Concordia
Merchant Taylors’ School
Vulcan Origins
In July 1945, just after the end of World
War 2 in Europe, Churchill, Stalin and
Truman met at Potsdam to decide on
Europe’s structure. During the meeting,
Truman was told of the successful test of
the atomic bomb; Stalin’s spies ensured
he knew too. By the end of August, the
world had changed yet again: Truman had
authorised the use of bombs on Japan;
Stalin had become fearful of America’s
intentions; Churchill had lost the election
to Clement Atlee and on 28 August
1945, Atlee had presented a paper to his
Cabinet proposing that, to retain control
of its foreign policy, Britain should build
its own atomic bomb. The Avro Vulcan
was developed to carry that bomb to the
Soviet bloc, in retaliation for a nuclear
attack on the West.
Innovative design
The Vulcan was conceived in 1946-7
by Roy Chadwick of AV Roe (who had
designed her predecessor, the Avro
Lancaster) to meet the requirement for
a bomber to carry the British a-bomb.
This unique tail-less delta first flew in
August 1952. The production versions
embodied such innovations as twin-
spool axial turbojets, an AC power
system, cabin pressurisation, electronic
countermeasures and electro-hydraulic
powered flying controls.
From 1957, the Vulcan was the major
delivery vehicle for the British strategic
deterrent, until superseded by Polaris
in 1969. Afterwards serving in a tactical
role, the swansong of the Vulcan occurred
during the Falklands Conflict in 1982,
when a lone Vulcan, refuelled several
times by a fleet of Victor tankers, put the
enemy-held Port Stanley airfield out of
action. The last Vulcan squadrons were
disbanded in 1984, but Vulcan XH558 flew
on as a sole display aircraft until she was
sold, and flown to Bruntingthorpe Airfield
in Leicestershire in March 1993. Having
entered RAF service in July 1960, XH558
is now the oldest complete Vulcan, as well
as the last one able to fly.
The Avro Vulcan
was developed to
carry that bomb
to the Soviet bloc,
in retaliation for a
nuclear attack on
the West.
Feasibility Study
The challenge I faced was whether the
civil aviation regulations would allow an
ex-military aircraft as heavy, powerful and
complex as the Vulcan to fly. The key to
progress turned out to be the support of
BAE Systems, who had inherited design
responsibility from AV Roe. With the aid
of a project plan built in spare time by a
small volunteer team of experts under
my leadership, and the enthusiasm of
some senior BAE Systems personnel,
this support was granted in May 1999 –
theoretically, the Vulcan could fly again.
In September 1999, a design workshop
including representatives from BAE
Systems and retained engineering
authority Marshall Aerospace specified a
survey to determine whether there were
any insurmountable technical issues, and
the scope of the work needed to return
XH558 to airworthiness.
By Spring 2000, the aircraft had
undergone the survey, which verified
that its airframe and systems could be
restored to airworthiness at reasonable
cost. In addition, the availability of a
library of original documentation and
design data, and several hundred tons of
spares – including, vitally, eight zero-time
Rolls-Royce Olympus engines – meant
that the restoration to flight was now
feasible.
