Hats off to you indeed, its incredibly sad… 🙁 Is she going through Nortons on the Dock Road Vulcan Love? I would go down tomorrow morning but it may just rip me to pieces… 🙁

391 ! yep Nortons. Engines first in a 8 wheeler high side truck. (with my terrain radar crushed under them) and then on the low loader, the funeral procession starts tomorrow (correct as at 5pm this eve) she will arrive in Nortons yard and then the hammer will fall, she is then scooped up onto the 45 degree frag ramp conveyer belt. SHe will emerge on the other side of the dock road in the frag pile. The frag machine also seperates out the different alloys and metals, steel etc.

sometimes you get gas cannisters going through (like th calor gas bottles) BOOM !!
and also car petrol tanks. the shockwave shakes your chest.
wonder if the vulcan ejector seats are discharged !! :diablo:

And they let you take all that for nothing, and they may well read this.

Be sensible!

they have a sense of humour. i call them apes, they call me a geek.
we laugh about it.

its ok Melvyn, he will know what I mean.

however, heres the story about the parts.
I paid £120 for the terrain radar.
Got there to collect (as i removed it week earlier but could not transport) , they had skipped it !! so they said take other stuff.

the scrapmen just think its a load of metal, it means nothing to them.
they act ape like and i act like an obcessed techie / geek
I dont mind.

it was not supposed to be offensive, however I know what you mean, so thanks for pointing it out, yes I guess if I did not know the scrap guy , anyone else may have taken offence.

When it comes to Vulcans, im quite sensible.

I fonly i could tell you the time and effort ive spent trying to save this piece of cold war history.

Lads, did you see what they did (the scrapyard) to the RAF transport plane (andover)they had?
They sprayed it luminous green and dayglo pink then turned it into a sort of clubhouse and parked it on top of two steel containers. Inside it i found stacks of beercans and dubious roll ups,pics to follow,I heard thats what 391 is gonna do b4 its trip to the breakers. (got a little contact inside the yard ! )

4K is a joke. I know its 2k in scrap (assuming 3 – 3.5 tonnes)

2k WILL save it. definately. transport to northwest is £200 – £300 (just checked with the ACTUAL guy that moved it)

whilst looking thru for pics, i recalled that every single glass dial is smashed / vandalised , though there are hardly any instruments there. a lot of electronics are missing. radar etc or smashed. looks like someone hit it with a hammer i recall. seats are stripped, switches and bulbs all smashed or removed or rusted solid (it looks like) i zoomed in on the pics and without actually climbing in there, im pretty sure the rain has got everywhere. what a bloomin shame. why does this happen to our history.
it angers me.

I have some recent pictures of the interior. Anyone want copies e mail me.
The interior is (in my opinion) in a bad way. Most gauges and instruments are missing.
The weather has got in to the cockpit. Theres even a birds nest on the co pilots instrument panel , well what used to be an instrument panel. The bottom radome is badly cracked, theres a puncture hole in the canopy, the terrain radar is smashed.
Many parts missing. It has been stripped over the years.

I would love to see it saved as much as anyone else, problem is, its worth so much as scrap , i checked at the Scrapyard in Liverpool docks (where the main 391 airframe ended up) looks like theres minimum £2k in scrap alloy. (asuming min weight of 3 tonne)

if anyone needs any info let me know by PM . I have a friend who operates the ‘ frag’ machine at the docks (LIverpool) he tips me off when the unusual stuff is on the way, however too late for the 391 Airframe ! I would have liked the ECM ‘bins’

seems a shame we cant save this last piece of history.

the gap into the crew door is narrow (theres an olympus engine in the way ! ) so you have to crawl thru. I popped the camera in on the tripod ! managed to get to see most angles. got pics of most of it.

ill see if i can find a free picture host service, then upload and repost the link

ok guys.
btw ill put some cash in, but cant get it till a few weeks

VUlcan 391 Blackpool – Parts.

Anyone get any parts from this aircraft?
I bought the radar section from the tail .
I only just managed to get it before they smashed it up. They (scrap men) did not care a jot about any souvenirs.

I was scrambling around in desperation trying to convince them that all the parts could be sold.

I tried to get the ECM gear but when i returned a few hours later the fuselage was gone. I offered to get it out of the skip lorry, they would not let me unscrew any bits, even when i flashed quite a bit of money at them.

Anyway, i did get the complete radar section, though its got a big ‘chew mark’ from the jaws of death. The radar is intact, and im going to restore the fibreglass cone (it got a few scratches and dents from the rough boys on the digger)

now….

the cockpit IS for sale. I have made an offer to the scrap men.They said they could get far far more for the scrap than what i offered. errr they were talking over six grand ! doubt it will fetch a thousand, they smashed the radome, dented the sides, and well , theres no instruments.

they think we will pay whatever they ransome it for.

what does everyone think its worth ????

(i heard the WHOLE aircraft sold for 5 grand !!!!! , and they want this kinda cash???? they must be mad)

we should have all chipped in, bought it , and sold it all off in parts.

it makes me sick.

I photographed this aircraft for years and watched it decline.

ANYONE KNOW IF IT ACTUALLY HAD ANY ECM EQUIPMENT STILL INSIDE??
(some had it removed or never fitted)
go on make me feel even worse and say “yep they left it in there ! “

VULCAN XL391

I don’t really want to go
But they left me here too long
When they returned me from ascension
They left me here too long

I had the role to retaliate
With a cargo of Yellow Sun
So carefully named
And the ball of flames I can bring
Is described as beautiful
Yes, the testers described it as beautiful

If they sent me beyond iron
I would have stayed
For they swayed briefly
When they said
We cannot refuel you
And anyway
Would I want them , really?
All burned like that.

But stuck here in anticipation
Caged in with this rusting wire
Already giving way
I poke my bottlenosed cone
Just over the wire
As though an animal
Sniffing a vacant loving hand
Hoping for a reprieve

And people come with lenses
stemming tears
The enthusiasts
Of cold war junk.
others want rid
with burning torches
The apathy for history
Oblivious with cutting hands

I don’t really want to go
I was so sophisticated
powerful, a god of olympus
But like all the empires
That end in ashes
I feel, so will mine.
Just one more sunset
I am vulcan XL319

by Leonard Crompton, Vulcan-love, Southport May 2005