Avro Vulcan XM655
Saturday 3 August
Yesterday, Saturday 3 August was the time to walk back in history to the 1960s. XM655, Avro Vulcan B Mk.2 was delivered to 9 Squadron at Cottesmore in November 1964 and following a long and illustrious career was put up for disposal in late 1983. On 11 February 1984 after only 5744 hours of flying time she arrived at Wellesbourne where she has remained ever since.
What a sight to see as you approach, a Vulcan in a field! To the casual observer, as we were, she is ready to fire up and take to the skies. After the usual act of “herding cats” in the car park we spent two fascinating hours being guided round all aspects of the aircraft by the knowledgeable and very enthusiastic volunteers.
Power was supplied to the aircraft and a systems demonstration carried out. This brought a static aircraft to life as the flaps moved up and down and the tail fin went left to right; I am sure there are correct technical terms for this! The bomb bay doors opened to reveal seven “bombs” hanging in the racks. The jewel in the crown was to clamber up the crew access to ladder to sit in the crew seats. Personally I was interested in the navigation systems which differed little from my time as a marine navigator in the 1970s. As we sat there I think it is safe to say how impressed we all were at the thought of sitting at the end of a runway waiting to set off on what would have been a one way journey to deliver a nuclear weapon.
After the obligatory photo shoot we went our separate ways, some coming back to my house for lunch in the garden. This was one of a series of events under the banner “Drive for Rory”, the Area 22 charity for this year. We raised £300.
Apart from the usual thanks to Area 22 for supporting the event, thanks also to members from Area 3 and 5 who also attended. Our VIP guest was Terry Holt, the Assistant Rep from Adelaide, South Australia, accompanied by Jan, who was visiting the UK. Our conversation continued long after all others had left! We hope to see again Terry.
