Did You Fly The Vulcan?? (Merged)

[BUFFBob]

" Ours was donw on the cheap for a reason. "

It always comes down to money - - - I recall a line from the movie The Right Stuff - - " No bucks, no Buck Rogers ! "

We would typically have 6 BUFFs (per base) on alert at any point in time.

We would fequently "exercise" the alert force, might be just an engine start, might include taxi to the end or the runway (we called it the Hammerhead), or might have been a launch directly from the alert facility.

Another funny name comes to mind - - - when we "taxied" the alert force it was pretty much nose to tail, and with the brakes constantly squealing, it got named "Baby Elephant Walk" !

Have enjoyed reading all the posts, and I sure would have liked to see your briefing, don't per chance have a "power point" (or equivilant) presentation do you ?

Thanks for all the info
BB

Edited to add - - -

"The exercise would be teminated after declaration of RS 02 and 20 odd aircraft, all live-armed, would taxy down the runway. This was the real spooky exercise - the whole of Bomber Command at 2 minutes readiness, live armed, and live target material issued."

We did "generations" too, fueling and loading every available AC and working to make everything possible availible. Often this would be followed by a " minimum interval mass launch " typically about 30 bombers and tankers - - - that was an impressive and awe inspiring sight, even for us "oldtimers". Let me see if I can find a picture or video

O.K. imagine this times 10 - - - sorry to digress from the Vulcan



BB

[ZH875]

I take it they are running on coal and not Jet Fuel.

[ChristiaanJ]

BUFFBob,
Is that with water injection?
Or did they really smoke that much "dry"?

And thanks for the great pic, I'm tempted to use it as my desktop.... is there a bigger version somewhere?

CJ

[BUFFBob]

As I recall that was water injection on both the bombers (G model) and tankers (before turbo fans).

And yes they did blow a bit of black smoke, wish I could find a picture with all 30 airborne - - -

[alisoncc]

Back to THE AEROPLANE - The Vulcan. Sitting here idly reminiscing, on a Sunday morning, about the last time I got to play with the avionics on a Vulcan - close to 45 years ago at Finningley. And wondered how well my memory was holding up. Jotted down a list of all the avionics kit I could remember per following:

Green Satin
Red Steer
TACAN
ARC 52
STR 18B
RadAlt ??
Gee Mk II or III
ECM kit
NBS
I can visualise both the VHF's and the intercom controllers, but not their designation.

Can also remember where most of it was. Particularly climbing the entrance ladder, and before entering turning to face the back of the ship, then squirming around up behind the AEO's/Nav's panel to access the equipment racks which held the VHF's, UHF, HF, TACAN, etc. Not a good place to be if one suffered from claustrophobia. This was the early '60's kit, probably changed later. Have I missed anything?

[Pontius Navigator]

Originally Posted by alisoncc

TACAN
ARC 52
STR 18B
RadAlt ??
Gee Mk II or III
ECM kit
NBS

That list dates you precisely.

The White Vulcan 2 had Gee3 in the early spring of 1964. Within weeks the transition was complete and the Gee was replaced with Tacan across the fleet. As one Nav said, it was not a real bomber without Gee. Mind you, they said that when they removed the API and probably the drift sight too.

One you missed was the GPI4

[India Four Two]

BUFFBob,

Great picture. I had never realized the origin of the name "Oil Burner Routes", but your picture makes it obvious

Simon

[Tankertrashnav]

Alison CC . I was never on Vulcans but the Victor had a pretty similar set up,and one thing you didnt mention was the Calc 3, a piece of kit the size of a large oildrum whose function was to work out the forward throw of the bomb, and thus calculate the release point. The interior of this object was wondrous to behold, consisting as it did of an amazing system of rods, wheels and widgits. To describing most of the nav gear in the Vs as avionics is stretching the definition of the word somewhat, looking at it nowadays on visits to museums it's like something out of the ark compared with modern kit.

[forget]

And wondered how well my memory was holding up. ....... Can also remember where most of it was ...... behind the AEO's/Nav's panel to access the equipment racks which held the VHF's, UHF, HF, TACAN, etc.

alisoncc, there's no other way of telling you - your memory's shot.

All above, bar the HF Comm, were in the nose wheel bay. Apparently red wine helps.

[alisoncc]

Not sure about the location of the kit though. Sure it was all in the nose wheel bay? Remember using a small pea bulb in an antenna connector to tune the VHF after a crystal change and it was dark, which might not have been the case in the nose wheel bay.

ARC 52 - UHF, was a clockmakers work of art. All those gear trains and tunable modules. But did forget the IFF-X or was it IFF 10. Nobody spotted that. Whilst there we went from all white ones to multi-coloured ones fresh out of Woodford.

[alisoncc]

Tankertrashnav wrote:

To describing most of the nav gear in the Vs as avionics is stretching the definition of the word somewhat, looking at it nowadays on visits to museums it's like something out of the ark compared with modern kit

Why so. IFF 10 later became your average Transponder, with Mode "C" now sending aircraft designation and altitude info. TACAN degenerated into the current DME. RCA's AVQ10 in the late sixties wasn't that much different from most military "C" band radars. AVQ10 evolved into their AVQ 30, both "C" and "X" band variants. As for comm's, current HF, VHF and UHF kit evolved from equivalents to STR18 and ARC52. Do the same job, just more advanced technology. The only fundamental changes are in satellite comms and GPS systems.

As for being museum pieces, so am I, but what does that prove.

[Pontius Navigator]

Alison, it was either the Mk 10 or X, take your pick but I can't remember where it was. The VHF boxes would have been in the bomb aimer's pron position. At that time the STR18 and the VHF boxes were pre-crystalized for the sortie with a different crystal requirement for the Med.

There were 3 VHF boxes in the series, with the low frequency and high frequency boxes used by the RAF and the mid-range by the RN. How are you on the freqs?

115.56 - Flying Training Common
117.9 - RAF Common
135.95 - Bomber Common 2

Off hand I can't remember other but that may come

[BEagle]

Many, many years after the 'old' military VHF frequencies (e.g. Merryfield Tower 102.42, Merryfield Homer 104.94, Valley Homer 100.98) had been re-allocated, the 2 Chipmunks which were delivered to Sunny Scampton for a spot of Air Cadet AEF flying in 1979 were still being crystallised with ancient frequencies such as 115.56 'Flying Training Common'!

I guess no-one had told the engineers?

The Hawk was fitted with a VHF which went up into the 140+ MHz range - on a boring transit back from Lossiemouth once, I spent a while clicking through the box until I found someone chatting.....

[Pontius Navigator]

Make you wonder, just how much could one do if you could purge your brain of what appears to be totally useless trivia. Remember the "RAF General Recall" that would be broadcast on RAF Common?

Not sure whether it was for a specific reason - WW3 had begun - or fog had descended on the whole of UK.

[alisoncc]

Memories of some events are good, events that may not have been at the time. Like as a lowly J/T fresh out of training being given a checklist and told to run up all the kit on an aircraft on the line. With no one tellling me it was no-no to test the ECM during Auntie Beebs evening news. There I was happily jamming all radio and TV broadcasts for a fifty mile radius in the early evening and the phones were starting to run hot. I am quite sure I was set up.

There was a story doing the rounds that a Vulcan on a nav exercise to Goose had diverted to Washington, switching on their ECM before hitting the coast, and then switching it off over Capitol Hill. Apparently it caused some diplomatic consternation.

Recently watching a DVD of "Battle for the Skies - V Force", the narrator stated that Vulcans on QRA were designed to just go, with all external power connections pulling out of their own accord. Almost killed myself laughing as memories came flooding back of swinging on the 115v 400Hz and 28vDC power cables in an attempt to dislodge them from the aircraft. When they were pushed in totally they did not come out easily. And if the aircraft had attempted to taxi away it would have taken the Houchin with it. That would have been an interesting sight with a Vulcan reaching V1 and attempting to rotate with a Houchin still attached.

They were good times.

[forget]

......... the narrator stated that Vulcans on QRA were designed to just go, with all external power connections pulling out of their own accord.

Sorry to jump in again, but the narrator was correct. That's why the aircraft's ground power sockets were angled rearwards and the GPU cables had some provision for a snatch wire. My memory is that this wasn't used on QRA as the crew chiefs didn't trust it - but it was (sometimes) used on ORP scrambles for demos to their Air Ships.

How's the red wine?

[Gainesy]

Isn't English wonderful?
There is something rib-tickling about people trying to recall what General Recall meant.

[ChristiaanJ]

Well, it IS slightly different from "Total Recall".

CJ

[alisoncc]

Quote:
......... the narrator stated that Vulcans on QRA were designed to just go, with all external power connections pulling out of their own accord.
Sorry to jump in again, but the narrator was correct. That's why the aircraft's ground power sockets were angled rearwards and the GPU cables had some provision for a snatch wire. My memory is that this wasn't used on QRA as the crew chiefs didn't trust it - but it was (sometimes) used on ORP scrambles for demos to their Air Ships.

No way they were angled backwards. On the Vulcan B2's they were directly behind the starboard undercarriage doors and pointed straight down. And if pushed well in, did not come out easily. With the Houchin located well behind, the angle of pull would have prevented any possibility of them just pulling out. And we aren't talking about some modern teflon coated plastic, these were of a very solid rubber construction which tends to grab and hold. I was being facetious about towing the Houchin, as the cables would have pulled out of there well before pulling out of the aircraft.

There used to be this funny oil which when used on pink rubber sleeves enabled them to slide down over a soldered contact. On one occasion we tried coating the aircraft end of the Houchin cables with it to see if it would improve the chances of the cables just pulling out, but I don't recollect it being successful as a long term solution.

It was around about then that I was nearly mown down by an Anson. Some guy with lots of scrambled egg, late for dinner at the officers mess, came racing around the perimeter track whilst I was marshalling a Vulcan onto it's pad. Early evening - dusk, and the batteries in the wands weren't the brightest. It was only a flying tackle by the Crew Chief that saved me from the mincer. Hey, I survived so it must have been fun.

[ZH875]

I always thought they were angled backwards, as climbing the A frame ladders with the 200v lead over the shoulder, it was an up and forward push to get the lead in, but they could be a pig to get out.

The 'funny oil' is the wonderful Hellerine oil, otherwise known as 'Hellersnot'.