Originally Posted by
MAINJAFAD
Last Vulcan attack in mid June dropped bombs fitted with VT fuses which should have been set to air-burst over the airfield. I got the chance to read the official RAF history (the secret one) in 89 and it stated that the fuze settings had been incorrectly set in the cockpit and this had lead to a unit inquiry. According to the wiki entry on the Black Buck raids, one of the sources at the bottom of the page states that an official history published in 2005 states that the fuze's had been set to impact and the stick had missed the airfield by a wide margin.
There were two switch settings required. One activated the electro-magnetic fusing units (EMFU) and the other set an electrical impulse to arm the VT fuse. To achieve an airburst it was necessary to set the first to NOSE/TAIL (ie UP) and the second to VT (also UP).
If the first was set DOWN only the TAIL EMFU would be energised. If the VT was also set DOWN then no electrical impulse would be generated.
On return to base after a successful drop for ground burst - BB1 or BB2 - all 21 EMFU tail lanyards and fuse safety pins would be flaying around the bomb bay. The 21 nose lanyards would be in the EMFUs.
For a deliberate airburst attack - BB7 - then the nose lanyards would have been connected and the required switch setting would be Nose/Tail (UP) and VT (UP). If there was no need for a ground burst then the tail fuses may not have been fitted. If the Nose/Tail switch had been set to Tail (DOWN) as it would have been for BB1 and BB2 then there would have been no explosions.