Vulcan XM607

Creaking door, yes, they can be transported by road. They were roaded into woodford in sections for final assembly. I think (others may know better) in theory (as in the Hendon example) you still could

When I was a member of 655MaPS we had access to 607 in the late nineties, we were told to take what we wanted from the inside but not to touch the outside.
If I remember we had both 1 tanks, EHPP, and many other bits from inside the bomb bay which was a pain due to a saddle tank being fitted. We couldn’t get access to the cockpit due to the door release lever being stuck even though we had the key to unlock it. This Vulcan should of gone to Hendon in my view.

XL318

Yes, of course; I should have realised that a Vulcan wasn’t flown into Hendon (although the Beverley was)!

607 is a rot box. I went in it in 1995, worked on it in 1997, last went in it in 2005.
It was wet and mouldy in the mid nineties but fairly complete. Two years later we were drilling holes in it to let out the gallons of trapped rainwater, and patching the heavily corroded skins and a decade ago it had been robbed “significantly” to service 558. There is massive intergranular corrosion on the main spar, it won’t move again I wouldn’t have thought.

This, I went in her in 1999, cockpit was gutted damp and corroded to hell sadly. The Flt Sgt that showed me around used to work on them and told me/was bragging that she was on his inventory and he was in charge of looking after her. My first thought as a fairly fresh faced Fairy SAC was “Why the hell has she been allowed to deteriorate so badly?”

Ironically 15 years later I’ve been in the cockpit of XH673 at Marham recently, and she is not great but still in better shape than 607 was years ago.

I’m surprised she was moved to the other side of the airfield, there was questions about her structural integrity in 1999.

XL318

I didn’t think Vulcans could be transported by road?

Or better yet road her to scampton

I would like to be proved wrong, but being realistic the best hoped for scenario is when the tender goes out for scrapping, the Cockpit section is saved, preferably
by a museum.

Finally managed to upload a photo from yesterday.

Rob[ATTACH=CONFIG]241268[/ATTACH]

Very romantic WH904. 607 was retained at Waddington for the reasons you state, it was a station asset that carried out the longest bombing raid, so why wouldn’t the station want to retain it?!

Remember, it’s an RAF machine, and clearly the RAFM didn’t create enough noise to get it under cover. It’s therefore in the right place for it.

You’re right of course that the 2015 RAF Waddington have little interest in it, not many can relate to it, the RAF is made up of young men and women, there’s not much financial flex to just splash the cash.

Towing it across to the WAVE would close that facility due to a lack of space, compromise the security of the aeroplane, create a risk too great for anyone to manage.

Ultimately it’s where it is for a reason. The best example from its military days is undoubtedly the Hendon example, so gorge on that. 607 is way beyond original or in good condition. Better let it slide away.

I assume Mike’s comment above is intended to rile, but of course the Vulcan is a very significant aeroplane, having been at the heart of the UK’s deterrent force for many years and having also performed the tactical strike, conventional attack, maritime radar reconnaissance and tanker roles. The Victor is certainly an impressive machine but it proved to be far less versatile than the Vulcan. True, it soldiered-on longer than the Vulcan but this was simply because it had been converted to the tanker role and there was nothing to replace it for some time. The reason it was converted to the tanker role in the first place was because the aircraft was unsuitable for any further use as a bomber, because its wing structure was entirely unsuitable for the low level role. It is of course lamentable that so few Victors have survived, but at least a Mk.1 example survives at Duxford, whereas the only remaining Mk.1 Vulcan was destroyed at Cosford. The real shame is that only one Valiant survived.

XM607 is indeed in a pretty sorry state. Even if it does receive some further attention it seems likely that it will be dumped eventually, when the OC-of-the-day decides that he has no interest in a rotting Vulcan carcass being on his station. It seems to be of little interest to RAF Waddington as anything other than an amusing trinket, whereas a museum would undoubtedly have lavished much more care on it. The whole sorry saga started when the aircraft was retained at Waddington following retirement. When the display park was abandoned (and the accompanying Victor destroyed), I think that was the clearest signal that Waddington didn’t really want XM607 any more. Given its important place in history (having flown the longest bombing mission in the history or British aerial warfare) and it’s huge interest to enthusiasts (having been the RAF display aircraft for quite some time) it really should have been under cover from the moment it was retired. Quite why another far-less significant Black Buck aircraft went to Cosford is a complete mystery.

I suppose the only possible positive outcome for XM607 would be if Waddington had the good sense to tow it across the A15 to the WAVE and place it in a fenced area there, enabling volunteers to look after it a little more than at present. I don’t suppose it would enable the airframe to survive forever but I’m sure it would be a better outcome than simply leaving it virtually abandoned on the airfield. I’ve seen various claims from RAF Waddington that the aircraft is still being cared for, but (as has been said in posts above) it is very much a cosmetic business. The aircraft is in a pretty sorry state. It’s no way to treat such a unique machine.

That’s okay. It is a relatively minor type in the scheme of things. The Victor, arguably a much more significant type, which served on for nearly a decade after the Vulcan retired, has far fewer examples preserved, and we don’t hear the angst that continually surrounds the Vulcan for some reason. The same with the Lancaster, with only four preserved examples in the UK. If we are only left with the IWM Vulcan and one of the RAF Museum pair in a few years, that’s plenty to represent the type.

if there is one thing the UK is not short of……its preserved Vulcans.

That may be the case but if they all are disintegrating then the airframes are in danger of becoming fewer and fewer.

Surely most of what is written above could also apply to XM603, or any number of other outdoor Vulcan? The speed at which XL319 is being repainted, and I do have the utmost respect for the NEAM team on taking on a Vulcan, doesn’t bode well.

thanks for the comments Meddle, 319 is also only being worked on by a team of 2-4 volunteers too, as and when we can get time and weather combined

if there is one thing the UK is not short of……its preserved Vulcans.

607 is a rot box. I went in it in 1995, worked on it in 1997, last went in it in 2005.
It was wet and mouldy in the mid nineties but fairly complete. Two years later we were drilling holes in it to let out the gallons of trapped rainwater, and patching the heavily corroded skins and a decade ago it had been robbed “significantly” to service 558. There is massive intergranular corrosion on the main spar, it won’t move again I wouldn’t have thought.

Surely most of what is written above could also apply to XM603, or any number of other outdoor Vulcan? The speed at which XL319 is being repainted, and I do have the utmost respect for the NEAM team on taking on a Vulcan, doesn’t bode well.

Totally agree, but my point being that ‘558 was to many the Vulcan and will soon have a roof over its head, whilst ‘607 will probably continue to stand outside, next to a building site.

Also be interesting to know of 607’s completeness or whether it’s sadly now just a shell?

Rob

I don’t think there’s any argument about it- ‘607 is easily the most important remaining Vulcan- ‘558 having been the flyer to date makes no difference whatsoever in my eyes.