What size record did the Vulcan hold when Avro began…

What size record did the Vulcan hold when Avro began designing it?

Short answer

The record came well after the design began: the Vulcan achieved its distinction as the largest delta-wing aircraft in 1955, while Avro started from Operational Requirement OR.1001 of August 1946. The record belongs to the B2, with a wingspan of 33.8 m (111 ft). That version entered service in 1958.

Published: October 31, 2026 · Updated: October 31, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What size record did the Vulcan hold when Avro began designing it?

Vulcan bomber and Blue Steel missile - geograph org ukJames Nicol (CC BY SA), vía commons

The origin of the design

The starting point was Operational Requirement OR.1001, from August 1946. The Ministry of Supply circulated Specification B.35/46 to British aircraft manufacturers, calling for a medium-range land-based bomber able to carry a 10,000 lb bomb to a target 1,500 nautical miles from its base. Avro's design team, led by Roy Chadwick, concluded that a conventional aircraft could not meet the specification.

The largest delta-wing aircraft

The RAF's Avro B2 Vulcan delta-wing nuclear bomber had a wingspan of 33.8 m (111 ft). The aircraft achieved that distinction in 1955, in the United Kingdom. The B.2's wingspan was 33.83 m (111 ft 0 in), while the earlier B.1 had a shorter span of 30.18 m (99 ft 0 in). It was an enormous delta wing, about 34 m from tip to tip. It was one of the first large delta-wing aircraft in the world to enter service.

Service and planned growth

The B2 version entered service in 1958, and the RAF retired the last example in 1986. One of the design's projected developments would have received an enlarged wing with a span of 121 ft (37 m).