Vulcan Bombers on Standby | Cold War Flight 618 Operations
Video from the channel Militaria Collectors Network about Avro Vulcan, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 19:27. Language: English. Video type: Archive footage.
What it shows
RAF film following the preparation of Flight 618, Vulcan number 656 deployed from RAF Waddington to Akrotiri, in Cyprus. It covers the groundwork that makes the departure possible: the pre-flight inspection, the detection of a fault and the immediate request for a replacement part from supply, paperwork at the general office, route planning with air traffic services, the filing of the flight plan, a radar-guided approach, cockpit checks with the chief mechanic, taxiing and takeoff.
When and where it was filmed
At RAF Waddington, with final destination Akrotiri. Departure, scheduled for 15:00 local time, is delayed to 15:30, and the aircraft is airborne at 15:31 to enter the airways via Daventry.
Context
The route calls for clearance over France and Italy, a climb to around 40,000 feet and attention to a danger area east of Corsica. The narrator stresses that, although it is five men who fly the aircraft, the departure depends on clerks, fuel suppliers, drivers, controllers, teleprinter operators, parachute packers, mechanics and storekeepers, even at bases where an aircraft is never seen.