A great day out!!!

**davejb** · 09-09-2012, 03:27 PM

by big ned

October 1983 Duxford.

B 52 Landing at Duxford - YouTube

Beat yer to it for a change lol

**Woolgar** · 09-09-2012, 04:11 PM

Great video, thanks guys

Nick

**Alan M** · 09-09-2012, 04:27 PM

Great photography Nick , really enjoyed seeing them

**Woolgar** · 09-09-2012, 05:03 PM

Thanks alan!

I struggled to get them in a particular order and some just didnt upload

It presents better on WAF

Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums

Nick

**davesap250** · 09-09-2012, 05:04 PM

I think this little plane was on it's way to you at Duxford yesterday

**Woolgar** · 09-09-2012, 05:08 PM

Yes it was Dave and it stole the show !!!

Nick

**Scout** · 09-09-2012, 05:18 PM

Great pics. Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Good pics of the Vulcan all. Always liked that plane.

**Woolgar** · 09-09-2012, 05:23 PM

I have researched but can anyone tell me why they painted camo on the underside of the Vulcan ?

They never did have that when operational

Nick

**Scout** · 09-09-2012, 05:37 PM

Maybe they just thought it made for a good effect in order to cater to the public.

Loads of strange paint jobs on both vehicles and planes in museums all over the world.

You should visit Kubinka for a good laugh.

**big ned** · 09-09-2012, 06:10 PM

by Woolgar

I have researched but can anyone tell me why they painted camo on the underside of the Vulcan ?

They never did have that when operatioal

Nick

Around 10 Vulcans were painted in 'Wrap Around' camoflague in 1979 for the 'Red Flag' competition that was held anually in the States. The idea of it was to camoflague the underside of the aircraft during it's low flying manouveres against mock SAM G-T-A missile sites, as it was often banked at 90 degrees.

The RAF often showed their American hosts how it was done concerning low flying. One Vulcan returned to base trailing a HT power cable, the pilot explained he had pulled up too soon after flying UNDER it.

Here's a nice piece about Martin Withers, the current Vulcan display pilot and skipper of the most successful 'Black Buck' raid on Stanley airport in 1982; regarding the 'Red Flag' competition.

It was mentioned in"Vulcan 607" by Rowland White, a book about a Black Buck Air Raid during the Falklands War, which until Desert Storm was the longest range bomber mission ever conducted, on top of that with one Vulcan bomber flying on its own.

"Withers and his crew arrived in Nevada in style - determined to start as they meant to continue. Inbound to Nellis AFB, the base near Las Vegas that hosted Red Flag, Martin Withers had spied the vast scar of the Grand Canyon thousands of feet below. He radioed ATC, asking to abandon his flight plan and finish the transit under Visual Flight Rules. Tourists enjoying the breathtaking panorama of the canyon must have been unnerved to find themselves looking down on the huge delta wings of a British Vulcan bomber sweeping by below them.

The RAF were first invited to take part in 1977. And since then they earned a reputation for low and aggressive flying. 'Those RAF boys truly part the sand and shave the rocks', said one admiring American fighter pilot.

In the offices of Red Flag's commanding officer, though, one poster stood out. It celebrated the time a low flying RAF jet scraped a scar into the scrub with its wingtip. The same year, another crew took out a powerline by flying up into it. When the engineers went out to repair the line they recorded its height from the ground: just 42 feet. And aircrews and engineers still talked about the photo taken of a Vulcan with a chunk of Joshua tree jammed behind its control surfaces.

When anyone asked Martin Withers how low he'd take his Vulcan through the Nellis ranges he'd smile mischievously and tell them 'never below eighty feet' - less than the wingspan of the Vulcan he was flying. At this height, the vortices spiralling off his wings could roll tumbleweed in the big bombers wake."