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Two early build development Vulcans fly in company with their small proof-of-concept Avro 707 delta-planform test aircraft at the 1954 Farnborough display. Note the difference in wing shape compared with later production Vulcans. (BAe)
Profile – Avro Vulcan
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Avro Vulcan
The first impression was one of awe – it was a giant bat, a giant ray, a giant something. Whether one’s first sight of the Avro Vulcan was in the air or on the ground, it was something which would remain with the observer for years, particularly if that sighting had occurred in the 1950s, early in the Vulcan’s career and at a time when such shapes were still foreign to the eyes.
Thirty-odd years later, the Vulcan’s geometry remains unique in an aircraft of its size and role and remains one of only two subsonic production delta-winged aircraft. The other was the Gloster Javelin, although it retained horizontal tail surfaces. The Vulcan was a pure tailless delta and in being subsonic remains unique.
As one-third of Britain’s “V-Force” nuclear deterrent bombing capacity with the Vickers Valiant and Handley-Page Victor – the Avro (later Hawker Siddeley) Vulcan remained in its designed bombing role for longer than its rivals despite switching from its originally intended high-altitude strategic role to lowaltitude penetration duties quite early in its career.
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