for 2 years. the invasion came as a real shock. but the response was incredible. Benson was home to the Wessex helicopters at the time , and everyone was suddenly working around the clock preparing for their deployment .. that went on for a couple weeks then suddenly ; STOP - the govt had decided they wanted to send their new Chinooks instead of the venerable Wessex.. so a bit of waste of time... oh well. such is the confusion of war.
@@tobytaylor2154 something people forget that Marx lived in the North west of england with his friend Engels, whose father owned quite a few mills, so Markx was benefitting off the son of a mill owner ad quite wealthy..i live in the north west and people forget that..
I still consider this the “true" longest bombing raids is history, certainly the B2 raids in Afghanistan were impressive, but the supporting tankers were pre-positioned in Europe and the Middle East. With Black Buck, everything left and returned to a single base.
I love being British ❤🇬🇧 But get very upset at lives lost, on both sides. Girls, look up a profile of Simon Weston, his aweful injuries and the path he took after the conflict, what a man ❤
A critical part of the refueling system for the vulcan was being used as an ashtray in the officers mess. It was hasterley cleaned up and refitted to the vulcan to be used for the raid.
@@SALUTE-INT-S yeah, as the refuelling systems had been decommissioned years before the conflict, and many Vulcans had already become museum pieces, engineers flew around the world to those museums to get the necessary parts for the bombers that took part
Thank you again for your kind words for all veterans. I know someone who was on a ship that was hit by the Argentinians. He did unfortunately suffer from PTSD. Even now 40 yrs later he is still Affected by it. I also met men who were soldiers serving in Northern Ireland. Who were left with PTSD. In a time it wasn’t talked about. Thankfully there is more help for the serving men and women now. ❤️🇬🇧🇺🇸
Both sides had trauma, the number of suicides post war from Argentinean soldiers is about 5x their wartime casualties. They were mistreated , poorly lead and supplied , lied to and then shamed back home for losing. Yes they deserve sympathy too.
I highly recommend you get a copy of the book, Vulcan 607 and read it, it will tell you exactly just how complicated this mission was. I was just about to leave high school when the war for the Falklands broke out and was glued to any news bulletins of the time, cheering all our forces on every step of the way.🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 💪
@@martincampbell3024 I was astounded how complicated the whole mission was. It was touch and go all the way but the RAF pulled of a blinder and frightened the Argentine forces when they realised they were not untouchable even at such a great distance ( not to mention mainland Argentina too). The Vulcan itself was a remarkable aeroplane ideally suited to such a mission despite its age.
AS YOU may have guessed by now I am a big Vulcan fan.. And I loved the film documentary..when the play chariots of fire on the return flight.. and the tanker pops up in front of them for the last refuelling..back to the mess for tea and medals...lol
The Argentinian Junta realised that if the RAF could bomb Stanley then it could just as easily bomb Buenos Aries. So the Junta had to allocate fighter cover to the capital city.
Many years after the Falklands war, secret information was released which showed that if it looked as though the mission to retake the Falklands was likely to fail, then a plan was made to drop a nuclear weapon on Buenos Aires. Fortunately this was not required.
Exactly. Although we needed to take the runway out of use, the psychological effect of knowing that we could drop bombs at that range had a far greater impact.
@@tibsie And not just on Argentina. A lot of people were scratching their heads and saying 'They Did What?' And re-thinking and evaluating about the UK
We have a Vulcan in our village Wellesbourne at our little airfield. It has been kept in running order and occasionally makes runway dash’s to show people. I can hear it’s engines start up from my house a mile away. The runway is too short for it to take off. It is a village just a very short drive of 15 mins away from Stratford upon Avon. The airfield also does an amazing English breakfast.
There is another close by at Coventry airport, the Wellesbourne one made national news when on taxi it recently overshot the runway. I have yet to try the breakfast 😮
What this video doesn't tell you (and it's a lot) but the main point of the mission was to show Argentina that Britain could bomb their mainland which forced them to station the bulk of their fighter jets back in Argentina. This meant that it was much harder for them to fight as an air force as they had over 300 miles to fly each way before even getting into an air battle. It was a huge advantage for the British and a stroke of genius.
The main treason for the mission was to win Margaret Thatcher a general election on the deaths of many brave UK Military. The same reasoning behind why Argentina attacked in the first place.
It's 300 km each way (not miles), but it still meant that aircraft of the Argentine air force had too little fuel on board to be able to spend more than five or ten minutes over the islands. And when they attacked the task force outside of the Falklands, they had essentially just one attack run before they had to turn back.
@@nigeldepledge3790 Imagine being *that guy* who comments to basically say the exact same thing as the OP but just to correct the fact it was km, not miles...🤣 And even then you're still wrong. It's over 300 MILES from the closest point of mainland Argentina to the Falklands. The closest airbase, which I believe is San Julián is roughly 650km from San Carlos Bay. It would have been a further 100km+ to get remotely close to the British fleet.
@@nigeldepledge3790 Yeah but Simon is a bit of a t"@t! He often gets things wrong, leaves out vital info, and glares over minor and major components just to get *his* point across, and of course to land in that TH-cam algorithm 'sweet-spot'...
Valiant Vulcan and Victor. The V force is well worth a look. From the stop-gap Valiant, the howling and robust Vulcan and finally the much more advanced Victor.
Why at the time of the Falklands war didn't the UK have a more up to date bomber in use rather than bringing back old Vulcans and having to re equip them. Or did they.
I worked with a colleague who was crew on the sub that sank the Belgrano. He told me the initial euphoria at the sinking, died as they heard the noise of the ship sink. The realisation that they could have been in the place of the Belgrano's crew sank in. They realised servicemen doing their duty, like them, had just perished. You sign on the dotted line, you know the risks, you know it can happen, but is sobering when it does.
The Falklands confilct could have been easily avoided. In the mid-70s the junta was making noises about an invasion so the Royal Navy was sent to the Falklands area and the junta got the message. In 1982 the junta thought that Britain would not retaliate if the islands were invaded.
@@geoffpoole483 correct, operation joneyman 1977, when then labour pm jim callaghan quietly sent small uk task force, including nuclear sub dreadnought, to the south atlantic, & then labour foreign sec david owen, let the agries, through diplomatic channels, know that they would be swimming home if they attacked! result, no 250 dead uk servicemen, remember, thatcher was told directly by tory kent mp.& navy minster keith speed, what would happen if they cut the chatham based ship, hms endurance , the falkland guard ship! in john notts 1981 defence cuts! but instead, she sacked him, & in doing so she needlessly spilt a lot of uk blood! next time we should just send uk attack subs, & if need be, use missiles to take out & destroy their navy in their home mainland ports!
Before I have my say, there will always be fanatics who demonstrate hate, politics, vengeance and such like but my say is about the brotherhood shown between Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen, regardless of which side they are on. A few examples are:- In WW1 during a truce on Christmas day 1914, the Royal Welch Fusiliers played a football match with the German Battalion 371. I read that English Electric Lightning’s used by the RAF as interceptors in the ’cold war’ had small fuel tanks and used a great deal of fuel, relied on air to air refueling from Victor tankers to give them the endurance that they required. Allegedly a Lightning, shadowing a Soviet reconnaissance aircraft couldn’t find the Victor to refuel and radioed to say he was going to land in Iceland. He received a radio transmission from the pilot of the Soviet aircraft, giving him coordinates to find the Victor tanker. Taken from the book ‘Vulcan 607’ written by Rowland White. “During the Falklands conflict a Buenos Aires newspaper reported that a British nuclear submarine had been detected off the Argentine coast. In New York the British Air Attache knew that the British submarines were not yet on station. As he talked with the French representative at the United Nations Staff Committee a Soviet Admiral brushed past him, “Are our submarines being of any help?” He didn’t wait for a reply.”
So your mate, from 12 metres away, underwater, wrapped in steel, heard the screams of people that were on a floating ship😂😂😂 Is he called Jay, and had trials for West Ham?
The Vulcan? The responsibility of the man who designed the Lancaster bomber, Roy Chadwick. Put them together and it's like going from the stone age to the bronze age almost overnight.
Roy Chadwick gets credit for the Vulcan, but actually he had little to do with it. He initially rejected the delta planform, but then he was off ill for a prolonged period and during his absence, his younger subordinates worked it up into a firm proposal. When he came back he was initially angry with them, but eventually they managed to talk him round. However he was then killed in an air crash while the Vulcan was still in the conceptual design phase and was very different from the aircraft that was eventually built. The general point is valid though: there was a generation of designers and engineers whose careers spanned the entire period from stick-and-string biplanes to supersonic jets. Sir Sydney Camm at Hawker started his professional career as an apprentice _carpenter_ at the Martinsyde company just before World War One and ended up supervising the design of the Hawker Harrier jump-jet.
It's also worth noting the lesser-known story of the final Victor that followed the Vulcan down to the Falklands. Because the fuel burn had been so much more than expected, in order for the Vulcan to make the target as planned the Victor had to give away so much fuel that it couldn't make it back to Ascension island, and they had no way of communicating that back to HQ. They prepared to ditch in the Atlantic as far north as they could get, but luckily HQ had realised what was happening when the earlier tankers landed and reported the fuel burn issues, so dispatched another tanker to meet the Victor. They were awarded gallantry medals for their actions on a similar level to those who flew the bombing mission itself. Vulcan 607 is the novelisation of the whole operation, and definitely worth a read.
My Dad was a RAAF Mirage III pilot during the Falklands war which was the same type of interceptor flown by the Argentine Air Force. So they were very unofficially asked by their mates in the RAF (at the time there were lots of exchange pilots between the two) to fly certain mission profiles etc to give feed back on the capabilities of the Mirage that the task force could expect to face from that type. I can't remember if they simulated Norfolk Island or Lord Howe Island as the Falklands but it was one of them and they worked out there was only about 3 to 5 minutes of sortie time over the islands with a full combat load out. He later flew for Cathay with a bunch of ex RAF guys with Falklands experience. As a pilot myself, Simon though 🙄
It is AIR FORCE not Air Force Learn that AIR FORCE is MILITARY and Air Force is what comes out of your Hair Dryer It is even clearly written so on the Aircraft So pay attention to detail --- and make sure the brain sees exactly what the eyes are looking at. Unfortunately you were programmed to be a ZOMBIE and do not realize it ZOMBIEs have eyes but cannot see - ears and cannot hear. Time to step out of the ZOMBIE ZONE
Great video! Lots say it was a pointless war (from abroad) but for us Brits it was not! It was the will of the islanders who wanted to remain British, and we made sure that happened ❤
Shame that Thatcher's disastrous Strategic Defence Review of 1981 left the islands hopelessly undefended in the first place and paved the way for Galtieri's opportunistic 1982 invasion.
It was the labour governments successive defence cuts in the 70s and cancellation of the TSR2 that forced the Vulcans extended service. Britain was almost bankrupt due to labour & its union wranglings in the 70s resulting in the 3 day week & power cuts that wrecked our industries. I remember them as a child & lived it. In 1979 the conservative government inherited a skint & broken economy. By the mid 80s the economy was booming with tens of thousands of jobs created. It takes time to restore wealth & prosperity. The commerce system generated in the 80s keeps London the No1 financial city on the planet & the prosperity it brings to Britain to this day. 2500 brits being held hostage 7000 miles away … under labour & its failed 70s policies we would’ve been still negotiating and kissing the argies arses now. The “iron curtain” & the world was watching closely during this war, under Thatcher’s leadership Britain demonstrated its will & strength & resolve, restoring international respect & giving freedom to its citizens on the Queens islands.
I remember hearing about Blackbuck 1 on the news here in Australia. The feat was pretty amazing covering the distance it did and the refuelling. The other missions didn’t get nearly as much coverage.
If you want an in-depth understanding of the complications of the refuelling procedure the 'Operations Room' channel is an excellent choice. Simon glosses over this.
The Vulcan Bomber XH558 was always the highlight of every UK airshow - please check it out and enjoy the Vulcan growl. It was the loudest aircraft of the show and impressive with its delta shape and power. This would have been a very intimidating aircraft to encounter. Fun fact, the Avro Vulcan was the successor to the Avro Lancaster which I think is pretty awesome!
I hope you do do a reaction to the Vulcan. When we still had one for air displays, it created what was known as the Vulcan effect. Roads for miles around would be jammed with cars trying to get to see her. No other aircraft, not even the Spitfire or Lancaster can do that to anywhere near the same degree.
Thank you for showing this I remember the Falklands War as I was 20 at the time but I don't recall Operation Black Buck. It would be great if you could do a reaction video on the Vulcan also a video on R J Mitchell and the Spitfire would be good too. ❤
If you get a chance to find Rowland White’s fascinating book ‘Vulcan 607’ then it goes through the selection of the crews and trained for AAR, getting the aircraft ready and interviews with those involved and the islanders. Brilliant video!
Even by todays standards it is still pretty impresssive, considering when my son (Corporal, REME) did his tour of duty in the Falklands it took three days to fly there! I was lucky enough to see the last flight of the last vulcan on it;s national tour. At the time I was at a live steam fair when it did a slow low fly over, knowing it was a sight that would never been seen again I told my young grandson and to pay special attention. I hope he remebers it for a very long time, he may well be one of a very few people in the future that remembers ever seeing one in flight! Given that the Vulcan was designed to drop nuclear bombs on soviet targets, when the Kremlin realised what the RAF had achieved with outdated aircraft, their jaws must have hit the floor as they realised exactly what they were up against during the cold war! This account as ever from this channel is clear, accurte and consice. There is a documentary on the tube which features the servicemen involved giving their personnel accounts. To be honest, just the logistcs of the refeulling flights itself is a whole video in and of itself and i;m sure there will be one out there.
I used to live within sight of RAF Honnington in Suffolk. At one of their last open days before flight operations ceased there, I watched from my garden a vulcan bomber swoop low over the airfield and climb again, several times. Amazing sight !
Not ashamed to admit to tears when 598 did her last tour. I saw her over Barton in Manchester, after a lifetime of Woodford and Cosford airshows going back to the 60s. I can still hear that howl if I think hard.
A lot of people entirely miss the point of Black Buck - there were many ways the RAF and Navy could have put holes in the runway, much easier and at less risk. The Vulcan was designed to drop nuclear weapons on cities and remove them from the map: what it said is "this _could_ have been carrying a WE 177B, it _could_ have been flying over Buenos Aires, and you're very welcome that we're being so polite". THAT was the point of the mission. It's one of the problems of submarine-launched nuclear weapons: you can't send that sort of message.
Yes, there are longer videos that give more information - the method of refueling was quite a dance - but this is nice and succinct. I don't think you've reacted to these (of course I could be wrong) but they're well worth it: "World War II: The 13 hours that saved Britain" and "The greatest raid of all time". They're both quite long - the Greatest Raid is one of those utterly absurd things we Brits are famous for.
A long time friend was a teenage sailor, AA gunner on HMS Broadsword. He told me there were many times he was scared during the Falklands conflict. Meanwhile the then young woman that is now my wife was in army communications, she was seconded to the admiralty HQ as she had security clearance. She has no heroic tales to tell from then, 1st gulf war or Balkans. "I just did my job" she told me.
The Black Buck 1 raid although a strategically motivated operation, and a lot of planning went into it. However, I think it was more of a phycological win similar to the Doolittle raid of Tokyo after Pearl Harbour during WW2. The message was plain and simple, we are coming and that would have put the commanders on the Falklands on edge for the rest of the conflict. As stated, there are more detailed videos of the Black Buck raid but they do tend to go on a bit. Good reaction as always, ladies!
That Mission must have been a Logistical nightmare. What Simon never mentioned was that on the last refueling the Vulcan crew were getting ready to ditch into the sea, they were flying on fumes due to the fact that someone on The Argentine Mainland was transmitting on the same frequency that The Vulcan was using to guide it to the Victor Tanker. Next minuet the Tanker just appeared off it`s wingtip. There is a very good interview if you can find it with The Pilot that actually flew The Vulcan. With reference to The General Belgrano, I went to the Launch of The Submarine that sank her, HMS Conqueror at Lairds Shipyard in Birkenhead. 1969 I was Ten years old and my Uncle worked on her when she was being built.
Another interesting reaction video Girls and I can remember the conflict as I was 19 at the time. From a military point of view the damage caused was minimal but the psychological effect on the Argentine troops was large. Also check out, if you can, the Canberra. The Canberra was a cruise ship which was press ganged into service as a troopship. She was painted white and everyone was worried she would be an easy target to the Argentinian air force but weirdly the white paint turned out to be the perfect camouflage. Love, hugs and prayers from Sussex, UK
I work at RAF Waddington in the UK, where the Vulcan's were based in 1982. We still have XM607 here as a gate guardian and she's recently been repainted. I'm off to work shortly and I'll see her out the window from my office...
I remember being obsessed about the Falklands War at the time. It was an amazing feat for the British to fight a war so far from home and these bombing raids, although they did not really achieve what they wanted, were incredible in their conception, complexity and execution. I think it would be interesting if you did a reaction to another of Simon's videos that focuses on another iconic piece of hardware used in this war: the Harrier jump jet - th-cam.com/video/7ON9xGNfUOo/w-d-xo.html
mmmmm Not really correct saying that "they did not really achieve what they wanted". What the RAF wanted to do was put the airstrip at Stanley out of action. If the Argentinians had been able to base fast jets on the Falklands, the British fleet would have had to station itself much further east, away from the islands, for safety. This would have made the British operation much harder. The airstrip could be repaired by the Argentinians (it was) but fast jets need a good surface to land on. By virtue of the fact that the Argentinian jets had to be based on the mainland, they only had a few minutes of operational time over the Falklands. So, showing that Argentinian jets at the airport would be in danger of attack, the Black Buck sorties DID achieve what was wanted.
My brother died and is buried on the Falklands, just one reason for me to say NO to Argentina ever having anything to say or do with the Islands. Only two weeks ago the EU was calling them the Argentine name (refuse to say the name). That makes me very angry. My brother along with many others British blood was spilt on the Falklands it will be British for ever.💔
@@randomshorts739 Its the UK that 'did one', now the EU doesn't have a reason to stick up for UK interests (I believe *both* names were on the document).
Argentina doesn't have a legitimate claim at all to the Falklands which existed in the state they are now before their country even existed, it was only ever occupied by penguins before that. The rest of the world should recognise that and call it by it's proper name. If their leader hadn't lied to their people claiming we stole it from them and they will get it back, this war could have been avoided and they still lie to their people about it, Argentinians really believe we stole the island from them, total bullshit.
I was working on the flight line of RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia at the time and a Vulcan turned up. Surprisingly the crew were happy to let me have a tour and I was shocked to see the in flight refueling system was jerry rigged with the hoses literally taped along the interior. The aircraft reeked of jet fuel. I couldn't imagine how stressful it would have been, especially during fuelling, if a hose failed they would have been incinerated.
So interesting. My husband worked a.ongsice a man who fought in the Forklands and lost most of his men, he rarely spoke of it but because my husband has an interest he told him. Well done girlies again for your sincere response.
Loving the channel (Just discovered you) I was a child living at RAF Scampton while the Vulcans were there as so I is by far my favourite aircraft. There is a great book on Vulcan 607 (Black Buck 1) by Rowland White that goes into a lot more details about the problems faced like turning an aircraft designed for a 2 hour trip to bomb Russia using terrain following navigation to an aircraft flying over the sea (no terrain to follow) for 16 hours. Also you should find a video on the Vulcan Howl !!!
I have seen the Vulcan fly several times over my old house as I lived next to a RAF base. It was were used to take off aircraft for shows. I can still remember the noise they made. Unfortunately, since i moved just a few miles away, we are no longer in the flight path.
if you want to have a look at the vulcan in more detail, i'd highly recommend watching Guy Martin (IOM TT rider, truck mechanic, amazing personality, and absolute enthusiast of all things mechanical / engineering!) helping prepare the vulcan for its farewell tour of britain. goes into the mechanical workings of it, what it was like to fly and loads more.
Another informative video thank you. I was 12yrs old at the time, in Australia, and while I remember it being on the news a lot, I didn't really learn much about it. I appreciate learning with you girls because, although I hate war and never wanted to hear about it when I was younger, I think it's important we remember all of the amazing feats achieved, and the losses, sacrifices and lasting effects of war on everyone. I have several generations in my family who have served, who are serving, and a son who wants to serve. Thank you for the continued respect and appreciation you girls express to all who have and are currently serving.
HMS Antelope not Cantelope. There are Vulcans and Victors in museums in Britain not forgetting the other V bomber The Valiant I have seen at the former RAF Elvington were there is a air museum it has a Valiant and a Victor (it was on the former runway that Richard Hammond drove a rocket car down the runway in a land speed attempt a tyre burst the car rolled a number of times Hammond was seriously injured he returned to Top Gear a number of months later) RAF Cosford museum there is a Vulcan, RAF Cosford is a training base, Newark Air Museum it is a Vulcan I sat in this one years ago and there is a Vulcan at The Fleet Air Museum Yeovilton right next to RNAS Yeovilton I saw the odd Wildcat helicopter plus a Merlin helicopter, when I visited in the 80s there was a lot of Harrier jump jets as well as lots of Lynx helicopters on the tarmac. There are other museums with Vulcans I have visited the big air museums I have visited some of the smaller ones to see what planes they have.
Thanks for covering this story Ladies. I almost suggested it after your last video on The Falklands, but you already had thousands of comments. By the conflict, Vulcans had already been decommissioned, so finding the parts was difficult. One of the refuelling parts they needed was found in an RAF base being used as an ashtray! And as Natasha pointed out, the psychological effects made more difference than the physical damage. The fact that our RAF could reach out that far with bombers really spooked the Argentine command.
You are the best, why not take a look at Christian Craighead, a former SAS man who saved many from a terrorise attack in Kenya including at least one American lady…..
The American neutrality included the STRIKE missile system and retrofitting the new Sidewinder missile to the Harriers... the sidewinders had been supplied to the UK for testing. Let's not forget the French had continued to supply Exocet missiles to the Argentines, although a lot of those transactions were intercepted by the British security services. The Exocet was a low flying anti-ship missile. Also France is a supposed ally of the UK and a member of NATO.
The Vulcan and Victor were two of the three V Bombers that saw service. They arose from a requirement for an aeroplane able to deliver a nuclear weapon to Moscow, a much shorter trip than for the USAF, hence the difference in size and range to the Boeing B-52, a plane they have often been compared with. There were four designs originally, but the Short Sperrin was a very conservative design and was not proceeded with beyond two prototypes. The first into service was the Vickers Valiant, which saw combat in Egypt in 1956 during the Anglo/French Suez campaign of that year. The Valiant was also used to drop nuclear weapons during the British development trials at Christmas Island. The Avro Vulcan was the second into service with the RAF and was of a high performance than the Valiant, flying faster and higher, especially the Mk B2 with an extended wing and more powerful engines. The third and most advanced design was the Handley Page Victor. This plane could fly faster and higher than even the Vulcan (There are rumours that at least one went trans sonic in a shallow dive over London) The Victor could carry 35 1,000lb bombs against the 24 the Vulcan could carry. During the mid 1960's, following the shooting down of a CIA U2 aircraft over Russia, it was clear that height was no longer sufficient protection in penetrating Soviet air defences, and so the RAF switched to a low level attack profile. The Vulcan was a much better plane for this than the Victor. The Delta wing is much stiffer than the long slender 'Crescent' wing used by the Victor, giving it a longer fatigue life, and so the Vulcan took over the Nuclear Strike role with the Victors being converted into tankers. The conversion included reducing the wing span to reduce wing flexing at the lower altitude they were now flying , and thus increasing fatigue life. The Victor tankers remained in service several years longer than the Vulcan, taking part in the first Gulf War where they refueled both RAF and other Allied aircraft. During the mid to late 1960's the area I lived was on a route used by RAF Vulcan's for low level navigation training. They would come over at what seemed near roof top height in pairs, with about 1 or 2 seconds between them. I could clearly see the 'Blue Steel' stand off missile (cruise missile) slung under the bomb bay. The first time I saw one on the ground was an air show at Biggin Hill, a RAF fighter airfield to the south of London, around 1966, (one of the first 'Long' journeys I undertook on my recently acquired BSA C15 motorcycle) The size of it made an impression on me that remains nearly 60 years later. A bit of trivia. The Vulcan was powered by the Bristol Olympus engine, the engine that with Re Heat (Afterburner in the USA) powered the Concorde super sonic airliner. Look up 'Vulcan Howl' on TH-cam, it produces the most amazing sound from the air intakes. (I recommend the one from 'Elwyn R, RIAT 2015, XH558 Howls'. Elwyn has some amazingly good aviation related videos. I was at this air show 😀 )
Of the three V bombers while I love how the Vulcan flies and sounds for me the Victor is the one that looks a really evil aircraft and how a nuclear strike bomber should look. Just incredible curves, sweeps and pointed nose.
@@1chish I agree completely. When I was a kid, seeing pictures of the prototype Victor made me think it had stepped straight out of the pages of Dan Dare, the Sci Fi comic strip in the Eagle Comic. I think it still would not look out of place in Star Wars.
there was also British military politics. The RN"s submarines had replaced the Vulcans as the owners of the British nuclear deterrent. But the RAF had fought a long battle to discredit the RN's aircraft carrier force and had largely succeeded, maintaining that their planes could fight anywhere in the world. But the RAF appeared to have no role in the Falklands. Hence the rapidly cobbled together Black Buck operation.
The lady’s got it, though the commentator did not. The phycological impact of the raid on the invaders was dramatic. There was also world wide reasoning for the Falklands war. Spain was making noises about Gibraltar. China was in the process of taking over Hong Kong, and face saving is very big in that culture. There was a lot more than just one Island group, involved in this. I also had the privalage of watching a Vulcan go 'Operation'. In spite of the famous 'Vulcan Howl' you will hear about, they are in real life, almost silent.
Oh you must do one on the vulcan. My dad was in the RAF. Was the first plane he worked on. In 2015, dad passed away, the same year, the last flying vulcan was grounded. I love the howl of the vulcan. Xxxx
I love your videos, always top notch. Not all that keen on Simons work It's easy to say now that the Argentinian forces had no chance, but that was simply not the case. As we later learned that both the Kremlin and majority of the White House thought it would be a military disaster for the U.K. To execute operation corporate in the face of appaling weather conditions, fragle logistics train and very far from supply was an absolutely amazing feat. The Falkland Islanders remain grateful for their liberation, especially after the treament many had been subjected to.
At the time Chile and the UK were very friendly. It was rumoured that a squadron of RAF aircraft was on a "goodwill" visit This would put the Argentinan capital under constant immediate threat. This was never confirmed but tied up a large part of the Argentine military. As you realise Chile and Argentina didn't get along and Chilians became an unofficial ally. So much remains in the in the unknown background.
Oh it was far more than a rumour. RAF Canberra PR9 aircraft flown by RAF crews were based in Chile but painted in Chilean Air Force markings. They flew key missions over the area and Argentina giving key intelligence to the Black Buck aircraft and the Task Force. As did Nimrods based on Ascension. The Canberras were left in Chile after the war for some reason ... 🤔
@@mikewilding3199 The Canberra was an even older design than the Vulcan (it was designed at the end of WW2) and was originally a bomber. The use of the Canberra as a bomber had been abandonded for decades by the British at the time of the Falklands. I suppose it would have been possible to retro-fit the bomb-bay. The Chile thing is a little complicated and was terribly hush-hush. Not merely because of the war but because of the political situation in Chile (Pinochet). The RAF Museum says that the plan was abandonded when the planes were in Belize due to the possibility of political fallout. So it is unsure whether any recon missions were actually flown. The Canberra was used in The Falklands War however - Argentina flew 8 of them and used them as bombers. Two were downed.
Went to a military history lecture on the Falklands Conflict. Two take aways - Casper Weinberger telephoned Pentagon on the day of the invasion , said Brits are going to come begging, I do not want to hear that they did not get what they wanted. Other was comment from an Islander on effect of Black Buck one - up to the bombs dropped Argentine forces were confident and settling in - after the raid the mood changed, they were jumpy and the realisation was apparent that Britain was coming.
Not sure we went begging but Casper was our only friend in the USA. He did make sure the Sidewinders we had ordered and paid for before the war were delivered immediately from US stocks rather than wait for them to be built and delivered.
@@1chish He did much more that that - from AVM Dick who was the RAF Air Attache to Washington - "What I did not know when I first visited J4, was that Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger had, as soon as he heard about the Argentinean invasion, told his staff that the Brits were to be given every assistance possible short of actually engaging in operations, and that he would not tolerate any bureaucratic interference with British requests, which were to be given maximum possible priority. Given that attitude from the man at the top, and the normally high level of peacetime cooperation between the US and UK services, it was hardly surprising that the Pentagon was quick to offer support. Indeed, many civilian officials outside the Pentagon later seemed almost alarmed that the military could have pre-empted them in aiding a foreign power. Weinberger had said that the US help must stop short of operations in the war zone. While that was strictly true, in the sense that no US units took part in the Falklands war, it has to be said that the US did provide extra aircraft, ships and men to cover the NATO commitments from which the UK had necessarily withdrawn. That contribution is often forgotten, but it sent an important signal to both friends and enemies that the US was serious about supporting its allies."... ..."I was given nothing but encouragement and help in the Pentagon. Whenever I appeared in front of someone with a problem (nearly all of them pretty demanding) I was welcomed as a friend and, almost invariably, my request was dealt with in front of me on the telephone. I was never asked to sign for anything, nor was I ever asked to put anything in writing. They listened to my story, took my word for it and acted - immediately. Bureaucrats with procedures or objections were brushed aside and told to follow up with the paperwork later - much later. It was all very heart-warming, and a very good time to be an ally of the US."
@@rossmcneill10 I said quite clearly Casper was our only friend and he did indeed grease the wheels of the normally negative minded Pentagon. However the only actual material help was, as I said, delivery from US stocks of Sidewinders we had already ordered. Had we not already had an order in place I doubt even Casper could have got the Pentagon to give us US stocks of those missiles. The Shrikes we already had in stock in the UK as we had to add wing pylons to the Vulcan despite the story they were supplied 'covertly' just for the Falklands War. Ask me how I know. The re-positioning of NATO ships was not a material aid to us as any NATO operation is voluntary. What was equally never mentioned was how Australia and New Zealand positioned their ships to release RN ships from further afield for the war.
@@1chish As you are in the know - you seem to have forgotten the fuel storage/delivery arrangements of Accension, and Concertina City to name but a few.
very insulting comment that UK would "come begging".. the UK looked for American support in the UN , knowing all the third world and communist countries would vote against UK.. in the event the US sat on the fence for the most part as the Argentinian fascist junta were clients.. USA did ship new Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, but otherwise we managed without them completely. USA did one big favour - they had trained the Argentinian military and that faulty training helped in defeating them
The Vulcan bomber is an immense aircraft.The howl of the Wolf ..... refering to the noise that issued forth from the engine of the Vulcan is an ear-popping explosion of noise that comes at engine start-up and gives any sane person goosebumps.!!
I appreciate your thoughts on looking at the Vulcan, however it is very sad that this aircaft is known and lauded by the British public, whilst the other V-Bombers built at the same time are ignored. The UK bomber force was fromed by Valient, Victor, and Vulcan aircraft. If you do such a video please look at all three as otherwise you only get a third of the picture. Simon does an excellent look at them entintled "The V-Bombers: The UK's Strategic Nuclear Strike Force" on his Megaprojects channel, it has recieved over 1 million views.
The Vulcan bomber was involved in nuking the US twice in war games... on top of that on Vulcan take offs in the US the interceptors were caught out by a flight of fighters flying under the the Vulcans... if the tail had been shorter the Vulcan would have been the first stealth attack bomber.
The pilot of Black Buck One, Flight Lieutenant Martin Withers, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The pilot of the Victor tanker, Squadron Leader Bob Tuxford, was awarded the Air Force Cross.
Good afternoon from Perth Western Australia 🇦🇺🌏. Interesting fact the liners RMS Queen Elizabeth II and SS Canberra played their part in the Falklands war as troopships, like past ocean liners that served in WWI & WWII.
I was lucky enough to witness the last flying Vulcan flying right over my head at low level on it's farewell tour. Vulcan is big and LOUD! Awesome aircraft.
One of the Vulcan bombers that took part in Black Buck is based at the airport near me, they offer visits quite often so you can go take a few photos. You can also stand under it while they fire up the engines!
Most British people would not understand your snickering at the misheard HMS Cantelope. The British and most other Commonwealth nations call the fruit you refer to as Cantaloupes as Rockmelons for the yellow-orange fruit and Honeydew melons for the green fleshed melon fruit. Cantaloupes are not a thing unless one is vainly trying to sound pretensious and better than your peers.
I remember sitting at my desk at work, (I was 29), listening on my Walkman to BBC radio 5 Live, which had 24/7 coverage of the war. I was fascinated, and worried but confident us Brits would prevail to protect the British people in the Falklands .
I absolutely love your channel,Amazing you are both teaching me about my country. We have been to Norfolk Ooh be careful how you say it!!! My husband and I loved it it's beautiful.I want to go back Lesley retired nurse England thank you again
As a 14 year old I was taken to an airshow at RAF Church Fenton. The highlight was the Vulcan. I still think that it's the loudest thing that I have ever heard. It flew low along the runway which was loud enough, but when it lifted its nose and began to put on power and climb...the earth was shaking. It's something that I will never forget. 😊❤😊
Some people have argued that the "Black Buck" raid merely alerted the Argentinian anti-aircraft forces to an attack by Harriers a day later. "The defences had been woken up by the Vulcan": Andy Auld, 800 Squadron, as quoted in the book by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins. "Battle For The Falklands", page 144 in my copy.
When he says they were far along in decommissioning, what he means is that they were mere weeks away from retirement they were in strip down process for moving them to aircraft museums.
A Royal Navy medic, Commander Rick Jolly operated "The Red and Green Life Machine", the colour of the Paras and Royal Marines Commandoish s berets. He also treated and saved many Argentinian lives and was the only British serviceman to be awarded a medal by Argentina.
The psychological effect is very real. And there are also things that are hugely important but rarely get talked about. An example is the ski-jumps on the aircraft carriers. Most people assume that ski jumps are not as good as catapult-launch carriers. That is true in normal seas, but in the wild Antarctic ocean, ski jumps can operate in conditions that catapult launchers find problematic. Basically the angled launch angle allows aircraft launch that is not possible on a level flat top when the ship is pitching up and down. The ski jump carrier was a design that was on its way out, until the Falklands War demonstrated that they have their advantages in rough seas.
A great channel I'd recommend for Battles and Military Operations, (as much as I love Whistle Boy), is the Operations Room I've had the privilege to see the last Vulcan fly, they're like a living beast, the shape of their intakes makes them roar and whistle at certain throttle levels and the noise cuts straight through you
Prince Andrew was a helicopter pilot in the war. He flew Seakings. When the Sir Galahad was hit by an Exocet anti ship missile, (French made), and caught fire, he used his helicopter's downdraft to push life rafts full of injured troops away from the burning hulk. The regiment involved in this were The Welsh Guards. Many were severely burnt. One soldier, Simon West, became quite well known as I believe there is film of him in the burnt remains of his uniform, hanging about him and him almost naked and burnt. Half running/jogging to a life raft on the deck of the ship. A true hero.
The best documentary on the Falklands war is called "What Did The Falklands War Actually Achieve? The Untold Story. Of course you would probably have to do it in parts, but it is terrific, showing individual stories from both sides.
I was at a party in a pub in Coventry when the DJ announced the ship had been lost. The Ska stopped the dancing stopped. The DJ played `Sailing ` by Rod Stewart and everyone quietly went home. Very sad and complative.
which ship? the Belgrano? it was a threat to the Task Force and sunk , quite correctly. the loss of live was not due to the torpedoes hitting it but the escort vessels deserting the Belgrano and leaving the crew freezing in their life rafts overnight......
@@coling3957 HMS Coventry was a Type 42 (Sheffield-class) destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down by Cammell Laird and Company, Limited, at Birkenhead on 29 January 1973, she was launched on 21 June 1974 and accepted into service on 20 October 1978 at a cost of £37,900,000. She was sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks on 25 May 1982 during the Falklands War.
I think what people forget about the V force bombers (Vulcan, Victor and Valiant) they were all designed at the end of WW2. They were such a leap forward in aviation that no-one had even seen anything like them before. However, by 1982, they were considered 'old', yet still performed brilliantly. This is a testament to British aviation at the time.
Vulcans were amazing machines. I was raised about 5 miles from an RAF base that flew Vulcans and they often came in to land really low over our house. They were LOUD!!! The shelves would shake and the pictures on the wall rattle when they flew over. We used to attend the annual airshow and you could get up close and see inside the plane, fascinating to a curious 8 year old! it would be interesting to see you review not just the Vulcan but the whole V series of aircraft, so much a core of our UK cold war defences.
Royal Navy veteran here I missed the Falklands war by 9 months but learnt a lot about it with guys I sailed with who went down there. As always rip our war dead and the Argentines who died at that conflict . HMS Antelope was a type 21 frigate not a carrier ...:)
The Airtube-X video on Op Black Buck is pretty good in that it covers more of the actual operation plus interviews with those involved. Yes, please to a look at the Vulcan, the bomber that flew like a fighter, and its unmistakable howl.
When our last Vulcan was still performing on the airshow circuit her Chief Display Pilot was none other than Martin Withers who successfully bombed Stanley Airfield in Black Buck 1
Interesting video and reaction. The refuelling plan was the key to the Black Buck Operations. I recommend Rowland White's book Vulcan 607 for more details
The Vulcan Bomber is one of my favourite military aircraft, would enjoy seeing you two do a video on it! Recently saw a video where it was reported that one of the refueling systems that were installed in those operational Vulcans, came from a Vulcan that was being readied for permanent display at the RAF museum. When you talked about the psychological effect of the Black Buck raids. You focused on the very important impact it had on morale among the Argentine soldiers on the island. Of equal importance was the morale boosting effect, it had on the citizens of the Falklands. The raids showed they had not been abandoned or forgotten by the U.K., a visible reminder that the task force was coming. The other effect not mentioned enough in my opinion, was the effect the raids had on the resolve of the Argentine government. Sinking the Belgrano caused the Argentine navy to withdraw to their ports and limit actions during the rest of the conflict. It was possible the bombing raids along with the pressure being applied by other countries could have caused Argentine to stand down, or at least try an negotiate with the U.K. A long shot for sure, but possible. Enjoyed your video very much, not a fan of Simon and Megaprojects, but it was fun watching your reaction!
There is a lot of what went on to actually get the available Aircraft fit to carry out the Raid.Parts were sourced from all manner of places including canibalising aircraft in museums,parts for the bomb dropping mechanism were found in a scrapyard at newark upon Trent,finding enough Bombs was also a problen and they could only find 167.
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 87 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "ก้องชัย vs โชคปรีชา"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YN6e7HVnekw/mqdefault.jpg)
We will freely admit that finding a video on Black Buck was not easy. All were to long or too short! So we went with who we know, Simon. We found this video highly interesting and also heavy. However, could we have watched a better video with more informative details, yes. While we feel there were more details than we learned in this video, it was still a good foundation to start. We take all conflicts/wars very seriously and our deepest, most sincerest condolences to anyone that lost anyone during this time and to ALL veterans of the Falklands. Let us know if you want to see us react to the Vulcan. Thank you SO much for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button. Thank you for your support!
I think it was great, yes Simon was off the mark in some regards especially at the end but cool to see you two react to what is an iconic feat in aviation, it can't be understated.
@gnarkillkicksass Thank you for your service and Happy Birthday!!
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow Cheers to both of you really enjoyed that treat of a video, can't wait to see more from you! Edit - like I've said I haven't served, I just fly airliners for a low cost carrier dreaming of the day when I can move into flying cargo.
@@goodshipkaraboudjanstill, we appreciate you!
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow Thanks for the love can't wait for the next video!
Had the Falkland Islanders WANTED to be a part of Argentina and no longer considered British there would have been no war. But the people living on that distant island DID want to remain British - so we protected and honoured their wishes. No 'colonial' power struggle; just aiding our friends.
Of course. Imperialists like us would ONLY invade or help another country if they wanted us there, just like India, Iraq, Iran, the Congo, banana republics and Africa.
The Falklands are more British than Britain is now.
Exactly. I'm not exactly happy it had to come to war, but I'd have been deeply ashamed of my country if she had turned her back on her people abroad.
I think to say territory wasn't part of the equation at all, would be untrue. But it wasn't the main reason we fought.
exactly so. the Argentinians only bang the "Malvinas drum" when their economy is on its ass. they think the islands are sat in an oil field offshore. the answer to their economic woes! ... Iff Margaret Thatcher had not sent a force to retake the islands from the fascist junta, then UK would have been finished. thank God we had Thatcher and not the dreadful Labour party of the 1980's...
NOT TO MENTION OIL + NATURAL GAS BEING FOUND JUS OFF THE FALKLANDS??
I was at RAF Henlow, the RAFs Radio Engineering Unit at the time of the conflict and remember getting recalled from leave to help prepare and pack equipment and spares to be shipped to the Falklands and ascension Islands. The supporting logistics were massive. We showed the world what happens when you mess with Britain.
I was then serving at 30 MU RAF Sealand (as you will know) the RAF's third line* avionics maintenance unit. The spares you were packing were from our stores. We were also working long hours, not only assembling the spares to be shipped but also to catch up and fill the hole that left in our stores.
The RAF normally worked on a system of 'Direct Exchange' whereby replacement units were shipped to flying stations as soon as a faulty part was reported. The serviceable and unserviceable units would, in theory, cross paths en route with the good unit being installed while the faulty one joined the queue for repair by me or one of the other 500 or so technicians (both service and civilian) slaving over hot soldering irons! Shipping large amounts of spare units diminished our reserves meaning we needed to push through the faulty queue to keep an adequate supply for all the other flying operations that still continued in the rest of the RAF.
Every aircraft has an amazingly long and complex support tail even in normal circumstances and these were far from normal!
* For the benefit of those not familiar with the terminology, aircraft maintenance is split into three levels. Using avionics as an example since that was my field, first line is the work on the aircraft themselves--a faulty radio is simply swapped out as a complete unit and passed to second line. Second line is typically carried out in workshops on the flying unit. These are fairly basic and, in the case of radios, worked to module level. Having diagnosed the fault the defective module would be swapped, the faulty module being passed on to third line maintenance where the final component level repair would be carried out by me or one of the legion of other technicians. Similar principles apply to other fields such as propulsion (engines) or weapons.
Each level employs personnel with more and more specialist equipment and experience. For example, I spent the best part of four years working on a single module so I literally knew every component and the symptoms of every failure and had the special-to-type test equipment and spares to repair them.
I was at RAF Benson - i'd been in for 2 years. the invasion came as a real shock. but the response was incredible. Benson was home to the Wessex helicopters at the time , and everyone was suddenly working around the clock preparing for their deployment .. that went on for a couple weeks then suddenly ; STOP - the govt had decided they wanted to send their new Chinooks instead of the venerable Wessex.. so a bit of waste of time... oh well. such is the confusion of war.
I am so proud of you ALL.... I was sadly too young to take part
Respect and thank you 🙏🏼
That was tan and you are correct. I was at RAF Aldergrove. We were the best but sadly we have lost everything.
People keep underestimating us Brits, it what we do and why we are so good at the stuff we do
Love your videos, it’s great to see our cousins enjoying things about the U.K
Until we’ve gone woke.
@@kenirving5240 even then the core britishness will remain, even with woke.
@@Greenwood4727cultural Marxism is what it is
@@tobytaylor2154 something people forget that Marx lived in the North west of england with his friend Engels, whose father owned quite a few mills, so Markx was benefitting off the son of a mill owner ad quite wealthy..i live in the north west and people forget that..
I still consider this the “true" longest bombing raids is history, certainly the B2 raids in Afghanistan were impressive, but the supporting tankers were pre-positioned in Europe and the Middle East. With Black Buck, everything left and returned to a single base.
I love being British ❤🇬🇧 But get very upset at lives lost, on both sides. Girls, look up a profile of Simon Weston, his aweful injuries and the path he took after the conflict, what a man ❤
Agree, a very brave man.
Great minds..I too have suggested that they look at the programmes following Simon's journey back from hell..
Yes, I agree. Look up Simo Weston
You mean Simon Weston, CBE, OBE.
@@Otacatapetl if you want to be precise!!!
A critical part of the refueling system for the vulcan was being used as an ashtray in the officers mess. It was hasterley cleaned up and refitted to the vulcan to be used for the raid.
The Falklands are more British than Britain is now.
Yeah, love that little part of the story. Classic! Didn't they have to go searching Museums for some other parts as well?
So British 😂🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
@@josephmckenna1228Yep, we are a unique people.
@@SALUTE-INT-S yeah, as the refuelling systems had been decommissioned years before the conflict, and many Vulcans had already become museum pieces, engineers flew around the world to those museums to get the necessary parts for the bombers that took part
Thank you again for your kind words for all veterans. I know someone who was on a ship that was hit by the Argentinians. He did unfortunately suffer from PTSD. Even now 40 yrs later he is still
Affected by it. I also met men who were soldiers serving in Northern Ireland. Who were left with PTSD. In a time it wasn’t talked about. Thankfully there is more help for the serving men and women now. ❤️🇬🇧🇺🇸
Both sides had trauma, the number of suicides post war from Argentinean soldiers is about 5x their wartime casualties. They were mistreated , poorly lead and supplied , lied to and then shamed back home for losing. Yes they deserve sympathy too.
I highly recommend you get a copy of the book, Vulcan 607 and read it, it will tell you exactly just how complicated this mission was.
I was just about to leave high school when the war for the Falklands broke out and was glued to any news bulletins of the time, cheering all our forces on every step of the way.🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧 💪
what a great book to read...
@@martincampbell3024 I was astounded how complicated the whole mission was. It was touch and go all the way but the RAF pulled of a blinder and frightened the Argentine forces when they realised they were not untouchable even at such a great distance ( not to mention mainland Argentina too). The Vulcan itself was a remarkable aeroplane ideally suited to such a mission despite its age.
AS YOU may have guessed by now I am a big Vulcan fan..
And I loved the film documentary..when the play chariots of fire on the return flight.. and the tanker pops up in front of them for the last refuelling..back to the mess for tea and medals...lol
@@martincampbell3024 bet the boys were relieved when the Victor rolled out in front of them, they were running on fumes.
Just seen it again..for about the fifth time..as they say in the RN..."B Z" what a great mission..."Bravo Zulu"..
The Argentinian Junta realised that if the RAF could bomb Stanley then it could just as easily bomb Buenos Aries. So the Junta had to allocate fighter cover to the capital city.
Many years after the Falklands war, secret information was released which showed that if it looked as though the mission to retake the Falklands was likely to fail, then a plan was made to drop a nuclear weapon on Buenos Aires. Fortunately this was not required.
This was the strategic aim of the raids. To deny the Falklands airfields to Argentine air power, including re-supplying their troops.
Exactly. Although we needed to take the runway out of use, the psychological effect of knowing that we could drop bombs at that range had a far greater impact.
@@tibsie And not just on Argentina. A lot of people were scratching their heads and saying 'They Did What?' And re-thinking and evaluating about the UK
Exactly. Much of it was about putting the fear of God up the Argies!!
We have a Vulcan in our village Wellesbourne at our little airfield. It has been kept in running order and occasionally makes runway dash’s to show people. I can hear it’s engines start up from my house a mile away. The runway is too short for it to take off. It is a village just a very short drive of 15 mins away from Stratford upon Avon. The airfield also does an amazing English breakfast.
That's super cool!
not surprising, they are earth shakers, try standing near one as it's engines run up, your internal organs vibrate, it is the strangest feeling
We have one also at Southend Airport. They also do runs of the engine and open days for the public.
There is another close by at Coventry airport, the Wellesbourne one made national news when on taxi it recently overshot the runway. I have yet to try the breakfast 😮
I lived at Wellesbourne.
What this video doesn't tell you (and it's a lot) but the main point of the mission was to show Argentina that Britain could bomb their mainland which forced them to station the bulk of their fighter jets back in Argentina. This meant that it was much harder for them to fight as an air force as they had over 300 miles to fly each way before even getting into an air battle.
It was a huge advantage for the British and a stroke of genius.
The main treason for the mission was to win Margaret Thatcher a general election on the deaths of many brave UK Military. The same reasoning behind why Argentina attacked in the first place.
It's 300 km each way (not miles), but it still meant that aircraft of the Argentine air force had too little fuel on board to be able to spend more than five or ten minutes over the islands.
And when they attacked the task force outside of the Falklands, they had essentially just one attack run before they had to turn back.
@@nigeldepledge3790 Imagine being *that guy* who comments to basically say the exact same thing as the OP but just to correct the fact it was km, not miles...🤣 And even then you're still wrong. It's over 300 MILES from the closest point of mainland Argentina to the Falklands. The closest airbase, which I believe is San Julián is roughly 650km from San Carlos Bay. It would have been a further 100km+ to get remotely close to the British fleet.
@Axispaw1 - that's interesting. Simon Whistler's video said 296 km.
@@nigeldepledge3790 Yeah but Simon is a bit of a t"@t! He often gets things wrong, leaves out vital info, and glares over minor and major components just to get *his* point across, and of course to land in that TH-cam algorithm 'sweet-spot'...
Valiant Vulcan and Victor. The V force is well worth a look. From the stop-gap Valiant, the howling and robust Vulcan and finally the much more advanced Victor.
The Victor wasn't necessarily a beautful aircraft aesthetically, but definitely had a "I mean business" look about it!
The Victor could look beautiful, ugly or downright evil depending on the viewing angle.
Why at the time of the Falklands war didn't the UK have a more up to date bomber in use rather than bringing back old Vulcans and having to re equip them. Or did they.
@@FeedbackPete The Tornado had just entered service but only had a range of 860 miles compared to the Vulcan's 2,600 miles.
@@paulwalsh9680 The Victor looked like they stole it from Gerry Anderson's stetchbook.
I worked with a colleague who was crew on the sub that sank the Belgrano. He told me the initial euphoria at the sinking, died as they heard the noise of the ship sink. The realisation that they could have been in the place of the Belgrano's crew sank in. They realised servicemen doing their duty, like them, had just perished. You sign on the dotted line, you know the risks, you know it can happen, but is sobering when it does.
The Falklands confilct could have been easily avoided. In the mid-70s the junta was making noises about an invasion so the Royal Navy was sent to the Falklands area and the junta got the message. In 1982 the junta thought that Britain would not retaliate if the islands were invaded.
@@geoffpoole483 correct, operation joneyman 1977, when then labour pm jim callaghan quietly sent small uk task force, including nuclear sub dreadnought, to the south atlantic, & then labour foreign sec david owen, let the agries, through diplomatic channels, know that they would be swimming home if they attacked! result, no 250 dead uk servicemen, remember, thatcher was told directly by tory kent mp.& navy minster keith speed, what would happen if they cut the chatham based ship, hms endurance , the falkland guard ship! in john notts 1981 defence cuts! but instead, she sacked him, & in doing so she needlessly spilt a lot of uk blood! next time we should just send uk attack subs, & if need be, use missiles to take out & destroy their navy in their home mainland ports!
Before I have my say, there will always be fanatics who demonstrate hate, politics, vengeance and such like but my say is about the brotherhood shown between Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen, regardless of which side they are on. A few examples are:-
In WW1 during a truce on Christmas day 1914, the Royal Welch Fusiliers played a football match with the German Battalion 371.
I read that English Electric Lightning’s used by the RAF as interceptors in the ’cold war’ had small fuel tanks and used a great deal of fuel, relied on air to air refueling from Victor tankers to give them the endurance that they required. Allegedly a Lightning, shadowing a Soviet reconnaissance aircraft couldn’t find the Victor to refuel and radioed to say he was going to land in Iceland. He received a radio transmission from the pilot of the Soviet aircraft, giving him coordinates to find the Victor tanker.
Taken from the book ‘Vulcan 607’ written by Rowland White. “During the Falklands conflict a Buenos Aires newspaper reported that a British nuclear submarine had been detected off the Argentine coast. In New York the British Air Attache knew that the British submarines were not yet on station. As he talked with the French representative at the United Nations Staff Committee a Soviet Admiral brushed past him, “Are our submarines being of any help?” He didn’t wait for a reply.”
So your mate, from 12 metres away, underwater, wrapped in steel, heard the screams of people that were on a floating ship😂😂😂
Is he called Jay, and had trials for West Ham?
Natasha and Debbie, you asked about other things about the Falklands. Look at pebble island SAS.
The Vulcan? The responsibility of the man who designed the Lancaster bomber, Roy Chadwick. Put them together and it's like going from the stone age to the bronze age almost overnight.
the bomb and navigation internals were much the same on the lancaster and the vulcan. The change was the engines/ wings
Roy Chadwick gets credit for the Vulcan, but actually he had little to do with it. He initially rejected the delta planform, but then he was off ill for a prolonged period and during his absence, his younger subordinates worked it up into a firm proposal. When he came back he was initially angry with them, but eventually they managed to talk him round. However he was then killed in an air crash while the Vulcan was still in the conceptual design phase and was very different from the aircraft that was eventually built.
The general point is valid though: there was a generation of designers and engineers whose careers spanned the entire period from stick-and-string biplanes to supersonic jets. Sir Sydney Camm at Hawker started his professional career as an apprentice _carpenter_ at the Martinsyde company just before World War One and ended up supervising the design of the Hawker Harrier jump-jet.
Thanks for that info Harry.
It's also worth noting the lesser-known story of the final Victor that followed the Vulcan down to the Falklands. Because the fuel burn had been so much more than expected, in order for the Vulcan to make the target as planned the Victor had to give away so much fuel that it couldn't make it back to Ascension island, and they had no way of communicating that back to HQ. They prepared to ditch in the Atlantic as far north as they could get, but luckily HQ had realised what was happening when the earlier tankers landed and reported the fuel burn issues, so dispatched another tanker to meet the Victor. They were awarded gallantry medals for their actions on a similar level to those who flew the bombing mission itself.
Vulcan 607 is the novelisation of the whole operation, and definitely worth a read.
My Dad was a RAAF Mirage III pilot during the Falklands war which was the same type of interceptor flown by the Argentine Air Force. So they were very unofficially asked by their mates in the RAF (at the time there were lots of exchange pilots between the two) to fly certain mission profiles etc to give feed back on the capabilities of the Mirage that the task force could expect to face from that type. I can't remember if they simulated Norfolk Island or Lord Howe Island as the Falklands but it was one of them and they worked out there was only about 3 to 5 minutes of sortie time over the islands with a full combat load out. He later flew for Cathay with a bunch of ex RAF guys with Falklands experience. As a pilot myself, Simon though 🙄
I hope he flew with the FAA then the because the RAF did bugger all in the Falklands.
It is AIR FORCE
not Air Force
Learn that AIR FORCE is MILITARY
and Air Force is what comes out of your Hair Dryer
It is even clearly written so on the Aircraft
So pay attention to detail ---
and make sure the brain sees exactly what the eyes are looking at.
Unfortunately you were programmed to be a ZOMBIE and do not realize it
ZOMBIEs have eyes but cannot see - ears and cannot hear.
Time to step out of the ZOMBIE ZONE
Great video! Lots say it was a pointless war (from abroad) but for us Brits it was not! It was the will of the islanders who wanted to remain British, and we made sure that happened ❤
Shame that Thatcher's disastrous Strategic Defence Review of 1981 left the islands hopelessly undefended in the first place and paved the way for Galtieri's opportunistic 1982 invasion.
@@mihohobaba totally agree, then again, is there anything GOOD Thatcher will be remembered for? 🤔
It was the labour governments successive defence cuts in the 70s and cancellation of the TSR2 that forced the Vulcans extended service. Britain was almost bankrupt due to labour & its union wranglings in the 70s resulting in the 3 day week & power cuts that wrecked our industries. I remember them as a child & lived it. In 1979 the conservative government inherited a skint & broken economy. By the mid 80s the economy was booming with tens of thousands of jobs created. It takes time to restore wealth & prosperity. The commerce system generated in the 80s keeps London the No1 financial city on the planet & the prosperity it brings to Britain to this day.
2500 brits being held hostage 7000 miles away … under labour & its failed 70s policies we would’ve been still negotiating and kissing the argies arses now.
The “iron curtain” & the world was watching closely during this war, under Thatcher’s leadership Britain demonstrated its will & strength & resolve, restoring international respect & giving freedom to its citizens on the Queens islands.
Horseshit - Don't blame Labour for Thatcher's incompetence. The Falklands was down to her government's policy alone.
@@davidbrooks187
@@davidbrooks187Well said that man 🇬🇧👍
Thank you, I served in the Falklands and was injured but I still managed 26 years in the British Army after ....Thank you
Thank you for your service sir..🇬🇧✝️🙏👍👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🏅
Good on ya matey
Ex RGJ, respect mate.
Thank you for your service many respects from 🇬🇧
I remember hearing about Blackbuck 1 on the news here in Australia. The feat was pretty amazing covering the distance it did and the refuelling. The other missions didn’t get nearly as much coverage.
If you want an in-depth understanding of the complications of the refuelling procedure the 'Operations Room' channel is an excellent choice. Simon glosses over this.
The Vulcan Bomber XH558 was always the highlight of every UK airshow - please check it out and enjoy the Vulcan growl. It was the loudest aircraft of the show and impressive with its delta shape and power. This would have been a very intimidating aircraft to encounter. Fun fact, the Avro Vulcan was the successor to the Avro Lancaster which I think is pretty awesome!
I hope you do do a reaction to the Vulcan.
When we still had one for air displays, it created what was known as the Vulcan effect. Roads for miles around would be jammed with cars trying to get to see her. No other aircraft, not even the Spitfire or Lancaster can do that to anywhere near the same degree.
Thank you for showing this I remember the Falklands War as I was 20 at the time but I don't recall Operation Black Buck.
It would be great if you could do a reaction video on the Vulcan also a video on R J Mitchell and the Spitfire would be good too. ❤
If you get a chance to find Rowland White’s fascinating book ‘Vulcan 607’ then it goes through the selection of the crews and trained for AAR, getting the aircraft ready and interviews with those involved and the islanders.
Brilliant video!
Even by todays standards it is still pretty impresssive, considering when my son (Corporal, REME) did his tour of duty in the Falklands it took three days to fly there! I was lucky enough to see the last flight of the last vulcan on it;s national tour. At the time I was at a live steam fair when it did a slow low fly over, knowing it was a sight that would never been seen again I told my young grandson and to pay special attention. I hope he remebers it for a very long time, he may well be one of a very few people in the future that remembers ever seeing one in flight! Given that the Vulcan was designed to drop nuclear bombs on soviet targets, when the Kremlin realised what the RAF had achieved with outdated aircraft, their jaws must have hit the floor as they realised exactly what they were up against during the cold war! This account as ever from this channel is clear, accurte and consice. There is a documentary on the tube which features the servicemen involved giving their personnel accounts. To be honest, just the logistcs of the refeulling flights itself is a whole video in and of itself and i;m sure there will be one out there.
I used to live within sight of RAF Honnington in Suffolk. At one of their last open days before flight operations ceased there, I watched from my garden a vulcan bomber swoop low over the airfield and climb again, several times. Amazing sight !
Not ashamed to admit to tears when 598 did her last tour. I saw her over Barton in Manchester, after a lifetime of Woodford and Cosford airshows going back to the 60s. I can still hear that howl if I think hard.
A lot of people entirely miss the point of Black Buck - there were many ways the RAF and Navy could have put holes in the runway, much easier and at less risk. The Vulcan was designed to drop nuclear weapons on cities and remove them from the map: what it said is "this _could_ have been carrying a WE 177B, it _could_ have been flying over Buenos Aires, and you're very welcome that we're being so polite". THAT was the point of the mission. It's one of the problems of submarine-launched nuclear weapons: you can't send that sort of message.
Yes, there are longer videos that give more information - the method of refueling was quite a dance - but this is nice and succinct. I don't think you've reacted to these (of course I could be wrong) but they're well worth it: "World War II: The 13 hours that saved Britain" and "The greatest raid of all time". They're both quite long - the Greatest Raid is one of those utterly absurd things we Brits are famous for.
A long time friend was a teenage sailor, AA gunner on HMS Broadsword. He told me there were many times he was scared during the Falklands conflict. Meanwhile the then young woman that is now my wife was in army communications, she was seconded to the admiralty HQ as she had security clearance. She has no heroic tales to tell from then, 1st gulf war or Balkans. "I just did my job" she told me.
The Black Buck 1 raid although a strategically motivated operation, and a lot of planning went into it. However, I think it was more of a phycological win similar to the Doolittle raid of Tokyo after Pearl Harbour during WW2. The message was plain and simple, we are coming and that would have put the commanders on the Falklands on edge for the rest of the conflict. As stated, there are more detailed videos of the Black Buck raid but they do tend to go on a bit. Good reaction as always, ladies!
The Vulcan is such a beautiful aircraft
That Mission must have been a Logistical nightmare. What Simon never mentioned was that on the last refueling the Vulcan crew were getting ready to ditch into the sea, they were flying on fumes due to the fact that someone on The Argentine Mainland was transmitting on the same frequency that The Vulcan was using to guide it to the Victor Tanker. Next minuet the Tanker just appeared off it`s wingtip. There is a very good interview if you can find it with The Pilot that actually flew The Vulcan. With reference to The General Belgrano, I went to the Launch of The Submarine that sank her, HMS Conqueror at Lairds Shipyard in Birkenhead. 1969 I was Ten years old and my Uncle worked on her when she was being built.
Another interesting reaction video Girls and I can remember the conflict as I was 19 at the time. From a military point of view the damage caused was minimal but the psychological effect on the Argentine troops was large. Also check out, if you can, the Canberra. The Canberra was a cruise ship which was press ganged into service as a troopship. She was painted white and everyone was worried she would be an easy target to the Argentinian air force but weirdly the white paint turned out to be the perfect camouflage. Love, hugs and prayers from Sussex, UK
I work at RAF Waddington in the UK, where the Vulcan's were based in 1982. We still have XM607 here as a gate guardian and she's recently been repainted. I'm off to work shortly and I'll see her out the window from my office...
Thank you for your service many respects from 🇬🇧
I remember being obsessed about the Falklands War at the time. It was an amazing feat for the British to fight a war so far from home and these bombing raids, although they did not really achieve what they wanted, were incredible in their conception, complexity and execution. I think it would be interesting if you did a reaction to another of Simon's videos that focuses on another iconic piece of hardware used in this war: the Harrier jump jet - th-cam.com/video/7ON9xGNfUOo/w-d-xo.html
the raid was to show the Argies - the British are coming! ....
mmmmm Not really correct saying that "they did not really achieve what they wanted". What the RAF wanted to do was put the airstrip at Stanley out of action. If the Argentinians had been able to base fast jets on the Falklands, the British fleet would have had to station itself much further east, away from the islands, for safety. This would have made the British operation much harder. The airstrip could be repaired by the Argentinians (it was) but fast jets need a good surface to land on. By virtue of the fact that the Argentinian jets had to be based on the mainland, they only had a few minutes of operational time over the Falklands. So, showing that Argentinian jets at the airport would be in danger of attack, the Black Buck sorties DID achieve what was wanted.
My brother died and is buried on the Falklands, just one reason for me to say NO to Argentina ever having anything to say or do with the Islands. Only two weeks ago the EU was calling them the Argentine name (refuse to say the name). That makes me very angry. My brother along with many others British blood was spilt on the Falklands it will be British for ever.💔
The EU can do one
@@randomshorts739 Its the UK that 'did one', now the EU doesn't have a reason to stick up for UK interests (I believe *both* names were on the document).
Argentina doesn't have a legitimate claim at all to the Falklands which existed in the state they are now before their country even existed, it was only ever occupied by penguins before that. The rest of the world should recognise that and call it by it's proper name. If their leader hadn't lied to their people claiming we stole it from them and they will get it back, this war could have been avoided and they still lie to their people about it, Argentinians really believe we stole the island from them, total bullshit.
I was working on the flight line of RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia at the time and a Vulcan turned up. Surprisingly the crew were happy to let me have a tour and I was shocked to see the in flight refueling system was jerry rigged with the hoses literally taped along the interior. The aircraft reeked of jet fuel. I couldn't imagine how stressful it would have been, especially during fuelling, if a hose failed they would have been incinerated.
I was at Semaphore then , I am sure we thought we could hear Port Wakefield proof range
So interesting. My husband worked a.ongsice a man who fought in the Forklands and lost most of his men, he rarely spoke of it but because my husband has an interest he told him. Well done girlies again for your sincere response.
Simon is a legend. He's got soooo many channels.
He's the best!
Loving the channel (Just discovered you) I was a child living at RAF Scampton while the Vulcans were there as so I is by far my favourite aircraft. There is a great book on Vulcan 607 (Black Buck 1) by Rowland White that goes into a lot more details about the problems faced like turning an aircraft designed for a 2 hour trip to bomb Russia using terrain following navigation to an aircraft flying over the sea (no terrain to follow) for 16 hours. Also you should find a video on the Vulcan Howl !!!
I am fortunate to have seen the Vulcan in flight at an airshow in Yorkshire just before it was grounded. The Vulcan ROAR is something to behold.
and in total contrast to the almost silence once it levelled out :)
I have seen the Vulcan fly several times over my old house as I lived next to a RAF base. It was were used to take off aircraft for shows. I can still remember the noise they made. Unfortunately, since i moved just a few miles away, we are no longer in the flight path.
something i am sure the Argie troops appreciated from their air raid trenches lol
RAF crews on the black buck raids described air to air refueling as trying to thread warm spaghetti up a cat's backside
That was very interesting. I knew nothing about the Falklands mega bombing runs until I watched this. Thanks so much ❤
So glad you learned with us!
if you want to have a look at the vulcan in more detail, i'd highly recommend watching Guy Martin (IOM TT rider, truck mechanic, amazing personality, and absolute enthusiast of all things mechanical / engineering!) helping prepare the vulcan for its farewell tour of britain. goes into the mechanical workings of it, what it was like to fly and loads more.
Loved watching that programme.
I hope that we will have you for a long long time. Love all the information I get thanks to your work. Big hug mujeres hermosas.
We hope so too
Another informative video thank you. I was 12yrs old at the time, in Australia, and while I remember it being on the news a lot, I didn't really learn much about it. I appreciate learning with you girls because, although I hate war and never wanted to hear about it when I was younger, I think it's important we remember all of the amazing feats achieved, and the losses, sacrifices and lasting effects of war on everyone. I have several generations in my family who have served, who are serving, and a son who wants to serve. Thank you for the continued respect and appreciation you girls express to all who have and are currently serving.
HMS Antelope not Cantelope. There are Vulcans and Victors in museums in Britain not forgetting the other V bomber The Valiant I have seen at the former RAF Elvington were there is a air museum it has a Valiant and a Victor (it was on the former runway that Richard Hammond drove a rocket car down the runway in a land speed attempt a tyre burst the car rolled a number of times Hammond was seriously injured he returned to Top Gear a number of months later) RAF Cosford museum there is a Vulcan, RAF Cosford is a training base, Newark Air Museum it is a Vulcan I sat in this one years ago and there is a Vulcan at The Fleet Air Museum Yeovilton right next to RNAS Yeovilton I saw the odd Wildcat helicopter plus a Merlin helicopter, when I visited in the 80s there was a lot of Harrier jump jets as well as lots of Lynx helicopters on the tarmac. There are other museums with Vulcans I have visited the big air museums I have visited some of the smaller ones to see what planes they have.
Exactly!! 😂😂
Thanks for covering this story Ladies. I almost suggested it after your last video on The Falklands, but you already had thousands of comments. By the conflict, Vulcans had already been decommissioned, so finding the parts was difficult. One of the refuelling parts they needed was found in an RAF base being used as an ashtray! And as Natasha pointed out, the psychological effects made more difference than the physical damage. The fact that our RAF could reach out that far with bombers really spooked the Argentine command.
You are the best, why not take a look at Christian Craighead, a former SAS man who saved many from a terrorise attack in Kenya including at least one American lady…..
His nick name is Obi One Nairobi.
The American neutrality included the STRIKE missile system and retrofitting the new Sidewinder missile to the Harriers... the sidewinders had been supplied to the UK for testing.
Let's not forget the French had continued to supply Exocet missiles to the Argentines, although a lot of those transactions were intercepted by the British security services. The Exocet was a low flying anti-ship missile. Also France is a supposed ally of the UK and a member of NATO.
The Vulcan and Victor were two of the three V Bombers that saw service. They arose from a requirement for an aeroplane able to deliver a nuclear weapon to Moscow, a much shorter trip than for the USAF, hence the difference in size and range to the Boeing B-52, a plane they have often been compared with. There were four designs originally, but the Short Sperrin was a very conservative design and was not proceeded with beyond two prototypes. The first into service was the Vickers Valiant, which saw combat in Egypt in 1956 during the Anglo/French Suez campaign of that year. The Valiant was also used to drop nuclear weapons during the British development trials at Christmas Island. The Avro Vulcan was the second into service with the RAF and was of a high performance than the Valiant, flying faster and higher, especially the Mk B2 with an extended wing and more powerful engines. The third and most advanced design was the Handley Page Victor. This plane could fly faster and higher than even the Vulcan (There are rumours that at least one went trans sonic in a shallow dive over London) The Victor could carry 35 1,000lb bombs against the 24 the Vulcan could carry. During the mid 1960's, following the shooting down of a CIA U2 aircraft over Russia, it was clear that height was no longer sufficient protection in penetrating Soviet air defences, and so the RAF switched to a low level attack profile. The Vulcan was a much better plane for this than the Victor. The Delta wing is much stiffer than the long slender 'Crescent' wing used by the Victor, giving it a longer fatigue life, and so the Vulcan took over the Nuclear Strike role with the Victors being converted into tankers. The conversion included reducing the wing span to reduce wing flexing at the lower altitude they were now flying , and thus increasing fatigue life. The Victor tankers remained in service several years longer than the Vulcan, taking part in the first Gulf War where they refueled both RAF and other Allied aircraft.
During the mid to late 1960's the area I lived was on a route used by RAF Vulcan's for low level navigation training. They would come over at what seemed near roof top height in pairs, with about 1 or 2 seconds between them. I could clearly see the 'Blue Steel' stand off missile (cruise missile) slung under the bomb bay. The first time I saw one on the ground was an air show at Biggin Hill, a RAF fighter airfield to the south of London, around 1966, (one of the first 'Long' journeys I undertook on my recently acquired BSA C15 motorcycle) The size of it made an impression on me that remains nearly 60 years later.
A bit of trivia. The Vulcan was powered by the Bristol Olympus engine, the engine that with Re Heat (Afterburner in the USA) powered the Concorde super sonic airliner. Look up 'Vulcan Howl' on TH-cam, it produces the most amazing sound from the air intakes. (I recommend the one from 'Elwyn R, RIAT 2015, XH558 Howls'. Elwyn has some amazingly good aviation related videos. I was at this air show 😀 )
Of the three V bombers while I love how the Vulcan flies and sounds for me the Victor is the one that looks a really evil aircraft and how a nuclear strike bomber should look. Just incredible curves, sweeps and pointed nose.
@@1chish I agree completely. When I was a kid, seeing pictures of the prototype Victor made me think it had stepped straight out of the pages of Dan Dare, the Sci Fi comic strip in the Eagle Comic. I think it still would not look out of place in Star Wars.
@@tonym480 If anything looked what it did it was the Victor...
Sorry to puncture your bubble but the Vulcan carried 21 1,000lb bombs, not 25.
@@samday9328 Your point being what exactly? I think by the time the 21st hit you you wouldn't really care.
there was also British military politics.
The RN"s submarines had replaced the Vulcans as the owners of the British nuclear deterrent. But the RAF had fought a long battle to discredit the RN's aircraft carrier force and had largely succeeded, maintaining that their planes could fight anywhere in the world.
But the RAF appeared to have no role in the Falklands. Hence the rapidly cobbled together Black Buck operation.
The lady’s got it, though the commentator did not. The phycological impact of the raid on the invaders was dramatic. There was also world wide reasoning for the Falklands war. Spain was making noises about Gibraltar. China was in the process of taking over Hong Kong, and face saving is very big in that culture. There was a lot more than just one Island group, involved in this. I also had the privalage of watching a Vulcan go 'Operation'. In spite of the famous 'Vulcan Howl' you will hear about, they are in real life, almost silent.
UK Lease on Hong Kong was expiring and it was handed back accordingly. Not a 'take over'.
@@etherealbolweevil6268 But there were negotiations going on over the shape of the new government (most of which the Chinese have dishonoured since)
@@travelledfar True, and the UK demolishing the Walled City because Beijing asked it to, so as to avoid embarrassment later.
@@etherealbolweevil6268 WHAT!!!
Oh you must do one on the vulcan. My dad was in the RAF. Was the first plane he worked on. In 2015, dad passed away, the same year, the last flying vulcan was grounded.
I love the howl of the vulcan. Xxxx
I love your videos, always top notch. Not all that keen on Simons work
It's easy to say now that the Argentinian forces had no chance, but that was simply not the case. As we later learned that both the Kremlin and majority of the White House thought it would be a military disaster for the U.K. To execute operation corporate in the face of appaling weather conditions, fragle logistics train and very far from supply was an absolutely amazing feat.
The Falkland Islanders remain grateful for their liberation, especially after the treament many had been subjected to.
The airport at Ascension Island is called “Wideawake”. For the duration of the war it became the busiest airport on Earth.
At the time Chile and the UK were very friendly. It was rumoured that a squadron of RAF aircraft was on a "goodwill" visit This would put the Argentinan capital under constant immediate threat. This was never confirmed but tied up a large part of the Argentine military. As you realise Chile and Argentina didn't get along and Chilians became an unofficial ally. So much remains in the in the unknown background.
Oh it was far more than a rumour. RAF Canberra PR9 aircraft flown by RAF crews were based in Chile but painted in Chilean Air Force markings. They flew key missions over the area and Argentina giving key intelligence to the Black Buck aircraft and the Task Force. As did Nimrods based on Ascension.
The Canberras were left in Chile after the war for some reason ... 🤔
@@1chish Interesting that you confirmed this. Wonder if those PR9's could be retrofitted to carry ordnance in instead of camera s just a thought ?
Yaay, good old Pinochet, what a great guy Pity about all the thousands of Chileans he had killed
@@mikewilding3199 The Canberra was an even older design than the Vulcan (it was designed at the end of WW2) and was originally a bomber. The use of the Canberra as a bomber had been abandonded for decades by the British at the time of the Falklands. I suppose it would have been possible to retro-fit the bomb-bay.
The Chile thing is a little complicated and was terribly hush-hush. Not merely because of the war but because of the political situation in Chile (Pinochet). The RAF Museum says that the plan was abandonded when the planes were in Belize due to the possibility of political fallout. So it is unsure whether any recon missions were actually flown.
The Canberra was used in The Falklands War however - Argentina flew 8 of them and used them as bombers. Two were downed.
Martin Withers (Slithers) was one of my QFIs at No 1 FTS way back in 1980
Went to a military history lecture on the Falklands Conflict. Two take aways - Casper Weinberger telephoned Pentagon on the day of the invasion , said Brits are going to come begging, I do not want to hear that they did not get what they wanted. Other was comment from an Islander on effect of Black Buck one - up to the bombs dropped Argentine forces were confident and settling in - after the raid the mood changed, they were jumpy and the realisation was apparent that Britain was coming.
Not sure we went begging but Casper was our only friend in the USA. He did make sure the Sidewinders we had ordered and paid for before the war were delivered immediately from US stocks rather than wait for them to be built and delivered.
@@1chish He did much more that that - from AVM Dick who was the RAF Air Attache to Washington - "What I did not know when I first visited J4, was that Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger had, as soon as he heard about the Argentinean invasion, told his staff that the Brits were to be given every assistance possible short of actually engaging in operations, and that he would not tolerate any bureaucratic interference with British requests, which were to be given maximum possible priority. Given that attitude from the man at the top, and the normally high level of peacetime cooperation between the US and UK services, it was hardly surprising that the Pentagon was quick to offer support. Indeed, many civilian officials outside the Pentagon later seemed almost alarmed that the military could have pre-empted them in aiding a foreign power. Weinberger had said that the US help must stop short of operations in the war zone. While that was strictly true, in the sense that no US units took part in the Falklands war, it has to be said that the US did provide extra aircraft, ships and men to cover the NATO commitments from which the UK had necessarily withdrawn. That contribution is often forgotten, but it sent an important signal to both friends and enemies that the US was serious about supporting its allies."...
..."I was given nothing but encouragement and help in the Pentagon. Whenever I appeared in front of someone with a problem (nearly all of them pretty demanding) I was welcomed as a friend and, almost invariably, my request was dealt with in front of me on the telephone. I was never asked to sign for anything, nor was I ever asked to put anything in writing. They listened to my story, took my word for it and acted - immediately. Bureaucrats with procedures or objections were brushed aside and told to follow up
with the paperwork later - much later. It was all very heart-warming, and a very good time to be an ally of the US."
@@rossmcneill10 I said quite clearly Casper was our only friend and he did indeed grease the wheels of the normally negative minded Pentagon.
However the only actual material help was, as I said, delivery from US stocks of Sidewinders we had already ordered. Had we not already had an order in place I doubt even Casper could have got the Pentagon to give us US stocks of those missiles. The Shrikes we already had in stock in the UK as we had to add wing pylons to the Vulcan despite the story they were supplied 'covertly' just for the Falklands War. Ask me how I know.
The re-positioning of NATO ships was not a material aid to us as any NATO operation is voluntary. What was equally never mentioned was how Australia and New Zealand positioned their ships to release RN ships from further afield for the war.
@@1chish As you are in the know - you seem to have forgotten the fuel storage/delivery arrangements of Accension, and Concertina City to name but a few.
very insulting comment that UK would "come begging".. the UK looked for American support in the UN , knowing all the third world and communist countries would vote against UK.. in the event the US sat on the fence for the most part as the Argentinian fascist junta were clients.. USA did ship new Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, but otherwise we managed without them completely. USA did one big favour - they had trained the Argentinian military and that faulty training helped in defeating them
The Vulcan bomber is an immense aircraft.The howl of the Wolf ..... refering to the noise that issued forth from the engine of the Vulcan is an ear-popping explosion of noise that comes at engine start-up and gives any sane person goosebumps.!!
I appreciate your thoughts on looking at the Vulcan, however it is very sad that this aircaft is known and lauded by the British public, whilst the other V-Bombers built at the same time are ignored. The UK bomber force was fromed by Valient, Victor, and Vulcan aircraft. If you do such a video please look at all three as otherwise you only get a third of the picture. Simon does an excellent look at them entintled "The V-Bombers: The UK's Strategic Nuclear Strike Force" on his Megaprojects channel, it has recieved over 1 million views.
Please do a piece on Victor - more sophisticated and capable (and much cooler looking) than the Vulcan or Valiant
The Vulcan bomber was involved in nuking the US twice in war games... on top of that on Vulcan take offs in the US the interceptors were caught out by a flight of fighters flying under the the Vulcans... if the tail had been shorter the Vulcan would have been the first stealth attack bomber.
The islanders were (and are) British. Why on earth did anyone think the UK wouldn't go to the rescue and protect and defend them? That's just crazy!
Exactly
The pilot of Black Buck One, Flight Lieutenant Martin Withers, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The pilot of the Victor tanker, Squadron Leader Bob Tuxford, was awarded the Air Force Cross.
Good afternoon from Perth Western Australia 🇦🇺🌏. Interesting fact the liners RMS Queen Elizabeth II and SS Canberra played their part in the Falklands war as troopships, like past ocean liners that served in WWI & WWII.
I was lucky enough to witness the last flying Vulcan flying right over my head at low level on it's farewell tour. Vulcan is big and LOUD! Awesome aircraft.
I learn so much from your videos ❤
So happy to hear that!
Yes it would be interesting to see you do a review of the Vulcan
God bless Mrs That her, Iron Lady indeed. She had bigger balls than any man.
She was a psycho. May she burn in hell.
One of the Vulcan bombers that took part in Black Buck is based at the airport near me, they offer visits quite often so you can go take a few photos. You can also stand under it while they fire up the engines!
Most British people would not understand your snickering at the misheard HMS Cantelope. The British and most other Commonwealth nations call the fruit you refer to as Cantaloupes as Rockmelons for the yellow-orange fruit and Honeydew melons for the green fleshed melon fruit. Cantaloupes are not a thing unless one is vainly trying to sound pretensious and better than your peers.
Well I always call it a Cantelope Melon - and as a lass from Norfolk I'm definitely not posh or pretentious!
I remember sitting at my desk at work, (I was 29), listening on my Walkman to BBC radio 5 Live, which had 24/7 coverage of the war. I was fascinated, and worried but confident us Brits would prevail to protect the British people in the Falklands .
Air to air refuelling like many other things was a British invention.
I absolutely love your channel,Amazing you are both teaching me about my country. We have been to Norfolk Ooh be careful how you say it!!! My husband and I loved it it's beautiful.I want to go back Lesley retired nurse England thank you again
As a 14 year old I was taken to an airshow at RAF Church Fenton. The highlight was the Vulcan. I still think that it's the loudest thing that I have ever heard. It flew low along the runway which was loud enough, but when it lifted its nose and began to put on power and climb...the earth was shaking. It's something that I will never forget. 😊❤😊
Some people have argued that the "Black Buck" raid merely alerted the Argentinian anti-aircraft forces to an attack by Harriers a day later.
"The defences had been woken up by the Vulcan": Andy Auld, 800 Squadron, as quoted in the book by Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins. "Battle For The Falklands", page 144 in my copy.
When he says they were far along in decommissioning, what he means is that they were mere weeks away from retirement they were in strip down process for moving them to aircraft museums.
A Royal Navy medic, Commander Rick Jolly operated "The Red and Green Life Machine", the colour of the Paras and Royal Marines Commandoish s berets. He also treated and saved many Argentinian lives and was the only British serviceman to be awarded a medal by Argentina.
The psychological effect is very real. And there are also things that are hugely important but rarely get talked about.
An example is the ski-jumps on the aircraft carriers. Most people assume that ski jumps are not as good as catapult-launch carriers. That is true in normal seas, but in the wild Antarctic ocean, ski jumps can operate in conditions that catapult launchers find problematic. Basically the angled launch angle allows aircraft launch that is not possible on a level flat top when the ship is pitching up and down. The ski jump carrier was a design that was on its way out, until the Falklands War demonstrated that they have their advantages in rough seas.
WOW I have tears for your words of the VETERANS ... indeed we have tears for YOUR VETERANS..... BLESS YOU BOTH ... You are both such BEAUTIFUL SOULS
Hello, I’m here and have clicked the button.
The Victors mentioned were also part of Britains' heavy bomber fleet.Another was the Valiant.The Vulcan was the "golden child",a superb aircraft
The first test flight of a Vulcan was from the AVRO factory at Woodford, near Manchester, in 1952.
A great channel I'd recommend for Battles and Military Operations, (as much as I love Whistle Boy), is the Operations Room
I've had the privilege to see the last Vulcan fly, they're like a living beast, the shape of their intakes makes them roar and whistle at certain throttle levels and the noise cuts straight through you
Prince Andrew was a helicopter pilot in the war. He flew Seakings. When the Sir Galahad was hit by an Exocet anti ship missile, (French made), and caught fire, he used his helicopter's downdraft to push life rafts full of injured troops away from the burning hulk. The regiment involved in this were The Welsh Guards. Many were severely burnt. One soldier, Simon West, became quite well known as I believe there is film of him in the burnt remains of his uniform, hanging about him and him almost naked and burnt. Half running/jogging to a life raft on the deck of the ship. A true hero.
The best documentary on the Falklands war is called "What Did The Falklands War Actually Achieve? The Untold Story.
Of course you would probably have to do it in parts, but it is terrific, showing individual stories from both sides.
I watched when Mark From The States reacted to it, I thought there's no way I'm going to watch a movie length documentary, but I loved it.
I was at a party in a pub in Coventry when the DJ announced the ship had been lost.
The Ska stopped the dancing stopped. The DJ played `Sailing ` by Rod Stewart and everyone quietly went home.
Very sad and complative.
which ship? the Belgrano? it was a threat to the Task Force and sunk , quite correctly. the loss of live was not due to the torpedoes hitting it but the escort vessels deserting the Belgrano and leaving the crew freezing in their life rafts overnight......
@@coling3957 HMS Coventry was a Type 42 (Sheffield-class) destroyer of the Royal Navy. Laid down by Cammell Laird and Company, Limited, at Birkenhead on 29 January 1973, she was launched on 21 June 1974 and accepted into service on 20 October 1978 at a cost of £37,900,000.
She was sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks on 25 May 1982 during the Falklands War.
I think what people forget about the V force bombers (Vulcan, Victor and Valiant) they were all designed at the end of WW2. They were such a leap forward in aviation that no-one had even seen anything like them before. However, by 1982, they were considered 'old', yet still performed brilliantly. This is a testament to British aviation at the time.
I read the book about this.. it was an incredible endeavour 😊
Vulcans were amazing machines. I was raised about 5 miles from an RAF base that flew Vulcans and they often came in to land really low over our house. They were LOUD!!! The shelves would shake and the pictures on the wall rattle when they flew over. We used to attend the annual airshow and you could get up close and see inside the plane, fascinating to a curious 8 year old! it would be interesting to see you review not just the Vulcan but the whole V series of aircraft, so much a core of our UK cold war defences.
I once stood under the delta wing of a Vulcan and felt like an ant. That something so huge could be so graceful in the air is amazing
Royal Navy veteran here I missed the Falklands war by 9 months but learnt a lot about it with guys I sailed with who went down there. As always rip our war dead and the Argentines who died at that conflict . HMS Antelope was a type 21 frigate not a carrier ...:)
The Airtube-X video on Op Black Buck is pretty good in that it covers more of the actual operation plus interviews with those involved. Yes, please to a look at the Vulcan, the bomber that flew like a fighter, and its unmistakable howl.
Always my favourite aircraft because of its look and of course, the ‘howl’
When our last Vulcan was still performing on the airshow circuit her Chief Display Pilot was none other than Martin Withers who successfully bombed Stanley Airfield in Black Buck 1
My Uncle was in the Royal Navy and was part of the task force and one of the first to land on the beach as he was a field medic
Interesting video and reaction. The refuelling plan was the key to the Black Buck Operations. I recommend Rowland White's book Vulcan 607 for more details
My brother was an RAF fitter and worked on every one of the Vulcans.
The Vulcan Bomber is one of my favourite military aircraft, would enjoy seeing you two do a video on it! Recently saw a video where it was reported that one of the refueling systems that were installed in those operational Vulcans, came from a Vulcan that was being readied for permanent display at the RAF museum. When you talked about the psychological effect of the Black Buck raids. You focused on the very important impact it had on morale among the Argentine soldiers on the island. Of equal importance was the morale boosting effect, it had on the citizens of the Falklands. The raids showed they had not been abandoned or forgotten by the U.K., a visible reminder that the task force was coming. The other effect not mentioned enough in my opinion, was the effect the raids had on the resolve of the Argentine government. Sinking the Belgrano caused the Argentine navy to withdraw to their ports and limit actions during the rest of the conflict. It was possible the bombing raids along with the pressure being applied by other countries could have caused Argentine to stand down, or at least try an negotiate with the U.K. A long shot for sure, but possible. Enjoyed your video very much, not a fan of Simon and Megaprojects, but it was fun watching your reaction!
There is a lot of what went on to actually get the available Aircraft fit to carry out the Raid.Parts were sourced from all manner of places including canibalising aircraft in museums,parts for the bomb dropping mechanism were found in a scrapyard at newark upon Trent,finding enough Bombs was also a problen and they could only find 167.