COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE

25th Anniversary of Liberation
Vulcan Bomber

Issue Date: 25th May 2007







Designed in 1948 by Roy Chadwick, and capable of reaching speeds of up to 645mph, the Vulcan was a key part of Great Britain's nuclear deterrent in the Cold War era. The maiden flight of the prototype (VX770) was in 1952 and in 1953 the type 698 was officially named the Vulcan.

Had it not been for the Falklands war in 1982 the Vulcan would have flown for its entire service life without ever dropping a bomb in anger. Although the primary weapon for the Vulcan was nuclear, it could carry up to 21 x 1000 lb bombs and 30 years after its maiden flight the Vulcan was able to successfully complete what was to become the longest successful combat flight in history (until the 1st Gulf War).

The nearest useable airfield and forward base for the Task Force was Ascension Island, some 3,500 miles and 8 hours flying time away. Given the age of the aircraft and the distances covered the Black Buck raids were, in the words of Captain Robert McQueen, Commander British Forces Support Unit, Ascension "a feat of consummate airmanship second to none".

The first Black Buck raid, 30th April/1st May required meticulous planning. A total of 11 Victor Tankers were used, refueling both the Vulcan (XM607) and the other tankers so that increasingly few Victors could continue with the Vulcan. Unpredictable fuel consumption led to several of the Victors returning to Ascension with barely enough fuel to land. At one point 4 Victors arrived and landed one after the other without having the time to allow the previous aircraft time to clear the small runway. As the 4th Victor came into the land the end of the runway was blocked and the pilot instructed, should he be unable to stop, to veer off into a volcanic cinder field! Fortunately all 4 Victors landed safely.

Meanwhile, the remaining Victors were transferring spare fuel to the final "long slot" tanker, responsible for providing the Vulcan with its final top up. During the final transfers turbulence caused a refuelling hose to whip and break the receiving probe. Continuing south the final Victors had to reverse roles, consuming more fuel than expected. Having provided the Vulcan with sufficient fuel to complete its mission, it became clear that the Victor would run out of fuel some 400 miles south of Ascension. To avoid jeopardizing the mission, the aircraft Captain continued to Ascension maintaining radio silence, anxiously awaiting the codeword confirming the success of the Vulcan mission. Thankfully the message was received in time for two tankers to be scrambled and they were met some 600 miles from Ascension. 14 hours after take-off, the final "long slot" Victor arrived safely back at Ascension. A total of a quarter of a million gallons of fuel was used to complete the Black Buck 1 raid, with just 7% being used by the Vulcan itself.

The primary objective of Black Buck 1 was to place at least 1 bomb on the runway at Stanley. As the lone Vulcan approached the Falklands signals were detected from Argentine radars attempting to lock onto her. Two miles out a total of 21 1,000 lb bombs were dropped diagonally across the runway, one hitting the runway dead centre, while others hit fuel and ammo stores and even the golf course. Without its payload the Vulcan was able to return to Ascension with just a single Victor for company. It had been airborne for a remarkable 16 hours and 2 minutes.

A total of 6 Black Buck raids were undertaken. Black Buck 2 was a less successful repeat of Black Buck 1 and Black Buck 3 and 4 were cancelled due to problems with refueling. XM597 flew the final missions fitted with American anti-radar Shrike missiles, reducing the risk to Harriers which were able to attack Stanley relatively unopposed.

The success of the Black Buck missions can be measured in many ways. Whilst the arrival of XM607 in the skies above Stanley at such an early stage in the conflict caused more damage to Argentine morale than to their installations it also resulted in several fighters being kept back to defend Argentina against the possibility of attack.

More recently, The Vulcan to the Sky project was started by Robert Pleming, who in the mid 1990s formally proposed the idea of returning the historic Avro Vulcan aircraft to flight. With support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, BAE Systems and many other aerospace companies, the restoration work began in earnest in August 2005 with a dedicated team of 30 engineers.

The project's own Avro Vulcan, XH558, remains the last Vulcan in the world capable of being restored to full flight status and was the last of its kind to fly, being the RAF's display aircraft. It flew into Bruntingthorpe in March 1993.

Highlights of the project have included a visit from former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the Vulcan crews who carried out the successful "Black Buck 1" mission to bomb Stanley airfield during the Falklands War. The low point saw the operation nearly stall in August 2006 due to dwindling funds, but after a well-publicised roll out and generous donations from the public, enough money was raised for work on the huge delta-winged bomber to continue. Ninety per cent of the overhaul work has now been completed and the next major milestone will be the 'Power On', marking the aircraft's move into the functional stage of the project. In this stage the engines and electrical systems can be tested ready for first flight.

If everything goes to plan, the Vulcan team will then focus on preparing the aircraft to be available for a flypast over Buckingham Palace to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War. After this, XH558 will be the centrepiece in a traveling education programme, taking the Cold War story to people all over the country and after 10 to 15 years of display flying will finally retire to the Imperial War Museum at Duxford.

The Falkland Islands souvenir sheet pays tribute to the Avro Vulcan and in particular to the great planning and outstanding Airmanship by all involved in the Black Buck Raids. It is possible for the souvenir sheet to be combined with the Ascension Islands Liberation sheet to form a single image showing a Vulcan being refueled against a background of the western hemisphere and a graphic illustrating the complexities of the many refuelling stages.

Technical details:

Illustrations John Batchelor
Graphic design Andrew Robinson
FDC Photograph Andrew Holt
Printer Cartor
Process Stochastic Lithography
Perforation 13 per 2cms
Stamp size 30.6 x 38mm
Sheet Layout 4 values within a souvenir sheet
Release date 25th May 2007
Production Co-ordination Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd

With thanks to The Vulcan to The Sky project for their assistance with this text.



Copyright: FI Philatelic Bureau Created and Maintained by: Cyberpoint Limited