Incredible to think that 41 years ago….Operation Blackbuck took place, the fact that several missions were flown from Ascension all the way down to the Falklands…..and back seems almost too incredible, chapeaux to those very brave crews and an also huge nod of respect to all those Victor tanker planes all doing their refuelling packets on the way down and back…..doubt we could even consider something like this now…..it was I guess a show of, look what we can do Junta, we can arrive on your doorstep…..glad that silly ness is past….what a plane, first saw one at Akrotiri in the 60s , as a kid on Ladies Mile beach in Cyprus, seeing these giants just look like something out of TV21, my favourite comic back then….again Chapeaux to all our military, both home and allies….thank you for your service.
As an Air Cadet (1280 SQ) I watched a flight of Vulcans take off from the side of the runway at RAF Scampton. Much impressed, a sunny day and watching them grow in the heat haze as they accelerated down the runway, they rotated at about where we where sitting on the grass a little way back from the side of the runway. What a sight what a noise. I think there was five in the flight.
When I was in junior school - late 70's early 80's - a Vulcan was flying around Sunderland airfield with a view to landing when it retired. The crew must have caught sight of the school on its lunch break with all the kids running around and decided to treat us to an impromptu display. I will NEVER forget that day as this giant bat thundered and howled it's way around the sky - the pilot flinging it about with utter abandon, skill and grace. You could actually feel the noise in your chest as it ratlled all the windows in the school. Utterly magnificent. My favorite ircraft to this day and I remember later hearing of the attack on Stanley airfield and thought - wow it was terrifying just flying around, imagine it dropping bombs as well
As a schoolboy in the 1960s I was in the RAF section of the CCF and on one field day we went to RAF Scampton. There must have been about six of us and to our surprise we were taken to see the station commander who was a very important figure. He explained to us that Britain really needed Skybolt. I was impressed that he wanted to unburden himself to us - a few mere teenagers, Once a great nation!
Robert, I remember seeing the Vulcan in white Nuclear livery taking off from Scamton Lincolnshire three at a time leaving twelve dark brown exhaust plumes behind them. Climbing faster than a stabbed rat, the howling sound was in the true sense of the word awesome. I lived on a farm opposite Manby aerodrome and played on a Meteor and Varsity left at the fire practice pad I would ride my bike through the AFFF (foam) after practice much to Mum's annoyance. itchy stuff !. Provost were the main squadron but occasionally the Canberra would drop in or an EE having a flex. Once an enormous polished aluminium aircraft visited (1966 ish) and I remember I could not find it in Dad's ' Jane's there was mention it may be Russian but I don't understand how and why it could be there as we weren't on the best of terms. I thought it may have been a Convair but I don't think Manby's runway was long enough. 'We were the world leaders in aviation but too generous helping our 'special friends' understand advanced delta wing dynamics, as usual they did not seem to feel they should reciprocate assistance and shared nothing other than produce an invoice for missiles of dubious capability. Thats what stuffed TSR2 and the V's plus our rather novel and promising rocket programme. However we managed to sell them some Canberra's but they soon removed any reference to them being British, If I recall correctly the Lockheed Elektra had a novel engine detaching airframe feature which proved unpopular with the passengers so airlines selected the Viscount which we could not build quickly enough. Although BOAC was not helping matters by ordering aircraft then going with Boeing leaving a financially strapped British aircraft company. . History repeats itself. Sorry off brief ........ I Very much enjoyed this video I must drop in the Woody to remind myself of the magnificent Vulcan. Regards and blue skies Robert Miller
I was fortunate to spend a few years in England in the late 70's - early 80's and was able to see the Vulcan displayed at various airshows. From a watching perspective it remains my favourite with a nice blend of size, noise and power.
Saw the Vulcan in New Zealand at my primary school in the countryside. Approximately 30 pupils from 5years old to 12. It was a very beautiful apparition and very graceful. I was about 6 years old. Around 1960.
Would definitely recommend a visit to the avro heritage museum, trevor held a presentation on the vulcan during our visit which was very interesting and entertaining. For a small museum you can easily spend the best part of a day there.
Yet another interesting character with memorable insights into one of the most iconic aircraft of the RAF. Really enjoyed it. And the unofficial world record for playing bagpipes and didgeridoo at altitude, that was hilarious. Too bad it probably isn't in the Guinness Book - yet. Can't wait for part 2!
Another interesting interview with a fascinating character. Woodford, the birthplace of so many iconic Avro aeroplanes. The beautiful Vulcan sitting there in the background resplendent in it's white anti-flash colour scheme. I remember the unique howl of the Olympus turbojets as it displayed at air shows. My favourite colour scheme was the high gloss green/grey of the mid sixties with high visibility roundels. It really complimented those graceful lines. Thanks again for your channel.
Trevor, did you ever fly a Vulcan out of Edwards AFB circa 1970? I was out on a "nav" flight in an RF-8G and happened on a Vulcan! I flew wing on him until the gear (excuse me, "undercarriage") came down and I realized we were on a long final to Edwards. I beat a hasty retreat. No cameras installed in the Crusader.
The first Vulcan I ever saw was when I was 8 in what is now Malawi, but then was Nyasaland. In the early 60s,, when the Emergency erupted, my mother was still employed with Central African Airways. The old British "Show of Force" included a Vulcan low flying over Lilongwe, which was then a grass strip but is now the capital of Malawi...and where I grew up. The Locals thought it was a ghost - the a/c were painted all-white at the time - so those who were outside, tried to get inside, just when the jet noise hit. Those inside promptly tried to get outside. Luckily, I was up in the control tower with my Mum, so it was funnier than Hell! 🙂
Great video thanks and a very interesting interview. I have sat in the cockpits of two Vulcans and a Victor; and count myself to be very lucky. The first Vulcan and Victor at RAF Cosford (1970s), and the poor old Vulcan which ended its days at Blackpool International; as was- EGNH.
My father & I sat in a Vulcan cockpit at Gloucester air museum a few months back. I was amazed at how cramped it was, it’s tiny. My ex grandfather in law was a Vulcan pilot back in the 60’s. He trained in Lincoln’s & Lancasters. He said the power of the Vulcan was incredible.
I've been fascinated with the Avro vulcan since i found out my dads cousin was a vulcan pilot (Frank Waters aka 'sassy') aparently they always knew their target in a nuclear event which if i remember rightly was a naval base i think in Poland? I got to see inside one of these beasts and was just in awe, such an amazing aircraft
My dad was an electrician on both the Vulcan and later the Nimrod. Ever the practical joker, one of his favourite stories concerns opening the bomb bay doors whilst various technicians were working in there and laughing at them as they tumbled out - whilst on the ground of course wouldn't be quite as funny if were in the air, but even still, it's quite a height to fall out from! The ground crew got their own back on him eventually though. But he loved that plane and we were all thrilled to be able to see it flying at Fairford and Farnborough a few years back.
@johnnunn8688 Having seen the height of the bay from the ground for myself, I tend to agree! Yeah, as you can imagine, they didn't really see the funny side of it, and he earned himself lashes in the shower with a wet towel for it. He says it was worth it...
I've always wanted to ask a V bomber pilot about a mass fly past of Victors and Vulcans that I witnessed from my school cricket field roughly fifteen miles West of Wittering in summer 1968 or might have been summer 69. The aircraft were flying in Vics of three I think from south to north quite close to Wittering. I've often wondered what the occasion was and whether it was the stand down from the nuclear role in 69. That is a total guess, but it was a lot of V bombers and it could easily have been July. One of my co fielders on the cricket pitch did say " I do hope thats not World War Three starting " I wonder if Trevor might remember this event as large fly pasts can't have been that common
At Red flag the Americans made it very difficult for the RAF to win the Bombing competition so the Vulcan Pilots organized "picnics in the dessert", where the cars strategically parked up with raised bonnets, enabling the Vulcans to get position fixes to target .
How high they got can't be a secret or jeopardising his career now so you need to find out this crucial information. How can the world carry on in any semblance of normality knowing that there is a bagpipe playing altitude record - but not knowing what it is!
The radar doesn’t pick up radio, the radio does that! When he said the ‘radar’ picked up the BBC he was probably referring to the Navigator, radar crew member operating the radio.
The radar would be operating in a completely different frequency band that’s way outside of radio, so it would be unable to tune to radio frequencies. The radar would be around 3 GHz while radio would be around 30 MHz. Then you’d have problems with FM or AM. The radar system processed the return signal into a cathode ray tube display. Radar would have no audio processing.
Most likely they were using the Automatic Direction Finding equipment to listen to music. This is a very basic radio aid which is still (just about) in use today. It simply gives you a bearing towards a radio transmitter called a Non-Directional Beacon. These work in the LW/MW frequency range so you can receive a signal from pretty much any AM radio station using it. During my flying training I used to listen to football commentary on BBC Radio 5Live if I was doing a cross-country flight on a Saturday.
Definitely the worst cockpit of all Cold War era strategic jet bombers. Imagine trying to visually assess battle/accidental damage to the aircraft...bloody disaster! Really now, how difficult would it have been to design and produce a better cockpit? Even the bloody Lancaster had a better one!!! 🙄
As a schoolchild I got to see a mock-up of the inside of the rear crew space. Then they closed the door. Three adults squeezed together hunched over instruments for several hours. It actually turned me off the idea of joining the RAF.
The B-52 is STILL in use. Vulcan, let us start counting and see if you return in 10 hours. On "Americans are insular", so were the Brits when they ruled the world. Lol.
We weren't/aren't that insular. We couldn't be, even if we wanted to. As we've conquered & colonised most countries around the world & the only reason the B52 is still in service is because of funding. If we had bothered to upgrade the Vulcan. It would be a damn site more capable than a B52.
@@THE-BUNKEN-DRUM England WAS insular when she ruled the world - the seas actually. On funding, England - sadly - is nothing today without the US. The US actually makes others pay for the B-52 by printing dollars. As I said a lot to unpack. There is no way you could have upgraded the Vulcan. England by then was nothing.
I think he meant that they sourced their own planes ONLY from their own country. At that time several European countries looked at each other's aircraft types as well as American types.
I'm a Yank, ex B-52G and RC-135X mechanic (engineer) For me, the white Vulcans are some of the most beautiful military aircraft ever build...
Incredible to think that 41 years ago….Operation Blackbuck took place, the fact that several missions were flown from Ascension all the way down to the Falklands…..and back seems almost too incredible, chapeaux to those very brave crews and an also huge nod of respect to all those Victor tanker planes all doing their refuelling packets on the way down and back…..doubt we could even consider something like this now…..it was I guess a show of, look what we can do Junta, we can arrive on your doorstep…..glad that silly ness is past….what a plane, first saw one at Akrotiri in the 60s , as a kid on Ladies Mile beach in Cyprus, seeing these giants just look like something out of TV21, my favourite comic back then….again Chapeaux to all our military, both home and allies….thank you for your service.
Always loved the V-aircraft. Certainly amongst the most beautiful aircraft ever designed.
Love the Vulcan. I think it has to be one of, if not the, coolest looking aircraft ever built.
🤔
The Handley Page has an amazing shape too & was apparently faster!
@@pcka12 F-5 gotta be one of the most “right” looking airplanes ever built… absolutely stunning
@@guaporeturns9472 I have always liked the F5, I built a plastic kit model of it years ago, very curvaceous!
B-58 Hustler was a good looking aircraft.
As an Air Cadet (1280 SQ) I watched a flight of Vulcans take off from the side of the runway at RAF Scampton. Much impressed, a sunny day and watching them grow in the heat haze as they accelerated down the runway, they rotated at about where we where sitting on the grass a little way back from the side of the runway. What a sight what a noise. I think there was five in the flight.
When I was in junior school - late 70's early 80's - a Vulcan was flying around Sunderland airfield with a view to landing when it retired.
The crew must have caught sight of the school on its lunch break with all the kids running around and decided to treat us to an impromptu display.
I will NEVER forget that day as this giant bat thundered and howled it's way around the sky - the pilot flinging it about with utter abandon, skill and grace. You could actually feel the noise in your chest as it ratlled all the windows in the school.
Utterly magnificent.
My favorite ircraft to this day and I remember later hearing of the attack on Stanley airfield and thought - wow it was terrifying just flying around, imagine it dropping bombs as well
This guy makes flying this beast of an aircraft easy,he must have a tremendous aptitude for his flying as the interview is makes clear.
As a schoolboy in the 1960s I was in the RAF section of the CCF and on one field day we went to RAF Scampton. There must have been about six of us and to our surprise we were taken to see the station commander who was a very important figure. He explained to us that Britain really needed Skybolt. I was impressed that he wanted to unburden himself to us - a few mere teenagers, Once a great nation!
Robert, I remember seeing the Vulcan in white Nuclear livery taking off from Scamton Lincolnshire three at a time leaving twelve dark brown exhaust plumes behind them. Climbing faster than a stabbed rat, the howling sound was in the true sense of the word awesome. I lived on a farm opposite Manby aerodrome and played on a Meteor and Varsity left at the fire practice pad I would ride my bike through the AFFF (foam) after practice much to Mum's annoyance. itchy stuff !.
Provost were the main squadron but occasionally the Canberra would drop in or an EE having a flex. Once an enormous polished aluminium aircraft visited (1966 ish) and I remember I could not find it in Dad's ' Jane's there was mention it may be Russian but I don't understand how and why it could be there as we weren't on the best of terms. I thought it may have been a Convair but I don't think Manby's runway was long enough.
'We were the world leaders in aviation but too generous helping our 'special friends' understand advanced delta wing dynamics, as usual they did not seem to feel they should reciprocate assistance and shared nothing other than produce an invoice for missiles of dubious capability. Thats what stuffed TSR2 and the V's plus our rather novel and promising rocket programme.
However we managed to sell them some Canberra's but they soon removed any reference to them being British, If I recall correctly the Lockheed Elektra had a novel engine detaching airframe feature which proved unpopular with the passengers so airlines selected the Viscount which we could not build quickly enough. Although BOAC was not helping matters by ordering aircraft then going with Boeing leaving a financially strapped British aircraft company. . History repeats itself. Sorry off brief ........
I Very much enjoyed this video I must drop in the Woody to remind myself of the magnificent Vulcan.
Regards and blue skies Robert Miller
I was fortunate to spend a few years in England in the late 70's - early 80's and was able to see the Vulcan displayed at various airshows. From a watching perspective it remains my favourite with a nice blend of size, noise and power.
I find it mind boggling that avro went from the Lancaster to the Vulcan in only a few years
The Lincoln was an intermediate step along with the Shacklton . The Shack's were contemporaries produced with the Volcan
Saw the Vulcan in New Zealand at my primary school in the countryside. Approximately 30 pupils from 5years old to 12. It was a very beautiful apparition and very graceful. I was about 6 years old. Around 1960.
These interviews are so good, a living history and testament to the RAF and the aircraft. Thanks for posting.
Thank you
Would definitely recommend a visit to the avro heritage museum, trevor held a presentation on the vulcan during our visit which was very interesting and entertaining. For a small museum you can easily spend the best part of a day there.
Yet another interesting character with memorable insights into one of the most iconic aircraft of the RAF. Really enjoyed it. And the unofficial world record for playing bagpipes and didgeridoo at altitude, that was hilarious. Too bad it probably isn't in the Guinness Book - yet. Can't wait for part 2!
It's such a unique and wonderful looking aircraft. Great interview!
thank you all for what you do, this is important history
Cheers
Iv been looking forward to some Vulcan content
Always pleased to hear about the Vulcan.
Fantastic interview. And a most enigmatic subject in the form of the Vulcan. That Avro 730 sort of reminds me of a non-stealthy A-12 Avenger II.
Somewhere there’s a photo of a group of Air Cadets who washed that aircraft. We had a team photo on the top of the wing :)
Absolutely incredible video. It's a shame the RAF and SAR left Chivenor. I miss the air days and the regular Hawk training flights
What an amazing interview really interesting thanks 👌👏
Another interesting interview with a fascinating character. Woodford, the birthplace of so many iconic Avro aeroplanes. The beautiful Vulcan sitting there in the background resplendent in it's white anti-flash colour scheme. I remember the unique howl of the Olympus turbojets as it displayed at air shows. My favourite colour scheme was the high gloss green/grey of the mid sixties with high visibility roundels. It really complimented those graceful lines. Thanks again for your channel.
Trevor, did you ever fly a Vulcan out of Edwards AFB circa 1970? I was out on a "nav" flight in an RF-8G and happened on a Vulcan! I flew wing on him until the gear (excuse me, "undercarriage") came down and I realized we were on a long final to Edwards. I beat a hasty retreat. No cameras installed in the Crusader.
Very enjoyable, I’ll look forward to part 2
Around 75/76 I attended a "Families day" at Woodford and was told that the white Vulcan (which was on display then) had an airworthy wing spar.
What an Iconic aircraft! Automatic like! But great interview, just fascinating.
Cheers Karl.
Absolutely fantastic interview!!! Thank you.
The first Vulcan I ever saw was when I was 8 in what is now Malawi, but then was Nyasaland. In the early 60s,, when the Emergency erupted, my mother was still employed with Central African Airways. The old British "Show of Force" included a Vulcan low flying over Lilongwe, which was then a grass strip but is now the capital of Malawi...and where I grew up. The Locals thought it was a ghost - the a/c were painted all-white at the time - so those who were outside, tried to get inside, just when the jet noise hit. Those inside promptly tried to get outside. Luckily, I was up in the control tower with my Mum, so it was funnier than Hell! 🙂
Great video thanks and a very interesting interview.
I have sat in the cockpits of two Vulcans and a Victor; and count myself to be very lucky. The first Vulcan and Victor at RAF Cosford (1970s), and the poor old Vulcan which ended its days at Blackpool International; as was- EGNH.
Cheers
My father & I sat in a Vulcan cockpit at Gloucester air museum a few months back. I was amazed at how cramped it was, it’s tiny.
My ex grandfather in law was a Vulcan pilot back in the 60’s. He trained in Lincoln’s & Lancasters. He said the power of the Vulcan was incredible.
Beautiful aircraft.
I've been fascinated with the Avro vulcan since i found out my dads cousin was a vulcan pilot (Frank Waters aka 'sassy') aparently they always knew their target in a nuclear event which if i remember rightly was a naval base i think in Poland? I got to see inside one of these beasts and was just in awe, such an amazing aircraft
Awesome machine
I love flying boats! I got my seaplane raring a few years ago😅
Great interview! Thank you for your service!
Excellent! How high up were they when they played the bagpipes?
Can’t believe he wasn’t asked that 🤷♂️.
My dad was an electrician on both the Vulcan and later the Nimrod. Ever the practical joker, one of his favourite stories concerns opening the bomb bay doors whilst various technicians were working in there and laughing at them as they tumbled out - whilst on the ground of course wouldn't be quite as funny if were in the air, but even still, it's quite a height to fall out from! The ground crew got their own back on him eventually though. But he loved that plane and we were all thrilled to be able to see it flying at Fairford and Farnborough a few years back.
Glad your dad didn’t get charged with manslaughter. 👍
@johnnunn8688 Having seen the height of the bay from the ground for myself, I tend to agree!
Yeah, as you can imagine, they didn't really see the funny side of it, and he earned himself lashes in the shower with a wet towel for it. He says it was worth it...
I live about a mile from the avro museum, if you're ever one here again let me know and I'll buy you a coffee 😁
Will do. Cheers!
I would have loved to know the altitude they were at for the bagpipe playing. Was he reluctant to state it?
my mate steve works there!
I've always wanted to ask a V bomber pilot about a mass fly past of Victors and Vulcans that I witnessed from my school cricket field roughly fifteen miles West of Wittering in summer 1968 or might have been summer 69. The aircraft were flying in Vics of three I think from south to north quite close to Wittering. I've often wondered what the occasion was and whether it was the stand down from the nuclear role in 69. That is a total guess, but it was a lot of V bombers and it could easily have been July. One of my co fielders on the cricket pitch did say " I do hope thats not World War Three starting " I wonder if Trevor might remember this event as large fly pasts can't have been that common
Perhaps Investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales? 1 July, 1969
It would be good to hear about the exercises when Vulcans ran successful simulated buclear attacks on US cities...
At Red flag the Americans made it very difficult for the RAF to win the Bombing competition so the Vulcan Pilots organized "picnics in the dessert", where the cars strategically parked up with raised bonnets, enabling the Vulcans to get position fixes to target .
Wonder how it would handle with controlable canards .
How high they got can't be a secret or jeopardising his career now so you need to find out this crucial information. How can the world carry on in any semblance of normality knowing that there is a bagpipe playing altitude record - but not knowing what it is!
So how high was this unofficial record for bagpipes etc? (Is it still a military secret?) :-)
How high was the cat-strangling ‘music’ being played? I must have missed that bit.
Any Vulcan crew remember flying over the Nimitz and being intercepted by a F14? The incident is on another TH-cam video.
How high did you fly
So what altitude did they reach??
I wonder if he was aware of the Vulcan participation in Excercise Sky shield
I wish he had told us what altitude he had flown at.
Wish in one hand ..
Would he not have started initial training in the Chipmunk, then JP?
Would he have chose the A-10, if he could have?
My grandad was crew on the first flight ever….beat that….Hadwen Denham
You can use the radar of a miitary airplane to receive radio and listen to music? That's totally insane!
The radar doesn’t pick up radio, the radio does that! When he said the ‘radar’ picked up the BBC he was probably referring to the Navigator, radar crew member operating the radio.
The radar would be operating in a completely different frequency band that’s way outside of radio, so it would be unable to tune to radio frequencies. The radar would be around 3 GHz while radio would be around 30 MHz. Then you’d have problems with FM or AM.
The radar system processed the return signal into a cathode ray tube display. Radar would have no audio processing.
Most likely they were using the Automatic Direction Finding equipment to listen to music. This is a very basic radio aid which is still (just about) in use today. It simply gives you a bearing towards a radio transmitter called a Non-Directional Beacon. These work in the LW/MW frequency range so you can receive a signal from pretty much any AM radio station using it. During my flying training I used to listen to football commentary on BBC Radio 5Live if I was doing a cross-country flight on a Saturday.
If only the Vulcan had received the financial and political support for ongoing development. Imagine Vulcans still flying alongside BUFFs.
Trevor never revealed how high they managed to fly the Vulcan.
The Vulcan caused a lot of panic in The Kremlin!
realy great interview !
So where is (heaving sex) part 2 ?
As a school
The Valiant was actually faster than the Vulcan.
Are you sure your not thinking of the Victor ? Vulcan top speed is 645mph, not sure the Valiant is capable of that speed
Mk 3 Vulcan ................... errrrrrrrr Concorde ? 😎
He couldnt say how the Vulcan was viewed by other countries. They basically went to Australia. Yet, the US is insular.
he`s said its like nuking america twice, while they cant find there butt, with both hands :)
Definitely the worst cockpit of all Cold War era strategic jet bombers. Imagine trying to visually assess battle/accidental damage to the aircraft...bloody disaster! Really now, how difficult would it have been to design and produce a better cockpit? Even the bloody Lancaster had a better one!!! 🙄
As a schoolchild I got to see a mock-up of the inside of the rear crew space.
Then they closed the door. Three adults squeezed together hunched over instruments for several hours.
It actually turned me off the idea of joining the RAF.
But HOW HIGH???? 😊
Great interview, but…. a fighter pilot would have told us how high he got the Vulcan. 😑
The B-52 is STILL in use. Vulcan, let us start counting and see if you return in 10 hours.
On "Americans are insular", so were the Brits when they ruled the world. Lol.
We weren't/aren't that insular. We couldn't be, even if we wanted to. As we've conquered & colonised most countries around the world & the only reason the B52 is still in service is because of funding. If we had bothered to upgrade the Vulcan. It would be a damn site more capable than a B52.
@@THE-BUNKEN-DRUM
England WAS insular when she ruled the world - the seas actually.
On funding, England - sadly - is nothing today without the US. The US actually makes others pay for the B-52 by printing dollars. As I said a lot to unpack.
There is no way you could have upgraded the Vulcan. England by then was nothing.
so?
I think he meant that they sourced their own planes ONLY from their own country.
At that time several European countries looked at each other's aircraft types as well as American types.