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The latest articles
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It was a bright, sunny day at the Wroughton Airshow, the day Dr Robert Pleming first laid eyes on Vulcan XH558 in the late 1980s. Robert saw XH558’s airshow displays with the RAF Vulcan Display Flight (VDF) for many years.…
Historical
The Potsdam Conference was held near Berlin on 17 July 1945, the day after the Trinity test, and was to run until 2 August. The conference was for the ‘Big Three’ heads of state – Joseph Stalin (USSR), Winston Churchill…
Historical
On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands. It was the beginning of a ten-week conflict that ended with the Argentines surrendering on 14 June and the islands returning back to British control. On a rare weekend…
Historical
On 4 February 1955, the first production Vulcan B.1, XA889, made its maiden flight, flying with the original Vulcan wing design. In September 1955, Avro test pilot, Wing Commander ‘Roly’ Falk flew the second production Vulcan B.1, XA890, at the…
Historical
Two weeks before the first nuclear weapon was used for warfare, dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, the results of the UK general election were announced. On 26 July 1945, Labour had won power and Clement Attlee was appointed…
Historical
With the dawning of the atomic age in August 1945, it was obvious to military strategists that any future bomber to deliver a nuclear weapon would have to be jet powered and of advanced aerodynamic design. The Royal Air Force…
Historical
The latest news from the Trust
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John Sharman, chair of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust said: “It is with great sadness that the Trustees of The Vulcan to the Sky Trust announce the sudden death of Dr Robert Pleming on February 2. “Robert was a…
Trust Update
The charity behind one of the last icons of British military history is launching a £4m rescue mission to secure its future. The Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST), who were responsible for restoring XH558 to flight, has confirmed that…
Projects, Trust Update
The Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST) has until the end of the year to hit its fundraising target of £2.2 million needed to secure a mortgage and build a new home for Avro Vulcan XH558. The charity has until…
Trust Update
One of the guiding principles of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST) is to inspire future generations and that is why we and our amazing volunteers attend and participate in in many STEM events for young people. You may…
Education
A Green Technology Hub will be at the heart of the new Vulcan Experience, giving young people an insight into how scientists and engineers are tackling the climate change challenge. The charity responsible for returning Vulcan XH558 to flight is…
Trust Update
Read about the aircraft
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In 1946 the Air Ministry drew up requirements for bombers to replace the existing piston-engine heavy bombers such as the Avro Lancaster and the Avro Lincoln. The Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.229 was for ‘a medium-range bomber landplane capable of…
Avro
Avro Vulcan serial number XH558 was ordered under a MoD contract placed in September 1954. XH558 was completed at Avro’s Woodford factory in 1960 and was first flown on 25 May that year. The aircraft was finally completed on 30…
Avro
Completed on 29 September 1962 and fitted with Olympus 201 engines. Blue Steel modified. Served with: 83 Squadron October 1962 (Scampton Wing), 617 Squadron September 1969, 27 Squadron March 1971, 230 OCU June 1972, 617 Squadron July 1972, 230 OCU…
Avro
Built by AV Roe at Woodford in 1954 as part of a contract for 100 B2 Canberra aircraft, WK163 was taken on charge with controller (aircraft) on 28th January 1955. The same day the aircraft was transferred to Armstrong Siddeley…
English Electric
Read about the squadrons that operated the aircraft
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No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit was first created on 15 Mar 1947 at RAF Lindholme, by re-designation of No. 1653 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF, to convert crews onto the Avro Lancaster, Avro Lincoln and de Havilland Mosquito bombers. This unit…
Fulmina regis iusta – (The King’s thunderbolts are righteous) Badge: On a mount an elephant. Based upon the seal of Lo Bengula, the chief of the Matabeles on conquest. The seal shows an elephant which, in the case of this…
Aprés moi, le déluge – (After me, the flood) Badge: On a roundel, a wall in fesse, fracted by three flashes of lightning in pile and issuant from the breach water proper – approved by King George VI in March…
Mens agitat molem – (Mind over matter) Badge: Issuant from the battlements of a tower, a demi lion rampant guardant – approved by King George VI in February 1938. The battlements symbolise the Squadron’s pioneering role in the development of…
Sic fidem servamus – (Thus we keep faith) Badge: A sword in bend severing a mantle palewise. This unit formed at Dover and adopted a mantle being severed by a sword to show itsconnection with that town, the arms of…
Leads the Field Badge: A fox’s mask – approved by King George VI in February 1937. Based on a suggestion when the squadron was equipped with the Fairey Fox, an aircraft of which they were proud and the sole operators.…
Read about where all aircraft were located
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RAF Waddington is located beside the village of Waddington, just south of Lincoln. The station opened in 1916 as a Royal Flying Corps flying training station. Hundreds of pilots, including members of the US Army, were taught to fly a…
RAF Gaydon is a former Royal Air Force station located 5.2 miles (8.4 km) east of Wellesbourne, Warwickshire and 10.8 miles (17.4 km) north west of Banbury, Oxfordshire. RAF Gaydon opened in 1942 and is known for its role during…
RAF Wittering is located in Cambridgeshire and the district of East Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.Wittering’s use as a military airfield dates back to 5 May 1916 when it began as Royal Flying Corps (RFC)…
RAF Coningsby is a Royal Air Force station located at located 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) south west of Horncastle, and 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi) north west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main…
RAF Scampton stands on the site of a First World War Royal Flying Corps landing field, which had been called Brattleby. The station was closed and returned to agriculture following the First World War, and reactivated in the 1930s. It…
During the refurbishment of the Royal Flying Corps station at Doncaster in 1915, a decision was taken to move operations temporarily to an airstrip at Bancroft Farm at Finningley. This flight of aircraft is thought to have consisted of Royal…
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