Im Inneren eines Avro Vulcan

Video from the channel History's Greatest Aircraft about Avro Vulcan, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 10:16. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

A tour inside the Avro Vulcan XM612, preserved at the Norwich aviation museum, guided by Chris Smith, one of its caretakers. The visit focuses on the flight deck and on the navigation and electronics compartment, where the three rear crew members sat.

The cockpit is painted black to avoid reflections and retains the analogue instruments, switches, scuff marks and safety locking from its operational life. Only the two pilots' seats were ejectable. The three rear crew members faced the entry hatch and wore an inflatable cushion that, operated with a yellow-and-black pull handle, pushed the crew member towards the exit to overcome g-loading. If the canopy was ejected, a horn sounded and an orange panel lit up warning to abandon the aircraft. The museum powers up the aircraft periodically: it opens and closes the bomb bay doors at least every three months and switches on the navigation and landing lights.

XM612 was built in 1963 and formed part of Britain's nuclear deterrent. In 1969 it was in service when that responsibility passed to the Royal Navy, making it one of the last Vulcans to carry a nuclear bomb. During the Falklands War it was deployed to Ascension Island for the Black Buck missions, but its assigned mission was cancelled due to strong winds in the South Atlantic and it never dropped bombs. The presenter notes that the Vulcan was the V bomber that remained in service the longest and the only one to drop bombs in combat.