Vulcan Bomber Return to the Skies x264

Video from the channel Scott Lester about Avro Vulcan, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 45:39. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.

TV documentary about the project to return the Avro Vulcan XH558 to flight, interwoven with the bomber's history: its design, its role in Cold War nuclear deterrence and the Black Buck missions of the Falklands War. Featuring engineers, former crew members, project leaders and writer Frederick Forsyth.

After the Second World War, the RAF called for a bomber able to carry a heavy load at high speed and altitude against distant targets. The Vulcan, one of three finalists, first flew on 3 August 1952 and was unveiled in September at Farnborough with test pilot Roly Falk, who later went on to barrel-roll it in display flying. The production B.1 flew in early 1955; the B.2 kept the nose, fuselage and fin but gained a larger wingspan and a modified leading edge. During the Cold War, four armed aircraft stood ready at the runway threshold with a target takeoff time of around one minute forty seconds, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 marked the moment of greatest tension. The shooting down of Gary Powers' U-2 in 1960 led to a switch to low-level attack. Afterwards, No. 27 Squadron used the Vulcan for maritime radar reconnaissance.

No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit disbanded at Scampton on 31 August 1981, and the remaining squadrons were due to close down in June 1982, but the Argentine invasion on 2 April 1982 postponed the retirement. In-flight refuelling training was risky because of dried-out seals on the probes. The first strike, on 1 May, convinced Argentina not to base fighters at Port Stanley; the seventh and final mission, on 11–12 June, dropped air-burst bombs.

David Walton, owner of Bruntingthorpe airfield, bid £25,000 for XH558 and in 1993 also bought spares, manuals and documentation. In 1997, a team led by Robert Pleming proposed returning it to flight. The restoration checked the structure using non-destructive techniques and a borescope, inspected the wiring and used engines overhauled by Rolls-Royce in 1982. Between £3 million and £3.5 million was expected: the Heritage Lottery Fund contributed £2.734 million and almost 20,000 supporters around £2.8 million. In July 2006, the project needed £1.2 million in under four weeks and raised it with £500,000 from Jack Hayward and £700,000 from supporters, in time for the roll-out on 31 August. The documentary ends with Margaret Thatcher's visit, fast-taxi trials and the aircraft's takeoff.