1:72 Avro Vulcan B Mk2

[SiDennis]

This is my second of 3 entry's into this GB. You can guess what the 3rd is

Box and sprue shots.........





















Going to have my work cut out with this one, I have never seen so much flash on a kit

Onwards and upwards!!

[SiDennis]

Now for the science.....



The Avro Vulcan
(officially Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) is a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe and Company (Avro) designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced, the Vulcan was considered the riskiest option. Several scale aircraft, designated Avro 707, were produced to test and refine the delta wing design principles.
The Vulcan B.1 was first delivered to the RAF in 1956; deliveries of the improved Vulcan B.2 started in 1960. The B.2 featured more powerful engines, a larger wing, an improved electrical system and electronic countermeasures (ECM); many were modified to accept the Blue Steel missile. As a part of the V-force, the Vulcan was the backbone of the United Kingdom’s airborne nuclear deterrent during much of the Cold War. Although the Vulcan was typically armed with nuclear weapons, it was capable of conventional bombing missions, a capability which was used in Operation Black Buck during the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina in 1982.
The Vulcan had no defensive weaponry, initially relying upon high-speed high-altitude flight to evade interception. Electronic countermeasures were employed by the B.1 (designated B.1A) and B.2 from circa 1960. A change to low-level tactics was made in the mid-1960s. In the mid-1970s nine Vulcans were adapted for maritime radar reconnaissance operations, redesignated as B.2 (MRR). In the final years of service six Vulcans were converted to the K.2 tanker configuration for aerial refuelling. Since retirement by the RAF one example, B.2 XH558, named "The Spirit of Great Britain" has been restored for use in display flights and air shows, whilst two other B.2s, XL426 and XM655, are kept in taxiable condition for ground runs and demonstrations at London Southend Airport and Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield respectively.



Origins
The origin of the Vulcan and the other V bombers is linked with early British atomic weapon programme and nuclear deterrent policies. Britain's atom bomb programme began with Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.1001 issued in August 1946. This anticipated a government decision in January 1947 to authorise research and development work on atomic weapons, the U.S. Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act) having prohibited exporting atomic knowledge, even to countries that had collaborated on the Manhattan Project. OR.1001 envisaged a weapon not to exceed 24 ft 2 in (7.37 m) in length, 5 ft (1.5 m) in diameter and 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) in weight. The weapon had to be suitable for release from 20,000 ft (6,100 m) to 50,000 ft (15,000 m).
In January 1947, the Ministry of Supply distributed Specification B.35/46 to UK aviation companies to satisfy Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.229 for "a medium range bomber landplane capable of carrying one 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) bomb to a target 1,500 nautical miles (1,700 mi; 2,800 km) from a base which may be anywhere in the world." A cruising speed of 500 knots (580 mph; 930 km/h) at heights between 35,000 ft (11,000 m) and 50,000 ft (15,000 m) was specified. The maximum weight when fully loaded ought not to exceed 100,000 lb (45,000 kg). In addition to a "Special" (i.e. atomic) bomb, the aircraft was to be capable of alternatively carrying a conventional bomb load of 20,000 lb (9,100 kg). The similar OR.230 required a "long range bomber" with a 2,000 nautical miles (2,300 mi; 3,700 km) radius of action with a maximum weight of 200,000 lb (91,000 kg) when fully loaded; this requirement was considered too difficult.
Required to tender by the end of April 1947, work began on receipt of Specification B.35/46 at Avro under the supervision of technical director Roy Chadwick and chief designer Stuart Davies. The type designation was Avro 698. It was very obvious to the design team that a conventional aircraft could not possibly satisfy the Specification. Knowing little about high-speed flight and unable to glean much from the Royal Aircraft Establishment or the US, the team investigated German swept wing research from the Second World War. The team estimated that an otherwise conventional aircraft, with a swept wing of 45°, would have doubled the weight requirement. Realising that because swept wings increase longitudinal stability, the team deleted the tail (empennage) and the fuselage that supported it, the design becoming a swept-back flying wing with only a rudimentary forward fuselage and a fin (vertical stabilizer) at each wingtip. The estimated weight was now only 50% over the requirement. By reducing the wingspan and maintaining the wing area by filling in the space between the wingtips, the resulting delta shape enabled the designers to meet the Specification.] Though Dr Alexander Lippisch is generally credited as the pioneer of the delta wing, Chadwick’s team had followed its own logical design process. The design as originally submitted had four large turbojets stacked in pairs buried in the wing either side of the centreline. Outboard of the engines were two bomb-bays. Five other companies submitted technical brochures to the same Specification.
In August 1947, Roy Chadwick was killed in the crash of the Avro Tudor 2 prototype and was succeeded by Sir William Farren. Reductions in wing thickness made it impossible to incorporate the split bomb bays and stacked engines, thus the engines were placed side-by-side in pairs either side of a single bomb-bay, the fuselage growing somewhat. The wingtip fins gave way to a single fin on the aircraft's centreline Rival manufacturer Handley Page received a prototype contract for its crescent-winged HP.80 B.35/46 tender in November 1947. Though considered the best option, contract placement for Avro's design was delayed whilst its technical strength was established. Instructions to proceed with the construction of two Avro 698 prototypes was received in January 1948. As an insurance measure against both radical designs failing, Short Brothers received a contract for the prototype SA.4 to the less-stringent Specification B.14/46; the SA.4, later named Sperrin, was not required. In April 1948, Vickers also received authority to proceed with their Type 660 which, although falling short of the B.35/46 Specification, being of a more conventional design would be available sooner; this plane entered service as the Valiant.

Further developments
The first 15 B.1s were powered by the Olympus 101 of 11,000 lbf (49 kN) thrust. Many of these early examples in a metallic finish remained the property of the Ministry of Supply being retained for trials and development purposes. Those entering RAF service were delivered to No 230 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU), the first in July 1956. Later aircraft, painted in anti-flash white and powered by the Olympus 102 of 12,000 lbf (53 kN) thrust, began to enter squadron service in July 1957. The Olympus 102s were quickly modified to Olympus 104 standard, ultimately rated at 13,500 lbf (60 kN) thrust. As far back as 1952, Bristol Aero Engines had begun development of the BOl.6 (Olympus 6) rated at 16,000 lbf (71 kN) thrust but if fitted to the B.1, this would have re-introduced the buffet requiring further redesign of the wing.
The decision to proceed with the B.2 versions of the Vulcan was made in May 1956. It was anticipated that the first B.2 would be around the 45th aircraft of the 99 then on order. As well as being able to achieve greater heights over targets, it was believed that operational flexibility could be extended by the provision of in-flight refuelling equipment and tanker aircraft. The increasing sophistication of Soviet air defences required the fitting of electronic countermeasure (ECM) equipment and vulnerability could be reduced by the introduction of the Avro Blue Steel stand-off missile, then in development. In order to develop these proposals, the second Vulcan prototype VX777 was rebuilt with the larger and thinner Phase 2C wing, improved flying control surfaces and Olympus 102 engines, first flying in this configuration in August 1957. Plans were in hand to equip all Vulcans from the 16th aircraft onwards with in-flight refuelling receiving equipment. A B.1, XA903, was allocated for Blue Steel development work. Other B.1s were used for the development of the BOl.6 (later Olympus 200), XA891; a new AC electrical system, XA893; and ECM including jammers within a bulged tail-cone and a tail-warning radar, XA895.
The 46th production aircraft and first B.2, XH533, first flew in September 1958 fitted with Olympus 200 engines of 16,000 lbf (71 kN) thrust, six months before the last B.1 XH532 was delivered in March 1959. Rebuilding B.1s as B.2s was considered but rejected over cost. Nevertheless, to extend the B.1's service life, 28 were upgraded by Armstrong Whitworth between 1959 and 1963 to the B.1A standard, including features of the B.2 such as ECM equipment, in-flight refuelling receiving equipment, and UHF radio. The second B.2, XH534, flew in January 1959. Powered by production Olympus 201 of 17,000 lbf (76 kN) thrust, it was more representative of a production aircraft, being fitted with an in-flight refuelling probe and a bulged ECM tail cone. Some subsequent B.2s were initially lacking probes and ECM tail cones, but these were fitted retrospectively. The first 10 B.2s outwardly showed their B.1 ancestry, retaining narrow engine air intakes. Anticipating even more powerful engines, the air intakes were deepened on the 11th (XH557) and subsequent aircraft. Many of the early aircraft were retained for trials and it was the 12th B.2, XH558, that was the first to be delivered to the RAF in July 1960.
The 26th B.2, XL317, the first of a production batch ordered in February 1956, was the first Vulcan, apart from development aircraft, capable of carrying the Blue Steel missile; 33 aircraft were delivered to the RAF with these modifications. When the Mk.2 version of Blue Steel was cancelled in favour of the Douglas GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile in December 1959, fittings were changed in anticipation of the new missile, one under each wing. Though Skybolt was cancelled in November 1962, many aircraft were delivered or retrofitted with "Skybolt" blisters. Later aircraft (XL391 and XM574 onwards) were delivered with Olympus 301 engines of 20,000 lbf (89 kN) thrust. Two earlier aircraft were re-engined (XH557 and XJ784) for trials and development work; another seven aircraft (XL384-XL390) were converted circa 1963.
The last B.2 was delivered in 1965 and the type served till 1984. Whilst in service the B.2 was continuously updated with modifications including rapid engine starting, bomb-bay fuel tanks, wing strengthening to give the fatigue life to enable the aircraft to fly at low level (a tactic introduced in the mid-60s), upgraded navigation equipment, Terrain Following Radar (TFR), standardisation on a common nuclear weapon (WE.117) and improved ECM equipment. The B.1As were not strengthened, thus all were withdrawn by 1968. Nine B.2s were modified for the Maritime Radar Reconnaissance (MRR) role and six for the airborne tanker role.



Colour schemes
The two prototype Vulcans were finished in gloss white. Early Vulcan B.1s left the factory in a natural metal finish; the front half of the nose radome was painted black, the rear half painted silver. Front-line Vulcan B.1s had a finish of anti-flash white and RAF "type D" roundels. Front-line Vulcan B.1As and B.2s were similar but with 'type D pale' roundels.
With the adoption of low-level attack profiles in the mid-1960s, B.1As and B.2s were given a glossy Sea Grey Medium and Dark Green disruptive pattern camouflage on the upper surfaces, white undersurfaces and "type D" roundels. (The last 13 Vulcan B.2s, XM645 onwards, were delivered thus from the factory). In the mid-1970s: Vulcan B.2s received a similar scheme with matte camouflage, Light Aircraft Grey undersides, and "low-visibility" roundels; B.2(MRR)s received a similar scheme in gloss; and the front half of the radomes were no longer painted black. Beginning in 1979, 10 Vulcans received a wrap-around camouflage of Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green because, during Red Flag exercises in the USA, defending SAM forces had found that the grey-painted undersides of the Vulcan became much more visible against the ground at high angles of bank.



Nuclear deterrent
As part of Britain's independent nuclear deterrent, the Vulcan initially carried Britain's first nuclear weapon, the Blue Danube gravity bomb. Blue Danube was a low-kiloton yield fission bomb designed before the United States detonated the first hydrogen bomb. These were supplemented by U.S.-owned Mk 5 bombs (made available under the Project E programme) and later by the British Red Beard tactical nuclear weapon. The UK had previously embarked on its own hydrogen bomb programme, and to bridge the gap until these were ready the V-bombers were equipped with an Interim Megaton Weapon based on the Blue Danube casing containing Green Grass, a large pure-fission warhead of 400 kt (1.7 PJ) yield. This bomb was known as Violet Club. Only five were deployed before the Green Grass warhead was incorporated into a developed weapon as Yellow Sun Mk.1.
The later Yellow Sun Mk 2, was fitted with Red Snow, a British-built variant of the U.S. W28 warhead. Yellow Sun Mk 2 was the first British thermonuclear weapon to be deployed, and was carried on both the Vulcan and Handley Page Victor. The Valiant retained U.S. nuclear weapons assigned to SACEUR under the dual-key arrangements. Red Beard was pre-positioned in Singapore for use by Vulcan and Victor bombers. From 1962, three squadrons of Vulcan B.2s and two squadrons of Victor B.2s were armed with the Blue Steel missile, a rocket-powered stand-off bomb, which was also armed with the 1.1 Mt (4.6 PJ) yield Red Snow warhead.
Operationally, RAF Bomber Command and the U.S. Strategic Air Command cooperated in the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) to ensure coverage of all major Soviet targets from 1958, 108 aircraft of the RAF's V-Bombers were assigned targets under SIOP by the end of 1959. From 1962 onwards, two jets in every major RAF base were armed with nuclear weapons and on standby permanently under the principle of Quick Reaction Alert (QRA). Vulcans on QRA standby were to be airborne within four minutes of receiving an alert, as this was identified as the amount of time between warning of a USSR nuclear strike being launched and it arriving in Britain. The closest the Vulcan came to take part in potential nuclear conflict was during the Cuban missile crisis in October 1962, where Bomber Command was moved to Alert Condition 3, an increased state of preparedness from normal operations, however stood down in early November.
The Vulcans were intended to be equipped with the American Skybolt Air Launched Ballistic Missile to replace the Blue Steel, with Vulcan B.2s carrying two Skybolts under the wings; the last 28 B.2s were modified on the production line to fit pylons to carry the Skybolt. A B.3 variant with increased wingspan to carry up to six Skybolts was proposed in 1960. When the Skybolt missile system was cancelled by U.S. President John F. Kennedy on the recommendation of his Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara in 1962, Blue Steel was retained. To supplement it until the Royal Navy took on the deterrent role with Polaris ICBM-equipped submarines, the Vulcan bombers adopted a new mission profile of flying high during clear transit, dropping down low to avoid enemy defences on approach, and deploying a parachute-retarded bomb, the WE.177B. However, since the aircraft had been designed for high-altitude flight, at low altitudes it could not exceed 350 knots. RAF Air Vice Marshal Ron that geezer from down the road, a former Vulcan pilot, said "it is [thus] questionable whether it could have been effective flying at low level in a war against ... the Soviet Union.”
After the British Polaris submarines became operational and Blue Steel was taken out of service in 1970, the Vulcan continued to carry WE.177B in a tactical nuclear strike role as part of the British contribution to Europe's standing NATO forces, although they no longer held aircraft at 15 minutes readiness in peacetime. Two squadrons were also stationed in Cyprus as part of the Near East Air Force and assigned to Central Treaty Organization in a strategic strike role. With the eventual demise of the WE.177B and the Vulcan bombers, the Blackburn Buccaneer, SEPECAT Jaguar, and Panavia Tornado, continued with the WE.177C until its retirement in 1998. While not a like-for-like replacement, the multi-role Tornado interdictor/strike bomber is the successor for the roles previously filled by the Vulcan.

[Nige201980]

God i do love the Vulcan some great history there mate looking forward to the build

[patrickroos]

Im guessing the coolest one of them all, right out of a Science fiction Movie...
The Handley Page Victor...If You dont LOVE the looks of that plane there is something wrong with you!

[Joesdad]

Wow Rock got your work cut out mate, no sleep 'till......
Bloody awesome photo that first one, head on

[DBMiller]

Three builds? Wow!

[ludicrusmaximus]

The Vulcan is a great looking bird. Just the other day I was watching a youtube vid about the one that crashed in Malta in the 70s. I'll watch this one

[Raptor]

Very nice plane with a very nice history. Will be interesting to see what you do with this one

[wally]

Nice introduction for your build. It should be very stunning aircraft after you will finished it. Looking forward to see how it will be build.
Cheers

[T3hGuppy]

YEY VULCAN!!!

that is all lol.