The V-Bombers: The UK's Strategic Nuclear Strike Force

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  • Опубликовано: 21 дек 2024

Комментарии • 809

  • @megaprojects9649
    @megaprojects9649  2 года назад +39

    Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/megaprojects for 10% off on your first purchase.

    • @Swm9445
      @Swm9445 2 года назад +8

      One of the best aircraft videos you've made on this channel yet! Congrats, and thanks, to you, your writers, and your editors.

    • @adamrolo12345
      @adamrolo12345 2 года назад +1

      @@Swm9445 ¹¹

    • @scottbattaglia8595
      @scottbattaglia8595 2 года назад

      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
      @bosun9708 Год назад

      @@Swm9445 aaaa

    • @waitingforanalibi2224
      @waitingforanalibi2224 Год назад

      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 😔😔

  • @WaddedBliss
    @WaddedBliss 2 года назад +379

    Anyone who's ever seen a Vulcan will never forget it. The thing is bloody huge, beautiful and has an amazing sound.

    • @tokyosmash
      @tokyosmash 2 года назад +11

      It’s literally a technological Rodan 🤌🏻

    • @dianapennepacker6854
      @dianapennepacker6854 2 года назад +6

      @@tokyosmash Hell yeah I love it. Never saw it till now but what a beaut.

    • @willlittleton8311
      @willlittleton8311 2 года назад +14

      Are they the ones that make that crazy howling sound?

    • @wolf99000
      @wolf99000 2 года назад +9

      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
      @willlittleton8311 2 года назад +3

      @@wolf99000 I'm a little jealous, those were some striking aircraft

  • @TalesOfWar
    @TalesOfWar 2 года назад +157

    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
      @RaderizDorret 2 года назад +17

      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
      @MostlyPennyCat 2 года назад +6

      @@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
      @Viper607706 2 года назад +3

      @@MostlyPennyCat That and it was a generational push in multiple ways which caused development costs to simply soar.

    • @micha_el_
      @micha_el_ Год назад +1

      Just like build me a big villa, but then make it contain several apartments and somehow fit in a convenience store

    • @TalkieToaster.
      @TalkieToaster. Год назад

      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.

  • @en21b
    @en21b 2 года назад +130

    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
      @alfredthegreat9543 Год назад +3

      🤣

    • @josephcope7637
      @josephcope7637 Год назад +11

      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
      @lordofdunvegan6924 Год назад +12

      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
      @markkarasik2211 Год назад +5

      @@lordofdunvegan6924😎Actually he worked with the C.I.A….the F.B.I. Is limited to operating only on U.S. soil.

    • @Abravado
      @Abravado 11 месяцев назад +3

      it was touch and go there for a while.

  • @GodlikeIridium
    @GodlikeIridium Год назад +8

    36:25 "A suitably steel testicled crew" The most beautiful compliment I have ever heard 😂👌

  • @WeAreTheTrueMedia
    @WeAreTheTrueMedia 2 года назад +40

    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.

  • @X865
    @X865 2 года назад +93

    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
      @ATomRileyA 2 года назад

      Best i could do :)
      ruclips.net/video/H_ARSE8jEHQ/видео.html&t

    • @johnc.2876
      @johnc.2876 2 года назад

      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
      @wingerding 2 года назад +5

      Copyright issues

    • @MostlyPennyCat
      @MostlyPennyCat 2 года назад +5

      @@wingerding
      I don't believe that.
      The sound of an aircraft can't be copyrighted

    • @wingerding
      @wingerding 2 года назад +4

      @@MostlyPennyCat just a joke my friend

  • @christophervandenberg4830
    @christophervandenberg4830 2 года назад +314

    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
      @megaprojects9649  2 года назад +163

      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
      @rogerrinkavage 2 года назад +9

      @@megaprojects9649 that's too bad, hopefully they declassify she me info soon

    • @TheZachary86
      @TheZachary86 2 года назад +24

      @@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
      @drewlovely2668 2 года назад +3

      @@TheZachary86 but is it super secret?

    • @drivinginluton5745
      @drivinginluton5745 2 года назад +17

      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. :)

  • @jameswingrove7421
    @jameswingrove7421 2 года назад +40

    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
      @matty741 2 года назад +2

      But not in the cockpit. Tiny in there, especially for the pilots.

    • @B2BWide
      @B2BWide 2 года назад +1

      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
      @dominicseanmccann6300 Год назад

      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
      @someoneyouknow9130 Год назад

      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

    • @badgers1975
      @badgers1975 3 месяца назад

      ​@@B2BWidethey could be really quiet,I remember seeing it at west malling In The 80's when it ghosted over the crowd then stood it on its tail and lit it up vertical, no howl, just an earth scattering roar , it made the tarmac on the runway bubble , if you don't like a Vulcan you don't like aircraft

  • @aceundead4750
    @aceundead4750 2 года назад +75

    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
      @asb2106 2 года назад +2

      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
      @aceundead4750 2 года назад +2

      @@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
      @Kitsudote 2 года назад

      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.

  • @nigelyorkshiremanwadeley6263
    @nigelyorkshiremanwadeley6263 2 года назад +19

    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
      @mhoppy6639 2 года назад

      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
      @mattsmedley.onehandedgamin9029 2 года назад +1

      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.

  • @bobwightman1054
    @bobwightman1054 2 года назад +11

    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.

  • @Arsenic71
    @Arsenic71 2 года назад +35

    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.

  • @ignitionfrn2223
    @ignitionfrn2223 2 года назад +60

    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

  • @tonykennedy8483
    @tonykennedy8483 2 года назад +10

    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

  • @ATomRileyA
    @ATomRileyA 2 года назад +23

    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
      @tams805 2 года назад +1

      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
      @wingerding 2 года назад +3

      Why were you sleeping in your garden? Isn't it full of dirt?

    • @derekhutton9855
      @derekhutton9855 Месяц назад

      The Hurricane at the beginning of looks remarkably Hunterlike! ……Derek Hutton

  • @jakesmiley1988
    @jakesmiley1988 2 года назад +13

    MORE LONG VIDEOS PLEASE! Keep up the great work! The team and Simon do a truly awesome job!

    • @Atomy111
      @Atomy111 9 месяцев назад

      Lol no chance, he has to narrate for his 19 other channels

  • @TobyAnderson
    @TobyAnderson 2 года назад +7

    That was one of the best videos you have ever done. It felt like a proper documentary.

  • @graeme0
    @graeme0 2 года назад +2

    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!!!!!

  • @JWINDSOR
    @JWINDSOR 2 года назад +8

    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.

  • @Anfidurl
    @Anfidurl 2 года назад +17

    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
      @fl_3682 2 года назад +1

      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
      @Anfidurl 2 года назад

      @@fl_3682 which was also shortsightedly scrapped. But that is in another video. 😂

    • @Anfidurl
      @Anfidurl 2 года назад

      @Gareth Fairclough the B.2 variant was reinforced with low level flying in mind. You're thinking of the plane jane Valiant.

  • @mzungusi
    @mzungusi 2 года назад +5

    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!

    • @MrShadowz123
      @MrShadowz123 2 дня назад

      i had the same experience in east london a moment that i will never forget

  • @brucegibbins3792
    @brucegibbins3792 2 года назад +2

    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.

  • @ProducerJames91
    @ProducerJames91 4 месяца назад +2

    3:50 British Nuclear history
    6:05 Vickers Valiant
    18:50 Avri Vulcan
    33:30 Handley Page Victor
    44:45 Decline of the V-Bombers

  • @jserr50
    @jserr50 2 года назад +1

    I really enjoy when usually-short-form channels do longer videos. The research is so detailed and the the presentation is so informative.

  • @lxtechmangood9503
    @lxtechmangood9503 2 года назад +5

    So good to hear someone covering the valiant in such detail. Thank you Simon

  • @marcmcfarland1153
    @marcmcfarland1153 2 года назад +7

    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
      @siabell 2 года назад

      Did they have a brand new car that looked like a Jaguar?

    • @crwydryny
      @crwydryny Год назад

      I hear one of the vulcans are in private collection being restored

  • @RealGaryGibson
    @RealGaryGibson 2 года назад +4

    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
      @SimonsAuntPhyllis 2 года назад +2

      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" RUclips 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.

  • @Lohoris
    @Lohoris 2 года назад +3

    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!

  • @JonBaldry
    @JonBaldry Год назад +1

    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!

  • @Spermwhales93
    @Spermwhales93 2 года назад +3

    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.

  • @minuteman4199
    @minuteman4199 2 года назад +3

    The Vulcan was always a favourite at the Canadian National Exhibition Airshow in Toronto back in the old days. I saw it many times.

  • @keksesser0767
    @keksesser0767 2 года назад +2

    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.

  • @snorkelthump
    @snorkelthump 2 года назад +4

    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
      @stujm84 2 года назад +1

      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.

  • @andyc280081973
    @andyc280081973 2 года назад +3

    Excellent as always, I'd love to see similar for the Buccaneer, an awesome UK jet with a decent history.

  • @waitingforanalibi2224
    @waitingforanalibi2224 Год назад +1

    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.

  • @codymr1974
    @codymr1974 2 года назад +3

    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
      @PHDarren 2 года назад

      That part of the video was sponsored by @RAFLuton

  • @5am3t13nn3
    @5am3t13nn3 2 года назад +1

    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

  • @thaddeuslorusso4490
    @thaddeuslorusso4490 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @muttleyjones2
    @muttleyjones2 Год назад +1

    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.

  • @BarrettCharlebois
    @BarrettCharlebois 2 года назад +12

    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
      @megaprojects9649  2 года назад +8

      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
      @gcwyatt 2 года назад +3

      @@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.

  • @caffeinecat3598
    @caffeinecat3598 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @the30minutechef
    @the30minutechef Год назад +1

    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!

  • @klockwerked1673
    @klockwerked1673 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @michaelathens953
    @michaelathens953 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @WAL_DC-6B
    @WAL_DC-6B 2 года назад +25

    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
      @Duncan23 2 года назад +2

      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
      @moodogco 2 года назад +2

      I remember seeing one at a air show at Duxford as a kid & still can hear sound even now!!!

    • @robinsanders5541
      @robinsanders5541 2 года назад +2

      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!

  • @bane_of_dec2005
    @bane_of_dec2005 2 года назад +16

    I'm sooo happy that you did the v-bombers

  • @jjfromthebigland781
    @jjfromthebigland781 2 года назад +1

    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...

  • @carlosdonestevez7532
    @carlosdonestevez7532 11 месяцев назад

    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.

  • @dodoubleg2356
    @dodoubleg2356 2 года назад +2

    LOVE that you did an extended vid on this topic!! 😉👍✌️

  • @knotsochice
    @knotsochice 2 года назад +3

    Love that your oration and rhythm are so clear and precise that I can easily enjoy even more at 1.5 speed.

  • @spamletspamley672
    @spamletspamley672 2 года назад +2

    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! :)

  • @joshuasill1141
    @joshuasill1141 2 года назад +2

    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
      @Ag3nt0fCha0s Год назад

      Workhorses.
      How many people daily drive a Ferrari?

  • @trevor9934
    @trevor9934 2 месяца назад +1

    Great story, thank you. Still, the image of a Hawker Hunter posing as a Hurricane at timestamp 2:05, was a bit of a blot.

  • @danielking5812
    @danielking5812 2 года назад +3

    Excellent video! Loved the longer documentary! Great work!

  • @MichaelRacer
    @MichaelRacer 2 года назад +13

    My personal favorite of the V Bombers is the Vulcan, which I personally think is the most elegant looking bomber ever made 🇬🇧

    • @daveanderson3805
      @daveanderson3805 2 года назад +4

      The Victor though. It looks incredibly futuristic

  • @RobSchofield
    @RobSchofield 2 года назад

    Great! I particularly liked the recommended reading refs at the end, a new and welcome addition. More like this please!

  • @japsniper1980
    @japsniper1980 2 года назад +1

    Great video. I really enjoyed this longer format video. Some subjects need a little bit more time to explain in detail. Great work.

  • @billmullins6833
    @billmullins6833 2 года назад +10

    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
      @gordonwallin2368 2 года назад

      Yeah, I saw a similar performance at Abbotsford International Airshow -without the Immelmann, though. It was the last time in Canada.

    • @24934637
      @24934637 2 года назад

      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!

  • @raimoliimatainen4176
    @raimoliimatainen4176 2 года назад

    Absolutely great video. Had to watch it in two pieces, first "half" while drinking my morning coffee, second now after work. Loved it.

  • @MrShadowz123
    @MrShadowz123 2 дня назад

    growing up in east london in thev 80s will never forget hearing this ear shattering howl running out into my back garden and seeing a vulcan flying low over my house as part of a fly past.....i fell in love with her there and then. simply a magnificent looking and sounding machine

  • @michaelstone5298
    @michaelstone5298 Год назад

    Your pic at the start was of the Hawker Hunter, {1950s jet fighter superb though}, not the Hawker Hurricane, which at any rate by the end of the war had largely been superseded by the Hawker Typhoon in the ground attack roll, and in both ground attack and air-to-air combat by the Hawker Tempest.

  • @bigdaddy7119
    @bigdaddy7119 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @UKRedneck
    @UKRedneck Год назад

    Pulling an all nighter, wrapping Xmas pressies and binging MegaProjects 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 On point as always! Thank you for your content guys!

  • @karensinclair2043
    @karensinclair2043 2 года назад +1

    A wonderful video; an historical document; an excellent and professional piece of narration. 5* out of 5.

  • @5alm0n
    @5alm0n 2 года назад

    Thank you for making this video, I had requested this subject many times when you first started the channel. Great work

  • @kimhohlmayer7018
    @kimhohlmayer7018 2 года назад

    Have you done a Project video on the American B-17 and it’s use in Britain during WWII? I can’t keep up with all your channels so I must ask. If not, consider it. Just read a lengthy, somewhat technical, yet not inhuman book on them. Fascinating. I think your crew would enjoy putting that together. I love your channels and learn so much from them.

  • @farmermatt8237
    @farmermatt8237 10 месяцев назад

    At 43:08 when you mention lusty Lindy I got very excited because my dad flew her a few times in the gulf war.
    He also was the one who refilled the tornado pilots that got shot down.
    Lusty Lindy and another victor are the only ones that can do high speed taxi and though when I went she need some tlc and I was luckily enough to see what the victor looked inside

  • @EcoWarriorNB
    @EcoWarriorNB 2 года назад +1

    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
      @UnclothedPrimate 2 года назад

      For anyone on the US west coast, there is also a Vulcan at the museum of the former Castle AFB in Atwater CA.

  • @25019719
    @25019719 2 года назад +1

    Very good informative vid, thank you. But those built in jet engines into the the wings are incredible and they look great. I don't know if they actually helped with noise or, more importantly heat signature, but I suppose they flew so high and fast they probably didn't need too.

  • @garyhardman7
    @garyhardman7 Год назад

    Saw the Vulcan few years back on its last Airshow tour at Southport before it was retired. Incredible aircraft!!

  • @georgegonzalez2476
    @georgegonzalez2476 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @dramoth64
    @dramoth64 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @Maddybreenofficial
    @Maddybreenofficial Год назад

    I saw a Vulcan when I was 7 at an air show. I have never forgotten the sight and sound of it. Such beauty.

  • @redwood76
    @redwood76 Год назад

    Thank you for the intelligent articulate work you and your staff. Do I personally appreciate it?!!!

  • @xxparan01axx11
    @xxparan01axx11 2 года назад

    I spent most of my life living in Farnborough (grew up there) the airshow was always a treat especially when Vulcan came over that and the harrier!

  • @1OldWriter
    @1OldWriter 2 года назад +1

    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
      @jdb47games Год назад

      A Canadian Vulcan? The RCAF did not operate any v-bombers.

  • @jeffagain7516
    @jeffagain7516 2 года назад +2

    Thanks again Simon. One aspect of ac design the Brits seemed to get right far beyond any other country, is the absolutely gorgeous and sexy designs their instruments of annihilation always displayed. I'm fortunate enough to have seen all 3 of the beautiful V-Bombers fly and although the impressively cool manta-ray shape of the mighty Vulcan always got the most praise, and the powerful looking Victor usually got the most smiles when static, I for one always loved the sleek elegance of the Valiant. Truly love all 3 though!

  • @2down4up
    @2down4up 2 года назад +1

    Awesome video Simon! I realize I may be in the minority but I love your longer extended videos! Keep em coming if you can.

  • @matty741
    @matty741 2 года назад

    So I live near the old AVRO factory, and went for the first time yesterday. It was really cool. I had a cockpit tour of the Vulcan and woooow it's cramped for the crew. Really crazy that this vid came up today.

  • @johnsowerby7182
    @johnsowerby7182 2 года назад

    Excellent video. I certainly remember seeing Victors and Vulcans in the air when I was a kid

  • @davidbutler7602
    @davidbutler7602 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @malcolmcarter1726
    @malcolmcarter1726 Год назад

    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.

  • @michaelsnowden5735
    @michaelsnowden5735 2 года назад

    This long format mega project video is fantastic! I love this because it fills the void in my soul that the History Channel’s Modern Marvels occupied. But it’s tough to find any new MM episodes in between the accurate and super informative Ancient Aliens and Pawn Stars.

  • @HerpicussCosplay2
    @HerpicussCosplay2 2 года назад +46

    *mentions hawker Hurrican, Shows Hawker Hunter.

    • @briankdey1746
      @briankdey1746 2 года назад +4

      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
      @wingerding 2 года назад +4

      Relax guys

    • @MichaelLewis-uz7pm
      @MichaelLewis-uz7pm 2 года назад

      Was this done intentionally to increase engagement? 😂😂

    • @johnlewins5023
      @johnlewins5023 2 года назад +4

      But I bet he can spell Hurricane 😂

    • @CharliMorganMusic
      @CharliMorganMusic 2 года назад +2

      @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.

  • @Nightwing690
    @Nightwing690 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @kilotun8316
    @kilotun8316 2 года назад +3

    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...

  • @lorentzinvariant7348
    @lorentzinvariant7348 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @anthonyhastings5961
    @anthonyhastings5961 5 месяцев назад

    My grandfather was ex RAF and was the Ministry of Supply guy who checked that the Handley Page Victor was built to the required spec at their factory in Radlett. Years later, I worked in the same building when it was a warehouse.

  • @asdatrollys8944
    @asdatrollys8944 Год назад

    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.

  • @DeliveryMcGee
    @DeliveryMcGee 2 года назад +5

    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
      @davidmacdonald1695 2 года назад

      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.

  • @maxpayne2574
    @maxpayne2574 2 года назад +3

    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
      @handpaper6871 2 года назад

      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.

  • @SimonsAuntPhyllis
    @SimonsAuntPhyllis 2 года назад +1

    Just FYI, the Hawker *Hurricane*, as Simon says (lol "Simon says"), was the "Bane of the Panzers". The editor shows the Hawker *Hunter* when Simon mentions the Hurricane, which was wrong. The Hawker Hunter first flew on July 20, 1951, and didn't enter service until 1954. Nine years after the end of WW2, when the Panzer Divisions where a thing.

    • @MarkloopRAF
      @MarkloopRAF 2 года назад

      Was just about to post the same thing :-) Great video though.

  • @Bucketroo
    @Bucketroo 2 года назад +1

    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.

  • @sebastianmoreno1572
    @sebastianmoreno1572 2 года назад +2

    Simon could you make a video about the stratotankers and how the network of tankers kept the american nuclear deterrent program flying 24/7 ? if there is any info about it. or just in general a video about the flying gas stations

  • @bongodrumzz
    @bongodrumzz 2 года назад +2

    Ah the V-bombers, there to provide a stepping stone between WW2 bomber doctrine and what was to evolve in the coming later years. Thanks Simon, you did a great service to and for these mighty warriors, shame the metallurgy really wasn't sufficient to allow these platforms to last a little longer, but such is the march of time.

  • @Pathorian
    @Pathorian 2 года назад +1

    Simon! I know it may be a pain, but the 50 minute videos are way better! You go into so much detail love it!

  • @bushmanPMRR
    @bushmanPMRR 2 года назад

    A couple of years ago I was flying from Dublin to London City on an Avro RJ85 and I amused myself with the thought that it was nice that Avro were still flying four engined aeroplanes over Europe
    😉😂
    All joking aside though, I was very fortunate to witness the Vulcan XH558 at the RIAT airshow in 2014 (IIRC) and it absolutely blew me away. People will often comment about the distinctive and wonderful sound of the Rolls Royce Merlin engines especially when it's a Lancaster fly past and so, similarly, the Vulcan had the most incredible turbine whine that no hi-fi speakers on the planet could do it justice. It was, and will forever be, the first delta winged bomber and one of the greatest aeroplanes ever made and if it had to have a swansong then you couldn't hope for one better than Operation Black Buck.

  • @philholman8520
    @philholman8520 2 года назад

    Terrific! I loved every second of your video.
    I lived and loved those planes.
    It will soon be time for me to go also!
    Thanks for the memories!! ☺️👍✌️🇬🇧

  • @Old_B52H_Gunner
    @Old_B52H_Gunner 2 года назад

    We had a Vulcan visit Minot AFB back in the very early 80s, truly a beautiful aircraft.