The V-Bombers: The UK's Strategic Nuclear Strike Force
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@Swm9445
Жыл бұрын
One of the best aircraft videos you've made on this channel yet! Congrats, and thanks, to you, your writers, and your editors.
@adamrolo12345
Жыл бұрын
@@Swm9445 ¹¹
@scottbattaglia8595
Жыл бұрын
In the video you said hawker hurricane which is propeller driven and instead showed a picture of a jet hawker hunter. The Hunter didn't fly till 1951, but the hurricane was there for the battle of Britain as you were talking about....honestly not to be a dick.....for real, sorry
@bosun9708
Жыл бұрын
@@Swm9445 aaaa
@waitingforanalibi2224
11 ай бұрын
I donated to Vulcan to the Skies, Its a shame it looks doubtfull it will fly again. Oh well, at least I own a small piece of history 😔😔
Anyone who's ever seen a Vulcan will never forget it. The thing is bloody huge, beautiful and has an amazing sound.
@tokyosmash
Жыл бұрын
It’s literally a technological Rodan 🤌🏻
@dianapennepacker6854
Жыл бұрын
@@tokyosmash Hell yeah I love it. Never saw it till now but what a beaut.
@willlittleton8311
Жыл бұрын
Are they the ones that make that crazy howling sound?
@wolf99000
Жыл бұрын
Yeah had one fly over when i was at school nothing sounds like a Vulcan also while its loud it iconic noise that you would never forget
@willlittleton8311
Жыл бұрын
@@wolf99000 I'm a little jealous, those were some striking aircraft
I'm surprised you didn't mention Operation Thunderball in 1965. Where British MI6 agents were tasked with recovering a hijacked Avero Vulcan and the two atomic warheads it carried. Thankfully the downed Vulcan was found in the waters of the Bahamas and the missing atomic weapons were recovered. Great video as always Simon! 👍
@alfredthegreat9543
Жыл бұрын
🤣
@josephcope7637
Жыл бұрын
en21b I presume that you posted your comment with your tongue firmly in your cheek, and you're referring to the James Bond 007 novel and movie.
@lordofdunvegan6924
Жыл бұрын
You forgot to mention the important role played by one agent from the agency's special section, James Bond (codenamed '007') who was sent to the Bahamas to carry out the investigation. He worked with the FBI and found out there was a hidden plot organized by a criminal organization called 'Spectre' to steal the bombs from the downed Vulcan and hold the world for ransom with the threat of detonating the bomb(s). Ian Fleming, a famous writer. wrote a book titled 'Thunderball' describing the whole episode. !tihsllub.
@markkarasik2211
10 ай бұрын
@@lordofdunvegan6924😎Actually he worked with the C.I.A….the F.B.I. Is limited to operating only on U.S. soil.
@Abravado
4 ай бұрын
it was touch and go there for a while.
How could you do a video on the Vulcan, and not have a clip of the Vulcan Howl?! It's an incredible sound to hear!!!
@ATomRileyA
Жыл бұрын
Best i could do :) kzread.info/dash/bejne/epN1tLV-aM2reLQ.html&t
@johnc.2876
Жыл бұрын
This one time in Melbourne's Four Floors of Whores, "The Daily Planet", a working gal gave me a Vulcan Howl.... I didnt walk right for 3 weeks. Blaze on!! Australian coke is the worst!!!!
@wingerding
Жыл бұрын
Copyright issues
@MostlyPennyCat
Жыл бұрын
@@wingerding I don't believe that. The sound of an aircraft can't be copyrighted
@wingerding
Жыл бұрын
@@MostlyPennyCat just a joke my friend
The Valiant was delivered on time because it didn't suffer scope creep as many other projects do. It had a spec to hit and the spec didn't change, so it hit it. The problem with other projects is they see how well it does X then they want it to also do Y and Z, which wasn't in the original design spec, so it's tacked on and takes longer to find a way to make it work with what they have without having to start over.
@RaderizDorret
Жыл бұрын
Yup. Happened with the F-111 with the B variant and again with the F-35. Meanwhile you have planes like the F-15 and F-16 which were designed for specific purposes and had enough excess performance potential that they evolved in to more roles over time. Heck, it happened with the F/A-18 which had its roots in the program that developed the F-16; just navalized and with a bit more focus on ground attack capability from the outset.
@MostlyPennyCat
Жыл бұрын
@@RaderizDorret Unlike the F-111B though, the F-35 didn't scope creep, it was just complex, extremely powerful and therefore expensive. The Valiant though, was simple. It wasn't cheap and on-time because it didn't creep, it was because it was a simple aircraft built with yesterday's tech (meaning 40s tech)
@Viper607706
Жыл бұрын
@@MostlyPennyCat That and it was a generational push in multiple ways which caused development costs to simply soar.
@micha_el_
Жыл бұрын
Just like build me a big villa, but then make it contain several apartments and somehow fit in a convenience store
@TalkieToaster.
6 ай бұрын
It was also much simpler than the others, they also didn't fare too well in the fatigue department - they had a pretty short service life as a result. Though much more complex, the Valiant and Victor were both arguably more successful. Though Valiant did drop our first A-Bomb, which is pretty cool in itself.
36:25 "A suitably steel testicled crew" The most beautiful compliment I have ever heard 😂👌
Simon. I would love to see a video on the Soviet's version of Cheyenne Mountain . I realise there might not be much open source material but maybe do one of all soviet command and control facilities to expand it. Just curious
@megaprojects9649
Жыл бұрын
We did look into doing this, but I think it ended up being a case of just basically nothing to go on as its all super secret, and it would just be a ton of speculation. It's a great suggestion though :)
@rogerrinkavage
Жыл бұрын
@@megaprojects9649 that's too bad, hopefully they declassify she me info soon
@TheZachary86
Жыл бұрын
@@megaprojects9649 I’ll do you one better, chinas 816 nuclear military plant. The largest artificial cave in the world. It’s a military mega project for an underground nuclear productions facility
@drewlovely2668
Жыл бұрын
@@TheZachary86 but is it super secret?
@drivinginluton5745
Жыл бұрын
I am pretty sure the Russians only ever used their stargate a few times. Then they sold it to the USAF for the plans for the X303 and later BG304. :)
I have so many great memories of taking my daughter to airshows when she was younger than *10yrs* to see the XH558 prior to it's retirement. The noise at Waddington will stay with me forever.
@Phantom0fTheRouter
Жыл бұрын
That is called tinnitus...
Having seen XH558 both in her hangar at Doncaster, and years prior in flight, three things stuck with me. Firstly, the howl of the engines. Second, the dart like shape, as a silouhette is genuinely intimidating, and thirdly, the Vulcans are a lot bigger than you’d think.
@matty741
Жыл бұрын
But not in the cockpit. Tiny in there, especially for the pilots.
@B2BWide
Жыл бұрын
The "Vulcan Howl" is a legend, a phenomenon that most avgeeks know even if they never saw an Avro Vulcan personally :) (Still it must be even more a wow-factor than on the recorded media.)
@dominicseanmccann6300
Жыл бұрын
Had it go over me in Selby on it's last flight. Shadow then a howl of engines.." Tally ho, Moscow it is lads..." thank god it never happened.
@someoneyouknow9130
11 ай бұрын
It's not even in the hangar anymore, it's just sat out there, I see it going past the airport terminal, albeit not very well, just the top of it
Our family farm was under one of the low flight paths used by Vulcans during the 1970s. They were both loud and aerodynamically "messy" - when the plane could be seen disappearing over the horizon around 20 miles away you could still hear the rustling of the air as the wing-tip vortices trailed many miles behind it. As it was a hill farm occasionally we'd look across and down "into" the cockpit - they were a little loose with the minimum height regulations back then. Only ever had one Victor fly over.
I used to work in Farnborough and every other year when the international air show was taking place, we saw some amazing planes. Including a Vulcan bomber. Words cannot describe just how amazing it is to see one in the air, to listen to the screeching of its engines and knowing this was one thing that saved my own country (Germany) from nuclear annihilation. Thank you, United Kingdom, for being a vital part of european security.
I remember as a kid growing up in Yorkshire in the 1970's seeing Vulcans flying overhead fairly regularly. Always a beautiful sight watching them bank and climb from wherever they were based nearby (I assume, too long ago, cant remember exactly) but they are a gorgeous aircraft.
@mhoppy6639
Жыл бұрын
They are. I was fortunate enough to catch sight of this last one on its last tour back around 10 years ago(?) out near Pocklington, near York as I was passing Stamford Bridge. It was an awesome sight and lots of cars pulled up at the side of the road to witness it banking and circling several times. It was truly wonderful.
@mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029
Жыл бұрын
Born in the mid 70s, grew up in Newark (Nottinghamshire). I remember asking my father what they were doing when I saw them flying as a young child. His reply stayed with me all this time, "their keeping us safe son". Happy times.
Yay a video that's nearly an hour long! I am that freak on here that genuinely loves long-form videos. Means i can put something on and not worry about having to find a new video for long enough that i can actually get stuff done instead of scrolling through videos i have little interest in since youtube likes to keep the videos from channels im subbed to off the main screen.
@asb2106
Жыл бұрын
I’ll just put together a playlist when I need duration without interruption. Plus Simon just dropped 12 hours of casual criminalist on us this morning :D
@aceundead4750
Жыл бұрын
@@asb2106 i use the watch later playlist, but even that requires finding videos. The Casual Criminalist is one show i actually need breaks from lol real life violence and death bothers me
@Kitsudote
Жыл бұрын
That's the thing with YT isn't it. It's goal is to increase watch time but for some reason their sophisticated algorithm is actually pretty bad at it.
51 min to timecode ? OOOOOw 1:55 - Chapter 1 - Background 6:05 - Chapter 2 - Vickers valiant 17:35 - Mid roll ads 18:55 - Chapter 3 - Avro vulcan 33:35 - Chapter 4 - Handley page victor 44:50 - Chapter 5 - Decline of the V bombers 49:35 - Chapter 6 - Further reading
I have a Blue Steel separation switch from a Vulcan and bomb release Wander Button taht was used on all three on my desk! It is kind of cool having the button you press to release a nuclear missile.
@BobBob-lu7br
Жыл бұрын
Please don't push that...
I was asleep in the garden and a Vulcan bomber flew pretty low over my house which was one hell of a surprise i can tell you lol, thought i was in a earthquake for a second till i saw it fly over head i remember my two cats were freaking right out like the world was coming to an end, truly epic sound with that awesome howl too.
@tams805
Жыл бұрын
I got to see the restoration fly. Seeing it come in was impressive, but then it did a low and slow sweep over the crowd... just... damn.
@wingerding
Жыл бұрын
Why were you sleeping in your garden? Isn't it full of dirt?
I watched a Vulcan Bomber flight demo at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana in 1976. I was twelve, and it was the most awe-inspiring thing I have ever experienced before, or since. The sound was earth shattering. The rolls and hammerhead turns jaw-dropping. I met the Brit pilots and they graciously answered my questions. It was a good day.
Thank you for doing justice to the V story. I remember being an RAF trainee in 1990 at RAF Locking, a Vulcan did a very low flypast and then went nearly vertical just above us. I swear I felt the exhust heat! And still feel the ground shaking 30 years later!!!!!
I once witnessed in the summer of 1979 an RAF Vulcan bomber do a fly-by in front of Chicago's lakefront (practicing for an upcoming airshow). Not only did it have a sinister look to it, but a sinister sound as well!
@Duncan23
Жыл бұрын
Nothing beats the sound of a Vulcan up close! I've had the pleasure to witness one 10+ times and it never got old. It's such a shame we wont get to experience it again.
@moodogco
Жыл бұрын
I remember seeing one at a air show at Duxford as a kid & still can hear sound even now!!!
@robinsanders5541
Жыл бұрын
I remember witnessing the Vulcan at an air show. With the sheer power of those magnificent Rolls Royce engines, it sounded like whole planets colliding! Space age design in a deeply analog age. Long shall they be missed!
This was great, really good you took the time to explain the history of each aircraft in detail rather than rushing a quick overview I grew up next to RAF Waddington and my late fathers old Royal Engineer unit shared a hanger with the Vulcan display flight. I got to sit in XH558 a fair few times, I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have, and saw her flying very regularly. She's a very special aircraft
MORE LONG VIDEOS PLEASE! Keep up the great work! The team and Simon do a truly awesome job!
@Atomy111
2 ай бұрын
Lol no chance, he has to narrate for his 19 other channels
Through my subscription to the 1950s Eagle magazine, I had cutaway illustrations depicting all three of these aircraft types. I thumb tacked these to my bedroom wall at home. Now, all these many years latter, a wonderful surprise popped up on my notifications feed, that Britain's V Bombers were going to be featured on a program cheerfully narrated by the one and only, Simon Whistler who's commentary reveals all truths about Britain's heavy duty bomber force. While I was watching the show, I idly wondered if these military aircraft types would have been suitable in another role with a commercial application as a passenger airliner, and carrying freight for freight forwarding companies like say, UPS.
A Vulcan flew low over my house when I was a kid ( we lived in Lossiemouth ) . I could read the warnings on the fuel door , but all I can remember is the ear splitting, gut liquifying howl of the engines. It was terrifying!
That was one of the best videos you have ever done. It felt like a proper documentary.
I once watched a Vulcan perform in an air show at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, USA in 1975. It was amazing. I was sitting on a berm near one end of the runway. The Vulcan took off and made a couple of stately passes the length of the runway. Then the Vulcan climbed to around 20,000 ft (6,000 meters) then dived down to under 500 ft (150 meters) and went screaming (literally) over the runway at over 400 knots. As it reached the end of the runway it went into a vertical climb and proceeded to perform an Immelmann turn. I later asked a B-52 pilot I knew what would have happened if he tried something loke that in a BUFF. He advised me that the wingtips would have touched like the hands of someone doing.side straddle hops just before departing the aircraft. The USAF Thunderbirds performed that day but the real star was the Vulcan. Amazing aircraft!
@gordonwallin2368
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, I saw a similar performance at Abbotsford International Airshow -without the Immelmann, though. It was the last time in Canada.
@24934637
Жыл бұрын
The Avro Vulcan has been the star of the show at almost every airshow that I've ever been at (until it stopped flying). That characteristic howl, and all the car alarms going off is a sure sign of a Vulcan display...as well as it going into a turn, and blocking it's own sound with it's body, and suddenly going silent. Beautiful plane!
02:08 that is not a Hawker Hurricane, that is a Hawker Hunter. And did you mean the Hawker Typhoon, a fighter/ground attack aircraft, was the "bane of the panzer corps"?
@PHDarren
Жыл бұрын
That part of the video was sponsored by @RAFLuton
I recall rather impressive plastic Vulcan bomber toys being found in Shredded Wheat packets. Fired by catapult: they did an excellent loop, before hitting the ground and breaking the nose off so you couldn't launch them again! :)
*mentions hawker Hurrican, Shows Hawker Hunter.
@briankdey1746
Жыл бұрын
Yeah I just mentioned how they made an effort to say that they put up the wrong photo but by editing it it took the same amount of effort as just putting in the correct photo to begin with and it makes no sense to me
@wingerding
Жыл бұрын
Relax guys
@MichaelLewis-uz7pm
Жыл бұрын
Was this done intentionally to increase engagement? 😂😂
@johnlewins5023
Жыл бұрын
But I bet he can spell Hurricane 😂
@CharChar2121
Жыл бұрын
@Art Ellis His editors are sloppy, but his researchers vary greatly depending on the topic. They tend to fuck up anything about armored ground vehicles every single time. They do better with aircraft, though.
I saw a Vulcan at Offutt AFB in Nebraska in 1974. It struck me as so futuristic looking and beautiful! I'd never seen one before and I thought it was some new top secret aircraft, lol.
@SimonsAuntPhyllis
Жыл бұрын
The V-Bombers all take significant inspiration in design from the De Havilland Comet, the world's first Jet Airliner from 1951. I hightly recommend the video about the Comet on the "Mustard" KZread channel. Many fundamental lessons in civil aviation learned from the Comet. And lots of very well put together content on "Mustard" about the history of aviation, both civilian and military.
My great uncle Alan (who is sadly no longer with us) was an engineer on the Vulcan bombers. It's an absolutely amazing aircraft that deserves the legendary reputation it has.
I absolutely love the looks of all the V-Bombers, everytime I look at them, they look like something weird coming from a different timeline than ours.
It's amazing to me that all those technologic marvels as the V-bombers, U2, SR-71 and the A12, the experimental XB-70 Valkyrie, Concord, and even the F-117 have all had their "wings clipped" and are relegated to museum and gate guard duty unlike the BUFF (aka B-52), C-130, and UH-1 and AH-1 are all still operational and are slated to be for the next 20-40 years.
@Ag3nt0fCha0s
9 ай бұрын
Workhorses. How many people daily drive a Ferrari?
Can we have a series of big project that delivered on time and on budget? That would be cool and wholesome at the same time!
They're all so Buck Rogers looking. I think they're awesome and I hope they're preserved in perpetuity for future generations to admire.
@siabell
Жыл бұрын
Did they have a brand new car that looked like a Jaguar?
@crwydryny
Жыл бұрын
I hear one of the vulcans are in private collection being restored
Honestly the Valiant B.2 is a huge missed opportunity. Not long after the prototype was scrapped, low level intruder aircraft became a huge concern (think F-111, A6, B1B, etc)
@fl_3682
Жыл бұрын
The UK's low level strike bomber would have been the BAC TSR 2 if politics hadn't killed it. Instead we used the Blackburn Buccaneer which was still a very good strike aircraft.
@Anfidurl
Жыл бұрын
@@fl_3682 which was also shortsightedly scrapped. But that is in another video. 😂
@garethfairclough8715
Жыл бұрын
Not really. The Valiant simply couldn't handle low level high speed flight with war loads. The wings and airframe cracked very quickly. It's why they were retired so quickly.
@Anfidurl
Жыл бұрын
@@garethfairclough8715 the B.2 variant was reinforced with low level flying in mind. You're thinking of the plane jane Valiant.
I'm a model builder and display finished projects online with modelers in the UK. They outnumber US plastic modelers by a wide margin, per capita. They are also extremely proud of RAF V-bombers. In a discussion one day, several of them bluntly asked how we managed to keep B-52s flying for decades after the V-bombers were retired. I explained how, approximately every 7 years or so, B-52s are sent to Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, OK. There, each B-52 goes through a complete rebuild, coming out a practically brand new airplane. Every airplane in the USAF inventory goes through the same process. There once were 5 Air Force bases dedicated to the Air Logistics of the Air Force that were built to service military aircraft built by the thousands during WWII. In the 1990s, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission closed the Kelly AFB and McClellan AFB, leaving Tinker, Hill AFB in Ogden Utah and Robins AFB, which I retired from in 2020. The history of the USAF Air Logistics Centers might make a great Mega Projects video in the future.
Epic video thank you. One of my favourite things to consider about this subject, look at the Lancaster, look at the Vulcan and look at the short number of years between them, yet they were designed by the same man, genius.
I remember seeing the vulcan at Duxford when I was a kid, was in awe of the sheer size and power of this monster, got my into collecting the world aircraft files, for whatever I reason I fell in love with the F14 tomcat
Wing wear out is very common- it happened to the Bristol Britannia, B-57’s, B-47’s, B-52’s, and C-124’s. It’s not just limited to British designs.
I feel privileged that I managed to see the Vulcan at Cosford back in 2013. It was amazing. As was the Typhoon that went vertical above our car and the Apache. What a great day that was even though the road management was appalling.
@stujm84
Жыл бұрын
I quite agree. A privilege above all privileges in the world of aerospace. I remember in my childhood seeing one fly at an airshow at RAF Manston back in the early 90s. It wasn't much later that they stopped flying and retired from such things. Jump forward to being at, of all places, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, in 2010 that I saw one again in the skies above my head. The sight, the thunder of it moving through the Sussex skies and the noise! Ooohh the noise. Anyone whose heard them won't ever forget that. Amazing planes.
I'm sooo happy that you did the v-bombers
A lot of that low level training that the Vulcan crews did occurred at my home town of Goose Bay. I have many childhood memories of seeing and hearing the mighty Vulcan taking off from the military base there... the RAF even donated one to my hometown and it currently sits on display just outside the local airport...
My personal favorite of the V Bombers is the Vulcan, which I personally think is the most elegant looking bomber ever made 🇬🇧
@daveanderson3805
Жыл бұрын
The Victor though. It looks incredibly futuristic
I remember watching the Vulcan and Victor taking off from RAF Tengah in Singapore in the early 60's. A Beautiful site and also the Javelin was based there too as my father was a pilot on the Javelin, yet another delta wing design!
Having grown up near the Farnborough air show as a kid. The noise of the Vulkan made our windows rumble, you truly f'd up to be on the receiving end of that noise.
These videos is the thing we need
Excellent as always, I'd love to see similar for the Buccaneer, an awesome UK jet with a decent history.
Bombers Of The West by Bill Gunston is another fine book that covers V-bomber development and careers up to the early 1970s.
I would like to point out that an Avro Vulcan exists outside of the UK, in Goose Bay, NL, Canada. The RAF used to practice at the airbase and when the Vulcans were retired, one was deemed to be requiring more effort to return to the UK, so they donated it to the town.
@UnclothedPrimate
Жыл бұрын
For anyone on the US west coast, there is also a Vulcan at the museum of the former Castle AFB in Atwater CA.
Someone really needs to let Simon know that “pound-feet” (lb-ft, or more properly foot-pounds, ft-lb) is a measure of TORQUE and NOT thrust. Thrust is a FORCE, measured in pounds (lb). It’s unfortunate that some use “lbf” for “pounds of force” to distinguish with pounds of weight, but it’s all force.
@w13rdguy
Жыл бұрын
That's around four henweighs, is that right?
@christopheroliver148
Жыл бұрын
I think all imperial bathroom scales should report "weight" in slugs. 😏
@christopheroliver148
Жыл бұрын
Similar annoyance: I have a bicycle tool that reports in kilograms of force. Grrrrr! Newtons, dude! The unit is newtons!
@pierreplourde
Жыл бұрын
@@christopheroliver148 Slugs are a unit of mass; the unit of weight (which is a force) is pounds. Just like kilograms are mass while weight would be in Newtons.
@handlesarefeckinstupid
Жыл бұрын
Yet air rifles in the UK use Ftlbs as a measure of power, it's a function of the weight of projectile and speed.
So good to hear someone covering the valiant in such detail. Thank you Simon
The unearthly howl of the Vulcan is truly something that needs to be experienced in person to be truly understood how terrifying that sound is.
Jet engines do not have thrust specified in pound-feet; just pounds. Pound-feet is a unit of either torque or work, depending on context.
A great video, liking the longer length a lot. To this day it never ceases to amaze me that the first flight of the Avro Vulcan was just 11 years after the first flight of the Avro Lancaster!
The V bombers were beautiful machines. I'm especially fond of the Vulcan, I saw one fly at Farnborough in 2014 and the sound and sight of it was something else, truly intimidating yet beautiful.
Living near Lincoln in the late 70’s and early 80’s it was a regular sight having Vulcans flying low over your home doing circuits and bumps.
Brings back great memories of seeing the Vulcan fly directly over my house on its way to Southport Air Show the year before its retirement. 250ft up and then going into a full power, almost vertical climb with its engines howling. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰. The one day I didnt go to the show (and it was only a few miles away) but if I had gone, I would have missed one of the most breathtaking sights and sounds of my life.
Once got to sit in the cockpit of a Vulcan at an airshow once, not a lot of space in the crew compartment despite the size of the plane. Amazing looking machine though, incredibly elegant, and despite its decades of age, it somehow still looked futuristic.
I've always loved these planes. I had little die cast models of all 3 of the "V bombers" as a little kid. The Vulcan has always been my favorite.
I've gotten to see the Vulcan in flight at very low altitudes at the Clacton air show a couple of times now and it is a beautiful sight. For such a large aircraft it spends a surprisingly small amount of time with throttles engaged, but when the throttle is pushed up you certainly know it.
I remember in 1977 as a kid see 2 vulcans parked at the airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica while I was in an airplane getting ready to takeoff. They were beautiful aircrafts.
7:30 CC on: "Nucleus Jiu-Jitsu Bomber" Now that's definitely something.
Now that Hawker Hurricane is defo a hawker hunter!
I recall the Vulcan at Dawlish Air show some years ago. She hadn't long been brought back into service, and there was a real sense of gung-ho, let's show these folks what she can do. She flew out a distance off shore and pointed near vertically upwards. For an impossible second it seemed as if her incredible mass was hanging motionless in the air. And then the pilot pulled the throttles out on four Royle-Royce Olympus engines. My God. Awesome is a horribly over-used word but in this case it is entirely appropriate. The Howl, they called it. I'm not surprised because there was something animalistic to that sound.
Can we see a video on the introduction of GPS and its proliferation into society?
The Vulcan was always a favourite at the Canadian National Exhibition Airshow in Toronto back in the old days. I saw it many times.
Arguably some of the most beautiful aeroplanes ever built.
A good book I read was called V Bombers by Tim Laming which gives the background on all three and goes into a bit more detail about the development of the aircraft around the Blue Danube missile. And the reasoning behind having three designs simultaneously. A good read.
I don't think the Victor is the most aesthetically beautiful aircraft, but it is ... elegant. Much like the B-52, it's kinda function over form, and that in itself is a sort of beauty, innit? And it looks good in antiflash white.
@davidmacdonald1695
Жыл бұрын
It is ugly from some angles, yes...but also conveys awesome power. In plan form it reminds me of a humpback whale with flippers/tail outstretched. Unusual but high performance. The big secret people don't likje to admit is that in most respects it comfortably outperforms the AVRO Vulcan, whose fame is essentially based on its looks.
I really enjoy when usually-short-form channels do longer videos. The research is so detailed and the the presentation is so informative.
What a fantastic long form video. I’d love to see more long videos like that, I like listening to you while I work at my computer. Can you do a deep dive into how the bomarc missile won out over the avro arrow? It’s a massive sore spot for us Canadians. - all the best from the great white north
@megaprojects9649
Жыл бұрын
Thanks. I like doing the long videos as well. This one is an experiment and if it works out, there will be more longer ones :)
@gcwyatt
Жыл бұрын
@@megaprojects9649 Usually I watch your videos while "washing up" as you Brits put it. I made a point to set aside extra time to watch this one. Thank you making it.
My personal favorite is the Vulcan. Absolutely the most beautiful militairy aircraft ever built.
The content of the video aside, I just watched this on a big screen, and the camera resolution is amazing. Clearer than most amazon movies. Good job.
I'm glad I can go see an Avro Vulcan at Castle AFB here in California.
I had the pleasure of seeing a Canadian Vulcan back around 1980 at Offut air force base. It was an impressive sight to see as it came over the field quiet as a mouse then hit afterburners and was gone.
@jdb47games
8 ай бұрын
A Canadian Vulcan? The RCAF did not operate any v-bombers.
The British did have a way of naming things. The engines Merlin, Olympus, Sabre, and my favorite the Saphire U.S. had R1830 and GE F110. It seems the early jets were just beyond the capability of engineering metal fatigue had never been a problem before.
@handpaper6871
Жыл бұрын
Rolls-Royce's convention for aero engines was that piston engines were named for birds of prey (Vulture, Griffon, Merlin) and jet turbines for British rivers (Avon, Dart, Trent) The Olympus was originally a Bristol Aero Engines product; the name was retained when the company was bought by Rolls-Royce.
I saw the Vulcan flying in 2012 at the Eastbourne Air Show. If was flying up and down over the channel from Eastbourne to Newhaven. It was seriously impressive.
I’m surprised that y’all didn’t comment about the Vulcan being a movie star as well, for it’s appearance in James Bond Thunderball. Watching that with my dad as a child was my first time seeing one and I have always loved the howl they make with the intakes.
When I was a kid I always thought the V-Bomber fleet looked like they were from the future. Staggering to think that they were built just a few decades after powered flight was invented. Also, was it British policy to build one workhorse, one sexy and one out there plane? They did it with fighters and bombers in WW2 and then the V-fleet...
When you say Hurricane you show a Hunter 🤕
@michaelpipkin9942
Жыл бұрын
We got to give him some wiggle room sometimes with the aircraft. It happens a lot.
@martint8986
Жыл бұрын
@@michaelpipkin9942 im not nocking it, its an unusual error as hes edited the photos with Font so was curious more of which he actually means im assuming the Hurricane?
@redmist5890
Жыл бұрын
But a Hawker any way
@AWMJoeyjoejoe
Жыл бұрын
One of the most beautiful cold war jets imo
Pulling an all nighter, wrapping Xmas pressies and binging MegaProjects 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 On point as always! Thank you for your content guys!
Excellent video! Loved the longer documentary! Great work!
A video on the MiG-21 would be amazing. It's seen an insane amount of use worldwide.
Me and my grandad went to see the Vulcan flying in its last year airborne. It was a fantastic day and the noise is something I will never forget. Duxford is somewhere I can wholeheartedly recommend for anyone who wants either a nice family day out or an educational enthusiasts outing. They’ve got tanks, artillery guns, planes and it’s basically a history nerds wet dream.
Nice job on this particular vid. Other than a couple of very minor errors, it was very accurate and informative as well as entertaining. Keep up the good work. You and your staff are getting better with each program you make.
LOVE that you did an extended vid on this topic!! 😉👍✌️
I visited Kiritimati (Christmas) Island in 2003. The vulcans were used there for nuclear testing. Very interesting place with the boffins bunkers and some other items still there
The Vulcan howl was awesome, I was privileged to see its last flight over Bruntingthorpe.
If only I had the cash I would commission a brand new Vulcan (with some small modern avionics upgrades) tomorrow. Forget super yachts, mansions, cars or art, plus I get that majority of people say the Spitfire, Lancaster or even the Mosquito is the best and most beautiful aircraft that’s come out of the UK, for me it’s the Vulcan. Maybe I just have a thing for a good looking delta wing.😉
After the mention of the Tornado, I did a search for it on the megaprojects channel and found it conspicuously absent. Would love to see you cover this aircraft.
I had a good mate whom was in the RAF, he was in the fire service. One day a Vulcan came in with no landing gear so the pilot elected to land on the grass. If you know the Vulcan they gave it a chin mounted radar and this acted as a scoop on landing. They spent a few hours getting the flight crew out as the mud and turf suck then fast lol.
i had the honour of sitting in the pilot seat of a Vulcan when i was about 10 years old, it was a very quiet day at the museum and they let me and my dad inside for a look around. if i got that opportunity now as an adult i'd be even more excited!
It's amazing that after almost 70 years the US Air Force still flies the B-52 bomber. It's navigation, avionics and engines have all been modified and/or upgraded allowing the B-52 to be projected for use untill at least 2035/2040.. Imagine driving a car made in the 50's till today and then untill 2040.. Yes the Cubans have done this and with almost no OEM replacement parts .I saw where a Cuban made brake fluid from V-05 shampoo, ethanol spirits and vegetable oil..
Absolutely great video. Had to watch it in two pieces, first "half" while drinking my morning coffee, second now after work. Loved it.
Ah yeah, I've loved the Vulcan ever since I saw it in Thunderball and discovered it was a real plane. I stopped at Castle Air Force Base in Central California once in the mid-to-late '90s, and they had an open-air museum with a lot of neat planes just out in the open without ropes or supervision. I was the only one there! Yes, I touched ALL the planes! :D They had a Vulcan! It was gorgeous! Other highlights included a B-36 Peacemaker with bomb bay open, a bunch of WWII Bs, an F-111, and so many more I can't recall. I took lots of photos, the chemical kind, and have yet to scan any of them in.
Superb! I used to love watching the Vulcans and their aerobatics (not Acrobatics Simon. Thats what monkeys do!) at airshows in the 70's. And later on XH558 of the Vulcan association. The last flying example. I'm surprised that you didn't mention the Short Sperrin which was the contingency design and quite an interesting type in a very blunt blockhouse way. There was a scimitar winged scale prototype in the converted Supermarine Attacker the HP 88 with its high T-Tail and curvy wings. Apparently it was a deathtrap and its pilots were glad when the testing was over! As always a terrific show which really brought back some memories. Like watching a Jaguar GR 1 beating up the flightline at Prestwick airshow, at over mach 1 at 100 feet! It silently shot past us and climbed away, then the sound came past seconds later....BOOM!!! You wont see that at an airshow now. Great stuff. Thank you.
Thank you for making this video, I had requested this subject many times when you first started the channel. Great work
I saw a Vulcan when I was 7 at an air show. I have never forgotten the sight and sound of it. Such beauty.
44:15 Ahhh yes, one last reach for the skies. Always had a soft spot for the old Victors.
I would love to see more armies having strategic bombers, but i understand that its costly thing