The Avro Vulcan entered service with the RAF in 1956 as part of the ‘V-force’ of Cold-War nuclear deterrent bombers which included the Valiant and Victor.
The earliest load for the Vulcan was the 10-kiloton Blue Danube nuclear gravity bomb, which was quickly replaced by the Violet Club and Yellow Sun Mk 1 and 2 all of which were 400-kiloton weapons.
The Red Beard 25-Kiloton tactical bomb was also employed, but the largest and most specialised load was the Blue Steel stand-off missile which was fitted into modified Vulcans and had a range of 150 miles and a 1.1 megaton warhead.
As the deterrent force was handed to the Navy, the Vulcans were adapted to conventional bombing roles and the standard load was 21 x 1,000lb standard gravity bombs. The only combat missions flown were in 1982 very near the end of the Vulcan’s life, during the Falklands/Malvinas war.
There were six major variants of the Vulcan:
B.1 The original production version which could take nuclear or conventional bombs
B.1A Adapted B.1s converted internally to B.2 spec.
B.2 Wider wings and more powerful engines than the B.1
B.2A Blue Steel missile capability.
B.2 (MRR) Marine reconnaissance version. No bombs carried.
B.2K Tanker version. No bombs carried.
B.1 of 83 Squadron RAF 1957.
B.1 of 617 Squadron RAF 1959.
B.1 of 230 OCU RAF 1956.
B.1A of 44 Squadron RAF 1966.
B.1A of 50 Squadron RAF 1962.
B.1A of 101 Squadron RAF 1962.
B.1A of 617 Squadron RAF 1961.
B.2 of 9 Squadron RAF 1981.
B.2A of 27 Squadron RAF 1963.
